Leadership and Management in Operations: A Case Study of Next PLC

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Management and Operations
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Table of Content
Introduction...................................................................................................................... 2
LO1.................................................................................................................................. 3
P1 Define and compare different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager...3
The concept of leadership and Management...................................................................3
Comparative study of different roles and functions of a leader and a manager...............3
Description about different leadership functions..............................................................3
Exploring the functions of a manager...............................................................................4
M1 Analyze and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a manager by
effectively applying a range of theories and concepts......................................................4
D1 Critically analyse and evaluate the different theories and approaches to leadership in
given contexts.................................................................................................................. 5
LO2.................................................................................................................................. 6
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply
in different situational contexts.........................................................................................6
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach including situational leadership and
systems leadership that can affect operations of Next Plc...............................................6
M2 Assess and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to
situations within the work environment.............................................................................7
D1 Critically analyse and evaluate the different theories and approaches to leadership in
Next Plc............................................................................................................................8
LO3.................................................................................................................................. 8
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and
managers play..................................................................................................................8
P5 explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business
objectives....................................................................................................................... 10
M3 Evaluate how leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of operational
management to successfully meet business objectives.................................................10
LO4................................................................................................................................ 12
P6 Analysis of the factors within business environment that impact upon operational
management and decision-making by leaders and managers.......................................12
M4 Analyse how these different factors affect the business environment and wider
community......................................................................................................................13
D2 critically evaluate application of operations management and factors that impact on
the wider business environment.....................................................................................13
Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 14
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Introduction
The management and operations are the business function that is responsible to
manage the process of production of the goods and services. The management and
operations of an organization are mainly attached with organizing, planning and
superintending in the contexts of manufacturing, production or providing the services.
This is delivery focused; enables that a company successfully spins to inputs with
efficient manner. The inputs of an organization themselves could present anything from
technology, equipments and materials to the human resources like workers and staffs.
Every business is operated through various business functions and each function is
responsible for managing the aspects of the business. Sales, understanding the needs
of the customers and the generating the demand of customers are the responsibilities of
the marketing. Managing the cash flow, capital investments and current assets are the
responsibilities of the finance. In this study the operations and the management of the
retail company, Next PLC, UK are discussed.
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LO1
P1 Define and compare different roles and characteristics of a leader and a
manager
The concept of leadership and Management
According to Blomme et al., (2015) leadership is the ability of an individual to lead a
group of individuals to achieve a common goal or objective by developing, explaining
and motivating all the members about a clear vision. It also ensures the fair and equal
distribution of roles and responsibilities among all the members of the group or
organization to achieve the organizational goal easily and within a smoothly.
The term ‘Management’ is defined as the entire act of planning, organizing and co-
coordinating all the activities of a business organization to achieve the organization’s
mission, vision and goal set by the leader, within a given time period. It confirms the
proper utilization of all the tangible and intangible resources of the organization to
ensure maximum productivity of the organization Cannella et al., (2017).
Comparative study of different roles and functions of a leader and a manager
Leader Manager
A leader is mostly innovative in nature A manager is basically authoritative in
nature
A leader always helps the team members
to develop or grow further
A manager guides an individual to
maintain his or her performance level
A leader generally focuses on the team
members
A manager mainly focuses on the system
and structures of the organization
A leader always inspires A manager mainly controls
A leader generally decides long term
goals
A manager mostly prepare short-term
goals
Description about different leadership functions
Leadership is an important element for any organization to direct the functions of the
management. The different functions of a leader of any organization are mentioned
below:
● Setting Goals
It is the basic task of any leader to prepare a goal, which the team members need to
follow in order to achieve any given task (Burke et al., 2018).
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● Organizing
It is another vital function of a leader to organize equal distribution of the available
resources of the organization for eg; money, raw materials, employees and others, to
complete any task
● Co-coordinating
As per Santos et al., 92015), this is mainly communicating with all the team-members
and ensuring proper integration of their personal objectives and the organizational goal
to ensure rapid progress of any task
● Directing and motivating
It is another crucial function of a leader to guide the team members on each step during
any task and motivating them to take out their maximum performance
● Linking between management and the workers
A leader generally acts as a medium between the higher management of the
organization and the employees under him or her to cascade upon down all
information’s between the two
Exploring the functions of a manager
The functions of a manager involve the organization of all necessary skills of the
employees to complete a given task successfully within the stipulated time. Some of the
major managerial functions are mentioned below:
Planning
As opined by (Conaway, 2017) this is primary task of any manager to set the mission
and vision of the organization and decide survival strategies for the company
Organizing
It is described as preparation of the entire organizational structure according to which all
the divisions, departments and employees will perform on a daily basis. It includes
reconciliation of all the available resources to meet the goals and objectives of the
organization
Controlling
This is another vital job of any manager to ensure the proper progress of any given task
or the entire functions of the organization, which involves continuous monitoring of the
functions of several organizational divisions and departments, and adopt essential
corrective plans if required.
Directing
It is also an important job of a manager to explain the individual goals to the employees
and ways to achieve it in order to meet the organization’s goals and objectives on a
broader way.
M1 Analyze and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a
manager by effectively applying a range of theories and concepts
Some of the popular leadership theories are as follows:
● Transformational leadership
This theory of leadership emphasizes on motivating the workforce to such extent that
brings out the maximum output from them. By following this theory, a leader can
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develop more numbers of satisfied and loyal employees for the organization (Storey
2016).
● Transactional Leadership
As per (Dartey 2015) it is another well-established theory, which focuses on assessing
the performance of the employees through rewards, rewards and punishments. In this
style, the leader evaluates the performance of each employee and reward or punishes
him or her in case of compliance or noncompliance with the organizational goals.
● Action centred Leadership
This theory highlights the fact that leadership depends upon three principles, which are
individual, team and task. All of the three are required and to be managed properly by
the leader to achieve the organizational goal.
Different management theories
There are various established management theories, which are followed widely by the
organizations some of which are as follows:
● Classical Theory of management
It is quite an old theory of management, which emphasizes on the assumption that
workforce of any organization do not have any other kind of needs except the emotional
and physical needs. Thus this theory mainly focuses on the development of labor,
decision making and maximization of profit instead of facilitating their social needs such
as job satisfaction, working hours and others (Bratton and Gold 2017).
● Behavioral Theory of Management
This theory includes an empathetic approach towards the workforce by emphasizing on
the human dimensions of work in any organization. It highlights the fact that human
behavior prevalent in any workplace such as motivations, conflicts, expectations and
others must be given importance by the management of the organization to improve the
employee’s productivity and ensure the organization’s growth (Helm et al., 2018).
● Contingency theory of management
As per (Otley 2016) it is also a popular theory of management, which states that
dependency on the circumstances or the different external or internal constraints
available in any organization, is the best way to run any organization successfully.
D1 Critically analyse and evaluate the different theories and approaches to
leadership in given contexts.
Based on all the concepts and theories of leadership and management, certain
advantages and disadvantages of these two terms can be obtained. The leaders can
increase the productivity of the employees by delegating the tasks efficiently and
motivating them via different forms of rewards and awards. Proper division of labor can
result in the generation of maximum output from the workforce. By understanding the
employee’s expectations and highlighting their areas of improvement via evaluating
their performance level, the leaders can boost the morale of the employees. However,
good leadership offers little or no time for the leaders to perform rather than guiding
their subordinates to work properly. It also develops clashes within the workforce having
different personalities. The management theories also highlight certain pros and cons
which can affect the organization's productivity. Successful managers can understand
the expectations of the employees, motivating factors, strengths, weaknesses and
distribute their work accordingly. However, neglecting the social needs of the workforce
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by the managers can result in job dissatisfaction and high attrition rate in the
organization.
LO2
P2 Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager
apply in different situational contexts.
Next Plc is a famous online shopping brand in United Kingdom, which offers fashionable
and quality clothing’s, accessories and furnishing goods to the consumers at a
reasonable price. The organization follows certain principles and theories of leadership
and management, which help them to survive in the competitive market of UK by
ensuring the company’s growth via improving their employee’s productivity. Different
situations, which affect the effectiveness of the organization’s productivity, are stable
situations, slow to moderate changing situations and fast changing situations. The
leaders of Next Plc UK decides their roles and responsibilities based on these situations
in efficient ways such as setting goals for the company which compiles to increase the
turnover and sales of their clothing’s and other goods. The managers communicate
these roles to the employees to ensure the accomplishment of the goals. The leaders of
Next plc, organize and utilize the resources of the organization such as their employees,
distributors, suppliers and others in an efficient manner so that the process of goal
achievement becomes easier for the employees. Managers of Next plc, decides the
activity framework for different divisions such as production, marketing, finance and
others including this distribution of resources. The leaders and managers of Next plc
work hard to control the progress of any task so that it gets completed successfully
within the stipulated budget and time. For example: they select the suppliers who can
supply the clothing’s and other goods at a lower margin to be displayed in their website.
The leaders of Next Plc, follows transactional theories of leadership and motivate the
workforce to adopt with technological advancements to cut down manufacturing costs.
The leaders and managers of Next Plc also follow classical Management theory by
developing policies to enhance employee productivity such as incentive schemes for the
best salesman and others.
P3 Apply different theories and models of approach including situational
leadership and systems leadership that can affect operations of Next Plc
Situational leadership highlights the fact that the success of a leader depends upon
the skills and abilities of the workforce for which leaders are needed who can influence
or motivate them to complete the task quickly 9Lynch et al.,2018). The management
and operations of Next Plc can be impacted by following this theory as it involves
adoption of different leadership styles in different situations. For example: The company
is facing the present issues of increased cost of raw materials which they can overcome
by incorporating digital techniques in their production process to cut down the
manufacturing costs.
Systems leadership is also followed strictly at Next Plc. where the the managers and
the leaders controls the employee's working tenure and communicates the different
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working hours requirements by the company depending upon the needs of the current
situation that the company is going through (Macdonald et al., 2017). For example:
Opening of a new store by Next plc, might require the employees from the operations
department to work for longer hours to plan and organize the opening ceremony.
Management by objective also plays a vital role to help the leaders and managers of
Next Plc, to solve various operational issues by welcoming the views and ideas of the
employee and involving them in the decision making process (Bruccoleri and Riccobono
2018). It can motivate the employees and ensure that they put their maximum effort for
the organization.
Chaos theory also highlights the existence of different changes in the market and the
subsequent responses adopted by the leaders and managers of the Next Plc Company,
to ensure that the company survives those market changes. For example: The
management of Next Plc made certain changes in their operational activities to cut
down the high prices of the equipments and raw materials by making some alterations
in the policies of operations and production department.
M2 Assess and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to
situations within the work environment
Leadership or
management styles or
approaches
Strengths Weaknesses
Transformational
leadership
Ensures rapid application
of a vision, promotes
enthusiasm via motivation
Involves market risks and
conflict with employees
Transactional leadership Involve employee
motivation in the forms of
rewards and awards, helps
to develop short-term
achievable goals such as
increasing the production
level, cut down the
manufacturing costs and
others. It also helps in
developing transparent
organizational structure.
This theory does not
welcome creativity and
uniqueness. Includes
punishments of the
employees in case of non-
compliance to the
organizational policies,
which might cause
employee dissatisfaction.
Does not consider
emotions of the
employees.
Contingency approach It help the organization’s
leaders and managers to
become adaptive in nature
which helps them to
overcome any challenging
situation
It includes the
consideration of each
factors of the surrounding
situation to make any
decision, which is not
possible always by the
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managers and the leaders.
Chaos style of leadership Helps the managers and
leaders of any organization
to overcome any
problematic situation with
the application of modern
sciences and models in
developing business
strategies
It is difficult to follow many
a times, as it does not
include any fixed rules or
assumptions.
Management by
objectives
It helps the managers and
leaders in detailed
planning by focusing on
setting and controlling
goals. Involves a little or no
confusion between the
managers and the
workforce. Encourages
career development of the
employees.
Employees can not
perform without the
support of the
management. Pressurize
the employees to attain
unrealistic and high goals.
D1 Critically analyse and evaluate the different theories and approaches to
leadership in Next Plc
Leadership and management are the two vital elements of any organization as they
help in achieving the goals and objectives of the company. All the above study and
analysis helps to determine the fact that leadership styles and management operations
in compliance with various established theories help to obtain better outcomes when
applied to any company. Next Plc follows and implements different established
management and leadership theories and concepts such as contingency theory,
systematic approach, Chaos theory, transformational approach, classical theory and
others, which help them to plan their business goals or delivering quality products and
organize the company functions accordingly. The theories and approaches help them to
make alterations in their company policies and divisional functions to face and
overcome different problematic situations such as appointing suppliers offering lower
margin for delivering goods, incorporating technological advancements to cut down
production costs and others. The theories also help to increase their employee morale
and motivate them to put their maximum effort by motivating them via rewards and
awards.
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LO3
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that
leaders and managers play
Operations management includes certain responsibilities of the business operations.
One of the responsibilities is ensuring business utilizes efficiently (Baumgartner and
Rauter, 2017). Both the terms of applying minimum amount of sources that is essential
in order to meet the demand. Operation management includes managing of process in
which labor, raw materials and energy are changed to products and the services.
Worker skills, knowledge of technology and rational analysis, these are essential for
achieving success at the operations management. In the past business and production
operation, technological advancements and division of labors have benefitted the
productivity of the Next PLC. Measuring performances and calculation of formulas was
unexplored before the early work of Frederick Taylor in this field. He published the
principles of scientific operations management, specified by the four elements. They are
developing the true science of management, scientific recruitment of effective and
efficient employees, development and education of employees and confidential
cooperation between staff and management. However modern operations management
spins around of four theories, those are business process redesign, six sigma,
reconfigurable manufacturing system and lean manufacturing. These four theories are
also implemented into the chosen company.
● Business Process Redesign
it was formulated in the year 1993, this is a business management strategy which
focuses on designing and analyzing workflow and the processes of business within an
organization. The motive of Business Process Redesign is helping the companies
restructure company by making design of the process of business from
comprehensively (Klochkov et al., 2016).
● Reconfigurable manufacturing system
These systems are the production systems those are designed to incorporate change in
structure, as software and hardware components. It allows the systems to modify
rapidly to the capability in which they can continue their production and how effectively
and efficiently they can perform the function in response to the market or system
changes (Annarelli and Nonino, 2016).
Six Sigma
Six sigma can be coined as an effective approach towards quality management. This
was fundamentally formulated from 1985 to 1987 at Motorola. The word ‘six’ here
references control limits, that are placed in six standard deviations from the general
distribution mean. Jack Welch of the General Electric was started an action to adopt the
methods of six sigma in the year 1995, that brought the approach of a great deal of
popularity. The tools that are used in six sigma process involve calculations of potential
defect, trending charts and other proportion (Andrade et al., 2018).
Lean Manufacturing
This is a logical method which is used to eliminate waste within manufacturing process.
The lean theory reports for waste which is created through the overburdening or uneven
distribution of workloads (Walker et al., 2015). This theory shows resource use of any
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reason other than creation of value for consumers as wasteful source expenditure as
much as possible.
Role of leaders and managers
The role of a leader and manager has a very crucial effect for any organization. Leaders
can join effectively with the people of his team to understand the value of work. The role
of leader and manager is different in an organization (Schwarz et al., 2015). A
successful business organization like Next PLC needs both a strong manager and
leader to get their team to follow the team members towards their aim of success. The
roles of leaders are about helping people to understand the work and help them to
achieve their goals while the roles of manager is about making sure and administering
the daily work that are happening within an organization. As a famous retail clothing
company, Next PLC has both the strong leaders and managers to operate its business
in the market of UK.
P5 explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving
business objectives
Operations management involves same management for each business or industry
irrespective to the nature of their operations. Organizing, planning, directing, monitoring,
staffing and inspiring are the remarkable elements of the operations management. This
is used to enhance the overall productivity and the proportion of converting input to
output known as productivity. It shows the standard of efficiency of manager as well as
the workers of Next PLC. The disciplines focused to use the available sources in the
possible way for achieving the goals to enhance overall productivity. This is the
management of different business activities which take place in the chosen
organization. It contributes for making products to meet the requirements of the
customers (Rosales, 2017). Operation management is considered as organization like
Next PLC and it manages the whole operation. If the products produced by the concern
company are made indulge satisfies the requirements of the consumers after that the
products will be sold at a prompt rate.
In the operation management, there are optimal utilizations of the sources which lead to
huge profit of the concern organization. The efforts made by the employees and the
different raw materials are methodically utilized and they are converted into clothes of
the Next PLC. Operation management has an important role in the concern organization
as it controls the issues like design, maintenance and operations of the system used in
the production of clothes. Earlier people believed that this management was not as
crucial as other organizational functions but by the time it has been discovered that this
is a very important part for proper functioning within the organization. It has been proved
that manufacturing from the raw materials into goods or the clothes and trading the
clothes aligned with management of sales are important and this has been done
effectively by following the operations of the chosen organization ((Reid and Sanders,
2015).
M3 Evaluate how leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of operational
management to successfully meet business objectives
Roles of managers
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Managers of an organization set objectives for the company. Managers communicate
about the policies of the organization to leaders work by following policies. They give
proper direction to the groups and they create ideas for betterment of the Next PLC,
they focus on the things which are happening within an organization like production of
clothes and selling of it. One of the major roles of managers of the chosen company is
to make planning within the organization and they direct work to the employees of the
concern organization. These are the main responsibilities of the managers of Next PLC,
UK. As this is a huge organization with various functions, to maintain all the function
properly the chosen organization needs to follow the objectives set by the managers
(Chiu and Fogel, 2017).
Roles of leaders
Leaders follow the objectives developed by managers. They communicate and motivate
the workers to work by following the policies. They provide directions to the people
within a team. They play an important role of implementing the ideas those are created
by the managers into reality. They focus into people as they play the important role to
inspire employees to do the work in the organization. As a huge retail clothing company
where it needs to produce huge amount of clothes with different styles to fulfill the
requirements of the people workers need to be efficient to achieve the goal. However
leaders play the role to motivate them for achieving their goal (Randel et al., 2016)
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