Leadership and Management in Strategic Planning

Introduction

Leadership and management are one of the best ways to develop an effective strategic planning in the organisation through which the leaders and the managers can achieve success by fulfilling the pre-specified goals and objectives of the firm (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). The role of the leaders and the functions of the managers play a significant role in managing the operations in the company and it helps to secure the future sustainable development, and this also provides a scope to establish the business at the international market. The aim of the study is to discuss the ole of the leaders and the functions of the managers in the retail firm Tesco where the leaders and managers try to establish the brand in the international retail market and gain highly competitive advantage. Through this paper, it is also possible to acknowledge the relationship between leadership and management and identify the strategic planning of the leaders and managers through which they try to manage the Organisational operations.

P 1: Defining and comparing the role of leaders and the functions of the managers

The managers and leaders play a significant role in operating the Organisational activities and lead the company towards achieving success. The leaders mainly create vision and clarify the strategies of the organisation, where the managers try to allocate the resources in the firm and set proper timetable for archiving the strategic planning successfully (Hill, Jones, and Schilling, 2014). For example, Tesco as a reputed supermarket also focuses on proper leadership and management strategies in the organisation to runt heir operational activities in long run. The leaders of Tesco communicate the goal and build the team for archiving the commitment. Whereas, the managers try to allocate the staff members in different stores and establish rules and responsibilities to meet the strategic objectives set by the leaders (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). Hereby, the management team of Tesco mainly aim at managing the people and utilize the Organisational resources to achieve the objective of providing high quality products and services to the customers. The leaders of the organisation Tesco also inspire the motivate the people working in the firm and empower their subordinates so that they can satisfy the employees and meet their needs and preferences in the organisation. On the other hand, the managers develop incentive structure and take corrective actions to retain the staff members for long run. the leaders and managers in this regard both are important for the company Tesco to meet the strategic goal.

The role of the leaders in Tesco is to meet the commitment and inspire others by creating appropriate organisational culture so that it is possible to develop friendly atmosphere for the staff members where they can work efficiently and freely with harmony and freedom. on the other hand, the managers of the organisation try to be problem solver and manage the workforce by directing and monitoring the performance of the employees int eh workplace by ensuring hi9gh cooperation and collaboration at the workplace. The leaders focus on information gathering, feedback and empowering others in the strategic decision making behaviour of the firm and the leaders obtain their power through other means such as influencing others in the workforce. on the other hand, the managers have the power to the delegated authority by emphasising on decision making behaviour, controlling the staff members and analysing the organisational performance and they have great form of responsibility and accountability for rationality and controlling the leaders of the firm (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).

In this context, the strategic planning of the soft skills of the leadership and the hard skill of the managers are effective to meet the objective of the form where the organisation tries to meet the customer’s needs by delivering high quality products and services. The soft skill of the leaders in Tesco such as communication with all the subordinates, motivation, stress management, team building activities and change management are the success factors through which the leaders can managed the operational activities and lead the staff members towards achieving success. Additionally, the hard skill of the managers of the organisation is beneficial where the managers focuses on scheduling, staffing, activity analysing and human resource management through which the managers can retain the staff members for long run. Hereby, through the soft skill of the leaders and the hard skill of the management, it is possible to meet the strategic goal and objective of the organisation Tesco.

P 2: Applying the role of leaders and the functions of the managers

Management is a crucial factor that helps to meet the responsibility of the organisation and it provides an opportunity to the firms to regulate the internal operations and develop effective planning through which the management team can achieve success in near future. Fayol provided proper overview about the functions of management where Fayol stated that ‘To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command & to control’ (Bolden, 2016). According to the theory proposed by Fayol, there are five function of the managers which provides a scope to lead the organisation towards achieving success and meeting the pre-specified objectives of the firm. the five functions are such as planning, organising, staffing, directing and controlling.

Planning:

It is the basic function of the managers where the managers of the organisation develop effective planning for taking appropriate step of actions to achieve the prespecified goal of the firm. in this regard, the managers try to reallocate the human and non-human resources in the organisation to develop effective planning (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). For example, the managers of the organisation, Tesco aim at analysing the strategic goal if the company where the management team found that it is necessary to provide efficient customer service through online services such as social media platform and company’s own website so that it is possible to retain the customers for long and strengthen their customer’s base. In this regard, the manager of Tesco focuses on social media advertising as well as promote their products through their website where the manager aims at building two way communication to gather the feedback from the customers and resolve their issues successfully. Front line manager in this regard play a crucial role to provide efficient services to the customers and they also focuses on after sales services to resolve the customer’s problems (Goetsch and Davis, 2014). Providing effective information and cooperation with the customers are the main planning where the front lone manager tries to satisfy the customers successfully.

Organising:

Organising the physical, financial and human resources in the organisation is effective for organisational goals where for example, the manager aims at building storing relationship with the customers. The managers try to organise the resources available in the firm and assign the duties successfully (McCaffery, 2018). For example, the managers of Tesco try to reallocate the resources and develop internal Technological infrastructure so that it is possible for the organisation to deliver high quality service to the customers and meet their preferences and needs. In this regard, the managers try to increase online presence of the brand and allocate experts in the company to handle the online activities. The support team try to be active 24*7 to resolve the customer’s complaint and the management team in this regard focus on providing after sales service to the customers. organising the team members and allocate the work among the group members helps the managers of the organisation to handle the customer service and retain them for long run.

Staffing:

Staffing is also another important function of the managers and through staffing, it is possible for the managers to retain the staff members for long run and enhance the organisational performance as a whole. Proving proper remunerations, performance related pay and incentives as well as rewards are necessary for successful staffing in the workplace where the managers can satisfy the employees and meet their needs and preferences (Balon, 2014). Additionally, providing proper training and development program is also beneficial for staffing through which it is possible to ensure personal and professional development of the staff members in the company. On the other hand, the mangers try to develop friendly atmosphere and make the employees comfortable to work with others collaboratively by enhancing communication so that the employees can share their experience and work as a team (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014). In this context, the marketing manager of Tesco develops incentive structures as well as provide performance related pay to the employees and other subordinates in the marketing team to motivate them continuously and lead them towards achieving the pre-specified goal of providing efficient customers service. On the other hand, training and development program of Tesco is also beneficial for the employees to improve their knowledge and technical skill to attend the customers and helps them to resolve their complaints. Training and development program are also beneficial to provide efficient customers services by communication and building strong relationship with the customers.

Directing:

Directing is another managerial function through which the managers supervise and motivate the staff members in the organisation. inter personal skill and high interactive skill are helpful for the managers to manage the subordinates and in this regard the managers also aim at leading the people through motivation and supervision. For example, the managers try to manage the performance of the front-line managers and the sales representatives to support the customers by motivating them and providing them rewards and incentives (Samantara and Sharma, 2015). The front-line managers try to improve communication with the customers to gather their feedback and acknowledge their actual needs and preferences so that they can deliver quality service to the consumers as per their requirements. The marketing managers in this regard direct the staff members and other subordinates in the marketing department through supervising their performance and motivating them to improve their performance.

Controlling:

Though controlling, the managers try to improve their standard and in this regard the managers of Tesco aim at establishing standard of performance as a whole so that it is easy to satisfy he customers in the market (Christopher, 2016). In addition to these the marketing managers of Tesco also focus at measuring actual performance by continuous monitoring and improve their performance through increasing the use of online platform so that they can response the customers within effective time.

P 3: Applying theories and models of leadership and management

Mintzberg’s managerial role is also important in this context where the managers try to monitor and manage the workplace through maintaining harmony among the staff members. The managers try to empower the staff members and gather feedback from all the staff members.

Cooperation and collaboration in the workplace and high communication among the staff members further helps the managers and leaders to lead the workforce towards achieving success in near future. Hereby, there are differences in the roles and responsibilities of the managers and leaders, but both of the leaders and management are important for an organisation where it is easy to achieve the organisational strategic objective by managing the operational activities.

As per the situational leadership style, the managers of Tesco follow the supportive behaviour where the leaders and the managers support the workforce and direct them to achieve the pre-specified aim of the firm. the managers and leaders provide high incentives and performance related pay to the employees to support and motivate them as well as provide them proper training and advice for directing them so that they can serve the customers in a better way (Samantara and Sharma, 2015). As per the system leadership style, the leaders focus on building relationship with the staff members as well as improve innovation and build capacity for enhancing the overall performance of the firm. the management team and the leaders of Tesco are cooperative, and they try to build strong relationship with all the subordinates and staff members in their stores to lead them towards success and apart from that, the managers try to restructure the rewards system to motivate them for working efficiently so that it is possible to deliver efficient services to the customers. These activities of the leaders and managers in Tesco are the strength of running the organisation efficiently and gain effective competitive advantage in the retail market across the globe.

P 4: Key approaches of operation management and the role of leaders and the functions of the managers in the operations and management

Operation management is the managerial practice where the managers focus on designing and controlling the process from production to business operations. The operation manager develops effective planning and the managers play a significant role in managing the operational activities of the retail store and in this regard, it is useful to discuss the operation management in Tesco retail store where the operation mangers try to improve the operational activities so that it is possible to achieve the strategic objective of creating values for their customers by providing high quality products and services to them. The company focuses on strengthening their supply chain as well as develop warehouse to keep the products safe and secured (Mahadevan, 2015). Warehouse management and developing effective supply chain by building strong relationship with the suppliers are helpful for the company to manage the supermarket and deliver the products demanded by the customers at the right place within effective price. the store managers try to handle all the staff members and meet the requirements of the customers so that they can provide efficient service to the customers. Total Quality Management (TQM) includes customer focus, planning to help the customers in the store, process management and improving the process by managing supply chain and warehouse of the company so that it is easy to deliver high quality products to the customers (Samantara and Sharma, 2015).

P 5: Importance and value of operation management in achieving business objective

The managers also implement Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) as well as develop the technological infrastructure by implementing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for improving the internal and external communication. these initiatives are beneficial for the managers in Tesco to meet their pre-specified objective of retaining the customers and delivering them high-quality products and services. Moreover, RFID Technology is another advantageous initiative taken by the operation managers of Tesco where it helps to track the products easily and provides unique identification and security for safety and security of the products. It further helps the company to promote faster processing of the goods and services as per the customer’s demand and enhance employee efficiency. the company also focuses on improving distribution network through Just in Time (JIT) (Varley, 2014). It helps the managers to reduce the cost of managing warehouse and improve inventory control of the company. Hereby, warehouse management, high technological infrastructure and JIT are beneficial for the operational managers of the company Tesco to manage the retail store and serve better service to the customers. The role of operation management in the organisation is essential as it provides suitable strategic planning to conduct the operational activities in the firm. It is also important to have effective operational management so that the organisation can achieve their pre-specified goals efficiently by utilising their human resources, capital and other equipment in the firm. The strategic planning of the operational management is hereby beneficial for all the companies to runt heir business proficiently and gain high competitive advantages in the market.

P 6: Acknowledging the factors within the business environment that have crucial impacts on the operational management and decision-making practice by the leaders and managers

There are several external factors that have crucial impacts on the operation management of Tesco and in this regard the leaders and managers focus on developing effective strategy so that it is possible to manage the sustainability of the business. In the recent years, it is the responsibility of the managers and leaders to make the business sustainable by reducing the negative impacts of the operations of the business (Fernie and Sparks, 2014). The PEST and SWOT analysis are helpful which helps to identify the impacts of the external factors that have impacts on the leaders and managers to take the right decision.

Hereby, the PEST and SWOT are the major contributing factors which have crucial impacts on the decision-making practice of the leaders and the managers of the organisation Tesco. In addition to these, the stakeholders are also crucial part of the business which includes the managers, government, suppliers, distributors, social communities and the customers. the organisation Tesco aims at satisfying tall the stakeholders by providing high return on investment as well as providing high quality products at lower price to the customers which are main decision by the leaders and the managers that makes the business successful.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that, the managers and leaders are playing crucial role in the organisation to improve the operational efficiency and manage the staff members towards achieving the pre-specified goals and objectives of the company. The operations management of Tesco is beneficial for the firm where the operations managers try to manage the staff members, reallocate the resources in the organisation and improve the performance of the staff so that they can deliver high quality products and services to the customers. the managers and leaders in Tesco, both are supportive, and they motivate the staff members by encouraging their creativity, providing effective training and development program and offering performance related pay to them. these initiatives further help the company to gain highly competitive advantage in the retail industry and maximise the sales volume and profitability. in order to manage the operational activities of the company, the operation managers of Tesco try to focus on JIT, ICT and ERP implementation as well as improve supply chain management and warehouse management where they can maximise their operational efficiency which further helps the managers of the firm to deliver high quality service and products to the customers within effective time. In this recent year, there are environmental factors as well as social factors that will influence the managers and leaders of the company to develop effective planning so that it is possible to create values for the overall social communities.

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