Management and Operations

Role of a Leader	Functions of a Manager
Leaders are chosen among the people in the organisation.	Managers are appointed by the recruiters in the organisation.
Leaders set goals and objectives for the subordinates and guide them as and when required.	Managers are given set rules of instructions to follow and manage the subordinates and they follow the same.
Leaders are considered as the innovators in company with authority to delegate also.	Managers are the followers and coordinators in the company as they only do as much is asked from them.
Leaders allow and help the others to develop and improve their skills and knowledge by providing them guidance.	Managers only direct and control to reach the set objectives in a given period of time irrespective of personal involvement.

e) Strength and weaknesses of different approaches

Situational leadership is considered as one of the best styles of leadership as it involves adapting leadership style according to the situation (Cho and Dansereau, 2010). It claims that there is no best style of leadership and the method of leadership should be changed accordingly to perform a task efficiently. This includes different leadership styles which to enhance the communication..  in which the task is given as per the maturity levels of the employees and their skills.

This approach has some disadvantages as well if not applied expertly it can lead to confusion among responsibilities and reporting authorities (Dekker, Bloemhof and Mallidis, 2012). This style does not include the external factors while adapting according to the organisation and if these factors are unfavourable, the leadership style can also fail despite of the best efforts.

f) Critical analysis of different theories of leadership

Leadership theories should be flexible and adaptive according to the situations to change as needed. Leadership is the process of coordinating and working in unity toward a common goal. It includes guiding other people and training and coordinating them together. The contingency theory involves effective participation, direction and support as well as it involves making leadership style as the situation arises (Haider and Riaz, 2010). It shows application of theories and leadership methods as the situations changes and according to the people. It states that the best way to guide is according to the nature of the environment.

Contingency theory is praised as well as criticized by many for it's open ended approach towards the leadership and management (Krajewski, Ritzman and Malhotra, 2013). According to most, this style of leadership is not feasible for the large organisations such as GREGGS as it has many levels of managers and departments. But if needed this theory can be used in GREGGS, a bakery chain as it includes exclusive approach to leadership of changing and adapting to behaviours and trends of the market as well as the people working together to overcome any situation when needed. Thus, it can be said that every theory at some point has to be like contingency theory as it has to change according to the environment internal and external both to operate smoothly (Kuruppuarachchi and Perera, 2010).

TASK 2

a) Key approaches to operation management and roles of leaders and managers

Operational management involves managing the operations effectively and efficiently to meet the set objectives in the limited period of time. It includes managing certain process in order to use the resources properly and converting them into products and services. It includes process of controlling, designing, producing as well as managing to produce goods as to satisfy customer demands. The approaches used in operations management are :

Six Sigma- It is an operations management approach which involves tools and techniques to improve the performance and process in the organisation (Lin and McDonough III, 2011). It consists of identifying, and rectifying the defects and problems in the process to make it defect free by eliminating the waste and chances of mistakes to increase customer satisfaction and profitability. The role of a leader and a manager in this process is to manage the resources in a way to eliminate wastage and chances of defects. They organize and coordinate the processes in the way of the six sigma techniques and improve the product quality as well as customer satisfaction (Mayer, Kuenzi and Greenbaum, 2010).

Lean Manufacturing- It is the process of eliminating the waste from the production process to maximize the value of the product. This process is concentrated on making whatever add the values to the product by reducing everything else. It is derived from the Japanese manufacturing industry. Lean is the process to maximise the profit by cost reduction in the positive way and adding value to the product (Morgeson, DeRue and Karam, 2010). It aims to provide perfection by providing only as per the demands of the customer to provide maximum value through removing waste activities which does not provide any value to the product but increases the cost.

b) Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives

Operations management is the process of producing the products and services by converting the resources in the value added goods to satisfy the customer needs. It has various techniques to improve the process and to eliminate the waste process which will increase the profits. The department of operational management is one of the most important in the production sector (Müller and Turner, 2010).

Importance- Operations management is the process helping in eliminating the inactive process and increasing the value of the products. It is considered most important in the manufacturing and production sector as for the large number of processes involved. GREGSS, the largest bakery chain in UK can benefit from this process as it is involved in the production of food products. By eliminating the repeating or inactive process and combining the similar process the company can save time as well as cost of those process and add more value to the goods (Salahuddin, 2010).

Value- The process of operational management focus on the development of the product as per customer and market specifications as well as has potential in the market to perform. It involves all the other departments also such as finance, marketing, etc. to estimate the product potential and to analyse the cost and estimated revenue from the product. GREGGS plc can apply this process to increase the customer base by producing customer specific products and eliminating the cost of the waste (Schyns and Schilling, 2011).

c) Factors within the business environment that has impact on operational management and decision making by leaders and managers

Business environment of an organisation consists of internal as well as external factors. It has an impact on the decisions of the operational management process. The business environment consists of the factors affecting the operations of the organisation in either positive or negative way (Functions of managers, 2016). It involves internal factors such as strength, skills of employees, strategies, financial management, etc. and external factors being competitors, customers, suppliers, etc.

Internal factors- The factors that are within the business organisation affecting the operational decision-making can be controlled by the company. The company should perform a SWOT analysis to analyse the strength and weaknesses of the firm and make strategies accordingly in order to utilize the strength to it's maximum and overcoming the weaknesses during the process. The strategy formulation plays a major role in achieving the company goals as the plans are made in accordance with the objectives set. The financial department of the company has to be strong to estimate the results with accuracy to help make changes in the plans when needed.

External factors- The external factors of an organisation always influence the operations and working of the company. The factors such as competitors are the major concern for the firm while operating in the concentrated industry. The company needs to make a competitive analysis in order to make strategies similar and better from that of the other companies to gain a competitive edge. The customers are also a part of external environment for the firm and to satisfy their needs is the major concern for the organisation.

GREGGS plc, a bakery chain operates in a concentrated market instead of being established for a long time it has to face a competition and to maintain the market position it has to keep evaluating the external and internal factors of the firm.

d) Ways by which leaders and managers can improve efficiencies of operational management to meet business objectives

Leaders and managers are the main part of the organisation. An operations manager has the responsibility to increase the productivity of the organisation and contribute to it's growth. The operations manager has to manage the procurement, manufacturing, packaging and shipping, customer support, etc. One of the main responsibilities of the manager is to keep the equipments upgraded as per the latest technology (Management & Operations, 2017.). It not only includes production equipments but also the other department systems such as computers and office equipments. It helps to improve the efficiency level of the company. The managers helps to coordinate between different departments to work together. The tools necessary for the process to operate effectively are provided by the managers. The duties of a manager also includes providing training to the subordinates to improve their skills and efficiency.

e) Ways in which different factors affect business environment and community

Business environment consists of the community in which the organisation operates. The factors which have an impact on the business environment are responsible for the success of the business in the long run. The factors affecting the business environment are economic factors, political factors, social factors, legal factors, environmental and demographic factors, cultural factors and technological factors.

The economic factors affecting the business environment consists of the interest rates and taxation policies, inflation and exchange rates, etc. These factors affect the economy as well as the business organisation.

The social factors are the cultural factors which involves population growth rate, cultural differences, age distribution. These factors analyse the pattern in which the demand for a product may arise and the market preferences.

Political factors are related with the government and it's policies in the country. The more stable government helps to create more stable economy and business environment. It guides the trades and transaction policies which affects the strategy formulation for an organisation and the laws to be followed by the firms in the society.

Technological factors are the most affecting feature for the technological companies and industries. These include changes in technologies, outsourcing decisions for a company (What is Operations Management?. 2017).

GREGGS, a bakery chain has impact of these factors on the business environment of the company. The manager of the company has to include all these guiding factors while formulating the strategies for the different departments in the organisation. These factors are the basic guiding elements for any business to operate in the community and to be a success in the long run.

f) Evaluation of operations management and factors that impact business environment of organisation

Operation management is the area in which company members can do the proper management so that they can do qualitative work and on the basis of that they can do proper designing as well as planning in the process of production and the manufacturing of the products. The employees of Greggs PLC having the responsibility as well as duty that they have to do the appropriate business operations so that they can improve the productivity along with the proficiency. The employees have to do the proper utilization of resources which will helps in obtaining the goals and objectives. Along with this the members of Greggs PLC have to use the appropriate tools so that they can do the proper operations as well as business activity. The leaders and managers of the company have to do the appropriate changes according to the needs and wants of the consumers which will helps in attaining the goals and objectives along with the maximum profit.

CONCLUSION

From the above report it has been carried out analysis that the employees of GREGGS PLC have to do the proper operations along with the business activities so that they can attain the goals and objectives. The leaders and managers have to fulfil their responsibility so that the company can improve the sales and on the basis of that they can attain the maximum profit. Leaders are those who attain the responsibility for doing the work and by doing the qualitative work they can obtain the targets which are decided by the higher authorities of GREGGS PLC. Managers are those person who do the proper management of the business activities and check that the employees of the company provide the best services to the consumers or not.

REFERENCES

• Foropon, C. and McLachlin, R., 2013. Metaphors in operations management theory building. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 33(2). pp.181-196
• Heizer, and et.al., 2009. Operations Management. Pearson Education India.
• Johnston, R., 2005. Service operations management: return to roots. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 25(12). pp.1278 – 1297.
• Olsen, A. K. and Sætre, P., 2007. ERP for SMEs – is proprietary software an alternative?.  Business Process Management Journal. 13(3). pp.379–389.
• Pansiri, J. and Temtime, T. Z., 2008. Assessing managerial skills in SMEs for capacity building. Journal of Management Development. 27(2). pp.251–260.
• Ravi, A., 2008. Managing Business Process Flows: Principles Of Operations Management, 2/E. Pearson Education India.
• Shetach, A., 2009. The revised decision-square model (RDSM): A tool for effective decision-implementation in teams. Team Performance Management. 15(1/2). pp.7–17.
• Söderlund, J., 2012. Project management, interdependencies, and time: Insights from Managing Large Systems by Sayles and Chandler. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business. 5(4). pp.617–633.
• Barratt, M., Choi, T.Y. and Li, M., 2011. Qualitative case studies in operations management: Trends, research outcomes, and future research implications. Journal of Operations Management. 29(4). pp.329-342.
• Brandon, C.J. and Mullan, P.B., 2013. Teaching medical management and operations engineering for systems-based practice to radiology residents. Academic radiology. 20(3). pp.345-350.
• Chin, J.L., 2010. Introduction to the special issue on diversity and leadership. American Psychologist. 65(3). p.150.

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