Question :
This unit is based on case study of Ilford-On-Sea Limited which is affected by economy downturn and they are facing stiff competition as they are not able to manage their workforce.
- What is the difference between responsibilities of leader and work of manager at Ilford-On-Sea Limited.
- Examine leader’s role and manager’s function in different situations at Ilford-On-Sea Limited
- Assess role of managers and leaders in different approaches of operations management used by Ilford-On-Sea Limited.
- Analyze connection between leadership and management in current business environment.
Answer :
INTRODUCTION
Difference amid management and leadership is quite unique in nature that one cannot assess that whether these two domains are different or same. However, some standard characteristics are possessed by both the domains that specifically differentiate these broad areas. Furthermore, the differences are distinct on the basis of role of leaders and managers being exercised within the organization (Pettinger, 2007). Pertaining to this, the main aim of the report is to evaluate the difference between the function of a manager and the role of a leader. Further, consideration will be made on features, behaviors and traits that support effective management and leadership. Furthermore, the present research report will also introduce the concept related to operations as both a process and function an organization should adopt to carry out a business. Various theories and concepts supporting the learning for this subject area will be researched effectively.
For carrying out a project, case study of Ilford-on-Sea Limited is taken into account. It is a private business organization which is operating from the east end of London with headquarters in Romford Essex. The company is based in London and is being impacted by economic recession of 2008 (Schedlitzki and Edwards, 2014). The firm competes in construction industry and is specialized on renovation and repair. In the year 2007, the company was awarded a contract to renovate 100 units by Jarvis Construction group who is a major contractor for local and national governments. For this purpose, the firm has appointed 10 staff and problem related to monitoring and controlling the workforce took place, as there were multiple sites, spreading out into Essex, Middlesex and London. Due to this, there were constant misunderstanding between the manager and the workforce who do not understand the pressure of small business organization having less reputation and credit worthiness to manage such big project. Related to this, the focus of research report is to assess the problem being faced by the firm in managing these workforce and operations.
TASK 1
P1 Defining and comparing different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
Speaking in volume about the Managers, they are defined as a person who helps in designing and managing the work of the company so as to achieve the desired goals of the firm. Concerning this, the main task of the manager is to develop and establish the relevant strategies as well as policies (Chase, Jacobs and Aquilano, 2006). They also plan the working of the staff in such a way that they perform their specified task according to the pre-determined objectives. On various levels, the managers are distributed so that proper management of task in varied departments can take place. In addition to this, they are also responsible for appraising the performance of the workers at regular interval of time.
On the other hand, leaders are those people who get the work done from others. They play a very crucial role in motivating the workers by their leadership as well as communication skills. Furthermore, they make the workers work so that the goals of the organization are achieved (Daft, 2012). Thus, the major focus of leaders is to inspire and influence the workers so that effective and efficient results can be achieved. According to the transactional theory, the leaders are more inclined towards following a normal flow of operations and makes use of disciplinary power to motivate the people. However, as per the transformational theory, leaders go beyond the managing day to day operations and craft strategies in such a manner that helps the company in leading the path of success.
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Generally, the roles of the managers and leaders are interchangeable; however there are some differences that lie amid the two which are being carried out by the managers as well as the leaders so as to ensure that the workers work for the company. Managing director of Ilford-on-Sea Limited is also performing the task of setting the objectives according to the vision of the firm. However, he is not able to communicate the vision to the employees and was not able to inspire them significantly (Dunn, 2001).
Analyzing the role of leader and function of manager
- Planning – It is considered as one of the most vital function of manager of Ilford-on-Sea Limited for managing and operating the renovation work effectively. The Manager of the company is required to set goals and objectives that needs to be accomplished and must also specify how to be achieved. On contrary, the role of leader is to communicate these roles being set by the managers to the workforce so that the workers focus more and can achieve the desired outcome (Lamberti, Costello and Getz, 2012).
- Organizing – It is also important that the resources are utilized appropriately to fulfill the goals of Ilford-on-Sea Limited. This can be performed by the manager. Here, the role of leader is to allocate the resources and responsibilities as well as motivate the workers to perform.
- Directing – The role of manager is only directing the tasks that needs to be performed by the workers. However, it is the leader who creates team and direct how tasks can be achieved.
- Controlling – Under this function, the managers of Ilford-on-Sea Limited is required to develop strategies and policies and the leaders implements the same. It is the manager who control and monitored the activities of employees and leader is the one who verifies the outcome with the pre-determined standards (Mentzer, Stank and Esper, 2008).
TASK 2
P2 Examining examples of how the role of a leader and the function of a manager apply in different situational contexts
Talking in relation with the function of the managers and the role of leaders, they both makes the firm work in a desired direction. There are different traits as well as styles of leadership which can provide support in the proper operation of function of management of Ilford-on-Sea Limited (Muma, Smith and Somers, 2006). As per the scenario, the firm is facing problem in managing the workforce so as to secure the contract of renovating 100 units of decent homes for London. This situation demands implementation of the functions of management as well as the skills of the leaders to plan and implement strategies which helps in handling the workforce and guiding them to work in collaboration. There are numerous theories of management that are implied with the leadership skills helps the firm to grow their operations. The operational management department of Ilford-on-Sea Limited lays emphasis on management theories that combines the efforts of the leaders to manage the workforce to accomplish the goals. The contemporary theory of management can be applied in Ilford-on-Sea Limited so as to tackle the current situation. The manager of the firm can plan the strategies in such a manner that helps in facilitating group efforts (Hill and Hill, 2011). Further, the leaders should be able motivate the employees to work in collaboration with each other so as to complete renovation of 100 unit of homes appropriately. Further, the resistance to change among the workers can be eliminated by developing an environment of trust with proper communication channels and skills.
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