Management and Operations: A Case Study of British Steel

Management and Operations

Executive Summary

The current study has chosen an organisation namely, British Steel, which has been able to gather better growth with the help of the implementation of the leadership approaches in the organisation. The study has demonstrated the value and importance of the organisation to achieve the organisational goal and analysis has been given to explain the impact of different factors on the business environment.

Introduction

The role of operation in the business organisation is an aspect of influence on business growth. The study sheds light on the management of the operation in organisations with the help of appropriate leadership and management approaches. The implementation of different theories will be able to gather better management of operations in business organisations. Every company needs to focus on leaders and operation management of the business to run it effectively in the market. The purpose of the study is to discuss the main components of the operation management and role of the managers and leaders in British steel.

Learning Outcome 1 and 2

Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager in addressing the huge technological changes happening in the external environment

Table 1: Roles of leaders and managers

Critically analyses and evaluate the role of a leader and function of a manager using relevant theories and concepts

The leaders and managers of the business organisations are able to gather the desired workflow based on their strategies of employee management. The employees of the organisation will be able to gather benefits with the implementation of the systematic strategies in the organisation. As opined by Hussain et al. (2018), the managers are able to determine better strategies for the management of change in the organisation. The implementation of the strategies will be able to gather better employee motivation in organisations. On the other hand, Leonidou et al. (2017) have added that the development of the employee motivations is determined by the implementation of a leadership approach in business organisations. The organisational authority has to determine the strategies to implement the changes that are forced because of the change in the external environments. The execution of leadership and management theories has several strengths and weaknesses. The implementation of the same will also have their limitations while gathering growth in the market.

Theory of operations management

The operations of the organisations are referred to as the daily activity of the organisations with the help of the process of task distribution within the employees. As opined by Zanjirchi et al. (2019), the managers of the organisation determine the organisations' strategies to develop a better performance of the organisation. It can be stated that the operation is a vital department to look after. Organisational management has to theoretical implement the strategies to develop the desired optimisation. It is the responsibility of the manager to gather better performance of tasks. The theory of operations management focuses on the basic departments of the organisations. The implementation of the operations management of the organisation is able to gather consumer satisfaction. As stated by Gunasekaran et al. (2018), the consumers are able to gather better quality product with the implementation of the operations management theory in the organisations. British steel has been able to provide exclusive quality steel plates in the market of the United Kingdom. The implementation of operations management theories has been helpful for the betterment of the organisational performance through the years.

Present and examine specific examples of how a manager and leader can react to different forms of operational challenges within British Steel or your chosen organisation

Different forms of operational challenges

The leadership and management approaches of the business organisations have their own way of limitations. The development of the organisational operations strategy has been possible with the appropriate implementation of the same at the time of need. As stated by Boon and Edler (2018), the external business environment of the country is an aspect of continuous change. The leaders and managers of the organisations have to change the approach based on the need of the situation. Every leadership theory has its limitation in the determination of growth. Therefore it can be said that the implementation of the leadership approach has to be changed based on the need of the situation.

• Situational Leadership: The situational leadership theory determines the organisational strategies based on the changes in the situation. It may seem like a version of the contingency theory. However, as opined by Thompson and Glasø (2018), situational leadership is reliant on the capability of the leader and the ability of the followers. For instance, it can be stated that British Steel will be able to gather a better evaluation of the changes in the organisation with the help of the execution of the situational leadership approach.

Figure 1: Situational leadership

(Source: Inspired from Thompson and Glasø, 2018)

• Systems leadership: The system's leadership has been able to determine the organisational growth in terms of obtaining employee faith and motivations. The implementation of the systems leadership approach will be able to gather better employee involvement in the tasks of the organisations. The implementation of the system's leadership will ensure the employee faith in British steel.

• Contingency leadership: The contingency theory determines the leadership approach with the help of the evaluation of change in the situation. As opined by Inyang et al. (2018), the implementation of the contingency theory will be able to gather growth in the organisation. However, the incapability of the leaders may cause failure in the determination of the organisational theory. The employees of the organisation British Steel will be able to gather better knowledge on the implementation of change in the company.

Figure 2: Contingency theory

(Source: Inspired from Inyang et al., 2018)

• Behavioural leadership: This leadership approach relies on the skills and ability of the leader for the performance of the tasks. The employees of the organisation will gather improvement in the skills that they already possess with the help of the implementation of the theory. The British Steel will be able to gather better growth in the organisational method with the help of the leading ability of the leaders.

Critically analyse and evaluate the main approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers play at functional areas of British Steel

Approaches

• Kaizen: The Kaizen model revolves around the process of undergoing continuous development (Carnerud et al., 2018). The employees of the organisation will be able to gather better skills with the help of the implementation of the Kaizen model in the operations.

• Just in time: The just in time model in the operations management is able to manage the inventory of the organisation. It can be stated that the implementation of the JIT model will be able to reduce the waste of the organisations. The British Steel will be able to gather better management of the inventory of the organisation with the execution f the JIT model.

• Lean: The lean method or operations is a minimalistic approach to perform the tasks of the organisation (Bertagnolli, 2018). It is predominant that the implementation of lean operations is able to provide better management of the raw material of the organisations.

• Six-sigma: Six sigma method of operations management improves the product quality of the organisations. It can be stated that in British Steel, the six sigma methodology will be able to produce a better quality product with the help of the implementations of appropriate strategies in the operations.

Figure 3: Operational approaches

Role of leaders and managers play at functional areas of British Steel

The leaders and managers of the organisation British Steel have been able to gather better growth with the help of the implementation of appropriate strategies in the organisations. As stated by Rotter et al. (2019), the improvement in the operations management is the basic lookout for the managers or the leaders. However, there are even more critical departments that the leaders have to take responsibility for. The managers have to take responsibility for the recruitment procedure of the organisation. It is evident that the organisation will be able to gather better growth with the recruitment of efficient employees in the companies. The determination of the financing of business organisations is also an aspect of developing better operations management for the company. The evaluation of the accounting data of the organisation will be able to provide an overview of the success and issues of the investments of the organisations. The determination of the product design is also done by the leaders and the managers of the organisations. British Steel will be able to gather better growth with the help of the evaluation of the operations management aspects.

Learning Outcome 3 and 4

Explain the main approaches to operations management and the role that leaders and managers at British Steel

British steel needs to follow six-sigma, just in time and Kaizen in their operation management. The six-sigma is a unique method that is used to develop the capability of the business procedure through the organisation tool. The company use this process to enhance the profits, quality of the service and products and employee morale. The just in time (JIT) is a concept that needs to be followed by British steel to reduce the flow time and production cost. British steel can adopt the Kaizen concept in their organisation and this concept includes five components such as teamwork, improved morale, quality circles, personal discipline and improvement. British steel needs to implement effective leaders to operate their business properly in the market. The company have to introduce an effective leadership team who would help the company to develop the performance and productivity of the organisation. As per a report, British steel has faced critical challenges to maintain its supply chain due to the arrival of Brexit in 2019. They have faced problem in export and import of business from overseas during the period (credit-connect.co.uk, 2021)

Evaluate how leaders and managers at British steel can help improve the efficiencies of operational management to successfully meet business objectives

Every company need to focus highly on its leadership system in order to develop the business and to increase the value in the market. The goal of British steel is to regain the competitive advantages in the world market as a supplier (britishsteel.co.uk, 2021). The company can hire skilled employees for the company and they can implement training and development practise for their employees. This would help them to develop their productivity and performance. The company can introduce skilled trainers and leadership team in their business who would train the new candidates effectively. They can focus on their communication process through which the workers and staffs will able to understand their roles and responsibilities properly. The company can introduce a reward system such as incentive, promotion and other facilities to motivate their employees. British steel can hire a skilled manager who will help the business to improve performance, planning, control, and other operational processes.

Explain the importance and value of operations management in achieving the objectives of British Steel

Every company need to focus highly on their operation management to develop organisational performance and productivity. The importance and value of operation management are as follows:

• Production efficiency

Production is the main factor of any business and it is important to calculate cost properly to avoid high costing and maintain the product quality.

• Customers’ satisfaction

The company need to focus highly on its customers and to provide the best service and quality through they would able to satisfy their demands. They need to communicate with their customers to understand their requirement and to provide those best products and service.

• Capacity management

The organisation need to focus highly on their operation management as it is used to manage the capital investment. The operation management needs to deals with resources and capitals and processes them properly to run the business properly in the market. The operation management needs to focus on its resources to control the wastages of the raw materials.

All these factors would help British steel to achieve the goal and objectives by focusing on their operational management. British steel needs to focus on the operational management to improve organisational performance and productivity.

Consider critically evaluating the application of operations management and factors that impact the wider business environment.

According to Rotter et al. (2019), operation management plays an effective role in every organisation for developing the productivity and performance of the business. The decision-making process is an essential factor in operational management and it makes a huge impact on the company. The company need to take smart decision to operate the business properly in the market. The company needs to focus properly on employment security, workforce selection, management style and compensation method in an organisation to improve the work culture and productivity. However, Tanabe (2019) stated that the operation management system helps an operator to understand a machine tool and it depends on the information of facilities, manpower and production plant. Production planning, controlling and scheduling is a vital factor in operation management. It helps the organisation to create an effective plan, schedule and to control the workforce of the business by making effective decision. British Steel can focus properly on their operation management to improve their workforce and to make an effective decision for their business.

Provide an assessment of the factors within the business environment that impact operational management and decision-making by leaders and managers of British Steel

Several factors can affect the operational management and decision-making process of manager and leaders. The organisation needs to focus properly on the global competition as it has the ability to affect the business and therefore the managers and leaders have to take smart decision to overcome the problems (cirbizz.com, 2021). The company need to focus highly on its customers, quality and expenditure to face the competitive challenges ion the market. It would also help the company to increase its value in the market. British steel provides high-quality steel to its customers that have helped the company to enhance its value in the market and gain a recognisable position in the market (britishsteel.co.uk, 2021). As per a review site, most of the customers has preferred their products as they provide good quality products at a reasonable price as well as the employees are satisfied in their business for their friendly environment (glassdoor.co.uk, 2021). It has helped the company to make a strong customer base for its quality products.

Also, present an analysis of how these different factors affect the business environment and the wider community

An organisation needs to focus on their leaders and managers to enhance the efficiency of the organisation to gain a profitable position in the market. British steel can focus properly on the global environment to improve the business environment. The firm needs to concentrate more on the global environment as they can receive their raw materials from various supply chain from different part of the country. In order to avoid a lack of raw material, they need to build a strong supply chain that would help the company to maintain its resources correctly. The company needs to look on to their customers to provide the products as per their demands. They can improve the quality of the product to attract more customers to their business. As per a report, the company has focused properly on all their factors that have helped the company to increase its revenue to £1.18 billion in 2018 (statista.com, 2021)

Conclusion and recommendations

From the above, it can be concluded that operation management and leader made a huge impact on the business and it important to focus highly on the leaderships and business operation. British Steel has focused highly on its leaders and operation and it has helped their company to run smoothly in the market. Following are the recommendations for the improvement in the business growth of the organisation:

• The supply chain management of the organisation will be improved with the help of the execution of the leadership theories in the organisation. It can be stated that the supply chain management of the organisation will be an easier aspect for the leaders and managers.

• It can be stated that the product design will be able to gather consumer attractions towards the organisations.

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