Roles and Functions of Managers and Leaders in an Organisation

Tesco Plc., a UK-based multinational retailer company which is engaged in providing multiple number of products such as clothing, electronics, furniture, financial service and many more is selected for the purpose of preparing this report. The project includes the roles; and functions of managers and leaders in an organisation along with their application in various situations. In addition with this, different theories and models along with their strength and weaknesses are discussed under this report.; The project also describes the key approaches of operational management and the roles of managers and leaders in enhancing their efficiency level (Accomazzi and et. al., 2012).

TASK 1

P1: Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager

Introduction to Organisation:

Tesco is a multinational retailer company of United Kingdom which were established in the year 1919 by Jack Cohen. The company offers multiple number of products such as clothing, electronics, furniture, toys, financial services and many more. It becomes the third largest retailer in the world in terms of gross revenues. At the year 2016, Tesco has employed more than 335,000 employees who are engaged in serving millions of customers (Average number of employees at Tesco, 2018).

Tesco Plc follows a flat organisational structure in which it has attained various functional departments where in management exert authority and control in form of chain of command.

Meaning of Manager:

A manager is an individual who holds different authorities and power of directing and controlling over staff. They are held responsible to manage and monitor each business activities so as to ensure organisation to achieve desired goals and objectives within pre-determined time period. They performs several key functions such planning, budgeting, staffing, problem-solving and controlling.

Meaning of Leader:

A Leader is an individual who is responsible to provide proper guidance and motivate employees; to work in team so as to achieve maximum possible result. They play a major role in bringing out maximum from their employees which can be either through identifying their needs and requirements at workplace or rewarding them for their high performance (Baird, Jia Hu and Reeve, 2011).

Different between the role of manager and leader

Characteristics of Managers

Versatility: It is an important characteristic that managers of Tesco Plc should possess as it enable them to make quick and efficient respond to the changes and be reactive to consider new and innovative ideas and methods generated by their employees. It can be possible through making some changes in their existing working style.

Knowledge: Another important characteristic that manager of Tesco Plc should attain is to have a thorough knowledge base about their field of work. It helps managers to develop appropriate actions and make them more capable to deal with market situations which is uncertain (Benjaafar and Daskin, 2013).

Characteristic of Leaders

Good communicator: Communication is an important characteristic that enables leaders to provide guidance and motivate its team members to perform in right direction. Identifying needs and issues of staff at workplace can be easily identified by having better communication. Therefore such quality is essential to be present in an individual to become a good leader.

Empathy: It is another important characteristic that a good leader should attain as it help them in understanding the problems and issues of their employees and accordingly providing viable solution so as to maximise their working behaviour in an organisation. A leader should be dedicated and motivated towards its target due to which they can motivate others as well to deal with complex situations in order to achieve competitive result that can help them in achieving personal as well as professional goals.

TASK 2

P2: Role of leader and function of manager in different situational context

Tesco Plcis a multinational retailer company of UK which are having an effectivemanagement and skilled leaders who leads organisation in present dynamic business environment which are more competitive in nature.; It concentrates on following managerial leader where in the roles and functions of both manager and leaders are reshuffling according to situations in order to achieve desired goals within pre-determined time period (Blomme, 2012). Here are the some functions of managerial and roles of leaders of Tesco Plc and their application in various situational context:

Functions of Managers:

Planning:

It is an important function which is performed after identifying availability of resourced and mission, vision and objectives of an organisation. Managers of Tesco Plc should prepare an effective plans and policies to assist organisation in dealing with future contingencies which can affect the performance of company. It enables company in achieving competitive advantage in market.

Organizing:

This is the another function that need to be performed by the Managers of; Tesco Plc as it is important to organise entire workforce and structure more effectively and align activities so as to maintain better work environment and achieve maximum positive results. Manager is responsible to recruit and train right people for right job profile so as to make their workforce more capable and educated (Bromiley and Rau, 2016).

Commanding:

The performance of organisation is based on the efforts and contribution of employees which can be gained through sharing company's objectives and policies to their employees. They are required to supervise staff in their routine work, command them to maintain consistency by following company's policies and plans.

Coordinating:

Another function that to be performed by the managers of Tesco Plc is coordinating with the employees in order to analyse their performance to ensure whether they are performed according to the desired goals and objectives of an organisation. Managers are responsible to both internal coordination in order to bring harmony among employees as well as external coordination that involves better coordination with external parties such as government, public, trade unions etc.

Controlling:

Managers are accountable to control excessive cost of operations which affect the profitability of company. For this, managers of; Tesco Plc are required to properly observe, evaluate and report any deviations in performance from original plans. This will enable to make corrective actions to remove potential gaps more effectively (Drake and Spinler, 2013).

Role of Leaders:

Goal setting:

The main role of leader of; Tesco Plc is to lay down goals and policies in order to influence their team members to work hard and perform with enthusiasm and confidence.

Initiating actions:

Another important role of leaders is to take right decision in complex situations without depending on others to initiate an action.

 Direction and Motivation:

I]t is more important and primary role of leaders of; Tesco Plc wherein they are responsible to direct and motivate its team members through adopting motivational theories, training and development programs, appreciation of work etc It increases satisfaction level of employees which in result increasing their work commitment with company as well for longer period of time.

Tesco Plc is an international brand due to which the company has facing various complexities and contingencies that can affect their working style as well. Here are the some roles of leaders and functions of managers in different situations:

Stable situation:

It refers to such situation which involves little or no sudden change encountered by an organisation. In order to achieve competency in such situation, it is the responsibility of managers to analyse the market situations and accordingly make an effective decisions and plans to cope up with the changes arises due to such situation (GarciaSabater, MarinGarcia and PerelloMarin, 2012). In the context with Tesco Plc performance appraisal forms to be a stable change as it is conducted once in year due to which no sudden or unexpected change can be identified in; the performance of workforce. The role of leader also provide maximum support through tracking record of performance of each workers which assist manager to make relevant decision related with promotion, training, transfers etc.

Moderate situation:

It refers to such situation which demands of bringing some changes such as innovation or renovation in product, customer's demand, market etc.; Tesco Plc is engaged in providing multiple number of products such as clothing, electronics, furniture etc. which is mainly depend on the customer's needs and preferences. Therefore, any changes in customer's requirements, purchasing power etc. affect the profitability and sustainability of; Tesco Plc in competitive market. In this regard, the manager need to monitor market scenario through conducting research and should be more flexible in bring new changes in their existing pricing policies, products etc. Along with this, leaders also required to act in such situation in terms of making their staff more capable to deal with customers and communicate about the benefits of purchasing from the company's stores (Ham,; Hitomi; and Yoshida, 2012).

Rapid situation:

It refers to such situation where in sudden or unexpected changes are occur which is more adversely affect the stability and profitability of company. In the context with ;Tesco Plc, such situation may arises due to sudden popularity of buying products through using online platforms. For this, the managers need to react more fast and should focus on analysing the market trends so that proper actions to be taken in favour of market. Such actions may be related with upgrading existing technologies, investing more funds in launching a new mobile app to facilitate its targeted customers to buy their products through using such app without visiting at their store. In addition with this, the leaders also play an important role in communicating the benefits of new technology introduced in business operations to the employees so that it can be profitably utilised by them for the betterment of company (Javadian Kootanaee,; Babu and Talari,; 2013).

P3: Apply different theories and models of approach

In business organisation, leadership forms multidimensional managerial function that enable managers to gain maximum contribution from their subordinate in order to achieve desired goals and objectives of company within pre-determined time period.; Tesco Plc is a customer centric organisation whose success and growth is very much depend on their targeted customers.; The main objective of company is to enhance the satisfaction level of customers which can be possible through educating and motivating its employees. For this, various leadership theories are more beneficial for; Tesco Plc to adopt which are briefly described as under:

Situational leadership:

This is such leadership theory which implies that there is no single theory which can applied to every business scenario. Therefore, it is the responsibility of manager to first identify the situations and on the basis of which decide which theory shall become more effective to deal with such situation. Tesco Plc is a global brand employing large number of employees. Therefore, to deal with such situation with the help of; skilled and knowledgeable employees democratic style will be better to adopt as such style allows employees to share their ideas and suggestion in decision-making process. On the other hand, while dealing with unskilled and low experienced workers at such situation authoritarian styles will be better as it allows managers and leaders to take decision single handedly (Jones and Robinson, 2012).

System leadership:

This is the leadership approach which is defined as leadership across company boundaries, beyond individual professional discipline within limit of organisational and stakeholders cultures. Adoption of such approach enable leaders to not only think about their own perspective but to apply broader approach for developing firm as well as its stakeholders. In; context with Tesco Plc, using such leadership style helps leaders having long term vision for company to build strategies and procedures that will enable an organisation to gain new uniqueness in its business functions that is hard for competitors to attain (Kusluvan and et. al.,; 2011).

Contingency theory:

This is the theory which states that there is no best theory which can be profitable for every situations of a company. Therefore, it requires proper actions that to be taken on the basis of the capabilities, skills, tasks and composition of a team. In the context with Tesco Plc, using such theory leaders try to match their leadership style to a given situation.

Impact of leaders and managers

These leadership theories when applied within an organisation more effectively then it will help organisation to design a new and innovative ways so that the employees should be encouraged to maximise their contribution towards organisational objectives. The managers and leaders play a prominent role in adoption of such theories as they are much aware about the working procedure and goals of an organisation which drives them to bring out maximum efforts from the workforce. Both managers and leaders form cornerstones for a company to achieve growth and success in competitive market as it enable company to gain competitive advantage with the help of proficient and committed teams (Lewis and Brown,; 2012).

TASK 3

P4: Key approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play

Operation management is subset of function and activities that allows to gain profit by transforming; inputs into output. The inputs of operation management includes materials, capital, machinery, labor while outputs involves finished goods and services. It is responsibility of operation management to make optimum use of resources and produce finished goods to meet up customers satisfaction. In context to TESCO, managers and leaders follow up various methods of operational management to gain competitive advantage over other competitors in supply chain management. Some of the methods are as follows:

Total Quality Management:

TESCO managers and leaders are making continuous efforts; and taking responsibilities in order to identify errors and; reduce it; to produce effective finished goods and products for their customers. They are focusing on continuous replenishment in their supply chain management that is triggered; on changing demand of customers. TESCO is earning competitive advantage over its competitors by implementing creative ideas in supply chain like automated warehouse control and use of point of sale scanning. This method adopted by TESCO is crucial for maintaining effective supply chain management and find out any errors to take corrective actions in the production of goods and products (Paryani,; 2011).

Six- Sigma:

Six- sigma approach is implemented by managers and leaders of TESCO to reach; goal of zero defects. It allows operation managers to create a center idea that helps them to identify defects in their implemented operation process. With the help of implementation of six-sigma, managers are able to focus on initiative integrates which includes future strategic planning, knowledge management, bench marking and improvement teams. With the implementation of six sigma approach, TESCO is able to reduce defects and scrap work. Moreover, with the help of six sigma managers are able to simplify operations and improve competitive position (Prahlad and et. al., 2012).

Continuous Improvement:

TESCO managers are concern about continuous improvement and changes in their supply chain management. They emphasis on the needs and demands; of customers, then according make changes in supply chain management. TESCO managers are familiar with changing business environment, so to survive in the competitive market they prefer to make changes and update operation procedures to maintain competitive advantage over other competitors. For continuous improvement TESCO managers focuses on reducing errors, make the operational process safer and satisfying for the workers. They implement improvement strategies that includes repair, refinement, renovation and re-invention (Smilowitz, Nowak and Jiang, 2013).

Just-In-Time:

Another approach that is adopted by TESCO to improve its operational management is just-in-time. Managers mainly emphasis to operate with minimum limited resources that is required to deliver finished products with consistency.; Managers and leaders at TESCO usually believes in demand forecasting to identify what is needed by the customers within what amount and time frame. Just-in-time method helps TESCO managers to find out which products is in demand, where and when produced products are needed. Just-in-time is long time continuous process for improvement and development of operation management. This method helps TESCO to maintain levels of costing, improve customer's satisfaction, responsiveness and improve quality (Swink and et. al., 2017).

P5: Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives

Operational management performs several functions such as monitoring, designing and managing process of production and distribution with an objective of maximizing efficiency level in the process of production to delivery final goods to targeted people. In the context with Tesco Plc wherein there are various departments which are more dependent on operation department due to which it is important to understand the importance of operation management. It is further understood under the below:

Control and distribution system:

It is an important function of operation management as they are liable to manage and handling production process and enhance distribution system so that; finished goods can be successfully delivered to targeted clients (Tenera and Luís Carneiro, 2014). It makes direct positive impact on the satisfaction level and buying behavior of customers which in results achieving huge customer strength. In the context with Tesco Plc which is retailer company of UK thus it requires maximum support from operation department to serve millions of customers.

Quality improvement:

Quality is an important factor which attracts the interest and buying decision of customers as nowadays people prefer quality over price. Therefore, operation management should focus to sell quality products of known brands so that it maximizes the satisfaction level of customers and retain their loyalty for company for longer period of time.

TASK 4

P6 Assess the factors within the business environment that impact upon operational management and decision-making by Leaders and managers

There are many macro factors of business environment that directly effect the operational management and decision-making by operation managers. This factors are necessary to improve the effectiveness of operation management:

PEST Analysis

Political Factors:

TESCO is most famous retailing company that serves all over world, due to its operations practices in different countries political factors effects TESCO directly. Political factors includes legislation acts, rates of tax of different countries in which TESCO operates. Every country has its own legal laws and practices, similarly tax rates also varies from country to; country. Moreover, financial status are unstable due to which government insist TESCO as retailer; company; to hire employees from parent countries and create opportunities for employment (Wu; and Pagell, 2011).

Economical Factors:

In context with economic factors, TESCO should be concern with different factors which includes demands, prices, profits as well as leverages cost. TESCO should focus and aware about changing policies that is associated with accessibility of finance. The main economical factors affecting TESCO is the differences; in inflation rate varies due to which value of items are affected at different countries. Moreover, TESCO as retailer company has wider market share which increases its competition. Products served by TESCO has number of substitutes already available at cheaper rates.

Social Factors:

In context with social factors, TESCO is adopting the continuous changing process according to the needs and demand of customers. As customers needs are changing and they get more concision towards their eating and buying habits. TESCO has developed club cards that gives discounts on products and along with this organic as well as dietary products are introduced to serve best to customers needs.

Technological Factors:

TESCO is concerned about technological changes, they offers online shopping; for the convenience of the customers. They invest on social media which includes advertisement and public relationship. TESCO also focused on delivery of products door to door. There is option of self – services checkout points provided by TESCO to their customers that reduced its manpower costs. To reduce carbon footprints TESCO has invested on effective energy projects (What is PEST Analysis?. 2018)

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CONCLUSION

It has been concluded from the above project report that operation management play a significant role in the growth and success of an organisation as it mainly contribute to maximises the commercial activities of a business. The managers and leaders play a critical role in enhancing performance level of workforce through through providing them guidance and direction with the help of application of various leadership styles. It is also more beneficial for an organisation to adopt various approaches such as TQM, Quality management, Six sigma etc. that can help in enhancing quality of work as well as products and services. PEST Analysis is also required to be conduct for organisation operated at global level such as Tesco Plc in order to analyse external influencing factors such as political, economical etc. which enables to take corrective actions to deal with such factors in more effective and efficient manner.

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