Berian Is A Manager Working At Tesco

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Leadership can be defined as the art of motivating and influencing people to achieve a certain goal or objective. Effective leaders have the capability to set targets and goals and achieve them in time by motivating, supervising and communicating with their subordinates.

In the modern business environment, leadership is habitually ignored by investors for the reason that is very difficult to assign a value on the qualitative facets of a business such as leadership. In contrast the quantitative metrics of a business can be easily measured and relatively easy to compare with other companies.

Tesco Case Study

Tesco is a consumer inclined business which strives to provide value for money to their customers and at the same time aims to deliver a high profile service. It seeks to attract new customers and hold existing ones. In the financial year 2009/2010, Tesco was able to capture more than 30% of the total grocery market in the United Kingdom.

Tesco considers their employees as the most important asset. It seeks to develop leadership qualities within the employees at all levels. The case study below elaborates how Tesco succeeds in doing so.

Berian is a Manager Working at Tesco

Berian is one of the managers working at Tesco. He is leading a team of 17 employees who are involved in the production of bakery items at Tesco. Amongst other tasks, the most important task that Berain has to supervise is to ensure that his team is able to produce the right products at key times in order to meet demand. E.g. when Tesco decided to expand its product line, Berian was required to make sure that all products are placed on the shelves by 8.00 am. Instead of imposing his solution on his team, he asked the team for ideas. The team decided to split their break times in order to make sure that the desired target is achieved. This way the problem was solved and the team as a whole was motivated.

Tesco seeks for managers who are competent, have strong decision making skills, confident and positive. Tesco encourages their managers to conduct a self-review which would highlight their strengths and weaknesses which would ultimately improve their performance.

The Tannebaum and Schmidt leadership model demonstrates the relationship between the level of freedom that a leader chooses to give to his/her subordinates and the authority delegated to them. The writers recommended that the leadership styles could be best explained on a scale ranging from "tell" to "participate".

Tell Style

Under the "tell" style, the manager makes the decision and imposes it on his subordinates.

Sell Style

Under the "sell" style, the manager makes the decision and then sells it to his team by giving them clear reasons and explaining them the rationale behind his decision.

Consult Style

Under this style, the leader takes input from his team and considers their suggestions before reaching the final decision. This style is useful where the team is experienced and highly competent.

Participate Style

Under this style, the leader assigns the maximum responsibility to his/her subordinates and they make the decision. This style is effective in well-developed organizations, where employees have strong decision making skills and have an optimistic attitude towards their work.

Martin is Tesco’s Programme Manager for Education and Skills

Martin is Tesco’s Programme manager who has a variety of responsibilities which also includes the preparation of budget. Martin may adopt a consult style where he may allow his managers to make suggestions regarding cost savings. By doing so, the employees may have a sense a ownership and the final budget would be what the employees consider to be achievable and what Martin believes is appropriate.

Contingency Theory

The contingency theory states that "there is no single best way of organizing a business; instead the action of the leader would depend upon the internal and external factors and/or situation.

I would prefer to apply the "The Tannebaum and Schmidt leadership model" in my organization. This is because employees working in an organization possess different skills, competencies and also vary in decision making skills. For this reasons, different leadership styles would be appropriate for employees that vary in these characteristics.

ACs 1.2

Management style is a professional vernacular used to define the how of management. Schleh (1977) defined management style as the "glue that links the processes and functions together". It is a set of principles through which the manager utilizes the abilities of his subordinates in the best possible way. It is an approach of a manager which is aimed at achieving the targets of objectives set which are aligned with the strategic goals of the organization. Rensis Likert (1967) identified four different types of managerial styles that managers usually follow:

Exploitative Authoritative

In this type of approach, the managers impose their decisions on their subordinates. The manager has very low trust on his team and develops fear-based methodologies in order to make them work. This type of style is effective in

Newly formed organizations.

In times of economic hardship.

When employees lack decision making skills.

Benevolent Authoritative

Under this approach, manager motivates his subordinates by rewards but there is very little teamwork and communication. The manager believes that his subordinates are enlightening but consult them sporadically.

Consultative

Under this approach, the manager has an ample amount of trust in his subordinates but still do not trust them completely. The employees are motivated by rewards with some sort of involvement in decision making. Communication and team-work is higher under this approach as compared to what is under "Benevolent Authoritative".

Participative

Under this approach, the manager completely involves his subordinates in decision making and has complete trust in them. The communication and team-work is superb under this approach. Employees are motivated my economic rewards and employees at all levels feel responsibility to achieve the goals which have been set. This type of managerial style is effective in

Well-established organizations.

In times of economic affluence.

When employees have strong decision making skills.

In the modern business environment, managerial styles and organizational effectiveness have a strong relationship and both them have a substantial effect on the overall performance of the organization. A good match between these two variables would enable the organization to succeed in the long term. Studies show that a large number of organizations have filed bankruptcies in the past just because of a mismatch between these two factors. In every organization, the style of the management affects the performance of the employees, the team and the overall performance of the organization.

In 1993, Culpan and Kucukemirogula came with a model which explains different managerial styles and how managers practice those styles in different situations. The model consisted of six different managerial aspects. These include:

Leadership style

Decision-making

Communication patterns

Control mechanism

Interdepartmental relations

Paternalistic orientation

The authors tried to find a link between managerial styles and organization effectiveness and by matching management systems in the United States with the management systems in Japan. The authors concluded that the American managers scored less in Leadership style and Control mechanism whereas the Japanese where more focused on Communication patterns, Interdepartmental relations and Paternalistic orientation.

ACs 1.3

Motivation is the most important factor that encourages the employees to work effectively in an organization. It is essential that the goals of an organization are also aligned with the personal needs of the employees so that they are motivated to act in the long term best interest of the organization. Goals are ultimately broken down in short term targets. If these targets are unrealistic or such that the employees feel that they are impossible to achieve then this would create a sense of dissatisfaction and may result in a low morale of the employees.

In 1943, Abraham Maslow proposed the theory of needs. The work of Maslow is one of the greatest contributions in today’s business environment to understand what motivates people and personnel development. The theory fits best in the modern business environment because Maslow also incorporated the fact that employers are responsible to provide such an environment that motivates the employees and ultimately enables them to accomplish self-actualizing needs. The central idea of this theory is that individuals have a pyramid of needs in themselves which they wish to fulfill. These are as follows:

Physiological Needs

The physiological needs include the basic needs of every human such as water, food, clothing, shelter, sleep, sex etc. Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic needs of any human and all other needs except these are secondary until and unless these are not fulfilled.

Safety needs

Once a human meets his physiological needs, he then seeks to fulfill his safety needs i.e. protecting himself from any physical or emotional harm. These include living in a safe area, working in a safe environment, law, medical insurance, financial reserves, job security, health etc.

Social Needs

Social needs are concerned with the need of love, affection, care, respect and friendship. These needs were described less basic as compared to physiological and safety needs. Examples of social needs include friendships, marriage etc.

Esteem Needs

Once the above three needs are fulfilled, the esteem needs becomes highly important for every human. Esteem needs can be classified into internal esteem needs and external esteem needs. Internal esteem needs include self-respect, achievement etc. In contrast the external esteem needs include power, recognition admiration etc.

Self-Actualization

This is the topmost need under Maslow’s theory. These needs are never fulfilled because as individuals grow psychologically, new opportunities come up which they wish to accomplish.

ACs 1.4

Work relationships and interaction between employees in an organization plays a key role in their success and development. Researches have revealed five characteristics of work relationships and interaction in flourishing practices.

Trust

Trust is the major factor behind any efficacious teamwork. A team that comprise of people that trust each other heavily seek input from each other and rely on their team mates to carry out their work without doubting them. People who have trust on each other can discuss their pros and cons with each other in order to overcome their weaknesses.

Diversity

Diversity can be defined as differences between people in terms of views, culture, gender, experience and education. A team that is comprised of people who belong to different cultures, have different views is far more effective than any other team which have the people with similar views because it increases the likelihood of the problem being solved earlier as everyone would come up with a different solution and hence the problem would be resolved quickly.

Mindfulness

A team that is consisting of people who are mindful encourages other team members to express their views. This is because everyone would be aiming to learn and improve and would express their ideas without the fear that they will be punished or criticized for it.

Interrelatedness

This is where all the employees are subtle to the work and completely aware of the fact that how their contribution to the work affects the team as a whole. All the team members are fully aware of the contributions of each other towards achieving the desired goal and such an approach helps to deal with uncertain events.

Respect

Respectful interactions amongst the team members are vital for the success of the team as a whole. Teams that are comprised of people who respect each other are more likely to give consideration to each other’s opinions and change their thoughts. If team members respect each other, it is more likely that problems would be resolved at an earlier stage in challenging situations because it would focus all of the team members towards solving the problem.

ACs 2.1

Divisional Structure

Under a divisional structure, an organization is divided into a number of divisions. Each division has a divisional head and is provided with its own resources and also held accountable for it. Organizations can be divided into different divisions on the basis of product, services and geographical lines. A diagrammatic example is shown below.

Matrix Structure

In this type of organizational structure, the organization is divided into functions and products. The teams that are developed comprise of the most qualified employees from the overall organization to complete the project. Employees under a matrix structure report to the functional manager on a day to day basis. A diagrammatic example is shown below.

Summary of Main Findings

Leaders adopt different leadership styles depending on the structure and nature of the work. E.g. tell style, sell style etc.

Managers adopt different managerial styles considering the capabilities and skills of their subordinates.

Every individual has a pyramid of needs in their minds which he/she wishes to fulfill. These include physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization.

Characteristics that may affect work relationships and interaction include trust, diversity, respect etc.

Different organizations have different structures. These may include divisional structure, matrix structure etc.

Task 2

Group Report

ACs 2.1

Organizational culture can be defined as the combined behavior of the people working in an organization how they work together. It includes beliefs, norms, cultural values, habits and visions. It is also a form of collective assumptions and/or behaviors that is taught to the new employees who join the organization so that they think and react in accordance with the culture of the organization.

Deal and Kennedy’s Cultural Framework

The work of Deal and Kennedy with regards to corporate culture revealed that the culture in an organization is a set of six elements.

History: The history of the organization and its traditions keep the employees focused on the values and beliefs on which the organization was initially formed.

Values and Beliefs: The cultural identity is shaped around the mutual principles of what is imperative, and the morals that define what the organization looks for.

Rituals and Ceremonies: These are the things that bring employees together on a day to day basis. E.g. saying goodbye to the team member when leaving from work, late night get to gathers on weekends.

Stories: Stories motivate the employees in an organization and enables them to learn of what is being expected from them and make them understand the reason behind the existence of the business.

Heroic Figures: These include the stories of the role models and peoples who have served tremendously for the organization in the past and may be and inspiration for the people working in the organization.

The Cultural Network: It is an informal network within an organization where the most vital information is passed on to the employees of the organization. It includes story tellers, gossipers, whisperers, spies etc.

Working on these elements, Deal and Kennedy identified four different types of organizational cultures that impact on the effectiveness of the organization. These include.

Tough-Guy Culture

Under this sort of culture, employees enjoy their work to the greatest extent and have a risk taking attitude towards their work. They receive quick feedbacks on the decisions made by them and work very hard. Examples include police, surgeons, sports teams, advertising etc.

Work Hard Culture

Under this culture, the employees recognize that a single person alone cannot achieve the desired targets and objectives. They work in a team and everyone tries to perform to the fullest and compete with each other. This type of culture is common in the world of sales and the feedback is instantaneous.

Bet-Your-Company Culture

Under this sort of culture, the risk is enormous but it may take years for the company to know whether they have succeeded or not. Examples include oil companies and aircraft manufacturers.

Process Culture

Under this culture, both the risk and feedback is very low. Government organizations and banks usually fall into this culture.

ACs 2.2

The Coca-Cola Company is the world largest beverages producer. It currently produces four out of the top five soft drinks around the globe. These include Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Diet Coke.

Organizations like the Coca-Cola Company have constructed structures that are elastic and ultimately encourage the organization as a whole to work in the long term best interest of the organization. The Great Britain division of the Coca-Cola Company is a superb example of such a structure.

At Great Britain, the most important strategic decisions are taken by an Executive Committee of twelve members. The Chief Executive Officer leads the board and has the final say but he takes opinion from other company officers who are part of the Executive Committee.

The Coca-Cola Company believes that reaching each and every consumer is the key to success. For this reason, the company has been divided into a regional structure which comprise of South East Asia, North America, Africa, North Asia, European Union and Latin America. Moreover, each of these divisions is sub divided further divisions. For example, the European Division is divided as follows.

In order for this sort of structure to be effective, the Coca-Cola Company has developed a culture which emphasizes on team work. Teams are developed at strategic level, regional level and local level. Culture describes the way in which an organization conducts its operations. The Coca-Cola Company considers their employees as the most important asset. It believes that motivated employees are more likely to work effectively and efficiently. The employees are encouraged come up with new ideas and if they feel that they can come up with something that is beneficial for the overall organization, they are allowed to share their views and opinions.

This way, the structure and the culture of the Coca-Cola Company are interlinked with each other and support each other so that the overall organization is effective and also focused on continuous improvement.

Summary of Main Findings

Deal and Kennedy identifies four different types of organizational cultures. These include Tough-Guy Culture, Work Hard Culture, Bet-Your-Company Culture, Process Culture.

Task 3

ACs 3.1

In the modern business environment, large organizational structures affect the ability of employees to find and share information effectively. Researches reveal that over 50% of the staff costs are incurred to retrieve information. The time which is required to search for information for one single employee can cost up to 10% of the employees total salary. Organizations can facilitate information by introducing communication mediums such as emails, blogs, mobile phones etc. Nowadays, social networks are an effective way of communicating and passing on the information to each other. Furthermore, teams should be developed in order to ensure a more accurate flow of information among the employees.

Organizations can also facilitate creativity in the following ways

Employees should be reminded at all times that in the modern business environment; creativity is the key to success. Organizations that are not creative and not try to become the first mover in their industry are left behind because of rapid change in technology. The organization environment should be such that each and every individual is focused on being creative and innovative.

Organizations should conduct training and development programs for employees on a regular basis so that the employees are aware of the modern changes and requirements of the environment.

A reward system may also be introduced by the organizations to motivate the employees to be creative and innovative. The system should be such that all the employees working in the organization work in the long term best interest of the organization and not just become greedy to achieve the rewards to fulfill their personal needs.

ACs 3.2

Organizations that do not wish to learn from their past experiences keep failing and never improve, instead they liquidate one day. Effective leaders promote learning in an organization to achieve continuous improvement and learn from past practices.

People who work in a learning organization are completely awakened at all times. They are continuously involved in their work and work hard to accomplish their goals. Employees working in such organizations pursue such strategies which make them the master of their work and their individual goals are linked to the mission of the organization. Moreover, people working in learning organizations take risks so that they can learn quickly and at the same time have the capability to solve the problems which they may encounter in doing so. Working in learning organizations is far better than being a slave in an organization which is never satisfying and does not enhance the interpersonal skills.

ACs 3.3

In any business, team working helps the individuals to achieve the strategic and operational targets effectively and in a timely manner. The following principles lead to an effective teamwork in an organization.

All of the team members should work towards achieving a common goal with no conflict of interests.

All of the team members should contribute equally to achieve the goal.

All of the members should perceive themselves as part of the team even if they are not together.

Members should focus on the interest and benefit of the team as a whole and should avoid any differences of opinion.

There should be effective communication among all the team members whether it is face to face or virtually.

The team should be comprised of people belonging to different cultures as it increases the likelihood of the goal being achieved more effectively.

All of the team members should seek to learn from each other rather than imposing their own thoughts and views.

There should be a reward system to reward the team as a whole once targets are achieved. This motivates the team to work more effectively and efficiently.

All of team members should compete with each other without envying from each other.

ACs 3.4

Decision making helps an organization to make the best use of the resources available in order to achieve the objectives of the organization. The resources include Men, Money, Machines, Materials, Markets and Methods. It also helps an organization to achieve its strategic and operational goals in an effective manner. Moreover, it also helps to solve problems and create ways to face new challenges in an organization.

Some different approaches to decision making are stated below

Grid Analysis: This approach helps the leader to take decisions more rationally. It is more effective when the leader has a number of alternative actions and other factors to consider. This approach is also known as Decision Matrix Analysis.

Plus/Minus/Interesting: Under this approach to decision making, three columns are created named Plus, Minus, Interesting. All the positive factors are stated in the plus column and negative factors in the minus column with their impacts in the interesting column. Looking at the outcomes, a more unfailing decision can be taken through this approach.

Force Field Analysis: This technique considers all the forces that are in favor and against the final decision. Under this technique, a table is created with the plan stated in the middle, all forces in the favor of decision on one side and all the forces against the decision on the other side and finally a score is allotted to each force.

ACs 4.1

The definition of risk is that the final result of a decision may diverge from that which was actually expected of it when the decision was taken initially. A probability can be assigned to risk whereas no probability can be assigned to uncertainty. This distinguishes these two terminologies. The term probability refers to the chance that an event may or may not occur with values between zero and one. The following techniques are widely used under risk and uncertainty techniques for decision making.

Maximin: This sort of approach is followed by managers who have a risk-averse attitude and try to maximize the minimum payoff from a decision made.

Maximax: This sort of approach is followed by managers who have a risk taking attitude and who seek to maximize the maximum payoff from a decision made.

Minimax Regret Rule: This approach aims to minimize the regret from a wrong decision.

ACs 4.2

GP stands for General Practice. It is an imperative fragment of the health sector throughout the globe. They deal with problems that usually consist of physical and social constituents. GPs have a detailed knowledge for assessing a problem and taking the most appropriate action against it. They usually prefer to work in teams with other professionals and also assist patients in maintaining their own health. It is therefore vital that organizations in the health care sector consider the following points before making a decision to appoint GPs.

Ensure that the GPs are always committed to provide a high quality service at all times.

Ensure that GPs are aware of their own cons.

Ensure that the GPs are committed to continually improve their performance and willing to provide the finest service to the patients.

Ensure that the GPs understand the value of working as a team.

ACs 4.3

In the past many years, many organizations have changed their structures via mergers and acquisitions and many organizations have seen a decline in their performance after the merger. For this reason, it is essential that the management at strategic level appropriately manages the change to counter the challenges faced after the merger. By focusing on the following factors, an organization can effectively managed the changed structure after the merger.

Everyone should be informed about the merger and each and every employee must understand the reason behind such a change.

The management at the senior level must demonstrate their commitment to change by regularly "walking the talk".

Everyone should be encouraged and motivated to behave in accordance with the change in the organization’s structure.

The employees should be given a clear explanation about what is expected from them after the merger.

Employees should be told to avoid any conflicts of culture. (This is because new people would be a part of the organization after the merger).

Summary of Main Findings

People working in learning organizations are always awakened and strive to accomplish their goals.

Effective team-working enables an organization to retain itself in the market for a longer period.

Different approaches to decision making include Grid Analysis, Plus/Minus Interesting etc.

The most popular approaches that are used widely to assess and mitigate risks include Maximin, Maximax, and Minimax Regret Rule.