Leadership and Strategic Management: A Vodafone Case Study

The assignment delves into different leadership models such as transformational, transactional, and systemic leadership, assessing their impact on organizational success. The analysis highlights key aspects like strategic management and decision-making processes influenced by these theories. A specific focus is given to Vodafone's organizational structure and leadership approach, providing a real-world example of how theoretical concepts are applied in practice. This comprehensive overview aids in understanding the pivotal role leadership plays in shaping business strategies and achieving success.

Management and
Operations

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
P1. Roles and characteristics of a manager and leader...........................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................2
P2. Role of leader and function of manager in different situations........................................2
P3. Application of various theories and approaches of leadership.........................................3
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
P4. Key approaches to the operations management and roles played by leaders and managers
................................................................................................................................................5
P5. Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives.......7
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................8
P6. Factors of business environment that impact on the operational management and decision
making....................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
All the business organisation which are part of business environment has to perform
various functions so that they can manufacture a product and sell into the market. It is through
these operations that where raw material is combined and then these are converted into the
output. It has become necessary for organisation to maintain hierarchy in production system with
the help of proper management (Handschin and Petroianu, 2012). This ensures that all the things
are going in right direction and there is no wastage of raw material. In operation management,
there is efficiency in the work and at the same time all tasks are performed in a proper sequence.
This whole assignment will be dealing with various aspects of Vodafone Group which is a
British multinational telecommunications company. Different roles and responsibilities of the
leaders and managers have been briefed in this report with highlighting various approaches and
theories associated with operations management.
TASK 1
P1. Roles and characteristics of a manager and leader
Leadership: - A leader is an individual who leads and commands a group or an
organisation. Leadership can be a practical skills encompassing the ability of a person or an
organisation to lead or guide the individual and team.
Management: - A person who is responsible for controlling or administering an
organisation or group of staff. Management consists of operations concerned with framing the
strategy of a company and coordinating efforts of their staff to achieve goals with the help of
available resources like finance, technology and manpower (DeAnna and et. al., 2011).
Following are various roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager:
Roles of leader:
Leading the group
It is a responsibility of a leader to lead the team in an effective way as they are liable for
directing members of team to work in a proper way so that it can attain goals set.
Problem Solving
Leaders need to motivate team individuals as they have the duty to resolve any kind of
conflict prevailing at the workplace (Mendis, Muttaqi and Perera, 2014).
Characteristics of leader
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Dynamic in nature
Leader of the organisation needs to be dynamic in nature because such characteristic
present them as a role model for other members. He should be able to convince the individuals in
team which will bring trusts in their mind (Handschin and Petroianu, 2012).
Risk taker
Leader has tendency to take calculative risk as they are aware of the fact that with their
actions, organisation can make huge profits.
There is difference between the roles and characteristics of a leader and manager in Vodafone.
Roles of Manager:-
Take crucial decision in the organisation
Manager in the organisation has to make decision about how things will be managed as
they are the supreme authority of every department. With this, they make sure that all the things
are done on time (Hammill and Tanner, 2010).
Allocating the resources and distributing work
This is also a crucial role of manager where they have to assign the duties to employees
with allocating resources for those tasks.
Characteristics of Manager:
Deep knowledge of their segment
To make sure that they assign each and every employee the right duty, it is necessary that
they should have complete understanding of work which their team has to do (Moghaddam, Seifi
and Niknam, 2012).
Understanding in nature
Manager can be successful in their aim if they listen to each employee and understand
what they want to convey. It is required that they should have patience and at the same time
should also understand what is the right opportunity for them. (Neck and Manz, 2010).
TASK 2
P2. Role of leader and function of manager in different situations
Following are the different situations which highlights the roles of leaders and managers:-
Dispute Resolution
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In the situation where the organisation is facing any kind of conflict so in such condition
the actions of the leaders and managers will be different from each other. In such cases the leader
resolve the problem through effective approach by considering the view point of both the parties
who are in some kind of conflict (Niknam, Meymand and Mojarrad, 2011). They give a solution
which will be beneficial for a longer period of time. On the other hand manager resolve the issue
by taking a temporary solution so there are chances that this problem may arise again in near
future.
Decision Making
In Vodafone the decision made by the leaders is more effective as compared to the
decision taken by manager and the reason behind this is that they are much more aware about the
demands & requirements of the staff who are part of the Vodafone. They ensure that the staff are
involved in the decision making process and managers hardly consult with the employees.
Execution of the new plans and techniques:-
The knowledge of the managers in Vodafone are confined to the theoretical aspect of the
issue so they follow the basic approach when they want to implement any new plan. Leaders are
more practically sound in Vodafone and there are more chances that the customer become more
satisfied from the plan prepared by leaders as it includes creative and innovation. It can be stated
that the success of the plan of Vodafone highly depend on the fact that who is the person
implementing it. Leaders and managers have their own way to execute any techniques in
Vodafone (López and et. al., 2015).
P3. Application of various theories and approaches of leadership.
To gain knowledge about the team leadership concept it is necessary to look at the
approaches and concepts which are part of this. Autocratic, democratic, strategic,
transformational, team, cross culture and laissez- faire leadership. Following are the some of the
theories of leadership:-
Situational Leadership
This concept of the leadership depends on the key major factors that is leadership styles
and group's performance readiness level. According to this the leadership approach are
categorised into the four behavioural types which are listed below:-
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S1 Directing: - This is a communication which is confined to one side and it is the leader
to make the members understand their roles. They frame strategies so that they can clear the
messages to the whole team individuals (Pinkerton, 2011).
S2 Coaching: - It is the process which is used by the leader to give them the way and for
that they adopt two way communication approach and at the same time they also gives socio
emotional support to the group individuals. This is the most appropriate process as in this the
leader take the action or make any decision after consulting with the employees and the decision
is not one sided.
S3 Supporting: - This is an approach in which there is shared decision making. Leaders
will give some task behaviour and thus creating good relationship behaviour with them (Niknam,
Meymand and Mojarrad, 2011).
S4 Delegating: - In such process, the leaders are not involved in developing decisions and
the tasks and responsibilities are given to the team members.
Illustration 1: Key leadership theories
System Leadership
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This is a theory in which the leaders of Vodafone analyse the systems and policies of the
firm by taking the scenario of any of the problem which they are facing. With such leadership
style they believe in abiding the legislation, rules and regulations so that they can run the
business in effective way (Neck and Manz, 2010). Based on rules and regulations, management
looks at improving quality of the work.
Contingency Approach
This is the concept in which the leaders take any decision by analysing the external and
internal factors which can impact Vodafone. This somewhat resembles the situation approach as
the leader has to behave according to the situation which is arising (Nakayama and Bucks, 2012).
This is one of the main reason that contingent leaders adopt their own styles if they have to deal
with some kind of situations.
TASK 3
P4. Key approaches to the operations management and roles played by leaders and managers
There are availability of the different approaches which can be utilised by Vodafone in
operational management. Following are some of the crucial approaches:-
Dynamic Approach: - This is a type of approach through use of which Vodafone can
resolve lots of issues by a single effort. It can be said that this concept is useful in the scenario
when Vodafone wants to complete different tasks in a short span of time. In this the role played
by the leader is to give those solutions which can assist Vodafone in attaining the set targets.
Manager make sure that whatever decision has been taken should be flexible enough to resolve
the issues which are prevailing in the workplace (Mohammadi and et. al., 2013).
Systematic Approach: - This is called as the systematic approach because there are set
of rules and regulation which they have to follow while doing operation thus brining accuracy in
the task. Leader inspect and observe that all the codes of conduct is followed by the organisation
so that proper implementation of the plans and strategies can take place. On the other side,
manager put forward all the legislation which have to be followed by employees of Vodafone.
Just in Time:- It is handy approach if Vodafone wants to minimize their production cost
as through it they make sure that the resources which are available with them are used only in
right time (Moghaddam, Seifi and Niknam, 2012). Manager in Vodafone have to take care
enough resources are available with the company during performing any of the operation. This
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will be also saves their time and the leader make sure that the process which has been formulated
by followed by the individuals.
Total Quality Management: - This is an approach where Vodafone utilise this to ensure
that the quality of their services are maintained. To make this happen they have to check each
and every task which is performed in the company. Total quality management brings efficiency
in the work customer satisfaction is gained.
Six Sigma: - It can be used by Vodafone in the case if they want to improve the quality
of outcomes by obstructing all possible causes of defects. Their objective with this is to reduce
the time which is required in the manufacturing of the products. They are liable to provide
products as per the needs of the consumerThese are handy approach of operations management
which can be used by Vodafone according to their requirements and to gain more successful
results these have to be implemented in proper way. For this it is the duty of both leader and
manager to make the things happen. They have to gain knowledge about this thus highlighting
scope of such approaches. P5. Importance and value of operations management in achieving
business objectives
Vodafone is operating their business so that they can provide quality products and
services to their potential consumers. By working on the operational management concept they
can bring efficiency in bringing better products and at the same time the existing services can
also be enhanced. All the mission, vision, goals and objectives of Vodafone can be achieved
through the help of operational management techniques (Mendis, Muttaqi and Perera, 2014).
Following are some of the advantages which support their importance in the organisation like
Vodafone.
Converting input into the output: - For developing a product operational management
has key share in it as through it they can convert raw material to the final products. So it can be
said that it operations and management is the most important task in Vodafone. Through using
effective operation and management they can easily attain the business targets.
Fulfilling the demands of the consumer: - The other importance of the operation
management is to design the products and services in a way that it brings satisfaction all the
needs of the consumer. At the same time if they can get success in satisfying the consumer they
can easily increase their market share (López and et. al., 2015). Vodafone is working with the
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techniques which are totally focusing on making a product thus taking care of the needs of the
consumer. This is the best way to bring stability in the operations carried by the company.
Generate Revenue: - To expand the business, it is required that activities with are part of
the operations and management should be performed well and the biggest advantage of this is
that this way they can generate more revenues. With the efficiency in the tasks the goals which
has been set can be achieved in less period of time thus generating more profits (Lind, 2013).
Vodafone can also produce revenue by providing the best quality products to the company.
Better utilisation of the resources: - It is the resources with the use of which the
organisation like Vodafone perform certain activities. With the help of operation management
they can make sure that all the resources are utilised in a manner that no wastage is done. If they
will be used in limited manner they will not find lack of resources thus adopting sustainable
performance concept (Heizer and Barry, 2013). Resources can be anything from human, finance
and technologies. A process strategies has to be framed to know how things will be carried out.
Increasing worker productivity: - This thing can be gained through using scientific
management theory and can be also referred to as classical management theory. It includes a
scientific study of the tasks and the employees who have to do that tasks. The basic aim of this is
to provide workers the tools necessary for maximizing their efficiency and output.
Improving the behaviour: - Hawthorne effect can be considered in the operational
management in which individually modify an aspect of their behaviour in response to their
awareness of being observed. This is the part of the behaviour theory and changing the working
hours of the employees of Vodafone thus paying attention to all the needs which can improve the
productivity.
TASK 4
P6. Factors of business environment that impact on the operational management and decision
making
It is the internal and external factors which makes a business environment and these
might vary depending upon the organisation. Political, economic, social, technological, legal and
environmental are the factors which are part of the external surrounding and these have a wide
impact on the business. Any change in this widely brings risks to the company like Vodafone he
if they don’t adapt according to these (Handschin and Petroianu, 2012). The reason behind this is
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that these are uncontrollable factors and they have no other option rather than making new
strategies by keeping these factors in mind. Internal environment includes mission, objectives,
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. These all affect the operation management and
the decision making by the managers and leaders.
Political: - Decision made by these two will be based on policies framed by the
government. Any of the body or authority which are part of government whether on national and
state level have right to make legislation so functions carried out by Vodafone will be affected
by this. There is no doubt in the fact that operations have to follow the guidelines given by
government.
Economic: - This is most crucial factor which impacts decision making of leaders and
managers. It is businesses which forms economy and there are factors like taxes, labour cost,
fiscal policy, interest rates and many more are things which decided the trends. It is the current
economic condition of nation which decided how management of Vodafone will react. In
scenario of economy crisis the manager will eliminate lots of employees from Vodafone as they
are not able to bear the labour cost (Eyal and Haim Clarizen 2014). Vodafone manager and
leaders looks for expansion of their services in those countries where the economy is rising.
Social: - The marketing trend can be influenced with this factor and consists of the
existing pattern which has to be followed by the society when it comes to any products and
services. Any variation might happen because of the interest of the people and the background
from which they come from. If the leaders at Vodafone wants to attain the goals they have to
replace or adopt new methods of work to reach to the consumers.
Technological:- To bring efficiency the manager at Vodafone needs to ensure that they
have latest technology like for example; they are looking forward to commercially launch 5G
services in UK till 2020 (Hammill and Tanner, 2011). Because of this, Vodafone can gain
competitive advantage over their rivals like EE communications.
Legal: - For smooth running of the business Vodafone needs to abide all the laws and
legislation which are related to their business. Any legal obligation can devalue their market
image in UK thus decline in the consumer takes place. While making any decision the leader
should know that they are following the guidelines issues to them thus ensuring that better
relation is maintained with the employees (DeAnna and et. al., 2010). On the other hand, it is the
duty of manager to aware about government laws to all leaders.
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Environment: - The manager should make sure that due to their services no environment
destruction is taking place and it has been observed that a lot of organisation who are part of the
communication and networking segment are not obeying the environmental guidelines.
Internal Factors
Through the SWOT analysis done by the organisation they have been successful in
identifying the impact of these factors. One of the strengths of Vodafone is that they have strong
hold in the market and has expanded their services all around the world. These things would give
them the advantage in framing a business strategy. Vodafone can take the preventive measures to
reduce the impact of factors bringing weaknesses to the organisation. This thing will impact the
decision making process of the company and on the other hand managers & leaders will take
certain decision so that they can utilise the opportunities available with the organisation (Bahn,
2013). By this they will able to gain better results and they are aware that with knowing the
scope of their strengths they can overcome the threats which are hampering their image in the
market. It is not only the internal factors which impacts the decision making of managers and
leaders but following are some of the other which needs to be taken in account.
Mission: - Nature and the type of target can affect decision of an organisation and the
reason behind this is that priority of Vodafone is to determine their mission. When they will
have mission now they have to search for techniques through using which they can achieve
targets (Bahmani-Firouzi and Azizipanah-Abarghooee, 2014). The methods which they have
selected totally depended on the nature and types of goals which they are aiming to achieve.
There can be long term or short term mission.
Vision: - It is the long term objective set by Vodafone and asks everyone to work in
different direction to achieve such high targets. If any consumer wants to analysis the
organisation they can look at the effectiveness of the vision of company have. This comes in the
internal environment of the firm and impacts the decision making.
Organisational Structure: - It is considered as one of the important factor as it is the
hierarchy of the power distribution and it can vary from company to company. It is framed by
looking at the function carried out by the organisation. In the case of organisation having
complicated structure then it will impact the decision making of the organisation. With the
straight structure manager and leaders can take quick and effective decision.
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Culture: - Vodafone has developed some codes of ethics which is termed as their
organisational culture and it is compulsory for everyone to follow it. Culture has key role in the
decision making process and it ensure that the decision is not out of the organisational context.
Through following one culture they can improve their brand image in the market.
Labour Union: - They are the body which consists of workers having same interest and
through this they put their demands in front of management. It helps in developing good relation
with the staff of Vodafone and management. Manager take the decision by analysing demands
of the labour unions.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been summarised that leadership and management are two
crucial aspects on which success of any organisation depends. Although the characteristics and
roles of managers and leaders are quite different from each other but it is necessary that there
should be coordination between both of them for gaining better results. It has been observed
they use different approaches and styles according to the situation in which they are in. For
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Illustration 2: Organisational Structure of Vodafone

better leadership and management; both of them should be aware of all the theories and
approaches which can be used by them in different situations. Operational management of
company should be flexible in handling any of the difficult tasks.
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