|tesco |
|Organization and Behavior |
| |
|CRISTINEL PRICOP |
|H1001359 |
|15/01/2014 |

| |

Table of contents
Introduction 3 1. Comparison and contrast of three different organizational structures and cultures 4 2. Influence of relationship between organizational structure and culture on Irish Tesco activities 4 3. Factors that affect individual behaviour at a workplace in relation to Irish Tesco 5 4. Strategies to improve individual performance at Tesco 5 5. Evaluating three strategies to reduce negative impacts of four factors 6
2.1. Effectiveness of three leadership styles for three different organizations 6
2.2. How organizational theory underpins the practice of management at Irish Tesco 7
2.3. Four different approaches to management used by three organizations 7
2.4. Presenting and justifying two approaches 8
3.1. Impact of leadership styles on motivation in period of change 8
3.2. Comparison of application of different motivational theories at Tesco 9
3.3. Usefulness of a motivational theory for Irish Tesco managers 9
3.4. Motivational theories that can affect staff performance 9
4.1. Nature of groups and group behaviour within an organization 10
4.2. Factors that may promote/limit the development of effective teamwork 10
4.3. Impact of technology on team functioning 11
4.4. Three methods to empower team members to effectively use technology 11
4.5. Managing and organizing quality activities at Irish Tesco 11
Conclusion 13
Appendix 14
References 16

Introduction
Tesco is one of the largest retail stores which is operating offline and online. Its customers are spread all over the world, including Ireland. It has been delivering quality consistently to all of its customers at low prices. Even in the time of price inflation, it did not give up and kept its prices low. It achieved dynamic profits and became the fastest growing retail store ever.
In this paper, we have been given a scenario of being a manager at Irish Tesco and we have to manage all the organizational behaviour activities. All the main aspects of organizational theories, leadership roles, styles and the effects of working in groups have been highlighted.
1. Comparison and Contrast of Three Different Organizational Structures and Cultures
Any organization has to be set up in a specific structure and culture for the achievement of its goals. Three different organizational structures are functional, divisional and matrix. Almost all the organizations have functional structure but it usually meant for small organizations because each department has a specialized staff that is assigned a specific task. The communication between the departments is very less. Divisional structure works in large organizations very well where the goals have to be met quickly but the departments have difficulty in communications because geographical hindrances. The matrix structure has the benefits of the both the above stated structures but the dual management can be a problem here.
Talking of the organizational cultures, three of them will be discussed here. First, the “control (clan)” culture which generates the idea of mixing well with each other and act like a family. Group loyalty and teamwork are the essence of this culture. Second, “create (adhocracy)” culture which involves innovation and risk taking. Experimentation is the essence here. “Control (hierarchy)” is different from the above two. It involves rules and regulations set by the top managers and which are to be followed by everyone else in any case.
2. Influence of Relationship Between Organization Structure and Culture on Irish Tesco’s Activities
A firm has to organize itself when it grows in size and it becomes imperial when it is expanding rapidly (Henry Ogden Armour & David J. Teece, 1978). In Irish Tesco, there are some issues relating employees from different cultural background but it has to be dealt with in an effective way. If the organizational structure is more centralized then the culture would also be affected. For example, if top managers in Tesco are more into making rules and imposing them onto their staff then a control (hierarchy) culture is likely to develop. In that case, the staff would not feel free to do anything and would not be allowed to give their inputs. They would just have to follow the orders and in some situations, they might not just do the task. For instance, being a store manager at the Irish site, if I start imposing my orders on the staff then they would rebel in one way or the other and that would not contribute to any good of the company (see exhibit 1 and 2).

3. Factors That Affect Individual Behaviour at a Workplace in Relation to Irish Tesco
There are many factors that are playing their part in Tesco situated in Ireland. We are talking about the individual behaviour at a workplace and the factors involved in it. • The first and the most important of all are the demographic factors. Employees in Irish Tesco are related to different nationalities, education and backgrounds, and that is what they unconsciously apply to their workplace environment. Tesco has always tried to employ those who have a strong background, especially in education so that the company can make use of their fresh ideas. • Attitudes matter a lot. An employee gets his attitude from his family, friends and other individuals from his society, Tesco has to make sure that the employees ahs positive attitude towards their jobs and also that they contribute positively towards the company’s goals. • Sometimes, personalities are difficult to mould but they can be observed through training sessions of the employees and can be shaped according to the company’s needs. Tesco has handles this problem very well. • Another important factor is abilities or skills of the employee. The employees at Irish Tesco have all the specific skills and expertise which their job requires them to have. An employee’s performance largely relies on his abilities to match with job position and the fulfilment of tasks.
4. Strategies to Improve Individual Performance at Tesco
Individual performance can be improved by various strategies but some of the HR strategies are discussed below: • Showing the employees appreciation when they have done something or fulfilled their task and also by not being a cruel manager to them. This means that being a manger at Irish Tesco, we need to engage the employees into all the tasks in a productive manner and with a positive attitude. • An employee assistance program can help a lot. It would help the employees to eliminate any obstacles in their work and work more effectively than before. • Some kind of team work or in some situations, paired work can give fruitful results. Paired work can consist of giving two employees one computer system and one keyboard to work on. With this, one experienced and one fresh employee can be made to sit with each other and help each other despite different cultures. This would minimise communication difficulties and create an environment where they would learn from each other in many ways.
5. Evaluating Three Strategies to Reduce Negative Impacts of Four Factors ✓ Cross cultural dialogues can be initiated to reduce the negative impacts of cultural differences among employees. This strategy rests on the idea that some employees would be made to hear a tape having a conversation between two people from different cultures and then the employees would have to critically analyse the tape. This would help them learn and think about the situation in the tape and about the people in the tape as well. ✓ Field studies can be brought into action. The employees can be given a task of exploring some different country and its culture. This would help them develop new skills and understanding about that culture. ✓ Personalities can be observed in some real time situations, but creations of simulation can help a lot in understanding employee behaviour. A cash game can be implemented where a group of employees can be engaged in negotiations and handling of cash with each other. They can communicate well in this scenario. This will also bring out natural emotions and behaviours in the participants.
2.1. Effectiveness of Three Different Leadership Styles for Three Different Organizations ← The autocratic style was most popular with New York time under the reign of an autocratic leader named Howell Raines in 1970s. That was the time when New York Times improved in efficiency and bottom line growth because the leader wanted its employees to fulfil their tasks on time. ← The democratic style is practised by Zappos.com which one of the largest online shoes retail store. The company wanted its employees to engage in all activities with all their hearts and that enabled the company to manage an upward growth pattern. ← Laissez faire is best implemented by Berkshire Hathaway which is owned by Warren Buffet. This hand off policy allows the employees to be autonomous and let them have their own decisions.
2.2. How organizational theory underpins the practice of management at Irish Tesco
There are different organizational theories working in their own way at Irish Tesco. The contingency theory is more related to uncertainty. For example, if a problem occurs at Irish Tesco then there are certain rules that a manager has to follow. In some scenarios, the manager puts it all onto the employees so that they work on their own free will and take decisions with their best understanding.
In Irish Tesco, employees’ morale is boosted so that human relations approach can come into play. This results in high performance from the employees’ side. Scientific management approach seeks to apply science and technology to worker efficiency. As technology has made everything possible, all the systems in Irish Tesco are centralized and contribute towards betterment of the company in every way. Everything works in a systematic way and all the systems work in accordance with each other. In this way, systems theory is also playing its part appropriately in Irish Tesco.
2.3. Four Different Approaches to Management Used by Three Organizations
In a non profit organization, scientific management approach will work wonders. Each and every thing is managed in technology today. And everything works almost perfectly when it is fed into database systems and managed through them as well. Contingency theory works in every sudden unknown situation. It allows managers and employees to stay prepared for anything and test their skills as well. Systems theory implies that all people, things and systems work as a whole system that works for the welfare of the organization. Human relations approach requires the boosting of a worker’s morale so that he can work more efficiently. His good work must be appreciated rather than ignoring.
All of this applies to profit oriented and commonwealth organizations as well. There is no way that any organization in this fast paced world today survives without these approaches.

2.4. Presenting and Justifying Two Approaches
The first approach that we will discuss here is human relations approach. As highlighted earlier that it is connected morale boosting of the workers. It involves three basic elements: • There should be decentralization in the organization which means the managers should not be strict in giving orders and having them completed on their deadlines. Rather, they must engage the employees in and let them work freely. • The managers should try to keep the employees self motivated. This proves to be a great support because if the employees are happy then the customer is happy. • The managers must involve employees in decision making.. there are possibilities that workers might come up with something innovative and interesting which the top management alone could not have thought of and which might prove beneficial for the company.
The second approach is scientific management. It focuses on improving efficiency and output through scientific studies of workers’ processes. Economic efficiency can be improved by keeping a track of work flows and by giving importance to labour productivity. Analysis, logic and rationality are important components of this theory.
3.1. Impact of Leadership Styles on Motivation in Period of Change
Harry Truman once said: “Men make history and not the other way round. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skilful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”
An autocratic leader would not be appropriate for motivating employees in the period of change. This kind of leader would always want the workers to listen to him only and follow his orders. The workers are not motivated in this way. Instead, a charismatic leader would work in a magical way. He not only has a vision but also has that personality to motivate employees to follow that vision. Apart from that, situational leadership can work well too. These are the kind of leaders that can handle different situations very effectively. They adapt by adopting different styles for different outcomes and that is why, they can manage well in the period of change and motivate the others too.

3.2. Comparison of Application of Different Motivational Theories at Tesco
The need hierarchy theory states that when the basic needs, which are depicted at the bottom level of Maslow’s hierarchy needs pyramid, are fulfilled then only it is possible to achieve the higher levels of need satisfaction and ultimately “self actualization”. If employees are bestowed with the basic needs then they would work with more focus and work towards the organization’s prosperity.
There are some factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction and some cause dissatisfaction. This is called two factor theory and it works its part in all of the organizations in any part of the world. Similarly, theories X and Y have two aspects: theory X states that managers think their workers are lazy and need strict supervision, while theory Y states that managers think their workers are enjoying their mental and physical work. Moreover, Vroom expectancy theory states that rewards must be given to workers on their performance and that should be made sure that they are well deserving of them.
Tesco is already applying Vroom expectancy theory, need hierarchy and two factor theory.
3.3. Usefulness of a Motivational Theory for Irish Tesco Managers
Vroom expectancy theory can help a lot in rewarding workers as well as managers of a company. In Ireland, Tesco is already following this theory because rewards can create positive results for the organization on the whole. Rewards can be of many kinds: they can be in the form of money, some increased incentives, in the form of promotions, some physical assets from the company like car, house etc. But Tesco has to make sure that the managers are worthy of these rewards, which means that they must be deserving it. It should not be the case that one manger deserves the real reward and someone else is being rewarded in his place. This would create a negative effect on the manager’s mind, personality and his performance- and not only that, this would also generate some negativity in the workplace environment and the image of the organization might also be at risk.
3.4. Motivational Theories That Can Affect Staff Performance • Staff performance would be increased if their basic needs are fulfilled first and then they work efficiently for the organization to achieve self actualization (need hierarchy). • Staff would perform well if they rewarded well, that is the person who deserves the rewards most should be bestowed with that reward without any delay (Vroom expectancy theory). • The factors that cause job satisfaction must be carefully observed and they should be triggered well with the work environment so that staff performance should be given a boost (two factor theory).
4.1. Nature of Groups and Group Behaviour within an Organization There are two main types of groups: formal and informal. Both of them exist in an organization. Formal groups are formed for a certain task completion, like projects etc. Informal groups can be formed for normal socialization like sports club etc. There can be positive and negative aspects of group behaviour in an organization. Some like minded people form a group because they think they are compatible with each other. Similarly, if this group is assigned some task, they would like to fulfil it with each other’s company because they like to be with one another.
On the other hand, if there is a group which has been made by the manager himself and then this group is assigned some task, there is a possibility that conflicts might exists. This would be due to the reason that they might not be compatible with each other, some belong to different cultures and background. Some groups also generate competition in a negative sense which might harm the company in long term.
4.2. Factors That May Promote/Limit the Development of Effective Teamwork
Effective communication is the best source for building effective teamwork. When a team is build by the managers for the fulfilment of a certain task, there must be clear communication among all of them. As the employees belong to different cultures and backgrounds, diversity exists. This diversity can generate a number of ideas within the group and produces innovation. Besides that, if there is effective leadership then team work can create wonders. No matter the leader is chosen by the group itself or is appointed by the manager, he or she must have all the leadership qualities to guide the team in the right direction.
There are some factors that inhibit the development of effective team work. Team members belong to different backgrounds, so there can be conflicts. There might be some situations where the team members are not clear about the goals and they might not know what they have to do about their tasks. Lastly, if there is not any effective communication, then it can cause many problems as well.
4.3. Impact of Technology on Team Functioning
When the teams are assigned tasks, there might be some work which would involve the use of technology. Computers, email and mobile phones work effectively in this regards. Through email, team members stay in contact with each other and update each other with the task they are doing. Same happens at Irish Tesco. The team members are given mobile phones too so that they stay connected and whenever any emergency happens, they can help each other out. Computers have created a revolution in technological world and Tesco has a centralized database. They are all connected through intranet to access the whole database and information.
4.4. Three Methods to Empower Team Members to Effectively Use Technology • Tesco must give its team members complete awareness and access of company database through intranet to keep them updated with latest tasks and keeping track of workflow checklist. • Irish Tesco can apply team building exercises and trainings through different mediums of computer and internet, for example Webinar which is a virtual online application where people can demonstrate different training programs over the web and a complete team can take benefit by seeing things over the video conferencing. First of all, it saves time and very inexpensive way to train your team in different regions at the same time. A person does not have to travel to every branch or region. • We can apply telecommuting system for Irish Tesco to empower team work where they can learn different techniques and tasks by sitting on their computers at home even over the weekends.
4.5. Managing and Organizing Quality Activities at Irish Tesco
Irish Tesco has been putting a lot of emphasis on customer satisfaction and for that, it has been keeping a strict eye on quality. In this case, Tesco has to make sure that the quality of its food and non food items remains constant in every department and it is being delivered to all of its customers evenly. To fulfil customer’s expectations, there should be some phases in each process in Tesco. Those phases must be completed on time and must comply with all the quality assurance methods of the company. There should be a monitoring system to check and balance quality assurance standards to maintain the consistency of this process.

Conclusion
In the given scenario, all the best of strategies and team building frameworks have been presented which would help Irish Tesco to prosper in future. Besides, there are a lot of effective aspects of these strategies in relation to the emerging demands of customers and the competitive environment which Tesco is managing well already. The organizational behaviour of this company is considered to be in accordance with all the policies of the companies and help in the achievement of goals.
Appendix
Exhibit 1:

Exhibit 2:

Customer (Letter/ Phone, Fax, e-mail)

Supplier

Store

Student Enquires Products Tesco Direct Club card Home Shopping Services General Enquires

Branded Own Brands

Product Designer

Product Group

Supplier

Store

Buyer Voucher

Technologist Cheque

Rental

Supplier Appropriate Gift

Other Other

References

i. Blurit, n.d. What are the Factors that Influence Individual Behaviour at Work? [online] available at: http://employment.blurtit.com/1944668/what-are-the-factors-which-influence-individual-behaviour-at-work (accessed on 16th January 2014) ii. Carol Zervas, David Lassiter, n.d. Leadership Style: Is There “One Best” or Is Flexibility Worth Developing? [online] available at: http://www.leadershipadvantage.com/leadershipstyle.html (accessed on 16th January 2014) iii. Chris Wolski, Demand media, n.d. Factors That Promote Effective Teamwork. [online] available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/factors-promote-effective-teamwork-1932.html (accessed on 16th January 2014) iv. George N. Root 3, Demand media, n.d. Factors Affecting Effective Teamwork. [online] available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/factors-affecting-effective-teamwork-965.html (accessed on 16th January 2014) v. Management study HQ, n.d. Types of Organizational Structures. [online] available at: http://www.managementstudyhq.com/types-of-organizational-structures.html (accessed on 16th January 2014) vi. Terry Corbell, n.d. 15 HR Strategies to Improve Your Business Performance. [online] available at: http://www.bizcoachinfo.com/archives/7517 (accessed on 16th January 2014) vii. Tutorials point, n.d. Quality Control and Quality Assurance. [online] available at: http://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/quality_control_assurance.htm (accessed on 16th January 2014) viii. Wise Geek, n.d. What is the Relationship Between Organizational Structure and Organizational Culture. [online] available at :http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-relationship-between-organizational-structure-and-organizational-culture.htm (accessed on 16th January 2014)

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Employee

Behavior

Employee Capabilities

Hiring/ Training/ Firing

Culture of Organization

Information & Technology

KPIs and Incentives

Top MGMT Behavior

Structure

Processes

Enough of Employees

For Long Enough

Correspondence Arrives at Customer Service Center

Sorted Into Categories

Logged Onto Database

Customer Service Manager

Investigates the Issue

Individual Response Prepared