Volkswagen: Evaluating Leadership and Operations Management

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership and operations management within Volkswagen. It begins with an introduction to operations management, emphasizing its importance in achieving organizational goals and profitability. The report then delves into the roles of managers and leaders, using Herbert Diess, the CEO of Volkswagen, as a case study to illustrate effective leadership. It explores specific business examples and behaviors, including the challenges faced by Volkswagen, such as sales decline and supply chain issues, and how leadership strategies are employed to mitigate these problems. The report examines key operational areas, including product design and operations, and evaluates different leadership styles, such as democratic and autocratic approaches. Furthermore, it discusses various operational management approaches, including Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, and Lean Management, and their application within Volkswagen. The report also considers the influence of business environment factors, such as culture, technology, and social factors, on managerial decision-making. It highlights the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. The report concludes by emphasizing the significance of operations management for Volkswagen, covering controlling, distribution, process design, and transformation of raw materials to finished products. Overall, the report offers a detailed examination of how Volkswagen utilizes effective leadership and strategic operations to achieve its business objectives and navigate the complexities of the automotive industry.

Management & Operations

Cover Content
• Introduction
• Roles of a manager & leader:
• Major roles in Volkswagen
• Specific business & examples to show behaviors of individuals:
• Evaluation of internal & external operations management that has helped in adoption of a particular leadership
style:
• Importance of operations management for Volkswagen
• Different approaches of operational management in order to meet objectives
• Business environment factors that affect decision making of managers and leaders
• Analysis and Critical evaluation of elements in context of organization
• Conclusion
• References

Introduction
• Operations management is an area that involves designing and controlling of operations which
is related to the production process of an organization. It also contains redesigning of
operations and activities which helps an organization to make improvements and earn higher
profits
• It is essential for managers of an entity to control as well as manage all the operation that
helps in attainment of desired goals in given time frame.

Roles of a Manager & Leader
• Leaders and managers are playing a very crucial role in every organisation. In case of operation
& management their role is increasing. Leaders have to lay their focus on different stakeholders
like employees who will be responsible for all the different functions & operations. Managers on
other hand, play help in ensuring that system is working properly so that desired objectives can
be achieved.

Continue
In present scenario, Leader of Volkswagen that is Herbert Diess has been selected for
understanding of the crucial role played in ensuring effective and proper functioning of
Volkswagen. He is the person behind the present position of Volkswagen in the external world.
There is focus of Herberty Diess on increasing productivity of their workforce with help of
effective management of functioning of this brand.

Roles of a Manager & Leader in Volkswagen
• Managers are helping in determination of the all actions that have to be performed and
allocating of the responsibility to employees in Volkswagen.
• Leaders have the responsibility to induce employees and developing a detailed understanding to
acceptance and motivating all their subordinates so that they are able to work according to the
Laid down objectives and standards by the top management in Volkswagen.

Specific business & examples to show behaviours of individuals
• In present scenario, Volkswagen a automotive brand has been considered.
It is a brand that is dealing in five major brands that is Audi, Bentley,
Lamborghini, Bugatti brand Volkswagen cars.
• A) overview of individuals' biography & career highlights
• Individual biography: In the present scenario in Volkswagen there are
some function that are especially performed by their CEO that is Herbert
dieses. Volkswagen group has a so Robert diess that is advocating a
different acceleration for development of infrastructure in electric cars

Specific business & examples to show behaviors of individuals
• Issues in Volkswagen group:
• There have been recently many issues that have occurred because of
significant deterioration of the sales situation and the uncertainty in the parts
supplies to different plants and production units. There has been production
which has been suspended in many factories that are operated by such group
brands. These were some of the major issues that have been felt in march in
the year 2020 as denoted by the CEO Herbert dieses and for this as a leader
of such a popular brand there are some strategies that have been adopted by
Herbert dieses to reduce the negative impact of such problems on overall
working of the organsuiation.

Role of leaders in addressing various issues
• Herbert dieses is the chairman Volkswagen group and he is working as
a Leader in this organization for the purpose of managing all the
functions and operations that are taking place in different branches of
Volkswagen group that are located across different parts of the world.
He is building towards major three strategic goals for this organization
firstly they are building with established MEB for the industry standard
for case of electric vehicles. Secondly, they are willing to become
market leader for different types of light commercial vehicles and
thirdly this organization is willing to pass it growing market for
different types of mobility services.

Introduction to key operational areas of the organisation:
• Volkswagen is a parent company of the whole Volkswagen group they
are dealing in different development of vehicles for their other sub
brands. They are also involved in different activities of production and
selling activities related to segment of products such as light vehicles
and passenger cars.
•
Volkswagen is integrated company that is specifically having
preferences for electricity sector and they are performing different
functions like generation of selling and distribution of electricity vehicle
with the help of other group subsidiary companies.

Cont.…
• Product designing: this is the department that has responsibility of designing of products. In this
area of operations final design of a new launch is to be decided after consideration of various
aspects according to changing requirement of customers.
• Operation department: this department is most crucial department for every organisation. All
the new schemes and strategies are adopted and stared by this particular department so that they
have the responsibility of production of final vehicle that have to be used by customers.

Evaluation of internal & external operations management
• There are different types of leadership styles that can be adopted by leaders in Volkswagen
some of them are discussed below:
• Democratic styles of leadership: Democratic style leadership there is decision only after proper
consideration of different inputs from all the individuals working at different levels in
organization.
• Autocratic leadership: In autocratic there is only one person who is making decisions and there
is no consideration of viewpoints of other individual and Organization all decisions are made by
a single authority and their view point is only considered.