Management and Leadership in Operations: A Marks & Spencer Analysis

This report examines leadership and management practices within Marks & Spencer (M&S), a leading British multinational retailer. It explores the distinct roles and characteristics of leaders and managers, comparing their functions in various organizational contexts. The report analyzes situational leadership, systems theory, and contingency theory, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in the context of M&S's operational environment. It also covers the importance of operations management in achieving business objectives and the factors influencing decision-making and operational management within the company. The analysis includes practical examples of how leaders and managers apply these theories to address challenges and improve efficiency within M&S, providing a comprehensive overview of leadership and management in the retail sector.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1- Comparison between roles & characteristics of manager and a leader................................3
M1- Differentiate between role of leader and function of manager ...........................................5
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P2- Leader role and manager function apply in varied situational contexts...............................6
P3- Models and theories of approach..........................................................................................7
M2- Strengths and weaknesses of varied approaches to situation..............................................8
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................8
P4- Important approaches to operations management and role of managers as well as leaders
within it.......................................................................................................................................9
P5- Value and importance of operations management in context of achieving business
objectives...................................................................................................................................11
M3- Managers and leaders improve operational management efficiency................................12
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................12
P6- Factors within environment of business that influence decision-making and operational
management..............................................................................................................................12
M4- How factors affect wider community and business environment.....................................13
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
RECOMMENDATION.................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Management and operations is one of the best practices of businesses, they help to assure
maximum efficiency within a company. It concerned with transforming raw materials into
products as effectively as possible which in return increase profitability & productivity of any
organization operating within specific sector. The present report is based on M&S, which fall
under category of leading British multinational retailers in United Kingdom.
The current assignment will explain roles & traits of leader and manager and also discuss
function of management & roles of leadership in regard to different situations. Beside this, it will
also apply several models of approach including systems, situational and contingency theories.
Furthermore, this study will also justify methods to operations management and role that
manager & leaders play. It will clarify significance of operations management in achieving
objectives of business and also explain factors that may be effect decision-making process as
well as operational management.
LO 1
The current scenario is based on roles of leader and manager as well as both
characteristics in regard to Marks & Spencer.
P1- Comparison between roles & characteristics of manager and a leader
Management functions-
Planning-
According to this function manager role is to create effective plan based on situational
analysis which makes them able to achieve business aim and objectives.
Organizing-
Along with better planning, a manager can organize each activity of business and workers
in systematic manner.
Leading-
Manager accordant to this function needs to be confident and comfortable while
managing their team.
Controlling-
Manager control everything according to plan and use different strategies which makes
them able to enhance operational efficiency. For example, to analyse business success they can
use Benchmarking tool to measure and then control business practices.

“Management consists of interlocking actions of developing corporate policy and
managing, controlling, planning and directing a company resources to achieve their objectives of
that policy” (Murray, 2017).
“Leadership is defined as art of inspiring and motivating a unit of individual to act and
work toward achieving a common aim of business”.
Roles and characteristics of leader-
Communicate-
Leader role within M&S is to communicate with their staff members in order to identify
their problems. It also allows them to understand the needs of workers in effective manner.
Motivate-
Another role of leader within organization is to motivate their old and new employees at
workplace which makes individual able to perform effectively. They also guide applicants to
participate in a common attempts (Sharma, 2018).
Provide a vision-
Providing a clear vision for entire production and other team is single most essential roles
of leader within M&S. It helps employees to focused on achieving business aims & objectives
(Davis, 2018).
Empathy-
It is one of the best characteristics of leader as it help them to improve work of other
people working around at same workplace within company to achieve set aims.
Integrity-
It is another characteristic of leader who is playing their role within M&S with honesty
and high commitment towards performing much better than before.
Creative-
Leader in a creative person they perform cooperatively to create innovative ideas in firm.
Roles and characteristics of Manager-
Planning-
It is the best role of manager within company, they develop effective plans to manager
each and every activity as well as task (Steelman and Wolfeld, 2018).
Monitoring-

After playing above role manager monitor day to day activities in systematic manner to
assure success of business. They monitor outside and inside information of their organization to
assess their firm's operations.
Controlling-
Manager control performance of workers and their acts at workplace by developing rules
& regulations that is really very important (Hentrich and et.al., 2017).
Decision making-
It is the best characteristic of manager that affect in positive manner in term of increasing
operational efficiencies of M&S. They take decision after analyse overall situation at workplace
in context of workers and business.
Problem solving-
Another characteristic of this person is solve issues relate to employees and M&S which
is important and beneficial for long term success.
Listener-
In Marks & Spencer, manager is able to listen to what their co-workers and other people
have to say, especially during performance reviews.
Comparison-
Basis Leader Manager
Role  As compare to
manager, leader
inspire their team by
work with them in
team.
 Leader cater vision to
its workers which
makes them able to
work accordingly.
 On the other hand,
manager motivate
people by developing
rules in context of their
benefits.
 On contrary, manager
role is to develop
vision.
Characteristic  Leader shows their
empathy towards team
or other members by
 Manager comprehend
problems of applicants
and help them by

understanding their
issues in M&S.
developing effective
solutions.
M1- Differentiate between role of leader and function of manager
As discussed, leader role and manager function is quite different from each other within
M&S. With transformational leadership leader in company is able to work with their group
members. They play their role by determining needed modification, creating a clear vision to
direct change through executing workers.
On the other hand, manager with McGregor's theory X and theory Y act or perform
functions in effective manner. They change their working style according to situation for
example when staff dislike their work and need motivation at that movement according to theory
manager utilize authoritarian management style.
As describe above, according to Mintzberg model leader and manager play effective role
in company that provide many benefits to business growth in retail sector.
LO 2
This area covers all information about function of manager and role of leader to handle
different situations within M&S along with pros and cons of range of theories applied within it.
P2- Leader role and manager function apply in varied situational contexts
Stable situation-
This form of organizational situation refer to stability and describing business status. For
instance, when organization is able to deal with any complex situation within and outside
business.
Slow to moderate changing situation-
It is second type of organizational situation that affect overall business practices as well
as performance in negative manner. For example, company with slow speed to implement
change and deal with it included in this category.
Fast changing situation-
Third form of company situation is fast modifying situation where organization is able to
plan for and implement change at workplace.
Situation 1

In context of Marks & Spencer, company is in fast changing situation according to which
management implements internal and outer organizational modification when it requires. In retail
sector, competition between existing players become higher as time goes ago that direct
influence workers behaviour & level of performance negatively. This external situation impact
internal environment of firm. At that movement by using appropriate leadership style like
situational, leader play crucial role. According to this theory, leader analyse that due to high
competition management put pressure on staff to perform better than before to gain all
competitive advantages (Ali, 2017). After that, leader feel that workers are not feeling good
which in return increase high employee turnover. To handle this situation leader communicate
with people and comprehend their problems. They decide to divide each task on basis of
applicants abilities and skills which makes it easy to accomplish day to day work effectively
under above discussed situation.
Manager also perform efficiently they create plan for dividing roles and accountabilities
between existing and new staff members equally which makes work burden much lower.
Situation 2
Another situation is based on internal change within M&S that affect daily business
actions. Organization to gain competitive advantages decide to change their products packaging
strategies that directly impact on staff abilities and their work. According to change employees
need to perform extra and focus on every act which is not possible to do due to limited
applicants. Leader at this situation identify needs of extra workforce and then communicate with
manager to discuss overall circumstance at workplace.
After in depth analysis manager take decision to hire more workers with appropriate
skills and knowledge. It function will help to handle situation and increase productivity level
rather than before. To perform and act in systematic manner manager use principles of
contingency management theory (Csaszar and Ostler, 2020).
Both situations affect M&S planning, leading, organizing and controlling functions
negatively. But by taking effective decision leader and manager handle everything perfectly.
Organization is in fast changing situation they implement change quickly by managing workers
performance and practices.

P3- Models and theories of approach
Situational leadership is one of the best theories applied by leader within M&S
company due to handle different situations that has been discussed above. By using this theory
leader work effectively. They analyse overall condition and intense competition level within
marketplace. This theory can aid leader in finding out better solutions and makes them able to
face challenge arise due to external factors. It consists with four leadership styles but in context
of above situation leader in company can use leader advises because it is suitable and
appropriate. It can help in development of workers as well as also aid to improve business
practices positively. The best thing about their theory is that it help to analyse any situation
effectively and easily by leader in appropriate manner in M&S (Metswamere, 2017). Beside
advantages, it comprises with some weak points that may be effect leader activities. This concept
help to focus on only short term needs instead on long.
Illustration 1: Situtaional leadership theory
(Source: The Situational Leadership Theory, 2020

Systems theory is developed by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in 1954 and furthered by Ross
Ashby in 1964. It is a interdisciplinary concept about nature of difficult systems in nature and
community. It can help manager to assist to have better management functions and take action
according to the above situation in context of company as well as staff benefits. According to
this theory manager motivate their team by providing and developing comfortable environment.
This concept treats M&S as either an open or closed system. With this theory manager improve
workplace environment and productivity of staff by focusing on arranging everything. When it
can be use in company it helps to increase workers abilities to adopt change. Weakness of this
theory suggests all variables have certain equality in degree of impact & control over specific
business situation.
Contingency theory is management concept that claims that there is not best and
appropriate way to manage a situation or business activities. It helps manager to decide whether
they need to take action or change existing things when above situations occur within M&S. It
gives wider range of methods or ways to manager which they can use to react in regard to all
above situation discussed above. For example, manager take quick action after communicate
with leader and decided to plan training session along with developing plan for recruiting skilled
candidates. The biggest strength of this theory it that it allow manager or leader to use different
methods as per their style in situations (Ge and et.al., 2018). Beside this, it also considers as
complex approach because suggestion of this theory is quite simple but when manager
implement recommendations it gets much complex.
M2- Strengths and weaknesses of varied approaches to situation
Basis Contingency theory Situational
leadership theory
Systems theory
Strengths This concept helps by
providing options to
staff that aid them to
grow & share their
point of views to
manager.
It is flexible approach
of leadership which
allow leader to act
according to any
circumstance in M&S.
It is more effective in
context of problem
solving by open
discussion.
Weaknesses Because of reactive in It only focuses on One of its weaknesses

nature this theory does
not work effectively.
skills level of leader
instead of workers.
is that it does not
consider differences in
systems.
LO 3
Here, six types of operational management approaches applied in context of M&S and
discuss roles of leader as well as manager with it.
P4- Important approaches to operations management and role of managers as well as leaders
within it
Operations management is an area of administration focused with planning and
controlling procedure of production & redesigning varied operations of M&S. It mainly
concentrates on carefully and effectively managing procedures to distribute and produce services
& products.
TQM-
Total quality management is one of the best approach to operations management. It is the
procedure which aids in planning for longer period to obtain success and achieve set aims of
Marks & Spencer.
Just in time-
This approach help leader to focus on process of manufacturing and then guide applicants
accordingly. It can aid in getting outcomes set earlier in planning function of manager.
Continuous improvement-
It is considered as process or policy implement at workplace that supports to keep full
focus on improving ways products has been produced daily.
Lean production-
It tells about the best approaches to be utilized to obtain desire outcomes or output which
is quite beneficial for company in term of increasing sales.
Six sigma-
It is data driven, statistical based and disciplined approach and continuous improvement
method especially used to eliminate defects in services, production process and products quality.
Queuing-

It is mathematical study of waiting queues, it constructed so that lines lengths and waiting
period can be predicted.
Analysis base TQM Just in time Continuous
improvement
Advantages Total quality
management approach
provide many benefits
of M&S as it help to
leads to better goods
manufactured at low
costs (Yusoff, Ali, and
Boujelbene, 2018). By
focusing on using high
quality data to
improve procedures
reduces waste and
unessential things.
It helps to keep
inventory level lower
than before when
manager use it in
company by only
manufacturing for
particular buyers
orders (Yang and
et.al., 2017).
It helps to increase
operational efficiency
of M&S operations.
When manage
implement systems to
obtain more done in
less time they can save
money on extra
workers and increase
consumer satisfaction
(Elmkhah and et.al.,
2018).
Disadvantages On of main drawback
of this approach is that
it need for
organization wide
commitment to quality
improvement and
complex of reaching
this commitment.
There are some
drawbacks associated
with approach. For
example, it affects
negatively when
suppliers that does not
deliver items to firm
exactly on time and in
right amounts could
obviously impact
manufacturing
procedure.
This approach itself
tends to be better for
company, it cannot be
implemented
effectively. With this,
objectives of company
may not be
communicated clearly,

From above discussion, it analysed that when manager implement TQM approach in
M&S they can improve operations efficiency by providing appropriate directions and guidance
to existing staff. By making plans manager can guide workers to act accordingly and deliver
services or products on timely manner.
Just in time is also beneficial for organization when leader or manager use it. For
example, by using this approach and following its principles leader examine important thing and
unnecessary as well which they eliminate completely. Unessential things waste time and money
so it is important to eliminate and save essential elements.
Furthermore, it can be said that when continuous improvement approach applied in M&S
to improve operations efficiency it caters many benefits for example, allow workers to
accomplish tasks by following decided guidelines.
Roles of leader and manager-
 Leader plays effective role in operation management as they motivate team to work hard
and guide them as well to make their performance more effective which in return manage
each and every activity.
 Manager allocate resources according to needs at workplace which is quite beneficial in
term of saving money and time. By monitoring business and workers performance
manager assure success and achieve set objectives of company.
P5- Value and importance of operations management in context of achieving business objectives
Marks & Spencer is leading retailer in UK they provide quality products and services to
target market in effective manner. Organization efforts to achieve their objectives by developing
many plans by manager and implementing at workplace through leaders. There are following
common business objectives of company-
 Marks & Spencer wants to cater products according to market needs through which they
can satisfy them.
 Organization wants to become global leader.
 Company wants to increase their productivity and profitability more than its competitors.
 They need to increase consumers base by gaining their attention.
 M&S wants to gain competitive advantages by improving their operational efficiencies.
6 important functions of operations management-
Control and distribution systems-