Management and Operations Techniques of ASDA

TASK 1

A) Different roles and characteristics of a leader and manager

Management and leadership are two essential tactics which help top personnel to distribute duties and provide instruction and guidance to members to make them perform tasks effectively. It is essential that administration have sufficient manpower for execution of business operations in respect to conditions prevailing in market.

Management is refer to activity which includes interpersonal, informational and decisions conducted to achieve goals and objectives of organization (Bahmani-Firouzi and Azizipanah-Abarghooee, 2014). For this, members are given duties and tasks to make them perform tasks and deliver appropriate products and services in market to fulfil demands of people.

Leadership is another process which comprises guiding, motivational and inspiring of employees to increase their morale and make them dedicated towards job. This tactic also help top personnel to have skilled and competent staff to perform tasks and complete targets timely.

In context of ASDA which is subsidiary firm of Walmart need to provide different variety and range of products and services in according to demands and needs of people. For this, manager formulate strategies and provide duties and tasks to members in respect to their capabilities (Deihimi, Zahed and Iravani, 2016). Leader responsibility is to provide guidance to staff to provide quality items and services to buyers. Besides this, they even motivate and inspire employees to make them work in proficient manner and complete targets timely.

Difference between manager and leader

Similarities between manager and leader:

B) Role of leader and manager function in different situational contexts

Market conditions are dynamic which define that in organisation business operations require to be conducted in such manner that goals and objectives are achieved timely. For this, administration require to utilise resources efficiently and deliver adequate products and services in market to fulfil demands and needs of people (Keahey, Riteau and Timkovich, 2017). It is manager responsibility to make changes in system and strategies for execution of business activities in according to situations prevailing in market. For this, they even need support for leader and employees to make them work with alterations that are made in techniques and equipments to deliver creative products and services to buyers.

Functions of manager by Fayol: This model was propounded by Henry Fayol which specifies  activities that superior perform for formulating strategies and These are various functions which are performed by superior of ASDA are stated beneath:

Planning: This is essential function which is conducted by management is to formulate program and activities which require to be conducted in respect to determined goals and objectives. In ASDA, manager formulate strategies and make changes in tactics to make system function in respect to market situations. Along this, targets and direction plan for employees is also specified to make them perform tasks in systematic manner.

Organising: It is another responsibility of manager which is to distribute resources that is material and manpower in different departments for execution of activities effectively (Mohammadi, Soleymani and Mozafari, 2014). In ASDA, administration provide duties and tasks to employees in according to their skills and knowledge. Along this, subordinates are also divided into segments and formulated team for proper utilisation of resources and timely completion of objectives.

Commanding: This is another function of management which is to provide tasks and targets to members for execution of business activities properly (Parisio, Rikos and Glielmo, 2016). It is essential that staff get ethical code of conduct and appropriate instruction about activities which require to be performed by them. Besides this, superior communicate information to employees about objectives and benchmarks which require to be followed by them. 

Coordinating: It is management responsibility to coordinate efforts and make employees to work in team. In organisation, top personnel motive is execution of production, sales and other activities in harmonised and unified manner.

Controlling: This is an essential work that should conduct by the manager for checking whether the organisational work going according to planning or not (Radnor and et.al., 2016). In this context, manager apply various strategies and techniques for accomplishing this work.

C) Systems, contingency and situational leadership approaches use in Asda.

In the Asda Company, the leaders may follow different types of leadership styles or approaches to use in several difficult situation or misunderstandings. These styles are referring as the specific way that the leaders use different authority to lead their team members in order to achieve desired goals (Radosavljević, Jevtić and Klimenta, 2016). The leadership approaches are depending on the situation, function of the leaders and their staff members. It is different from the leadership trait that is defines like a personality that is fix and tends to solve many problems. In this context, there are some leadership approaches that can use in different organisational situations. These are further describing as follows:

• System Leadership Approach – It provides a systematic process to the leaders in the company to make the special situation where whole staff members at each level can work with better performance and reach at the stage of success. In this context, it uses various principles of human behaviour and builds the best leadership model (Shabanpour-Haghighi and Seifi, 2015). It is produced by Dr Ian Macdonald in his career and this approach is clarifying the thought on the dynamism and complexity of the organisational environment.  It is also provide proper framework for the presentation and glossary of terms that are useful for leaders.
• Contingency Leadership Approach – It emphasizes the importance of both the situation in which they work and personality of leaders. It was produced by Fiedler after learning different personality of leaders (Szewczak, 2016). It also states that leadership is fully be contingent not only the control on a particular situation but also style of leading. It also suggest the best way to organise a corporation to make a decision.
• Situational Leadership Approach – This style was studied and developed by the Kenneth Blanchard and Paul Hersey. It states a approach to the managers and leaders to handle a critical situation that may comes in the company. So for this reason it is also known as most utilised, effective and recognised leadership. This model was developed by Dr Paul Hersey.

TASK 2

1. Different approaches to operations management that use in Asda.

In the company, the operation management needs to be familiar with a wide range of rules and disciplines. It incorporates with the assets maintenance management, factory and general management by its traditions (Wakui and et.al., 2016). These approaches are also work for maximum effectiveness and research functions of the organisation. In this aspect management of all operations requires some approaches. These are also essential to achieve desired aims and targets. In this context, these approaches to operation management are as follows:

• Six sigma approach – This is refers as the methodology that are used for improve the quality of all operations and eliminate defects, save time and maximise profits. It is costly to implement but it can done all tasks properly and makes different tools that are common sense methods. Such tools are statistical and it is in depth study (Ando and et.al., 2018). So for this reason it is a good approach for managing all activities regards to operations.
• Lean management approach – It is a specific systematic manufacturing and production process to minimise or reduce the wastages of different resources. It has become a special mainstream trend in the company. It is also known as agile manufacturing and it usually interchangeable with Just In Time production process.
• Total quality management approach- It seeks to improvise the performance and quality that are used for accomplish needs and wants of customer preferences (Bahmani-Firouzi and Azizipanah-Abarghooee, 2014). In addition to this, its describes as like long term success through satisfaction off customers. In this management, all employees and managers are involve in improving products, processes, culture and services of an organisation. So for this reason it is summarised as a management system which is focused on consumer’s demand.

2. The role of store manager in Asda.

A retail store manager fulfil many duties and roles in the Asda. All store managers are responsible for their store’s overall profitability.  Those managers who control and maintain the store related activities, often must work for long hours and they all also work in weekends. They must make sure about customer’s satisfaction and maintain it at high stage. Managers provide training, mentoring and many more facilities to their supportive employees (Deihimi, Zahed and Iravani, 2016). Store managers create and develop different strategies to attract customer’s pool and optimize all expenses. There are some functions and duties to describes the role of store manager in Asda company. These are discussing as below:

• Merchandising – A store manager is the head in charge of all merchandising activities. It includes decide the product line that store should assign and carry each service and product that have a specific position in the market. An effective merchandising useful for a project of image for the store department. So for this reason a store manager must keep right image in mind to create and develop merchandising strategies.
• Store operations – The managers are also responsible for seeing all operations at the company. In operations, there are various things concludes that are bookkeeping, staffing, overall cleanliness and security of department (Jin and et.al., 2015). Managers must held accountable for the store department’s profitability. So they must create and implement several strategies for minimise the cost. Manager also provides services to their potential customers.
• Promotion – Managers also responsible for providing developmental promotional programs. They must make different advertising campaigns that are place in newspapers, print media. They must arrange events for example product demonstrations.
• Holding inventory – The managers are conduct different type of motivational programs for his staff members and decrease any resistance to change in working culture. They make sure that their employees work with a team and leave all personal grudge (KavousiFard, Niknam and Baziar, 2015). They ensure that inventory is available every time of production so that the production manager not face any critical situation and maintain the appropriate level of raw material all the production time. Manager always ensure that there are no any shortage of machinery and material uses for making a product or service.
• Maintain salary and leave record – It is an essential function of a store manager that he or she have a proper written record of leave and wages of his or her staff member. It will useful in providing bonus and various benefits to the employees. A manager also take care that every worker should getting the wages according to their number of days workings so that there should not be any partiality with any type of store employee.
• Recruitment and training – It is an important task for every store manager to select the right person as a staff member of that store. It is the first duty of every store manager to recruit best person and give them proper training facility (Keahey, Riteau and Timkovich, 2017). If they require additional training and development program then it should provide by the manager inside or outside the organisation. Such new employees are those who makes growth of the company. So for this reason the retail store manager should make sure that there are a cashier, sales executive or a store keeper in every company.

3) Importance of operations management.

Operation management is purely focused on the production of services and goods in the company. Management of operation's department is important for all other departments to work smoothly and manage all functions properly. It provides better services to other departments in order to achieve desire targets and goals (Mohammadi, Soleymani and Mozafari, 2014). It uses several resources appropriately to create products and services and accomplish market demand. It is also improves the overall productivity and it gives a measure of the efficiency of the employees and managers. Every business wants to grow their profits and fulfil objectives to sustain in market segment. Board of directors apply different strategies in the operation's department to cover up all those objectives. In this context, operation management is an essential department for company (Parisio, Rikos and Glielmo, 2016). In order to discussion its importance, there are points that provides major importance of operations management in various departments that are as follows :

• Human Resource Department – This department is able to create better predictions on the requirement for employees to build a good job description. It is useful for company to recruit and train all staff members more effectively so that the operations are run appropriately. In this department, operation management play an essential role to create work smoothly in order to achieve organisational goals and objectives.
• Finance Department – In each company, there is a huge requirement of funds and capital employed to formulate and run all activities well. It is charged with finding capital with through equity or debt (Radnor and et.al., 2016). This department raise money and funds far easily with a smooth running successful operation's management. In other words. It can show a full record of efficiencies with low inventory and uneven productivity with management of all operations.
• Legal Division – In the company the legal department is able to support operations that is dependent on the well managed operation. The operation management make better products and it is lead to the liability claims.
• Accounting Department – In this department, the manager get help from operations to pay supplies and material bills promptly (Radosavljević, Jevtić and Klimenta, 2016). It is also useful to conduct prediction about costs and expenses so that manager can make appropriate budget for the organisation.
• Marketing Department – In this division, all marketers is depends on operation management to work effectively in order to fulfil customer needs. It must have a service and product that works properly and it is being produce for target market segment. The marketers also reliable on the management of operations to achieve desired targets.

4) Assessment of major outside factors that can have effect on the operation's management for Asda.

Operation department is the section of the overall business to make plan and strategy that concerns to the manager of organisation to operate day to day work. For a company there are many external factors that can effect to the overall productivity and business (Shabanpour-Haghighi and Seifi, 2015). Even a monthly review of operational plans, it will get affected from outside factors on the organisational culture. These factors can not be seen by physically by the company. It can be multidimensional and composed three major factors that are economic, technology and politics. These factors viewed as the influence of environmental variables such as people perception, legal acceptability and safety. Such factors also includes strikes, civil unrest, wars, invasions, covering tax regimes, discriminatory legislative, religious turmoil and many more. In other hand the economic factors can be seen as the accessibility of finance, labour, assets, materials and degree of market demand. There are some additional factors that are describes as below :

• Suppliers – Those persons can have a huge influence on inventory control and for achievement of all objectives, a company need reliable suppliers in order to arrange production (Szewczak, 2016). Suppliers who are unpredictable or unreliable, can have a huge effect on the inventory control system and it also impacts to the company's credit policy.
• Financial factors – In this type, the cost of borrowing fund to stock enough equipments and inventory can influence to the operation's management. In this context, tax costs associated with the stocking inventory that also influence to the operation management. Other financial factors contain all expenses and revenue that are associated with the transportation costs and warehouse operations. In this factor, there are many obligations and formalities that are essential to cover financial need of company, have also impacts on the operation's management.
• Lead time – It refers to the free time of machineries during production of goods and services. It is unproductive and there are no income generate in lead time. So for this reason it is also influence to the operation's management (Wakui and et.al., 2016). It is depends on the product type and various manufacturing stages are involves in it. Therefore, many changes in this factor have impact on the overall operation's department.
• Organisational culture – In this aspect, the internal environmental culture is important because it gives its impact on the business. The attitudes of managers and staff members make better environment and it has two types that are positive and negative attitude (Ando and et.al., 2018). In this context, positive attitude of employees and managers not only make the management task easier but also accomplish customer's demand for the company's outputs. The negative attitudes can different impact on the manager's capability to implement strategies for better work.
• Organisation hierarchy structure – Every business may be impeded by its structure and constitution form of government. It is essential to track mission and vision of organisation to understand influence on operation's management. It helps to find abilities of leaders and managers whose performance is better from others. The structure is liable for classification of works among employees that are work at different level of management. 

5) Impact of outside factors upon decision making of store manager of Asda.

In the organisation's external environment, there are many factors that may influence to the decision making process of store manager. In such factors it can include the variety of cognitive biases, escalation of commitment, experiences, sunk cost, social and economic status and many more (Bahmani-Firouzi and Azizipanah-Abarghooee, 2014). All these elements impact to the decision making process. In this context, its impacts are discusses as below by some points :

• Experience – It can impact on the future decision making and its stands to reason that positive results from a decision can influence to the people who are more likely to decide in the similar method. In an organisation, managers are tends to avoid repeating mistakes. It is significant that decision take in future are depends on the experience and many external factors have influence on it.
• Individual difference – In this aspect, people have own choices and it is different from others so a manager should recognise this for reduce impact of preferences on the decision. Many people believe in matters that decide by them and it can impact to the decision of manager (Deihimi, Zahed and Iravani, 2016). Employees work more effectively when they feel comfortable so for this reason a manager often make strategies which is better to their staff members.
• Return on investment – In the company, the rate of interest and return from various investments are essential element that give its impact to the decisions of store manager (Jin and et.al., 2015). In this context, this factor is beneficial for growth of company and the best manager always consider this factor in his or her decisions. There are a liability to minimise the cost and earn more profit to gain competitive advantages in the market. A manager often fulfil his or her duty and make better decisions.
• Brand image – All external factors also have huge impact on the company's goodwill because its brand image is build from external environment. Leaders of company creates many strategies and plans to make perfect brand image and their decision play an essential role in this aspect. Their decisions regarding achievement are play a significance role and it can influence from organisational external environment (KavousiFard, Niknam and Baziar, 2015). So for this reason, to become better environment manager should apply right plan and make efforts to reduce impact of outside factors. 

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CONCLUSION

The above presented report shows the role and characteristics of leaders and managers who work in company for growth and development. There are major roles that can use in the organisation to achieve desired goals and objectives. This report concludes major functions of a manager in an organisation that were produced by Henri Fayol. Further, it contains different leadership approaches to support a leader in different situation. It also includes approaches and importance of operations management and role of store manager. Furthermore, it concludes major external factors that may give impact to the operation's management. Lastly, it described impact of such external factors to the decision making process of store manager.

REFERENCES

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• Deihimi, A., Zahed, B.K. and Iravani, R., 2016. An interactive operation management of a micro-grid with multiple distributed generations using multi-objective uniform water cycle algorithm. Energy, 106, pp.482-509.
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