Operation and Management: Leadership, Theories, and Business Impact

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the distinct roles and characteristics of leaders and managers within an organization, using Tesco Plc as a case study. It explores the functions of managers, including planning, organizing, and controlling, and contrasts them with the roles of leaders, who influence and motivate. The report applies various leadership theories, such as Bass Theory and Theory X and Y, to differentiate between leadership and management functions. It examines situational contexts, such as fast-changing and critical situations, and how leaders and managers adapt their approaches. Furthermore, the report discusses the application of contingency and situational leadership theories in supporting organizational growth and sustainable performance. It also evaluates the impact of external factors on operational management and decision-making, highlighting the importance of efficient operations management in achieving business objectives. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments.

OPERATION AND
MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
P1 Define and compare the roles and characteristics of both managers and leaders,
highlighting the difference between management and leadership...............................................2
M1 by applying a range of theories and concepts of leadership and management, analyse and
Differentiate between a leader’s roles and a manager’s functions..............................................3
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................6
P2 Give examples of at least two different situational contexts and examine how the role of a
leader and the function of a manager are applied in organisations..............................................6
P3 Explain how theories such as situational leadership, systems leadership and contingency
apply to the organisation and how these have supported growth and sustainable performance. 8
M2 Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of different management approaches to situations
within the work environment of your selected organization.....................................................10
D1 within the context of your selected organisation as an example, critically analyse and
evaluate the different theories and approaches to leadership in given context..........................12
Task 3.............................................................................................................................................13
P4 Explain the key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and
managers play............................................................................................................................13
P5 Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving business
objectives...................................................................................................................................15
M3 Evaluate how leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of operational management
to successfully meet business objectives...................................................................................16
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................18
P6 With the help of suitable examples, assess the factors within the business environment that
impact upon operational management and decision-making by leaders and managers............18

M4 Analyse how different factors affect the business environment and wider community.....19
(D2). Critically evaluate the application of operations management in your chosen
organisation and the factors that impact on the wider business environment...........................20
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................21
References......................................................................................................................................22

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Leadership Vs management.............................................................................................3
Figure 2: Bass theory of leadership.................................................................................................4
Figure 3: Theory X and Y................................................................................................................5
Figure 4: Contingency theory of leadership....................................................................................8
Figure 5: Situational theory of leadership.....................................................................................10
Figure 6: Six-sigma themes...........................................................................................................14
Figure 7: Just in time approach......................................................................................................15

Introduction
In the present report we have focused on the analysis of the roles of leaders and managers of an
organization. Even though in the daily practice they are often confused and used as synonyms,
there is a lot of difference in both their roles. In order to analyse this better and to understand it
with the help of an example, we have tried to take an example of Tesco Plc. It is a UK based firm
which is based for providing various grocery products with innovation in the retail sector of the
firm and has been doing that since many years now. Tesco has both leaders and managers and
has also defined their roles very specifically which will be further discussed in the report. Also,
we have, for a better understanding, tried to analyse and connect this with certain theories and
approaches in accordance with the leadership styles and methods in order to make suggestions
for a better management and operational abilities of the firm.
1

Task 1
P1 Define and compare the roles and characteristics of both managers and leaders, highlighting
the difference between management and leadership
Various basic roles that are to be performed by the firm’s managers can be understood as
follows:
Planning: In order to analyse the future risks and uncertainties and to take necessary required
precautionary steps for the same, planning is very much necessary. Planning helps the managers
to analyse and take actions according to the situations and various alternatives are considered
herein (Bolden, 2016).
Organising: The process of organising consists of the allocation of tasks and responsibilities to
the employees in accordance with their capabilities and working patterns. This is always done
with the context of the set organizational goals. Here mainly the positions are to b created for
personnel.
Controlling: Even though the organizational roles are fulfilled in an appropriate manner the
achievement of organizational goals is not necessary (Bolman and Deal, 2017). Because of this,
the due control is necessary and this type of monitoring of work is done at Tesco by the
managers.
Different role for the manager of Tesco PLC are: -
Interpersonal role: The interpersonal roles can be defined as the role which a manager plays in
terms of his or her attributes, mental fitness etc to become a leader and maintain the same.
Informational role: Managers also play a very important role of providing or transmission of
necessary information to the employees in the organization.
Decisional role: The managers and leaders have to take various important decisions for the
organization which falls under the decisional roles of the firm.
Table 1: Difference between leadership and management
2

Leadership Management
Leaders are always in front Managers are present in all the directions
Leaders influence working abilities Managers order the employees to work in a
particular manner
Formal as well as informal Always formal
Figure 1: Leadership Vs management
(Source: nelsontouchconsulting.wordpress.com, 2011)
M1 by applying a range of theories and concepts of leadership and management, analyse and
Differentiate between a leader’s roles and a manager’s functions
The following makes the functions of managers clearer:
Bass Theory of leadership
In the Bass Theory of Leadership, the managers have to focus on the quality of their world in
certain particularly crucial situations and the decision making during that period wherein the
3

employee’s skills are also to be noticed. Here the theory argues that the leader brings in own
qualities in the organization. In the same context it is also important to notice that this type of
leadership is mainly focused and extracted from the personality of the individual.
Figure 2: Bass theory of leadership
(Source: Leadership theory, 2018)
Theory X and theory y of Management: The theory X and theory Y is a completely different
and new approach to the functioning of the organization and leaders in particular. Herein the
theory X is mainly says that employees can be motivated more by the incentive structures
whereas the theory Y says that the employees are motivated enough in the organization with
their work and no additional work will motivate them to achieve higher standards of
responsibilities (McCleskey, 2014.). These approaches were created by McGregor.
In theory X we mainly focus on saying that the working environment and the typical work that
an employee is required to perform. When the employees are given certain achievable targets
and motivated to work a little more than their abilities, they are highly satisfied while achieving
those targets. Here these targets are also combined with certain target incentives which have
proved to be very useful in effective motivational techniques.
4

Figure 3: Theory X and Y
(Source: Theories of leadership, 2018)
Here in a similar manner the theory Y assumes that the employees are the most valuable assets of
the organization and that the adequate working environment will suffice to motivate them
enough with the working conditions in the organization (Bird and Mendenhall, 2016). Here there
is no incentive or reward attached to any achievements, however, the employees are provided
with the best support and infrastructure in order to fulfil their expectations.
5

Task 2
P2 Give examples of at least two different situational contexts and examine how the role of a
leader and the function of a manager are applied in organisations
Various types of situations and scenarios faced by the managers of the organization are as
follows:
Fast changing: Various changes brought in the organization in a shorter time period than it is
supposed to be can be termed as the fast change in an organization.
Stable situation: It can also prove to be harmful for the organization in terms of growth and
changes in the environmental forces of the economy.
Slow to moderate change: In a given time period which are longer than the other scenarios
changes do occur but at slower paces (Ward, 2016).
Change 1
Political change: The changes in the political environment refer to the change in government or
so or situations like Brexit in UK.
Role of leader
Leaders of the organization also perform various important roles leading from coordination and
effective functioning of the firm and teams in the firm to the motivation and various investment
decisions as well in the case of Tesco Plc. Leaders also sometimes perform the informational
and motivational roles in order to avoid the asymmetry in the organization.
Function of manager: Managers have a wider role and other functions in the organization as
compared to the leaders who perform different types of functions (Little et.al. 2016). The
managers are not only supposed to act as a link between the higher authorities of the organization
and the employees but they are also in the organization considered to be the blood supply as the
transmission of information along with appropriate communication and other roles are done by
the managers themselves.
6

Change 2
Critical situation
There can be various critical and unexpected sudden scenarios in an organization wherein quick
decision making is very much required which is much expected from the well-trained managers
of the organization (Van Knippenberg et.al. 2015). For example, in Tesco the workers because of
some reason or demand have decided to go on a strike which affects the firm’s reputation
drastically. Under such a situation faster decision making is always appreciated.
Role of leader: A leader is not just focused on the demands and needs of the workers but also
motivates them with incentive structures so that the employees are satisfied enough and such
cases do not arise (Rao and Tilt, 2016). However, leader will try to bargain on both the sides
such as with the firm to fulfil the demands of his or her employees as well as the workers to
lower their demands.
Role of manager: The manager in such a situation will be more focused on the fulfilment of
employees’ demands with the available resources in the best possible manner.
7

P3 Explain how theories such as situational leadership, systems leadership and contingency
apply to the organisation and how these have supported growth and sustainable performance
Contingency theory: The contingencies that a management can face and has to plan for can be
understood as follows:
 Positioning power: The power and distribution of responsibilities among employees may
create a problem and should hence be planned in an equal manner.
 Leader’s relationship with employees: Mistakes and errors can be recovered with a
combined efforts and effective relationship management between the leaders, managers
as well as the employees of the firm. The operational as well as the managerial
efficiencies are enhanced (Fiedler, 2015). By development of effective relationships,
another advantage of sustainable development and gradual growth of the organization can
be achieved.
Figure 4: Contingency theory of leadership
(Source: leadershiplearning.com, 2018)
Situational theory: The functioning of a situational theory in the context of Tesco Plc can be
understood with the help of following situations:
8