MANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS

TASK 1

P1 Different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager

Operational management refers to main function of a company which helps in introducing, managing and utilising the resources in optimum manner. Under this process, managers take various responsibilities like planning, organising, controlling and monitoring entire activities of business. It would helps in producing and delivering best quality of products at marketplace. In context with Kingfisher Plc, it is considered as one of the best multinational retailers of UK which operates its business in many countries (Bala Subramaniam, 2016). It was founded in 1982 and right now has more than 75,000 numbers of employees. This company follows flat organisational structure under which employees, managers and other persons are not differentiated on basis inferiority and superiority. All have given rights to participate in decision making activities and get information about policies of business. Thus, it would help in getting support of employees in attaining success of business. In this context, managers and leaders play important role in managing workplace and extract more work from employees.    

Leaders

Leaders are those persons who have possessed an art or skills of persuading people towards achievement of business goals and objectives. They guide team members and give direction so that they work in collaboration and give best performance for completing a task. Therefore, with effective leadership skills, a leader helps Kingfisher Plc. to give a tough competition to rivals within same marketplace.  

Managers

Managers in a company take various responsibilities to manage people and overall resource. They play a main role in controlling as well as administrating all the activities of working operation. They focus more on utilisation of resources in perfect manner which leads Kingfisher Plc to produce high qualitative products and reduce cost of production as well.

Role of managers

Managers of Kingfisher Plc play various roles in managing the business activities and workplace, as described below:

• Informational role: It refers to one of the main role where managers of Kingfisher Plc give necessary information to leaders and employees about target of business (Fayol, 2016). This would help in achievement of goals within predetermined time period.
• Interpersonal role:  In order to get support of employees and their high contribution, managers of Kingfisher Plc also establish a friendly and positive environment at workplace. Along with this, they also develop and maintain better relations with workers too.

Role of leaders  

As main role of leaders is to lead workers towards achievement of business goals therefore, for this process, they carry out following functions:- 

• Communication: Leaders of Kingfisher Plc have possessed effective interaction skills which help in influencing workers to work in collaboration and give efforts to compete a task in time. With proper communication, they provide information about strategies, objectives and business plans to all team members.
• Guiding employees: Main duty of leaders is to provide proper guidelines to workers by developing effective relationship with them.  This would help in getting high support of them for accomplish business objectives.     

Characteristics of managers

It is necessary that managers should have strong communication skills which will help in connecting with their workers of the company. It will aid in easily providing of important information about objectives and targets effectively. Management should have proper knowledge about concepts and theories for taking effective decisions and judgement in the term of market situation and objectives.     

Characteristics of leaders

Honesty is considered as main characteristic of leaders through which they can influence people more easily. Further, for inspiring people towards work and provide clear vision, inspiration and vision are other main characteristic of leaders. Ability to face challenge and implement changes at workplace makes a leader more effective.

The manager characteristics

Managers have possessed abilities to execute a plan more successfully at workplace and give for growth of business as well (Kerzner and Kerzner, 2017). With sharp skills and presence of sense allows them to predict what outcome will be got after execution of policies. Therefore, they formulate effective strategies and take right decisions.

 It has evaluated that both have some common qualities and functions, but still there are slightly differences to use characteristics. For example: Managers use their vision to create processes while leaders for inspiring people.

Differences between the manager and the leader.

Main role of managers in Kingfisher Plc is to formulate policies and strategies which help business to gain sustainability and competitive advantage. While leader’s role is to implement policies at workplace, by reducing chance of occurrence of their resistivity. Managers measure performance of workers to evaluate the need of training program. While leaders monitor performance of employees to ascertain their weaknesses and strengths.

P2 Role of a leader and the function of a manager in different situational contexts

Kingfisher Plc deals in retailing sector where it has faced an intense competition due to presence of other companies. It includes Tesco, ALDI, Morrisons and more. Therefore, in order to stay in competition, Kingfisher Plc has created modifications in business strategies on regular basis. But it creates various situations where managers and leaders play different-different role to handle the same. For example: For influencing workers to accept change, managers provide proper training to them. While leaders give vision how such changes will prove beneficial for them in enhancing their skills and growing career as well (Jørgensen and Zaccour, 2012). Some other changes where role of leaders and functions of managers can be differentiated are:-

Team building: In building a strong team and bring collaboration in each member seems to be a most difficult task. As when people belongs to different-different background then various conflicts occur between them. Therefore, under this situation, managers of Kingfisher adopt autocratic style of leadership and give command to team-members to work in group. While leader develop trust among workers towards each other so that they can make effective relationship. This would help in forming a strong team and achieve set goals in predetermined time.    

Project management: Success of business depends when it makes and executes every project in desired and right manner. Therefore, managing project also seems to be most difficult task where managers prepare various strategies. It includes introducing resources, set activities in proper time-frame, assign roles and responsibilities to workers etc. While, leaders monitor performance of each member and provide training to them so that they can give their best efforts for completion of project. They also provide clear guidelines to workers which would help in managing project more effectively.   

P3 Different theories and models of approach

In conducting operational and other activities of business, a company face various issues on daily basis. It includes employee resistivity, conflicts, mismanagement, labour turnover, change in trend of marketplace and more (Thaler, Priest and Fuchs, 2016). Therefore, managers of organisations like Kingfisher Plc have adopted various leadership theories in order to handle and deal with such issues more effectively. Some theories of leadership which help in resolving problems of business are given as below with main strengths and weaknesses:-  

System theory of leadership:

This theory mainly emphasises on the actual rules and regulation and systems of the company. According to this theory, main objective of the manager is on achieving targeted goals and objectives of the company.  For example: A manager of the company believes in maximising productivity of the company in order to meet targeted goals and objective of organisation. For this, they used to allot different types of works to employees for increasing their knowledge which helps them in performing their job responsibility effectively (Mendis, Muttaqi and Perera, 2014).

Strength: This approach mainly focuses on achieving individual goals as well as organisational goals. 

Weakness: It is not possible for organisation to always go with this theory as it may delay in decision making process.

Situational theory:

In this theory, manager of the organisation applies different approaches according to requirement of the business. For example: Manager of production department remains strict with their workers so that can perform their business activities effectively without being lazy towards the work. This enhances production level for according to their seasonal requirement.

Strength: This approach is flexible in nature which helps in achieving organisation goals quicker.

Weakness: This approach creates more focus on the instant need  and may distract focus of manager from long term goal  of company.

Contingency theory:

This Theory says that none of marketing theory is perfect and fulfils requirement of the need of organisation. It suggests to the manager of the company to evaluates actual need of organisation and then decide which theory suits best to the situation (Handschin and Petroianu, 2012). As a result, it contributes in fulfilling demand of the business as well as customers both. In relation to the Kingfisher PLC, this theory of management suitable for this organisation as it is dealing with new situation at every day.

Strength: It helps in developing and maintaining flexibility within workplace of a company. It is generally used to handle market situation and reduce unfavourable circumstances of business.

Weakness:  This theory fails to give effective result when a company has to modify its organisational structure as per trends of marketplace.                                                                                                               

TASK 2

P4 Key approaches to operations management

The main function of operational management in a company is to increase efficiencies of production. In this regard, operational managers of Kingfisher Plc adopt various key approaches to reduce cost of production and wastage as well. It includes TQM (Total Quality Management),  Lean Production, Just in Time and more. All these approaches help in maintaining stocks at its stores as well as deliver products on time as per demand of customers. Process of these key approaches of operational management can be explained in following manner:-

Total quality management approach: It is the process by which organisation aims to enhance its success level by converting it to the long term approach. In this approach,  all member of organisation including its employees participates in improving products, services, culture as well as process in which they works together. Main objective of this approach aims to increase satisfaction level of customers by availing them high quality of products and services. In relation to Kingfisher PLC, management team of the company aims to improve quality of its services at  regular basis by involving employee in the improvement process.

Just in time:  It is the process  of manufacturing where the time between the procurement of  raw materials from suppliers and production is minimum.  This approach of operation management emphasis on reducing waste by producing only limited amount according to iits need in the production department (Giuliani and et. al., 2015). This approach is beneficial in reducing the cost of production department.

Lean Production:  It emphasises on reducing wastage from production department by eliminating those parts of product which is not adding any value to the final product.

Apart from this there are some more key approaches of operation management which influences work of manager as well as leader.

Along with this, Kingfisher Plc also adopt following strategies to increase efficiencies of production and enhance performance of business:-

Find right employees: Manager as well as leader of Kingfisher PLC emphasis on hiring best employees for performing their business activities. It can be said that by having good staff organisation can achieve its targeted goals and objectives

Avail quality services to customers: the company also focuses on providing training to its existing staff so that they can avail high class services to the customers as a result it enhances goodwill of company at market place.

Identify the roles and responsibilities of managers and leaders in successful management of the operation of your organization.

Role of manager: In Kingfisher PLC, manager of this company checks whether the above stated  approaches are applied in the organisation or not. As after its implication operational activity of the company will be executed properly which will be beneficial in achieving targeted goals and objectives of org

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