To research and investigate into an organization, find out how the organisation approaches motivation and leadership, organisational structure and culture and team working. Introduction The organisation chosen to be accessed in this assignment is Tesco. Tesco is the biggest retailer in the United Kingdom, having up to 1,878 stores with about 24 million square feet of space used for their retail. Their growth and success throughout the years has been due to their development of the multi-lane trade estate where high quality, low prices and quality customer understanding and experience has resulted in the continuous expansion of operating profits.
Tesco’s Organisational Chart Organizational charts are thorough illustrations of organization structures and hierarchies. They are classically used to offer both employees and individuals external to the business with a “snapshot” image of its reporting relations, distribution of work, and levels of management. Obviously, smaller companies, whether they consist of only one owner of a home-based business, a humble shop of a few employees, or a family-owned organisation with a few dozen workers-are less likely to make use of organization charts, since the information that is picked up from chart representations is usually self-evident with such businesses.
Managers that wish to assign responsibilities, activities, and organisational power to a range of employees also have to make sure that they organise the activities of those staff to avoid redundancies or gaps in management and operations. If possible, an in depth organisational chart will supply the business owner or manager with an precise overview of the relationships of these divisions or responsibilities to one another and a reliable indication as to whether the organisation is situated to meet the business’s basic and essential goals.
There are several advantages of drawing up organisational charts for business, some of which being; those that agree and use organisation charts within their businesses feel that they are effective and useful tools such that they aid in relationship building and they outline workers responsibilities within the company. An additional advantage of organisational charts is that they are constructive navigational tools when smaller businesses decide they want to develop and expand. However, there are also a few limitations that can be addressed in regards to the charts. A disbeliever of organisation charts does not recognize casual lines of communication and influence that are quite important in many business settings. Some people also feel that the picture a chart paints of the importance and authority of certain people within the organisation can be misleading and misinterpreted.
Tesco’s organisational structure is designed by a hierarchy which shows the different levels of responsibility by starting with the managing director at the top and the workers at the bottom. The Culture of Tesco It is widely identified that different businesses have their own characteristic cultures. ‘They way we see and do things around here’ is a commonly used phrase when defining a culture. A business uses what it has been good at and how well its worked and what has worked in the past to sum up the business’ culture These principles can often be accepted and adjusted to without hesitation by employees who have been working for the firm for a long period of time. Our customers don’t have to shop at Tesco. We know that. We have to do absolutely everything we can to make shopping with us the best experience possible, so they keep coming back.
And we know that if we look after our people and treat our colleagues with trust and respect they will look after our customers. That’s why so many of our people stay with us for 25 years or more. It’s everyone’s job here to help our customers first, whenever they can, whenever they’re needed. That’s why, at busy times of the year like Christmas and Easter, you’ll see staff from our head office working in store, helping to keep our aisles in stock by working on the shop floor.’ Leadership and Motivational Strategies Leadership involves inspiring people to change the way they work and move forward giving them a sense of direction and setting an example. There are various types of leadership styles involved in management which are autocratic, democratic, laissez faire and paternalistic.
An autocratic leader makes decisions without referring or questioning anyone else. There is a high level dependency on the leader from the employees and autocratic managers can create de-motivation and alienation of staff. However these types of leaders are good at making quick decisions effectively. A democratic leader, nevertheless, encourages decision making from all angles. Leadership may be emphasized throughout the business.
There are two types of democratic leaders; consultative and persuasive. A consultative leader is one which confers with other people within the business about ideas and suggestions and a persuasive leader is one which tries to convince other people that the idea they have come up with is the best idea for the organsiation. A democratic leader may also help to motivate their workers and to involve them in any decision making that takes place and in return the employees feel they are achieving a lot back from their company. This process improves the relationship and sharing of ideas and experiences within the business however all the discussion that takes place between the employees and the manager can also slow down the decision making.
A laissez-faire leader can be a very useful leader in an organisation where creative ideas are involved. They can be highly motivational as people have control over their working life. This type of leadership can make coordination and decision making very time consuming and lack in overall direction; they rely on good team work and good interpersonal skills. A paternalistic leader acts as a father figure to the company and makes decisions by consulting other employees too. They also believe in the need of support from staff members of their company.
In regards to Tesco, they have a democratic leader. The manager makes decisions and consults and discusses options and ideas with workers to help keep customer satisfaction. A good manager at Tesco will be able to motivate other people by showing a passion for whatever they may be doing, by being able to communicate clearly with customers and co-workers, by encouraging each other to get involved in making effective decisions, by setting good examples for ideas that are being shared, by clarifying goals and aims and finally by clearly stating all the benefits to everyone about the decisions that are being made.
Tesco Team-Working Tesco are very big on teamwork within their company. Each department, bakery, clothes, delicatessen etc all work together to try and make the store achieve more and gain more customer satisfaction. ‘The Tesco Team give support to each other and praise more than criticize, ask more than tell, and share knowledge so that it can be used, trust and respect each other, strive to do our very best enjoy work, celebrate success and learn from experience.
Teamwork is not necessary within all organsiations but in some. Team effort generates better results when undertaking unfamiliar problems by merging the knowledge and skills of each individual. The team provides the surroundings in which each individual has the opportunity to make the most of their input to the job in hand. There are several advantages of being in a team some of which are; higher quality results, wide range of skills available, fast decision-making, rapid communication and typically informal atmosphere
‘A team is a group of people made up of individuals who each contribute their individual knowledge and skills. Synergy, where the collective whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts, often occurs where teamwork is working well. Teams benefit because individuals often do not have all the knowledge and skills necessary. Working together is essential. Harmony and a positive attitude are critical. If the team is not working together, then the expected gains will not materialise.
An understanding of the common goal/task is also critical. People have to be clear as to why the team exists and what the purpose is.’ An example of where team working is put to use in everyday life at Tesco is when it is busy and the queues are long, staff work together to try and shorten the queues and help the process move faster. They intereact with each other and together they get the job done faster. This is an everyday process, staff and managers working together as a team to try solving problems.
