- Introduction of organization and management structure
- Apply roles of leadership and management in different in given contexts
Leadership and management are different skills where the parties can have the same functions in the organization. There are various organizational contexts in Unilever, where leadership and management can be applied.
Organizational leadership context
Unilever has both leaders and managers who control the operations in the company. Management involves the act of coordinating the activities in the business to ensure the achievement of objectives. Managers use their skills to achieve organizational goals in the short-term. When management is used in the leadership of the organization, one of the roles is to monitor the operations. Control also ensures that there is operational efficiency in the organization. Unilever is a large company that has several departments and is headed by managers. Most of the time, managers use an authoritative leadership style to control the employees. The managers are commanding in their actions and like respect and obedience from the employees. The management comes with the directions of the organization and passes them to other employees with the expectation that they follow them strictly. The managers work towards the achievement of the goals of the organization. They ensure that employees get clear directions. The managers also lead through making follow-ups to ensure that workers follow instructions as required, and there should be no mistakes made from the employees.
Leadership entails the act of guiding people in the organization to achieve the goal and improves the company in the long-term. The administration makes its roles by influencing the behavior of the employees and changing them in a specific direction. Like the managers, leaders set a clear vision for the employees so that they can influence them to accept the future of the company. Unilever Company aims at helping people to improve their health and wellbeing in society. Therefore, the leader affects the employees to understand their roles in meeting the outcome. The leader uses the democratic leadership approach in leading the employees where workers have the right to make the decisions in an organization.
Context of solving conflicts in the organization
Disputes are a clash of opinions in an organization. The idea clashes in the organization as usual, but there is always the central cause of the conflict. The conflicts may either be functional, horizontal, or hierarchical. Managers play a part in solving the dispute, which may arise in the organization among different parties. Therefore, managers make strate4gic decisions that ensure that the root cause of the conflict aris identified and the dispute is solved. When solving the difference, the managers mostly consider the benefit of the company and its shareholders in making decisions. Additionally, it is the role of the manager to ensure that actions or the conflict in the organization do not cause harm to the employees.
Leadership skills possessed by leaders are one of the best tools for solving disputes in the organization. Unlike the managers, leaders in Unilever use the participative leadership style to ensure that the conflicting parties can resolve their issues. Collaboration and cooperation ensure that employees can work well in a team. Another role of the leadership in conflict solving is to persuade the employees and control them. Leaders care for every party that can be affected by the conflict and thus enhances collaboration by finding the root cause and advising the conflicting parties to forgive each other for a productive team.
Relationship building context
Managers and leaders are happy and satisfied when they are working with employees who are not disturbing. A good relationship between the organization leaders and the employees is essential in ensuring productivity in the company. When an employee does not have trust in the manager, the organization is likely to suffer. The manager is responsible for ensuring there is effective communication with employees. Communication ensures that there is a building of trust, which leads to the development of a strong relationship that will improve the productivity of the employee. Managers listen to what the employees want so that they can develop a dialog that will solve the employees’ problems. However, not all managers have the skills of being a good listener.
Leaders play a big part in building the relationship with the employees to ensure there is success in meeting the organizational goals. One of the roles of leaders is to motivate employees to ensure that they see every activity in the organization in a positive way. Employees work well when they are motivated. Therefore, the leader ensures that the motivation they give to the employees satisfies them, for the benefit of the company.
- How classical theories and behavioral theories apply to the organization and how these have supported the growth and sustainable performance
Approaches to operations management and roles managers and leaders play
An organization may consist of both leaders and managers, or the managers take the responsibilities of leaders and work towards benefiting the organization. The business process involves a set of tasks performed in an organization to achieve a specific business result. One of the approaches to operations management is the business process redesign. The approach entails the development of the process objectives and business visions for the company. There is also the identification of the processes which require redesigning and the process of building the new process. There are several roles the managers and leaders play in this approach to ensure there is success in the business. One of the roles of the managers and leaders play is to organize the resources and workforce required in the business process. Another role is to motivate the employees so that they can put more effort into ensuring the approach is achievable.
Lean manufacturing is another approach of operations management, which entails the elimination of wastes in the manufacturing process. Uneven workloads in the organization and overburdening of work account for wastes, as explained by the lean theory. The role of managers and leaders in lean manufacturing is understanding and ensuring that there is process improvement according to lean strategies.
Importance and value of operations management in achieving business objectives
Operations management is the process of controlling functions of the management so that there is an achievement of targets. Operations management ensures there is an achievement of the production efficiency in the organization. Cost calculation is done by the operations management team to ensure that the company does not incur high costs, which in turn leads to production efficiency. Operations management is used by the company to enhance profit maximization. The central goal of every company is to maximize profits, and the company achieves this through efficient production. Operations management is valuable because it ensures there is an effective utilization of the resources for the benefit of the company. When an organization sets a strong operations management, the invested resources are utilized well for the benefit of the company.
Operations management also ensures there is capacity management where there is proper management of the capital investment. The company uses operations management to ensure there is the prevention of waste of the resources which are not usable, and thus they can be used for the future. Another importance of operations management is to ensure there is the management of the inventories to avoid wastes and enhance proper production through total quality management.
How leaders and managers can improve the efficiencies of operational management to meet the organization’s business objectives successfully
Unilever Company sometimes faces reduced efficiency, which in turn affects the success of the business. The leaders and managers in Unilever can perform different roles which help in improving the efficiencies of the operation management and thus ensuring there is success in meeting the target of the organization. Managers and leaders in the business need to consider the strategies which ensure the improvement of efficiency in the organization and increment in profits. One of the ways through which managers can improve the managers and leaders can improve the efficiency of the operational management is through training. The supervisors can train the employees on the processes and systems which are essential in ensuring operational management are efficient. Understanding the operation is another way of ensuring there is efficient operation management where analysis can be done on the business intelligence tools.
Another way is through the assessment of the process reviews, where the manager will aim to ensure there is continuous improvement in the efficiency of the operational management. Raising the bar is another way in which the managers and leaders can use to improve the efficiency of the operational management in the organization. When managers achieve the first efficiency, they should not settle for that status quo. Instead, they should put more effort into ensuring there is an improvement in the efficiency from time to time for the achievement of better results.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between leadership and management in a contemporary business environment