Unilever: Leadership, Management Roles, and Theories Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the distinct roles and characteristics of leaders and managers within an organizational context, using Unilever as a case study. It defines and contrasts the functions of leaders, who inspire and guide, with those of managers, who plan and control operations. The report delves into various leadership theories, including situational, system, and contingency theories, evaluating their applicability in different scenarios. It examines how leadership and management principles are applied in real-world situations, such as managing increasing production costs, resolving workplace conflicts, and implementing new technologies. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of strategic decision-making and effective resource utilization, offering insights into how leaders and managers can contribute to operational efficiency and organizational success. The report also touches upon the key functions of a manager, like planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and controlling to reach organizational goals and objectives effectively and efficiently which leads to higher operational efficiency, performance and productivity.

MANAGEMENT AND
OPERATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
ACTIVITY 1....................................................................................................................................1
P 1. Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager.. 1
M 1. Analyse and differentiate the role of leader and function of a manager in context with
various theories and concepts.................................................................................................3
D 1. Critically analyse different theories and approaches to leadership................................4
P.2 The role of leader and functions of manager apply in different situational contexts.......4
P.3 Different theories and models of leadership....................................................................6
ACTIVITY 2..................................................................................................................................10
Covered in PPT and Booklet................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Operation management is a very important department of the company. It is chiefly
concerned with the planning, organising and supervising in the context of production,
manufacturing or the provision of services. It is the administration of business practices in order
to create the highest level of efficiency possible within organisation. Organisation without
management is not possible to achieve desired goals and objectives of the company. Operation
management is the business functions which is responsible for managing the process of goods
and services.
In this present report, Unilever is being chosen for assessment. It is company which is
traded in consumer goods industry and it was founded in 1929 by Willian Lever and its
headquarter is located in London, United Kingdom. The man products of company includes
personal care products, cleaning agents, beauty products and food and beverages that incur 40
percent of revenue for the company. The total revenue of the company is €50.982 billion in
2018.
This present report will discuss the roles and functions of leader and manager and
differentiate them. Further, report will also use different theories of leader and manager and
apply them on real situation at workplace. In addition to this, various key approaches of
operations management will also include in this assignment.
ACTIVITY 1
P 1. Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager.
Leaders and mangers plays a crucial role in an organization to effectively achieve desired
goals` and objectives of the company. Leaders guides, encourage, inspire and influence people
to achieve desired task in an effective manner to attain desired task which leads to higher
operational efficiency (Su and Baird, 2018). Manager on the other hand, helps in effective
decision making and are responsible for delegating the work according to the skills of the
individual to outperform the work assigned to them. Leader: Leader is an individual who control activity of a group member and guide them
to effectively achieve goals and objectives of the organization which leads to higher
operational efficiency, performance and productivity. A leader is a person who guide or
lead group of individuals in an effective direction to outperform the task in an effective
manner.
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 Manager: Manager is responsible for managing operations of the organization and is also
responsible for planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and controlling which helps
in effectively accomplish the desired goals of the organization (Saucedo-Martínez and
et.al., 2018).
Leaders aim at providing effective direction to the individuals or employees of Unilever
company by effectively developing vision and insight and communicate the same to the
employees of the Unilever company (Balch and Shanafelt, 2018). Leaders aim at inspiring and
motivating them to achieve the desired task effectively and efficiently. On the other hand,
mangers effectively lay down the structure and take strategic decision to achieve the desired
goals and objectives of the Unilever company which leads to higher operational efficiency and
maximization of profits.
Roles of leader
 The key role of the leader is to unleash and coach potential of each individual or
employee of Unilever company.
 A leader must clearly define vision to the employees to achieve organizational goals and
objectives (Donate and de Pablo, 2015).
 Leader is also responsible for creating insight and inspiring employees with shared values
and is also responsible for monitoring progress.
 Leader is responsible for setting priorities for companies which helps in long term
sustainability and growth for Unilever company.
Roles of manager
 A manager aim at executing strategy which leads to effective decision making in order to
attain goals and objectives of Unilever company effectively and efficiently.
 Key roles performed by manager are informational role, interpersonal role and decisional
role.
 The key role of manager is to reconcile personal goals with organizational goals and also
formulate plans and policies for effective functioning of operational at all levels of the
organization.
 Manager is responsible for liaising and effectively delegating responsibilities and
evaluate the performance of each individual in the organization.
Characteristics of leader
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 A leader must be honest, inspiring, creative, innovative, motivating, positive, flexible,
collaborative, loyal, knowledgable and enthusiastic.
 Leader should have good communication skills, long term vision or insight and decision
making capabilities.
 Another personality traits that he must possess are that he should be passionate,
empowering, tactful and accountable (Furtner, Maran and Rauthmann, 2017).
Characteristics and personality traits of manager.
 A manager must be goal oriented, team oriented, effective communicator, transparent,
encouraging, compassionate, adaptable and reliable.
 Manager should have complete knowledge regarding the goals and objective of the
business and effectively delegating responsibility to the employees (9 Personality Traits
Every Manager Should Have, No Matter What Type Of Job They Have,2016).
 Manager must be confident, innovative and result oriented with technical capability.
BASIS MANAGERS LEADERS
DEFINITION A manager in the organization
is responsible for planning,
organizing, directing,
coordinating and controlling
which leads to higher
operational efficiency and
productivity and also helps in
attaining long term goals and
objectives of the organization.
A leader is a person who is
responsible for motivating,
influencing, guiding and
directing employees of the
organization with an insight to
achieve particular task
effectively and efficiently in
order to achieve desired goals
and objectives of Unilever
company.
M 1. Analyse and differentiate the role of leader and function of a manager in context with
various theories and concepts.
A leader must have strategic potential to improve the performance of the individual
effectively and efficiently which leads to higher operational efficiency, performance and
productivity. The role of leader varies from situation to situation which helps in reaching goals of
the Unilever company in the efficient manner. The situational theory can be applied in a
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particular situation to effectively achieve the best results and outcomes. Key roles performed by
manager are informational role, interpersonal role and decisional role. Interpersonal role includes
figurehead roles, leadership role and liaison role (Top 10 Roles of a manager in an organization,
2019). Informational role includes monitoring, disseminating information and spokesperson role.
Decisional role includes entrepreneurial role, conflict and grievance handler, negotiator and
resource allocator.
The key functions of manager are planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and
controlling to reach organizational goals and objectives effectively and efficiently which leads to
higher operational efficiency, performance and productivity. A manager must apply system
theory and contingency theory to balance any situation effectively and efficiently. Mangers use
system theory to identify and evaluate how employees of the organization affect the system of
the Unilever company. A system comprise of various division that work together to achieve
objectives of the organization. System theory helps manager to match activities and operations of
the organization at all levels. Contingency theory states that manager should take strategic
decision based on the current circumstances which leads to higher sustainable growth of
Unilever company (How to Apply Management Theories At Workplace, 2019).
D 1. Critically analyse different theories and approaches to leadership.
According to (Northouse, 2018), Situational theory helps in developing comfortable,
flexible and friendly environment at Unilever company and also helps in encouraging
collaborative work in the organization. On the contrary, situational leadership do not focus on
long term needs and goals of the company. System theory helps in adapting to the changing
environment effectively and efficiently which leads to attainment of organizational goals. On the
other hand, system theory is delays in decision making and is the best suitable for small
companies and open system organization. Contingency theory is flexible and task structured. On
the contrary, (Lussier and Achua, 2015) critically analyse that, contingency theory is complex
and reactive.
P.2 The role of leader and functions of manager apply in different situational contexts.
Leaders and managers are the backbone of the organization as leaders focus on role
whereas managers focus on functions. Without leadership it is not possible to complete the work
from employees and similarly, without managers, it is not possible to achieve desire goals and
objectives of the organisation. Unilever company is dealing in various ranges and different lines
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of products and thus, leaders and manager manage there complex products. In organisation or
workplace there occurs different situations where leader and manager perform there roles
(Pavlineri, Skoulikidis and Tsihrintzis, 2017). The functions of managers and role of leader make
the company work in desired direction towards the fulfilment of organisational goals and
objectives. There are different functions and management along with different styles and traits of
leadership that aid in proper functioning of management.
Unilever company is facing various situation where the Increasing cost of production at
workplace, conflicts at workplace, implementation of new technology in the operation and many
other situations. It is very important for leaders and managers to manage or handle the situations
in order to bring smoothness at workplace as well as achieve desire goals of the company. The
leaders and managers at Unilever uses various theories of management and leadership in order to
cut down the impact of various situations at workplace.
Here are different roles of leaders and mangers apply in different situational contexts are as
follows-
Role of leaders and functions of manager
Situation 1: Increasing cost of production at workplace: This is one of the situation that
usually occurs within organisation several times in the business period. Increasing cost of
production at workplace directly influence the profit of the company it is because if cost of
production is high, the profit if the company decreases. So, it is very important for organisation
to take proper actions and make changes accordingly. In this situation, Unilever company focus
on management theories and combine the efforts of leader in order to cut down the efforts of cost
of production. Managers focus on establishing strategies and actions for optimum utilisation of
resources and reduces the wastage of resources (Mahmud, Zahedi and Mahmud, 2017).
Managers do proper planning of resources like raw material and equipment purchased, budget
and its actual usage. On the other hand, leaders put all these strategies into practical actions.
Leaders will use traits theory and apply there knowledge and skills for better utilisation of
resources by employees.
Situation 2: Conflict at workplace: This situation is very common at work place in all
organisation because of people with different culture and belief. Conflicts could be between
employees, employees to subordinates and between any groups. It is very important for
managers along with leaders to take proper actions because conflicts at work place make the
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stressful working relationship. It is very problematic situation when employees do not talk to
each other. This situation is very costly and time consuming for Unilever. It is the responsibility
of managers to make strategies, rules and regulations for any misconduct, crime or any other
avoidance of discipline occurred by employees and must be communicated to each and every
employees so that workers behave in a desired manner. Manager of Unilever use management by
Objectives (MBO) theory to improve the performance of company by clearly defining the
objectives. On the other hand, leader plays a critical role in conflict management because
employees are more attached from leader as compare to managers (Boutrous and et.al., 2016).
Leader of Unilever use situational leadership theory where they adjust there style and take
actions accordingly. Leaders used to listen the voice of both employees and negotiate with them.
Situation 3: Implementation of new Technology: Today's technological advancement is
very fast which is also raising competition among businesses but sometimes in organisation it
becomes very challenging for company because of several reaso+ns. Employees resistance is the
biggest challenges which Unilever also faces in implementation of new technologies within
functions and operations. In this situation, managers plays very important role as firstly they
should clear the vision and mission of implementing the technologies to each and every member
of company. Managers could set rears and incentive system for workforce so that the adoption of
technology becomes easy and effective. Furthermore, the role played by leader in
implementation of technologies within organization is very important as without them it is not
possible to have effective implementation. Leaders in Unilever use democratic leadership theory
as this is one of the best model to overcome the chances of employees resistance or turnover.
Leaders involves and include the views and opinions of each and every member of company so
that they feel valued and motivated that results in easy adoption of any change within
organisations.
Thus, these are three main situations that usually occurs in Unilever company and other
companies too in which the role of leader and manager are vital.
P.3 Different theories and models of leadership.
Leader in the organisation are very important to achieve desire goals and objectives.
There are some theories which organisations use for better leadership styles and for better control
of employees within organisation. It is not possible to think organisation without leaders.
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Company without leader is cooking dish without ingredients (Zhang and et.al., 2015). There are
mainly three theory sin which the leader of Unilever copay mainly focus are as follows-
Situational Leadership Theory: This leadership theory is developed by Ken Blancharch
and Paul Hersey. According to this theory, there is no leadership style that is best for
organisation because of there are many situations occurs at workplace in from which leaders
have to deal with. The best style of leadership is which could able to adapt there style according
to the situation and look at curs like nature of group, type of task or any other factors. For
example, conflicts at work place, medical emergency or any other situation that may occur, thus
at that time leaders have to adjust there style and take suitable actions.
There are four primary leadership styles which are suggested by this theory are as
follows-
 Telling: This is the type of leadership in which leader tells employee what to do and how
to do.
 Selling: This style includes more back and firth between leader and employees. All the
message and ideas are sell by leaders to get group members to buy into the process.
 Participating: This style is one of the best leadership style as leader in this style used to
participate with the employees instead of giving instructions. Leader take decisions after
taking views of employees.
 Delegating: Leader are very less involved with the employees in this leadership style as
this is also called hands-off approach of leadership.
Strength and Weakness of Situational Leadership
STRENGTH WEAKNESS
 It acknowledges the need for flexibility.
 It also develops a comfortable and
friendly environment at workplace
(Roussel and et.al., 2018).
 Leaders awareness is raised in this
leadership.
 It also encourages collaborative work at
workplace.
 It does not able to focus on long term
needs as it is basically relied on
immediate needs.
 In task oriented environment, this
leadership style is not effective.
 This leadership style is difficult to build
as it depends ion leader's sense of
knowledge and skills.
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Contingency Leadership Theory: This theory was developed by Feed Edward Feilder.
This is the type of leadership style that emphasize on effectiveness of leadership is dependent on
matching the style of leaders to right situation. This leadership style is opposed of situational
leadership style as it does not only focus on situation but it gives importance to both personality
of leader and situation at workplace of Unilever. There are three factors that is defined situation
in contingency theory are as follows-
 Task Structure: This method is to achieve the end results by measuring the clarity of the
task or projects. Progresses could be easily tracked as there are clear guidelines to follow.
 Leader-member Relations: The acceptance of leadership between hierarchies of
organisation is measure in this method (Jang, 2016). There is positive relation if
subordinates are motivated in a right manner.
 Positional Power: This method defined the authority or power of leader as it measured the
amount of power a leader have to influence the productivity of employees either by
punishment of reward. If employees do not report directly to leaders than the power is
said to be weak.
STRENGTH WEAKNESS
 This leadership style is supported by
numerous empirical studies.
 It is predictive in nature.
 Situations are not required for this
leadership style.
 Sometimes it does not able to explain
what to do when style and situation do
not match.
System Leadership Theory: This theory is developed by Dr Ian Maconald. This is one
of the theory that enable leaders in the company to develop conditions where employees at all
level can work productivity to there potentials. The leader of Unilever use sound principles of
human behaviour in order to create models of good leadership, social process, strategies of
company and system design (Mitrovic and et.al., 2017). With the help of this theory, leader is
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able to predict the behaviour of employees working in the company. Further, leader also build
effective system that leads productive behaviour of employees and improve the performance of
the company as whole.
STRENGTH WEAKNESS
 It raises the capacity of organisation to
adapt environmental changes.
 The main emphasize is one achieving
organisational goals.
 The decision making process are
uniformed.
 It may lead to delay in decision because
of less practicality.
 It is not applicable in small companies.
 Only suitable for open system
organisations (Woodward and
Tartakovsky, 2019).
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ACTIVITY 2
Covered in PPT and Booklet
CONCLUSION
The above report comes to the conclusion that operation management is the governance
of business practices in order to create the highest level of efficiency possible within
organisation. Organisation without management is not possible to achieve desired goals and
objectives of the company. It is the business functions that is accountable for managing the
process of goods and services. Further, report also include the importance of leader and manager
as they play a crucial role in an organization to effectively achieve desired goals` and objectives
of the company. Operation management is directly associated with the quality of products and
services and thus, the entire strategies and plans are formatted for raising customer satisfaction
through delivery of quality of products and services. Moreover, waste reduction most important
part of organisation to minimise the waste by optimum utilisation of resources for which
organisation's operation management use Total quality management, Six Sigma and Just in Time
to eliminate the waste.
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Mitrovic and et.al., 2017. Power plant management system for dual engine helicopter in single
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Northouse, P.G., 2018. Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.
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Pavlineri, N., Skoulikidis, N.T. and Tsihrintzis, V.A., 2017. Constructed floating wetlands: a
review of research, design, operation and management aspects, and data meta-
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Roussel, J and et.al., 2018. Trace element supplementation as a management tool for anaerobic
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Su, S. and Baird, K., 2018. The role of leaders in generating management innovation. The
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Zhang, C and et.al.,2015. Thermal management of hybrid silicon ring lasers for high temperature
operation. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics. 21(6). pp.385-391.
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