The Role Of Leadership In Tesco’s Operations

Management of Employees and Leadership in Tesco

Discuss about the Pluralized Leadership in Complex Organizations.

Tesco is the largest retailer on the food and non-food sector of the United Kingdom. The company employs more than 440,000 people in its operations all over the world. The organization has around 2000 stores in the country and the stores of Tesco all over the world has been growing on a constant basis. Tesco has claimed to be the largest employer in the private sector of United Kingdom. The head office of Tesco is located in Hertfordshire. The business operations of the company are customer-oriented in nature and the services that the company aims at providing to the customers is of high quality. The company has always aimed at building the loyalty of the customers for the purpose of operating in the industry in an effective manner (Tesco – Online Groceries, Homeware, Electricals & Clothing., 2018).

Leadership plays an important role in the operations of Tesco and the management of the employees as well. The management of employees and leadership based function are quite different from each other. The process based on the management of the employees are mainly based on the ways by which the managers can get the tasks done with the help of the employees. The target or the objective that is set by the company is achieved with the help of proper management of the employees. The leadership style of the managers is based on the tasks that need to be completed by the employees (Aarons et al., 2014). The team leaders mainly set the targets and objectives that need to be achieved by the employees and the team as a whole. The leadership framework that is developed by Tesco is based on the competencies and the skills of the employees and their personal characteristics as well. The leadership framework that has been developed in Tesco is based on the behaviour and the personal characteristics of the leaders. The organization is known in the industry to look for the managers who have a confident and positive nature (Ashkanasy & Humphrey, 2014). The key part that is related to the programme of Tesco to build the leaders is mainly based on the encouragement that is provided to reflection and self-review. The leadership style that is used by the store manager of Tesco which is of medium size is important for the proper operations of the store and management of the products that are offered in these stores. The Programme manager for Tesco for Skills and Education follows a style of leadership which is based on the proper training that is provided to the employees (Boehm et al., 2015). The leadership of the executives who are a part of the top management of Tesco plays an important role in the various operations of the multinational organization in different areas and the different types of operations of the company. The leadership of the managers are thereby able to create a profitable position of the organization in the industry.

Types of Leadership Styles in Tesco

The three types of leadership styles that are followed in the organization are autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. The leaders of the company thereby need to apply the appropriate style of the leadership based on the needs and the demands of the employees who are working the various positions (Bolden, 2016).

The first leadership that has been described in the case of Tesco is the autocratic or authoritarian style of leadership. This style of leadership is mainly characterised by the individual control that the leaders have on the decisions that are taken within the organization and the inputs of the employees are quite low. The autocratic leaders of the company mainly take their decisions based on their personal opinions and ideas. The advice and opinions of the employees or the followers are not considered in this case (Boyd et al., 2017). The autocratic style of leadership is considered to be one of the oldest types of leadership that has been followed in the companies. The managers or the leaders in this case have complete ownership of the decisions that are taken based on the different organizational operations. The autocratic leadership style is mainly used where the control over the employees is important to achieve the objectives of the company. However, in the modern organizations that autocratic style of leadership is not used widely (Carsten & Uhl-Bien, 2015). The main reason being that the employees are made perform their duties by the control that is placed by the managers over them. The managers or leaders in Tesco have not followed the autocratic style of leadership as the inclusion of the employees in the operations of the company is important (D’Innocenzo, Mathieu & Kukenberger, 2016).

Democratic style of leadership in the organizations mainly involves the distribution of the power among the employees who are a part of the group that is led by the democratic leaders. The leaders are dependent on the leaders for the decisions that need to be taken related to the various organizational processes (Delegach et al., 2017). The two main characteristic of the democratic leadership style are,

• The distribution of power between the members of the organization and the distribution of responsibility among the employees. The employees in this case actively participate in the decision-making process.
• Empowerment of the members of the group – The leaders of the company need to empower the members so that they are able to take their responsibilities in an effective manner (Day, Griffin & Louw, 2014).

For example, the bakery manager of Tesco has applied this style of leadership to make the group or the teams achieve their targets. The responsibility of the various tasks is divided among the employees who are a part of the team.

The third style of leadership that is discussed in the case of Tesco is the laissez-faire style of leadership. This style of leadership can also be termed as the delegated leadership which is based on the ways by which the entire responsibility of the decisions is given to the employees or members of the company. The group members are thereby allowed to take the various decisions that are related to the operations of the company (Demirtas & Akdogan, 2015). The leaders who follow this style of leadership do not take the responsibility of the various decisions related to the organizational processes. This style is appropriate for the leaders in certain situations that occur in the company. The two main characteristics of this leadership style are,

• The high levels of freedom that is provided to the employees and the ability that they have to take the decisions (Dinh et al., 2014).
• The power related to all the decisions are in the hands of the followers and the leaders need to take the responsibility of the tasks that are performed by the employees and the final decisions that are made by the various groups (DeRue & Myers, 2014).

Autocratic Style of Leadership

In case of Tesco, the Stephen the store manager of the company had given the responsibility of the entire operations to the employees and the decisions related to various operations were also taken by the employees in the stores.

The phenomenon of power has been explained by Bertram Raven and John French about a century ago. This research is however still helpful for understanding the ways by which the leaders are able to influence the members of the company. The level up to which the employees are ready to accept the power of these leaders helps in the development of the power bases of the company (Guo, Gonzales & Dilley, 2016).

The five major bases of power which are able to influence the employees are, the legitimate power, the reward power, expert power, referent power and coercive power. The different power basis that have been suggested by French and Raven are discussed in detail as follows,

Legitimate power – This type of power is unstable and unpredictable in nature. The leaders who are in a powerful position in the organization are able to exercise this power on their subordinates or employees. The employees are mainly influenced by the power of the position that is held by the leaders. The scope of the influence of this power is mainly based on the situations in which the leaders feel that they have the ability of controlling the employees. The programme manager of Tesco uses legitimate power for the purpose of setting the budgets that are based on the target to be achieved by the employees (Han, Bartol & Kim, 2015).

Reward power – This type of power is based on the ability of the leaders to give out rewards to the employees. The rewards are mainly based on the promotions, the training based opportunities and the compliments that are provided to the employees. The main problem with this power base is related to the lack of strength of this power to influence the employees in a successful manner (Hargreaves, Boyle & Harris, 2014). The supervisors or the managers do not always have total control over the increase of salary and the promotions that are provided to the employees. This power can be used by the store manager of the company for making the employees complete their tasks and further they can also be provided by small rewards which can motivate them to work in a more productive manner (Liden et al., 2014).

Democratic Style of Leadership

Coercive power – The main source of the coercive power is based on the threats and the punishments that are given to the employees based on the actions that are taken by them or the mistakes that they make. This type of power is exercised when the managers tend to threaten the employees of firing them from the jobs and the ways of denying them the privileges. This type of power is not suitable for many types of situations. The employees are thereby dissatisfied by the decisions that are taken by the managers and this can also lead to high rates of staff turnover. This power can be used by the programme manager to force the employees so that they can achieve the targets that are set by the managers (Liden et al., 2014).

Informational power – This type of power is related to the control that the leaders have on the information which is able to provide them with the powerful position. The access that leaders have to the financial reports and the other information that is available for them is a part of the informational power of the employees (Marion et al., 2016). In the current scenario information acts as a potential form of power that is exercised by the leaders. The leaders or the managers can thereby use information as the major base of power to influence the employees effectively. This power can be used by the bakery manager of the company which can enable them to create an environment in which the employees are influenced by the amount of information that is stored by them (McCleskey, 2014).

Personal sources of power – The personal sources of power are based on the personal qualities that are possessed by the leaders which help them in influencing the employees.

Expert power – This type of power is based on the levels of knowledge that are possessed by the leaders and the solutions and suggestions that are provided to the employees. The judgement based capabilities of the leaders can help them in providing valuable suggestions and recommendations to the employees or the subordinates. The knowledge level of the leaders helps them to outperform the others in the organization in the ways by which they are able to influence the employees (Panaccio et al., 2015). These leaders are also able to build the confidence of the employees who are working under them. The decisiveness and the reputation of the leaders can be improved with the help of the rational thinking that is provided by the knowledge levels and skills. The expert power can be used by the store manager of Tesco so he can provide the suggestions to employees who have been given the power to take their own decisions (Renko et al., 2015).

Laissez-faire Style of Leadership

Referent power – The referent power is mainly based on the liking and respect that is provided by the leaders to the employees and vice-versa. The referent type of power is thereby helpful in influencing the employees in a positive manner. This power comes as a huge responsibility for the leaders as they are using their reputation for the purpose of influencing the employees (Scott & Davis, 2015). The referent power can also be used in a negative manner by people who have risen to the power in spite of being unlikeable in nature. This power is not a good choice for the leaders who want the respect of the leaders on a long-term basis. The referent power can also be used by the store manager of the company which can help him to create a powerful influence among the employees and he can influence their work process (Tal & Gordon, 2016).

The leadership styles that were used in Tesco for the purpose of developing the organizational culture are depicted by the various leaders in the different organizational levels. The three types of leaders discussed in the case study are, the store manager of Tesco, the programme manager of Tesco and the bakery manager. The types of leadership that are followed by these leaders are different from each other which helps them to solve the different issues that occur in different areas of the management of the company (Thomas, 2015). The four methods by which the leaders of Tesco have been able to change the culture of the organization are as follows,

• The laissez-faire style of leadership that has been applied by the bakery manager of Tesco has helped the employees to take their own decisions regarding the ways by which they are able to influence the ways by which employees react to the expansion in the company. For example, the expansion of bakery products has been a major change in the organizational process. The responsibility related to the implementation of this change was placed totally on the employees (Tyssen, Wald & Heidenreich, 2014).
• The democratic style of leadership has been followed by the store manager of Tesco. The manager has the responsibility to take care of the operations of more than 20 department based managers. The departmental managers on the other hand take care of than 300 people in the organization. The democratic style helps managers to create a positive relationship with the employees. The positive relation between the manager and the employees helps in increasing the sales of the store. The levels of collaboration between the employees thereby helps in increasing the ways by which the various tasks are completed in the store (Tyssen, Wald & Spieth, 2014).
• The programme manager of the education and skills of Tesco can use the autocratic style of leadership which can help the employees in achieving the objectives of the company. The autocratic leader will follow a different style of the leadership as compared to the other styles which were used in the organization previously (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017).
• The other step that has been taken by the store manager in Tesco was based on changing the culture of the stores by influencing them in an effective manner so that they can become more responsible in nature. The increase in the levels of responsibility of employees can thereby help in increasing the revenues of the stores. The main reason behind this step was that the store was not performing quite well in the current situation (Van Wart, 2014).

The first change that was being planned by the managers in Tesco is based on the increase of the product range that are already available in the bakery. The manager has taken the decision to provide the responsibility of changes to the employees. The main hindrance could have been provided by the employees if they are not ready to take the responsibility based on the introduction of the new products and the various processes that are related to the implementation of the entire process. The hindrance provided by the employees can thereby lead to the failure of entire change process (Veríssimo & Lacerda, 2015).

The second change is based on the programme that is based on the reduction of stocks in the factory of the company. The store manager has of the company has implemented various policies that are based on the reduction of the stocks in the stores. The reduction of the stocks was planned so that the space in the stores can be increased and the customers can shop in a convenient manner. The company had planned to provide the customers with the best shopping experience (White, Currie & Lockett, 2016). The managers were encouraged by Stephen to provide their ideas regarding the ways by which the changes can be implemented in the stores of Tesco. The issues can be faced by Tesco based on the ways by which the managers who are working under Stephen are not willing to take part in the entire process. The participation of the employees is important for the successful implementation of changes in the company and its processes (Zhu et al., 2015).

Power Bases of Leaders and Their Impact on Employees

The third situation where the company can plan for changes is based on the ways by which the changes can be made in the various education and the skills based programmes. The changes that are made in this case need to be implemented rapidly so that the cost-cutting based activities can also be conducted easily. The major part of the entire process is to take care that the implementation of changes is fast. The main hindrance that can occur in this change process is based on the non-compliance of the employees with the decisions that are taken by the managers. This can lead to a delay in the process of change and the leaders may need to face the consequences that are related to the proper implementation of these changes (White, Currie & Lockett, 2016).

The fourth change that can be made by the leaders is based on the overall work process of the organization in the environment. The changes are mainly related to the culture and the structure of the company. The hindrance can be provided by the employees if they are not willing to take part in the entire process (Veríssimo & Lacerda, 2015).

The leadership style is based on the goals and objectives that are predefined by the management. The leader thereby uses the concepts of rewards and punishment for the purpose of motivating the followers or the employees of the company. This type of leadership can be termed as the transactional leadership. This style focusses on the improvement of a current situation with the help of various steps that are taken by the leaders to control the activities of the employees are a part of the transactional leadership (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017). The major purpose of leadership is to make changes in the existing culture of the company and enhancement of the policies and the procedures. The leaders who follow the transactional style of the leadership is to use the authority and the responsibility as their major power with a formal approach. The penalties and prize are major powers that are used by the managers or leaders following this style of leadership. The employees need to achieve their targets within the amount of time which is provided to them regarding the work process (Scott & Davis, 2015).

On the other hand, the transformational style of leadership is based on the enthusiasm of the leaders who can influence the employees. The leaders use their power to influence the followers for the profits of the company. The leader thereby tries to understand the requirement of the changes in the culture of the company and the vision that the he provides to the employees. In case of transformational leadership, the main role of the leader is of a role model and a motivator who offers excitement, vision, morale, satisfaction and encouragement to the employees of the company (Marion et al., 2016). The leader is able to inspire the employees so that they can increase the abilities and the capabilities which can promote innovation and build the self-confidence in the entire organization.

The major differences between the transformational leadership and transactional leadership are as follows,

• The transactional leadership style is based on the rewards or punishment that is used by the leaders to motivate the employees to complete the tasks. On the other hand, transformational leadership is based on the ways by which the leaders use their enthusiasm and charisma for influencing the followers (Hargreaves, Boyle & Harris, 2014).
• Transactional leadership lays importance on the relationships that the leaders share with the followers and transformational leadership lays importance on the beliefs values and the needs of the followers.
• The transactional leadership style is reactive in nature and the transformational leadership is proactive in nature (Guo, Gonzales & Dilley, 2016).
• The transactional leadership style is most suitable for the settled environment and the transformational style is most suitable for a turbulent situation.
• Transformational leadership is charismatic while the transactional leadership is considered to be bureaucratic in nature.
• The group which is led by transactional leadership style consists of a single leader and on the other hand in a group of the transformational leaders, more than one person can lead the group (DeRue & Myers, 2014).
• The transactional process of leadership is mainly focussed towards the planning and the execution and the transformational process is based on the innovation.
• The main advantage of the transactional leadership is based on the process of addressing the small details of the operations. The transactional leaders handle all the details that can come together for the purpose of building the strong reputation in the market. The employees in the frontline also become more productive with the help this style (Han, Bartol & Kim, 2015). The advantage of the transformational style of leadership is helpful for the development of the strategies of a business organization. The organizations which have transformational leaders on the top of its operations can achieve the goals and success in the environment quite easily. This helps in achievement of the rapid success with the help of team-building skills and the vision of the of the company is also communicated to the employees. This helps the organization to achieve the goals that are set by the management of the company (Uhl-Bien & Arena, 2017).

The leaders in Tesco have been using both the leadership styles in an effective manner which has helped the company to create a positive organizational environment. The bakery manager of the company has used the transformational style which has helped in increasing the responsibilities and the improving the ways of operations of the employees. The revenues of the store had fallen recently and the implementation of transformational leadership can help the company to increase its revenues. The personal characteristics of the leaders are given utmost importance by the management of Tesco (Dinh et al., 2014). The qualities of transformational leaders are thereby important for the proper operations of the company. The competencies and the skills of the transformational leadership of the store manager has thereby been the major reason behind the effective operations of the stores of Tesco. The bakery manager has also used transformational leadership style for managing the employees in the bakery (D’Innocenzo, Mathieu & Kukenberger, 2016). The innovation of the new products has thereby been made quite easy with the help of the effective leadership of the transformational leader or the bakery manager. The programme manager on the other hand has used the transactional style of leadership which has been helpful in encouraging the employees to achieve their objectives. The programme managers has to use the transactional style of leadership as the changes in the budgets sometimes need to made quite fast and the decisions related to the savings of costs also need to be taken (Day, Griffin & Louw, 2014).

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