Tesco's Operations Management: A Leadership and Management Analysis

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OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN TESCO
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OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IN TESCO
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
LO1: Differentiate between the role of a leader and the functions of a manager............................4
P1. Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager........4
LO2: Apply the role of a leader and the functions of a manager....................................................8
P2. Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts........................................................................................................8
P3. Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership, systems
leadership, and contingency.......................................................................................................11
Strengths' and weaknesses in the working environment............................................................13
LO3: Demonstrate an appreciation of the roles of the leaders and managers play in the operations
functions of an organization..........................................................................................................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...................................................................................................................................16
Leaders and managers improving operational management efficiencies to successfully meet
business objectives of Tesco......................................................................................................18
Application of operations management in Tesco which affects the wider business environment
...................................................................................................................................................19
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LO4: Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between the leadership and management
in a contemporary business environment......................................................................................19
P6. Assess the factors within the business environment that impact on operational
management and decision-making by leaders and managers....................................................19
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................20
References......................................................................................................................................21
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Introduction
In the modern competitive market, the roles of leaders and managers have become even more
important for the organisations to maintain the profitability and sustainability of their business
operations. Tesco plc is one such organisation, which is a multinational retail chain operating in
the UK market, and is currently ranked as the third largest retail chain in the entire globe (Tesco
plc, 2019). This report will consist of various responsibilities and roles of managers and leaders
in context of Tesco shall be discussed. Moreover, the various operations management theories
used in Tesco will be analysed, and the effects of business environment factors on their
operations management will be highlighted.
LO1: Differentiate between the role of a leader and the functions of a manager
P1. Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
According Lu et al., (2018), managers and leaders need to various functional roles for the
betterment of the organization. It consists of uniqueness, personality and the concept of
leadership and administration. The comparison shall include roles and responsibilities for
managers and leader.
It can be observed that management tends to reflect the managing activity of any organization.
This helps in the enhancement of the strategy so that effective coordination is built through
which the objective can be achieved with the help of proper availability of resources and
managing them effectively (Renz, 2016).
Leadership can be described as the practical approach for encompassing the ability of the entire
organization to do better. Leaders are the one who is responsible for managing and leading the
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employees by motivating them so that the goals are met which will help in the smooth running of
the business and proper access to the operations.
Mahadevan, (2015) who states that there are four functions of management that constitutes the
procedures of an organization. It includes planning, organizing, leading and controlling. These
are being discussed below which forms the administrative functions are:
Planning
It generally constitutes the functions in an organization so as to predict the future regarding the
task and the resources that will be used to complete the task. Tesco's plan is to increase the sales
and reach a wider range of customers, and the most important responsibility is to make an
effective decision which will benefit Tesco.
Organizing
This function helps in the synchronization of the different human activity within the
organization. This involves the achievement of results and the various functioning of the
different units (Wood, Wrigley and Coe, 2016). Thus, it tends to create an effective coordination
between responsibility and authority. In Tesco, different products are being offered to the
customers, and the coordination is maintained among the customers so as to track their demand
in an effective manner.
Leading
This is the function which is being used to increase morale and direct the employees of the
organization so that they can easily meet the goals of the organization. This shall increase the
productivity level of the organization which will lead to better results. In Tesco, the superior
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utilizes the available resources with subordinates, and through their valuable guidance, they
guide the employees which shall motivate them to achieve the goals and objectives easily.
Controlling
This is the last function which tends to focus on reviewing and monitoring of the performances
employees so that proper actions can be taken if they fail to achieve any goal (Lu et al., 2018). In
Tesco, it can be observed that the performance of the employee and the budget is used as the
controlling mechanism technique so that smoothness can be brought in within the operations of
the company.
Different Roles
In Tesco, the employees have to perform different roles. These are being discussed below:
Interpersonal roles
These roles tend to describe the personality, lifestyle and other traits of the employees which
they practice within the organization for supporting the different division of the organization.
These are based on the roles that tend to have a deeper impact on their actions. In Tesco, it can
be seen that interpersonal role generally constitute the traits of the employees and their
characteristics which will be very much valuable to the benefits of the organization (Ivanov,
Tsipoulanidis and Schönberger, 2017).
Informational roles
These are the type of roles which are being termed as decisional roles and are being performed
by the managers. Further, it creates a relationship between managerial activity and their
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relationship. In Tesco, the informational roles are being performed by the superior who takes up
important decisions so that the employees can generate benefit from those decisions.
Decisional roles
These roles are being defined as the actions or the decisions that are being taken by the
organization in order to accomplish the objectives in an effective manner. In Tesco, the decisions
are being taken to increase the goodwill of the organization with the help of forming a
framework for deriving a better result (Khanna, 2015).
Difference between leader and manager
Managers Leaders
The main objective of the managers is to set the
role of the employees within the organization.
The main objective of the leader is to lead and
guide the employees in a proper direction so that
the objectives are met easily.
The managers tend to communicate the policies
and regulations to the employees
Leaders help the employees to follow the
procedures and policies set by the organization
The main emphasis is put on the activities that the
employee need to perform
The emphasis is given to increase the motivation of
the employees so that the productivity level
increases
Managers generally allocate work to the
employees.
Leaders inspire the employees to achieve the goals
of the organization easily.
The managers tend to focus on key aspects Leaders focuses on the employee
Managers perform the role of planning Leaders only inspire the employees to work s
Table 1: Difference between Leadership and Management
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(Source: Learner)
The above discussion is giving a vivid picture of the management and leadership concept where
the analysis of the roles and responsibilities of any management are the evaluation of the results.
Therefore, roles and responsibility should be effective enough which will help in enhancing the
growth of the organization and should be achieved in a better way (Ivanov, Tsipoulanidis and
Schönberger, 2017).
LO2: Apply the role of a leader and the functions of a manager
P2. Examine examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in
different situational contexts
The role of the leaders and the functions of the managers are of immense importance for Tesco
so that changes in operation can be dealt with easily. This increases the knowledge of the
managers effectively which ultimately help the employees to work in a better manner.
The different situations are being discussed below:
Stable situation
This is the situation where the organization is not prone to change frequently or any further
change that may influence the purpose. It helps in maintaining stability. For instance, if the
market is not hampered by the inflation rate or any boom in the economy, then it will remain
uniform and will not affect the organization easily.
Slow to moderate changing
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It can be seen that slowly when the competition increases it will change the situation a bit. This
might change the purpose of the organization to a certain degree. For instance, when inflation is
rising, then it will put certain emphasis on the results.
Fast changing
This is the situation were rapid changes take place and the purpose changes with time. For
instance, a stock market is a place where the situation changes rapidly and is driven by several
factors, and the influence can be felt by the investors (Lu et al., 2018).
In Tesco, it can be observed that they have adopted to slow to a moderate situation. This is
mainly because they involve various handling methods and precautions to safeguard the purpose
of the organization as it might influence the results easily. Therefore, the strategy is helping to
derive certain benefits from the market (Khanna, 2015).
In Tesco, the organization function that has been adopted tends to include various emphases on
the results, i.e. slow to a moderate position which is the result of the factors that involve the
following things:
Planning
Planning tends to include various techniques during a slow to moderate strategy. These are
budget allocation, utilization of resources, and availability of workforce and decision that needs
to be taken effectively (Ramanathan et al., 2017).
Organizing
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In Tesco, organizing is mainly done with the help of co-ordination which shall bring instability
in the results of economic development and other measuring techniques for enabling better
results.
Leading
In Tesco, leading is very much important so as to motivate the employees in order to utilize the
available resources in an effective manner. Further, it helps to create higher growth within the
employees so that the taste and preference f the customers could be met easily.
Controlling
This helps Tesco to control the operations and the internal staffs so that they work according to
the policies and procedures in a definitive manner (Ivanov, Tsipoulanidis and Schönberger,
2017). This will allow the employees for adapting to new technology and use the resources in an
appropriate manner.
Leadership styles
The various leadership styles are:
Directive style
This style may be very much helpful for Tesco to support the managerial activity that will
support the communication with other employees who are specialized in doing any task.
However, the leader might not find any guidance by adopting this style.
Supportive style
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This style will help in reducing the stress of the employees which shall help in increasing the
productivity of the organization. It will entail proper growth within an organization and put more
emphasis on the results (Ivanov, Tsipoulanidis and Schönberger, 2016). Therefore, the activities
of the employees are supported through this.
Participative style
This is a special type of leadership which puts emphasis on the decision taken by the
organization for evaluating different methods and maintains the participation of the employees.
This helps to maximize the strengths of the leader for bringing in the much-needed growth
within the organization (Willis, Clarke and O'Connor, 2017).
In Tesco, it can be seen that they have adopted the proactive style of leadership for the purpose
of defining the decisions and their influences over the employee in an effective manner. Tesco
has derived several benefits from this leadership style for attaining strength through which
productivity can be increased. Thus, it denotes the leadership style that Tesco is following for
their benefit (Khanna, 2015).
P3. Apply different theories and models of approach, including situational leadership,
systems leadership, and contingency
There are various types of theories and models of approach which relates to the various aspects
of the organization. These are:
Situational leadership theory
The situational leadership theory is being developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard which
tend to initiate the working of the employees and the organizational behaviour of the employees.
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It is also a known life cycle theory (Christopher, 2016). In Tesco, situational leadership is being
used for adapting to various situations so that it helps them to react to different situations and
recommend the actions that need to be taken during any particular situation.
System theory
System theory may be defined as the phenomenon of the organization that prevails with various
systems and actions that are to be followed which include different types and scale of doing
business. System theory reflects the interdisciplinary system of results that tend to include
various actions (Hitt et al., 2016). Further, it tends to include two types of situations which are
denoted as active and passive systems. In Tesco, the employees are being motivated in an
effective manner so that the company can achieve the desired results effectively and to the
maximum extent.
Contingency theory
A contingency theory is used to explain the purpose that the leader's influence tends to have
during the time of taking decisions. This is mainly dependent on the position of the leaders that
they hold within the organization. It will tend to reflect on how the employees are following the
style for achieving higher efficiency in their work in various situations (Ramanathan et al.,
2017). However, the style is fixed and cannot be changed easily. This theory is providing great
help for Tesco which tends to influence the decision handling capability of the leaders so that
they can motivate the employees during any particular situation.
The above approaches are being used by the management of Tesco to reflect on the leadership
system that will help them to draw vivid result despite their positions for generating a relative
growth within the organization (Reid and Sanders, 2015).
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