Leadership and Management in Unilever: Roles, Theories, and Practice

This report provides a detailed analysis of leadership and management principles within the context of Unilever. It begins by defining and comparing the roles of leaders and managers, highlighting their distinct characteristics and responsibilities. The report then explores the roles of leaders and managers in various organizational situations, such as employee turnover, and technological changes. Different leadership theories and models, including situational leadership, contingency theory, and systems leadership theory, are examined to understand their application within Unilever. Furthermore, the report delves into the role of leaders and managers in operation management, including approaches to operation management, and the importance of operation management in achieving organizational goals. Finally, it discusses the factors within the business environment that impact decision-making by managers and leaders in operational management. The report uses the case study of Unilever to illustrate these concepts.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Define and compare the role of the leader and the function of the Manager on the basis of
the different roles and characteristics. ........................................................................................3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................5
P2 Explain the role of the leader and the function of the manager in different situation in the
organization.................................................................................................................................5
P3 Explains different theory and the models of approach of the leadership...............................6
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................7
P4 Explain the role of leader and manager in Operation management and the approaches of
the operation management..........................................................................................................7
P5 Explain the role and the importance of the operation management in achieving the
organizational goal......................................................................................................................9
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................10
P6 Factors within business environment that impact on decision-making by managers and
leaders and operational management........................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
Management and operation is the field of the management which is related to the controlling,
planning, organizing and directing the work of the organization. Unilever is the British
organization which focuses on manufacturing the Transnational consumer good. Unilever has
more than 400 brands all across the world. Uniliver was founded in the year 1929 by the merger
of the Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie and the British soap maker Lever Brothers.
This report highlights the definition of the manager and the leader and also the comparison in
between them. Further this report highlights the role of the leader and the manager in the
different organizational situation. Further this report highlights the theories and the models of the
leadership in the organization. Further this report highlights the role of the leader and manager in
the operation management and the approaches of the Operation management. Further this report
explains the importance and value of the operation management in the achieving the business
objective. In the end report highlights the factor affecting the operational management and
decision-making.
MAIN BODY
LO 1
P1 Define and compare the role of the leader and the function of the Manager on the basis of the
different roles and characteristics.
Manager: As per the contemporary theory of the management manager has been defined as a
person who takes the decisions in the organization by keeping all the current situation in mind.
Manager is the individual who used to plan, organize and manage all the activity of the
organization to achieve the organizational goal.
Leader: As per the contemporary theory leader has been defined as an individual who used to
implement different style to influence the work of the subordinate in such a manner that the
organizational goal can be achieved (Carsten, Uhl-Bien and Huang, 2018).
Differentiate between the role of the leader and Function of the manager
Basis Role of Leader Function of the Manager
Planing At the Unilever the Leader used to
help the manager in making the
They are the one who used to set
up the goal and plan the activity in

plan for the future as they are the
one who are in touch with all the
employee in the organization.
the organization by the help of the
information provided by the leader
at Unilever.
Organizing Leader at the Unilever used to
organize the Human resources in
the organization by motivating the
employee to work accordingly.
Manager at the Unilever used to
organize all the activity by
deciding how to do the task, by
whom will be the activity will be
done.
Controlling Leader at the Unilever used to
control the activity of the
department or the team in the
organization.
Manager used to control whole
activity of the organization by
supervising the activity of the
organization in and guiding toward
the achievement (DiFazio and
Chitrapu, 2016).
Leading It is the main role of the leader at
the Unilever which includes
leading the department toward the
organizational goal.
Manager at the Unilever used to
lead all the department and try to
coordinate the work of the all
toward achieving the
organizational goal.
Innovation Leader at the Unilever used to
motivate the employee to work
efficiently and also motivate them
to bring the innovative idea in the
organization which can be
important for increasing the
efficiency of the business (Haque,
Fernando and Caputi, 2019).
Manager at Unilever used to
promote the awareness of the
Innovative product or service
which can help the organization.
Decision making Leader in the Unilever is also
having the power in the
organization regarding the team or
Manager are having the good
power to make the decision in the
organization as they are the one

the department which are laid by
them they are the one who are
having the limited powers
compare to the Manager as they
are the one who used to take
decision regarding whole activity
of the business but leader just
used to take decision regarding
the group, team or department.
who used to manage all the activity
of the business, the common
decision which is posses by the
manager are the resource
allocation in the organization,
Negotiation and the decision
regarding the distribution of the
work in the organization. Manager
of the Unilever is also having all
the above power (Janssen, van der
Voort and Wahyudi, 2017).
Model of Henry Mintzberg –
As per the model of Henry Mintzberg, the Manager of company plays different roles like role of
decision-making, informational role etc.
LO 2
P2 Explain the role of the leader and the function of the manager in different situation in the
organization
Employee Turnover: It is the situation in the organization in which employee used to
leave the organization very frequently due to the non job satisfaction, This is the situation
generally occurs in the Unilever when there are some changes have been taken place.
Role of the Leader: As the Leader is the one who is to close to the employee in the Unilever it
they play a very crucial role in reducing the employee turnover in the organization by using the
SKA method to divide the work into the organization which helps the employee in improving job
satisfaction which eventually decline the employee turnover rate in the organization (Khandelwal
and Shekhawat, 2018).
Function of the Manager: Manager at the Unilever plays a good role in this situation as it is the
responsibility of the manager to provide the best working environment to the employee to work
in the organization which helps the employee in felling comfortable in the organization. Manager
at the Unilever also used to organize the different informal event in the organization which helps

the employee in interacting with one and another in the organization which eventually helps
them in felling clarity of mind which eventually result in lower the employee turnover rate.
Technology or Technique change: This is the situation which occurs in the organization
at the time when there is change in the market in the way of serving the people or the way of
producing the new and quality good in the market with the help of the new technology which is
available in the market. Employee generally finds it difficult to understand the new technology
or the technique in the organization.
Role of the Leader: As the Leader are the one who is close to the employee in the Unilever,
leader at the Unilever used to find out the aspect which is proving difficult for the employee to
understand and helps the employee in resolving the same problem. Leader also used to motivate
the employee in the tough time by using more supportive leadership style in the organization at
the time of the change in the organization.
Function of the Manager: Manager at the Unilever used to promote the awareness of the new
technology which has been brought by the organization and how the new technology will help
the employee in improving their skills which can be beneficial for employee in the career
development, which eventually force the employee or influence the employee to increasing their
interest toward the new technology.
Conflict Management: Conflicts in the business arises due to the difference in beliefs,
point of view, attitude of employees. It is the situation which always affects the business in the
negative way which eventually creates the wrong impact on the working environment and
decrease the efficiency level of the organization (Macdonald, Burke and Stewart, 2018).
Role of the Leader: Leader at the Unilever generally uses to work as the intermediator between
the two party in which the conflict has been occurred by looking at the issue through which the
issue has been occurred in the organization and try to resolve that by the mutual understanding of
both the party.
Function of the Manager: Manager at the Unilever used to provide the best training to the
employee of the organization so that they build the skills and the trait which helps them in
dealing with the conflict by their own itself.
P3 Explains different theory and the models of approach of the leadership
Situational Leadership: Situation leadership as the name suggest is the leadership style theory
which depends on the situation at which the Unilever is going through. This theory based on the

statement that there is no leadership style which is universally correct and can be used in all the
situation of the business. So the leader should be flexible about selecting the leadership style in
the organization. In the Unilever leader and the management generally uses the Situational
leadership style only in such a manner that when there is changing situation in the organization
such as technology change, structure change than the Leader in the organization used to use the
participating and supporting style or the selling and coaching or the Telling and Directing style
as it helps them in indulging with the employee very easily or in the high work load situation the
leader used the path and goal leadership style as it creates the clarity of the mind of the employee
in the Unilever (Define situational leadership. 2019).
Contingency Theory: Contingency theory explains that there is no such style which is the best
style for leadership. It is the type of leadership it is the leadership in which organizational is able
to find the success is the best one as all the leadership are having their own benefits and dis
benefits. This is the leadership style which is used by the Unilever generally as the Unilever
works in the global market which eventually force them to use the leadership style which is
suitable depending upon the location and the situation of the market in which the company is
dealing (Madhavapeddy and et.al., 2015).
System leadership Theory: It is the leadership style in the organization which looks at creating
the good environment or the structure in the organization in which all level of the employee can
easily and comfortably work to achieve the common organizational goal. This is the style which
can be good for the Unilever, but they generally do not use this leadership theory as it is difficult
for them to apply this style on the such a large working area of the Unilever. As all the functional
department has he different task and it proves difficult for them to apply this theory.
Their are many other theories also other than this theory such as the Trait theory which explains
that the leadership style which is used by the leaders are the reflection of the trait or the skills
which is developed by the leader with the experience. Behavioural Theory, theory which
explains that the great leader are made not born. This theory explains that the individual can
learnt how to become the great leader.

LO 3
P4 Explain the role of leader and manager in Operation management and the approaches of the
operation management
There are many management approaches which helps them in analysing the situation. Some of
the most common approaches are as follows:
Just in Time: This approach focuses mainly on the production process of the organization by
aligning the raw material order from the supplier delivery with production schedule (Morrison,
2018). Which generally helps the organization in increasing the efficiency level of the
organization as by that the cost of making the product is reduced and also the time of production
is also declined which eventually result in increasing the efficiency level.
As Unilever works in a highly competitive market this approach will help the Unilever in
getting the competitive advantage as this helps the organization in reducing the price of the
product which eventually will help them in attracting more customer. Price of the product will be
reduced as the proper scheduling will cut down the cost for the organization.
Lean production: Lean production is the another approach of the management operation which
helps the organization in reducing the wastage of the resources and using the best available
resources to complete the Task in the organization. This approach generally helps the business in
designing the activity from the production process to distribution process of the organization
(Slack and Brandon-Jones, 2018).
This approach will help the Unilever in increasing their profitability in the organization
as this approach will help the business in delivering the good quality of the product to the
customer to satisfy their need as this approach will use the best resources to produce the good in
the organization and will also help the Unilever in retaining their resources for the longer period
as the wastage will be minimized.
TQM: TQM stands for the Total Quality management. It is the approach which helps the
business in planning for the Longer period to get a better market success and to achieve the goal
of the organization. TQM is the approach in which all the members of the organization
participate in order to improve product, services, process and culture.
This approach will help the company in improving the quality of the product in the
organization and also will help the Unilever in focusing more on the customer as it includes
employee looking at improving the quality of the product within the organization which means

that the organizational will be benefited in increasing the profitability also as satisfying the
customer is the sole motive of the Unilever and if by the use of this approach Unilever is able to
achieve the motive than it will result in the positive impact for the organization(What is total
quality management. 2019).
Role of the Manager
Manager of the Unilever plays a very crucial role in managing the operation of the organization
as manager are the one in the organization which manages and takes all the decision regarding
the resources in the Unilever. Manager is the one in the organization which looks at the time
management in the organization by insuring that all the task which is done in the organization is
completed on the time and the manager is the one who also looked at employing the good quality
of the Human resources by passing on the requirement criteria to the Human resource department
of the organization (Thompson and Glasø, 2018).
Role of the Leader
Leader at the Unilever used to motivate the employee in the organization to get the best out of
them by guiding them toward the correct direction which help them in achieving the personal
goal and the organizational goal very easily. Leader at the Unilever used to understand the need
of the employee in the organization and takes the corrective action to improve the same to get
better out of them.
After reading the role of both the leader and manager it can be said that the Manager more looks
at the operation function of the Unilever such as time management or resource management at
the same time the Leader used to look at the managing the employee in the organization as both
the operation function and the employee plays a crucial role in the management of the operation
(Wu, Olson and Wang, 2019).
P5 Explain the role and the importance of the operation management in achieving the
organizational goal
Operation management can be defined as or related to the management of the carious activity in
the organization, which is very necessary in the day to day work of the organization. The main
function of the Operation management are planning, organizing, controlling, directing and
motivating. It is a very important part for all the organization to understand why the operation
management is important for the organization as it helps the organization in achieving the

organizational goals for the Unilever. Some benefit which Operation management brings to the
organization in achieving the organization goals are as follows:
Opportunity in the market: Operational management helps the Unilever in ascertaining the
opportunity if present in the market as Operational management focuses on the market research
and by the help of the market research the organization is able to know the new trend in the
market which eventually helps them in satisfying the customer (Carsten, Uhl-Bien and Huang,
2018).
Increase in productivity and revenue: Operation management helps the organization in
increasing the productivity of the business as by the help of that the Unilever is able to manage
the wastage very properly which helps the business in increasing the productivity of the business
which eventually means that the revenue of the business will also increase as Unilever is able to
produce more unit of the product at a same rate which was incurred by them in the past.
Satisfying the customer need: As all the function which is performed by the operation
management in the organization is related to the customer, Operation management helps the
organization in satisfying the need of the customer and hence the main purpose of all the
organization is used to satisfy the need of the customer operation management helps the Unilever
in achieving the organizational goal (DiFazio and Chitrapu, 2016).
Role of the Leader and manager
Manager and the leader in the organization plays a very crucial role in the operation management
in the organization as the decision taken by the Leader and the manager helps the organizational
in going at the correct path to achieve the organizational goal. Manager and the leader are the
one who used to supervise the function of the organization which plays a crucial role in
maintaining the wastage part and maximum utilization of the resources for the organization.
They are the authority in the organization which used to motivate the employee of the Unilever
to give their best which contribute very positively toward the Operation management of the
Unilever.
LO 4
P6 Factors within business environment that impact on decision-making by managers and leaders
and operational management
Political factor-

Activity that related to government policies and administrative practices is knows as
political factors including foreign trade policy, trade restrictions, funding grants, tax policy etc.
due to some changes in Trade policy it directly effects Unilever company as well as decision-
making procedure of its manager and leaders (Mian, Lamine and Fayolle, 2016). Manager
according to changes in trade policy make plans which consume a lot of time and it makes
negative impact on their current strategies or plans. On the other hand it also effects leaders
leadership style, in which they need to motivate workers and inspire them to work hard (Haque,
Fernando and Caputi, 2019).
Economic factor-
Economic factors is the elements that affect business and includes tax rates, interest rates,
governmental activities, law policies and income rate of consumers. Due to low income rate of
peoples, it effects on Unilever production management and leaders and managers decision-
making process negatively. Due to lower income of consumers, leader must guide employees
used limited material in products and considered same quantity in each of them. Manager
allocate budget fixed in company budgets and give direction to work under it which is beneficial
for company.
Social factor-
Religious orientation, race, family perception, consumer attitudes and perspectives is
included in social factors that affect Unilever production management and decision taking by
leader (Freeland and Keister, 2016). Changes in consumer perspective is one of the most critical
factor that impact upon leader decision-making and the way manager work or make plans.
Peoples perspective is changed according to trend in which leader guide all the staff members to
considered consumers needs while making product which is beneficial for company reputation.
Manager already make plans for selling goods, after change in peoples perspectives they need to
change current plans and focus on making new ones. Production department need to change
whole manufacturing structure that consume a lot of time and required a lot of investment.
Technological factor-
Technology advancement is one of the technology factors that affect current technologies
of organization. Manager make plans for implementing new technologies and leaders conduct
training and development session for current and new workers which is essential for them as to
improve and develop new skills related to new technology. It effect marketing management in

which they need to used social media tools for marketing their products within marketplace
effectively.
Environmental factor-
Environmental factors refers to consideration based on environment safety and protection
which is essential for peoples as well economy well fare. In recent time there are many things
that effect environment and polluted air and water (Kyei and Nemaorani, 2014). Thus, to protect
and balanced healthy environment around populated areas government and its administrative
make some rules in which they required to contribution of companies. It effects organization
operational management and decision-making process by leader. They need to contribute in CSR
and play essential role within it and motivate all the workers to do so.
Legal factor-
Unilever must pay wages to their worker according to Equal pay Act 1963 and make
changes in their recent employment structure which effect on their business functions and
financial performance the most.
CONCLUSION
After going through the above report it has been summarized that the leader and the manager are
having the different roles and responsibility in the organization and both plays the very crucial
role in the different business situation of the organization. Further this report summarize the
importance of the operational management in the organization and also it has shown that the
leader and the manager are the one who plays a very crucial role in the operational management.
In the end report summarized that there are many factors in the external and internal environment
which can affect the operational management and the decision-making.