A case study on Sainsbury Assignment

STRATEGY INTO ACTION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Identification of organisation.................................................................................................1
Key strategic and cultural issues at Sainsbury's.....................................................................4
Reasons behind initiating change process at Sainsbury's ......................................................5
Key stages in change process at Sainsbury's .........................................................................6
Challenges threatening change process at Sainsbury's ..........................................................7
Application of theoretical and strategic models.....................................................................9
1. Lewin's Change Management Model...............................................................................10
1.1 Critical Review...............................................................................................................10
2.Kotter's 8 Step Change Model...........................................................................................10
2.2 Critical Review...............................................................................................................11
3. SWOT Analysis of Sainsbury's .......................................................................................12
3.2 Critical Review...............................................................................................................12
Diagnosis..............................................................................................................................12
4. McKinsey 7-S Model.......................................................................................................13
4.1 Critical Review...............................................................................................................13
Diagnosis..............................................................................................................................14
Proposed Strategic change at Sainsbury's............................................................................14
End result of change process at Sainsbury's ........................................................................14
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................................15
EVIDENCE REVIEW ..................................................................................................................16
5.1 Critical Review...............................................................................................................16
6. Porter's 5 forces................................................................................................................18
6.1 Critical Review...............................................................................................................18
7. Korey's Model..................................................................................................................22
7.1 Critical Review...............................................................................................................22
8. The Schendel and Hofer Model........................................................................................22
8.1 Critical Review...............................................................................................................22
9.Glueck's Model..................................................................................................................22

9.1 Critical Review...............................................................................................................22
10.Balanced scorecard..........................................................................................................23
10.1 Critical Review.............................................................................................................23
11. Maslow's needs of hierarchy model...............................................................................24
11.1 Critical Review.............................................................................................................24
12. Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory.....................................................................................25
12.1 Critical Review.............................................................................................................25
REFLECTION...............................................................................................................................25
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................28
Index of Tables
Table 1: SWOT Analysis...............................................................................................................12
Table 2: Porter's 5 Forces...............................................................................................................19
Illustration Index
Illustration 1: Financial Performance of Sainsbury's.......................................................................2
Illustration 2: Challenges to change in management.......................................................................8
Illustration 3: Lewin's Model.........................................................................................................10
Illustration 4: Kotter's 8 Step model..............................................................................................11
Illustration 5: McKinsey 7-S Model..............................................................................................13
Illustration 6: PESTLE Analysis ...................................................................................................17
Illustration 7: Porter's 5 Forces......................................................................................................18
Illustration 8: Balance Scorecard...................................................................................................22
Illustration 9: Maslow's needs of hierarchy model........................................................................23
Illustration 10: Herzberg's 2 factor theory.....................................................................................24

INTRODUCTION
Management is an art in which planning, organising, staffing, directing, coordinating and
controlling functions are done in a systematic process. This ensures that business activities of an
organisation are done smoothly (Luthans and Doh, 2018). Leadership is a technique of
management in which managers and leaders utilise the strategies created by them and implement
it in such a manner, that organisational goals and targets are achieved. Management and
leadership are pre requisites for any company, if they wish to succeed in tough and competitive
industries.
Sainsbury's is an organisation that has chains of supermarkets across UK and it is the
second largest in the respective industry. It has over 180,000 employees. They have generated a
net income of £377 million in 2017, but has recently been facing hardships with their
management and leadership departments.
There has been severe crisis in Sainsbury's overall business performance and they are on
the verge of losing sustenance. This assignment will assess Sainsbury's current management and
leadership scenario and highlight key issues with regard to their strategies. Reasons behind
causes for changes in organisation will be identified and key stages in this process will be
outlined. It will also analyse challenges that endanger the changing process and
theoretical/strategic models will be applied so that positive changes can be brought into
Sainsbury's.
TASK 1
Identification of organisation
There are hundreds of organisations that are currently operating their business activities
in various industries within UK. Among them is a famous company, Sainsbury's, a grocery
retailer that has been running operations since 1922. It is currently the largest retail organisation
in this country. It was founded by John James Sainsbury in 1869, t which was started with the
purpose of providing fresh food and groceries to different localities across the city. They aimed
at offering products of high standardised quality at low costs (Galliers and Leidner, 2014). They
had a slow start towards growth as company did not merge with other organisations. Sainsbury's
went public in 1973 and gained huge investments through London Stock Exchange. They have
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been growing ever since and as of 2017, their revenue goes up to £26.2 billion. It has over 1,400
shops across UK.
Sainsbury's sell products that include stationery, toiletries, clothing and accessories, food
products, drinks, organic eatables, home and kitchen ware. Their management uses various
marketing and branding techniques so that they are able to attract customers. They have
celebrities and famous personalities as their brand ambassadors and stay true to their slogan of
“Live Well for Less”. Their staffing procedures involve regular changes in different departments
of their organisation (Fullan, 2014). They try to appoint efficient individuals that can help in
growing their company. There are mainly 3 divisions of organisation, which include Sainsbury's
Supermarket Ltd, Sainsbury's Bank and Sainsbury's Argos. Their largest shareholder is Qatar
Investment Authority and they have 21.9% shares in this company.
Dilemmas and issues that Sainsbury's management and leadership is experiencing:
 There has been 1400 job cuts in the past year and 4000 jobs at the organisation were
reorganised.
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Illustration 1: Financial Performance of Sainsbury's
(Source: Sainsbury's outperforms Tesco among consumers, 2018)

 Their profits have reduced by £94 million in the past year, because of the price cuts that
were implemented.
 They are currently facing tough situations with trade and their shareholders are not
getting enough dividends lately (Ackers and Black, 2018).
 The Sainsbury's Bank is unable to cope up with new innovations, which has created many
issues for their customers.
 Leaders are unable to guide subordinates, as they themselves are uncertain of how and
what strategies to be implemented because of lack of resources (Sainsbury's is in danger
of spreading itself too thin, 2017).
 The news of high cuts of over 2,000 jobs in the company has created a bad reputation in
industry.
 There has been a fall in their market share as well.
 Due to their price cuts, they are facing issues with chain supply and operations
management.
As of 2018, Sainsbury's has faced severe issues regarding their management. This had a
huge impact on employees that were on commercial positions. They had to cut costs of
operations in the company. Management of Sainsbury's has seen increasing in losses and falling
of their sales. This is because of the high competition in the industry. The glitches in their
updated technology is an evidence of how their management has wrongly implemented it. This
has led to a huge loss for customers, which is the main reason of their withdrawal from the bank.
They had issues with telephone systems as well. The continuous changes in job positions and
restructuring has created ambiguity among employees at Sainsbury's. This has led to an
unhealthy and unethical environment in organisation. Their brand image has been gaining
negative reviews over the past year. Sainsbury's has created new proposals for their employees,
on which they have signed petitions against it as they will be suffering losses of pay that is worth
£3,000 each year (Trouble in store as Sainsbury's sales plunge for second year, 2016). This
shows that there are no proper strategies planned and implemented by this company.
Key strategic and cultural issues at Sainsbury's
There are numerous issues that Sainsbury's is facing with regard to management and
leadership. These include various strategies issues in the organisation. They are unable to deal
with the stiff competitive market and are in grave danger.
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Some of the key issues of organisation include:
Online Strategies
Over the past few years, online services have paved its way into the market. This has
given Sainsbury's an opportunity to sell their products over the internet. But management has not
been successful in creating strategies for online sales. They do not have the right design,
structure, content and strategic marketing techniques for the purpose of generating sales (Bratton
and Gold, 2017). Their online banking website and applications have severe glitches in them as
they are not able to implement innovative technology properly. This is one the reasons why their
profits have declined in the past year.
Profit growth/Market share strategies
Sainsbury's management and leadership have been creating improper strategies regarding
their profit growth and market share. Both of them have seen a decrease and continue to do so.
They work under pressure due to cut throat competition; which is why, managers are
experiencing difficulties in creating strategic plans which leaders too, are unable to implement
effectively (Luthans and Doh, 2018). They are not optimally utilising their available resources
and instead putting them in unnecessary areas.
Staffing strategies
The recent restructuring of Sainsbury's human resource management, has caused issues in
staffing strategies and managers are unable to appoint right people for different jobs in each
department. This is the main reason as to why production and sales have seen in decline.
Operations and business functions are done in an unsystematic, inefficient and ineffective
manner in the past few months.
Corporate Strategies
The corporate strategies of Sainsbury's is considered to be the main root cause of decline
in their profits. There are employees that lack proper communication skills as most of them are
from different parts of the world. They are unable to work with uniformity and generally face
discrimination with regard to race and gender. Due to this, employees are able to perform in an
optimal manner, which directly leads to low productivity and insufficient generation of sales and
profits. Sainsbury's worth is no longer as important as it was in the past years and these issues
have yet to be addressed (Ackers and Black, 2018). The culture of organisation is interrelated to
management and leadership, hence, the reason why proper strategies have not been created and
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implemented. There are barely any employees present during Christmas period, which is the
main cause of lack of sales at year end. Generally, companies gain highest revenue during this
duration but this is not the case of Sainsbury's.
Lack of flexibility
Management of Sainsbury's do not believe in being flexible while working. They do not
take subordinates' views into considerations and do not give them much importance. This is the
major reason as to why there is low productivity in the organisation. Industries are dynamic and
changes are bound to happen, but Sainsbury's management and leadership do not embrace them.
They stick to particular strategies which they feel are appropriate and implement them according
to their preference.
Reasons behind initiating change process at Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's has been facing strategic issues such as improper growth, staffing and profit
growth plans of action. There is a requirement to initiate change processes as it can help
organisation to make adjustments and create new improved strategies so that they can cover up
their decline in profits of the past year (Ackers and Black, 2018). Sainsbury's operates in an
industry that has tough competition and due to the lack of flexibility, especially in managers and
leaders of organisation, employees are not able to perform their work in an optimal manner.
There are many deficiencies present in this organisation which includes improper
policies, high levels of ambiguity and miscommunication. Constant changes in government
regulations and frameworks has to be applied to the company. Specifically, Sainsbury's had
issues regarding avoidance of tax payment in 2005. They used to charge taxes from customers,
but did not pay the same to government. They do not have a proper health and safety policy
regarding their food storage and production (Bratton and Gold, 2017). Initiation of change
process is needed at Sainsbury's as their restructured organisation is not effective. Their staffing
process is not standardised and they generally hire incompetent worker in the organisation. There
is no proper delegation of tasks and managers have to design new methods for performing them.
This change is important as it will help organisation to sustain and grow, for which strategies for
the future has to be created (Compelling Reasons for Deploying Change Management, 2018). It
will help management to create consistent and efficient approaches so that there is optimal
utilisation of available resources.
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Once the initiation of change process begins, Sainsbury's can assess various factors, so
that they are able to determine the kind of strategies are required in order to solve the issues
regarding their strategic approaches (Fullan, 2014). It will help to ascertain various techniques
and models that can be used to help attain overall success in Sainsbury's, even during tough
competition and unforeseeable situations.
Key stages in change process at Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's need for change process due to various strategic and cultural issues will
require management to create a plan so that it can be initiated and they can work towards
improving their strategies so that they can gain back their profits and increase share market
prices.
The key stages for their change process includes:
Analysis of rationale for change
Sainsbury's has to first identify and analyse reasons for change process. This will help
them to ascertain areas that require adjustments so that they can create strategies that will aid in
profit maximisation (Bratton and Gold, 2017). It will enable them to bring positive change in
culture and environment of Sainsbury's.
Creating a plan for change
The next key stage includes creating a plan after analysing requirements. Sainsbury's will
create strategic plans for their employees and management to follow. This can help them in
working as a team so that they can prosper even in tough competitions and increase productivity
(Carnall, 2018). Senior management can use various theoretical and strategic models that can be
applied in the organisation which can aid effectively working towards achieving results.
Communication of plans
Sainsbury's Senior Management will communicate their created plans to managers and
leaders at all levels. This is an important factor that has to be done systematically so that
everyone gets a clear idea of goals and targets that have been made in the plans (Hayes, 2018).
This stage must involve flexibility among managers so that they can communicate their work
efficiently.
Implement change in management
In order to bring change in Sainsbury's, implementation of plans has to be done first. This
key stage for change process is the main and most crucial step to ensure that enterprise can work
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efficiently and effectively with optimal utilisation of their resources (Luthans and Doh, 2018).
This will help create strategic course of actions and enhance team work of employees.
Training and development for management
Managers and leaders have to adapt to changes at Sainsbury's, for which they will have to
be given training and development, so that they can learn how to manage and run organisational
activities. There will be programs created by senior management to train employees to work in
an effective manner (Doppelt, 2017). This can help them to manage their work load as well as
adapt to new technological changes and will also get to increase their skills and knowledge.
Monitoring and feedback
Sainsbury's employees will be monitored so that management can determine whether
their change process plans are properly implemented or not. They can get feedback from their
staff so that analysis can be done to examine and ascertain corrective plans of change process
(Cameron and Green, 2015). This can help to understand cultural and ethical scenario of the
organisation, which will support in building relationships between employees so that a positive
working environment is present.
Evaluation and modifications
The final stage of change process at Sainsbury's is evaluation of implemented strategies
and their results (Piercy, 2016). This helps senior management to analyse how effective their
change in strategies have been and if they are unable to meet their targets, they can modify their
plans to implement it in a better manner.
Therefore, above key stages of change process management that can help Sainsubury's to
improve themselves, increase their profitability, market share and fix their image.
Challenges threatening change process at Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's have implemented change process so that they can improve their sales and
profits. But this is not an easy task as there are many challenges and barriers that can threaten
initiation and implementation of change process in management. Some of these are as follows:
Resistance by employees
The process of change in Sainsbury's may not be favoured by many employees. It is
inevitable that some workers may be resistant towards changes that are being implemented in
this organisation. They are already comfortable with their jobs and would not want to bring any
variance in their assigned work. This can create a huge threat towards change process as
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management may not be able to retain employees (Georgalis and et.al., 2015). Sainsbury's can
overcome this challenge by providing proper training to workers, which will make it easier for
them to adapt to such alternations.
Illustration 2: Challenges to change in management
(Source: Management hurdles: Resistance to Change, 2012)
Lack of proper communication
Sainsbury's senior management may not always be effective while communicating
changes and new goals that they have created to bring improvements. Employees may not be
able to understand different strategies that have been created and lack of proper communication
can be challenging for management to initiate change (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2015). It is
important to share new plans with managers at each level so that they can further communicate it
to workers, which will enable them to work in an effective manner.
Disagreements within management
When change processes are initiated at an organisation, there can be many disputes
regarding strategies and plans made by senior management. Sainsbury's managers and leaders
may not completely agree with the decision to implement change. This is a challenge that can
threaten change process as not everyone will give consent to this course of action (Booth, 2015).
Effective presentation of benefits should be given to management so that they can understand
this necessity at Sainsbury's.
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Motivation of employees
Employees may not be motivated to work after they come to know about the change
process that has been implemented at Sainsbury's. This is a challenge as workers can lose their
enthusiasm and energy to work. It can lead to even lower work performance and decrease in
productivity of employees (Bolden, 2016). This can threaten the changes of making
improvements in the organisation after the change process. Management will have to use
motivational tools and techniques so that they can encourage employees to work while
embracing the changes occurring at Sainsbury's.
Organisational structure
Sainsbury's organisational structure can be a challenge that may threaten change process.
They will have to alter their policies and rules so that the organisation can adapt to changing
environment. Restructuring of departments have to be done as well, which will consume time
and energy of management (Change Management Process, 2018). They have to ensure that there
is a proper structure in the organisation so that changes can be implemented accordingly.
Overall, every process from initial to final stage can bring different challenges in change
process of management at Sainsbury's. There are high chances of employee turnover and
resistance due to the implementation of changes here and it can be dealt through proper training
and development (Christin Jurisch and et.al., 2014). Strategic communication will ensure that
everyone is aware about new goals and this can reduce threats to challenges.
Application of theoretical and strategic models
Sainsbury's must utilise progressive and strategic solutions with the help of different
theoretical/strategic models so that they can successfully implement change process in the
organisation.
These include the following that can be applied in Sainsbury's:
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1. Lewin's Change Management Model
Illustration 3: Lewin's Model
(Source: Fundamental Change Management Models, 2018)
1.1 Critical Review
Sainsbury's can use Lewin's change management model in which 3 stages are to be
followed. Firstly, unfreezing is done in an organisation in which there a time period where
employees are motivated so that they can adapt to the changes that will be implemented in the
next step. They bring out willingness in each individual so that they can communicate with one
another, which will enable them to work better and achieve results effectively. This can ensure
that employees regarding their benefits to get a sense of direction towards changes that will
occur in Sainsbury's (Van der Voet, 2014).
The next step is transition in which change is initiated in organisation. There is an
establishment of goals and a structure is developed. An environment will be created in which
workers can be influenced and motivated to embrace the change process. The final step includes
refreezing, where in changes are successfully implemented and accepted by employees. There is
a stability in the organisation once again and new guidelines are followed by management.
Lewin's change management model is an effective theoretical model that Sainsbury's can utilise
as it is easily to apply and implement.
2.Kotter's 8 Step Change Model
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This strategic model has steps which can be used by Sainsbury's while implementing
change process.
Illustration 4: Kotter's 8 Step model
(Source: Fundamental Change Management Models, 2018)
These include:
 Increasing of urgency for change in organisation
 Building a team that is dedicated to bring
 Creating a vision for change
 Communication of the need for changes in the organisation
 Empowering staff to adapt to change
 Creation of short term goals
 Persistence
 Implementing change permanently
2.2 Critical Review
It has many steps which ensures that management of organisation can easily implement it
and the main focus is to prepare and accept change (Lewis, Passmore and Cantore, 2016). This
makes transition a smooth process when applied in Sainsbury's and importance is given to
transparency and team work. But this can be time consuming for the organisation as well.
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3. SWOT Analysis of Sainsbury's
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Sainsbury's has been assessed through
this model and it can be reviewed that:
3.2 Critical Review
Table 1
Strengths Weaknesses
 It is the 2nd largest chain of
supermarkets in UK.
 They have excellent marketing
strategies.
 Sainsbury's has many investors and
shareholders.
 Their brand image is excellent.
 Sainsbury's is present only in UK and
do not operate globally.
 They are unable to implement
technological changes.
 Incompetent and unskilled employees
are present in organisation
 There has been a fall in recent
customers’ satisfaction.
Opportunities Threats
 They can globalise their operations
 They can start online sales of products
and services.
 Sainsbury's will be able to attract more
customers.
 There is stiff competition in this
industry in which Sainsbury's operates.
 Price cuts can cause in production of
bad quality products (Van der Voet,
2014).
 Brexit has negatively impacted their
prices
Table 1: SWOT Analysis
Diagnosis
Saisnbury's SWOT analysis helped in assessing organisation's strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats. This gave complete diagnosis of issues and problems that they were
experiencing due to internal factors. Even though company has been present for many years in
the industry, excessive competition, price cuts and Brexit has caused many issues for them.
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4. McKinsey 7-S Model
Illustration 5: McKinsey 7-S Model
(Source :The McKinsey 7-S Model, 2018)
4.1 Critical Review
McKinsey 7-S model provides organisations a theoretical approach in which strategy,
structure, systems, shared values, skills, style and staff are the factors to develop new strategies
for change process. Management can create long term goals keeping in mind the above factors as
it provides a guideline for implementation of changes. This model is effective because it can
diagnose and understand overall organisational operations. Importance is given to rational as
well as emotional elements that are present in employees. Strategy involves planning of
management in which strategies are made to improve organisational performances. Structure
consists of the ways an organisation is structured, its operational functions and interconnections
(Matos Marques Simoes and Esposito, 2014). Systems means activities and workflows of
Sainsbury's. Shared values refer to the norms and standards of organisation and behaviour of
management. Skills include competencies and capabilities of employees to accomplish tasks.
Style is the method of management and leadership techniques used in the organisation and staff
means the employees and workforce.
Diagnosis
Sainsbury's issues were determined through McKinsey's 7-S model as management was
able to assess strategies that were previously used in the organisation and analysis of their
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structure helped in understanding what issues are being experienced by them and their reasons as
well. Systems of workflow and operational activities were examined, which provided the
methods and techniques used while running businesses (Bratton and Gold, 2017). The shared
values, skills, style and staff present in employees also showed issues faced in the strategies of
Sainsbury's. This model helped in diagnosing the problems at company through assessment and
analysis of factors in McKinsey's Model.
Proposed Strategic change at Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's has been thoroughly analysed and it has been determined that McKinsey's 7-
S model will be a proper technique for strategic change in the organisation. This will help
managers to determine best course of action for the company and prepare their employees to
accept changes that will be done. This method of analysing old strategies and structure of
organisation can help management in creating new strategic plans that will bring change in
organisation (Christin Jurisch and et.al., 2014). The changes in systems can aid in improving
workflow of employees, while shared values can lead to maintaining peace in the environment.
Analysis of skills will help Sainsbury's to evaluate competencies of workers, so that proper
training programs can be made. Style and staff can be assessed, so that strategic issues can be
determined and changes can be implemented accordingly.
End result of change process at Sainsbury's
There had been many strategic and cultural issues that Sainsbury's faced over the past
year. Their management did not provide proper strategies for profit and revenue maximisation,
the organisational culture consisted of a negative environment as well. This made employees less
productive and unethical behaviour while working. The senior management decided that there
was a requirement of implementing change processes in the organisation (Wang and et.al.,
2016). They analysed that there was a fall in their profitability for the past two years and no
scope for improvement was present with regard to existing strategies.
Even after initiation and implementation of new strategic plans for organisation's
productivity and culture, there has not been any improvements in Sainsbury's. They had issues
regarding staffing, where in Human Resource Management did not effectively staff competent
and skilled employees accordingly. There was no proper delegation of tasks and no signs of
modifications have been seen in their personnel after the change process. Their introduction of
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online services has not been effective since beginning, as they are unable to create proper
strategies for their websites and applications. This created issues for their strategic planning on
growth as well. Head managers of different departments were not flexible and they were not
happy with the change process (Luthans and Doh, 2018). They did not exercise flexibility even
after the changes made in the organisation. This is why there continues to be a negative
environment in Sainsbury's.
Organisation chose Kotter's 8 step change model as a theoretical approach towards
change process in their management. It is a very effective method for implementing change as it
has a smooth and step by step application. But managers did not apply all the mentioned steps,
which caused many issues and mismanagement of planning strategic courses of action. It was a
time consuming process for Sainsbury's and correct approaches were not taken into account. This
was the reason as to why there were high amounts of job and price cuts in the organisation and
many employees were resistant to these changes which led to high employee turnover (Harmon,
2014). They were unable to ascertain correct areas that had to be repaired and this made their
issues more problematic.
Overall, Sainsbury's did not succeed in the change process of management in their
organisation. They did not properly utilise the theoretical models while implementing changes
and employees did not cooperate with managers. This led to decrease in productivity and
therefore low generation of profits in the organisation (Carnall, 2018). There was no cultural
change in Sainsbury's as well and it still stayed negative with unethical practices followed by
employees. They were unable to cope with the progressive resolutions and instead of improving
their business operations, there has been a downfall since the change process.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This assignment on management and leadership issues and progressive strategic solutions
for their improvement can be concluded that Sainsbury's has been facing dilemmas regarding
their management. They have experienced many issues such as strategies of profit growth,
selling products online, staffing, unethical employees, inflexible managers and discrimination
among each other. Sainsbury's utilised Kotter’s 8 step change model to initiate change process
but it was not effective as management did not follow all the steps correctly. It can be inferred
that organisation was not successful in implementing progressive strategic solutions to improve
and fix cultural and strategic issues that they experienced.
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Some recommendations for Sainsbury's include properly implementation of change
process model so that they can effectively examine their skills and competencies that are present
in employees and managers. This will allow them to understand deficiencies that they are facing
in terms of strategies made by management and new improved ones can be made.
EVIDENCE REVIEW
Strategic thinking is pivotal for organisations that deal with daily operational activities
and in Sainsbury's, management has to utilise methods of strategical planning so that they can
implement change process in their strategies. They had difficulties in generating high profits,
their market share kept decreasing, there was lack of innovative ideas and many other ethical
problems (Christin Jurisch and et.al., 2014). Their management no longer possessed required
leadership skills, which is why, organisation is experiencing various issues. This evidence review
with analysis of how Sainsbury's has been performing throughout the past year, by applying
numerous theoretical models of strategic management is done.
5.PESTLE Analysis of Sainsbury's
5.1 Critical Review
This is a tool used to measure the external environment such as political, economic,
social, technological, legal and environmental factors and with context of Sainsbury’s, it has
been assessed here.
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Illustration 6: PESTLE Analysis
(Source: Scanning the Environment: PESTEL Analysis, 2016)
Their review is as follows:
 Political: Sainsbury's can be heavily impacted by political conditions as Qatar has turned
out to be an investor in their organisation (Bratton and Gold, 2017). They have different
government policies and these relations have to be maintained properly abiding to other
country's regulations.
 Economic: Sainsbury's operates in UK and due to Brexit, it has seen a decline in
earnings, as people migrated to other locations for better opportunities These economic
conditions have had a negative impact on profitability of this company.
 Social: Sainsbury's ensures that their customers are satisfied with products that they offer.
Organisation has started to produce organic food, as per the latest trends in society
(Piercy, 2016). People have become more health conscious, and management plans their
product line accordingly.
 Technological: Sainsbury's has been negatively impacted by technological changes in the
organisation. They are unable to adapt to new innovations, which has led to several issues
in the company.
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 Legal: UK has many statutory regulations, and this impacts Sainsbury's in a negative
manner, as there are constant changes in policies that require approvals. This delays their
decision making in management, which hampers growth of business.
 Environmental: Sainsbury's is an eco- friendly organisation, as they have reduced their
operational waste and recycle their products (Alvesson and Sveningsson, 2015). They
have decreased emissions of carbon in the environment and management creates
sustainability plans for the organisation.
6. Porter's 5 forces
6.1 Critical Review
Porter's 5 forces are a strategic management tool that can be used in an organisation, to
analyse threats of substitutes and new entrants, bargaining power of buyers and suppliers as well
as rivals in the industry (Cameron and Green, 2015). Sainsbury's operates in an industry which
have heavy competition.
Forces Analysis
Threats of substitutes Threats of substitutes is high for Sainsbury's as
there are many supermarket chains present in
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Illustration 7: Porter's 5 Forces
(Source: Blockchain & Porter’s 5 forces: disrupting the financial power balance, 2018)

this industry. There are multiple organisations
that sell similar products and services and this
can create issues for Sainsbury's.
Threats of new entrants Threat of new entrants is moderate for
Sainsbury's, because there are multiple
organisations present and it will be difficult for
new entrants to set up their business in a
successful manner.
Bargaining power of buyers This force is high for Sainsbury's as their
buyers have to be satisfied with their products
and services, and if not happy, they can easily
choose different retailers, as there are many of
them present in UK.
Bargaining power of suppliers This force is moderate for Sainsbury's. There
are many suppliers present in the industry and
organisation can buy raw materials from
anyone of them (Matos Marques Simoes and
Esposito, 2014). But some suppliers provide
quality products that is required by Sainsbury's
and this can cause loss in profits if company
loses them.
Competitors Competition is high for Sainsbury's as it
operates in the retail industry. Existing rivals
are large in numbers and this has caused low
revenue generation in organisation. Other
companies offer affordable and good quality
products and this is a big threat for Sainsbury's.
Table 2: Porter's 5 Forces
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Lewin's change management model
Lewin's change management model is a strategic management model that has been used
by Sainsbury's for implementing changes in organisation.
This includes 3 stages which are as follows:
Unfreezing: In order to bring changes in Sainsbury's, their senior management has to
strategically analyse what areas have to be taken into consideration, so that plans can be made
and course of actions can be implemented (Lewis, Passmore and Cantore, 2016). This will allow
employees to get a chance to adapt to changes and motivate themselves for the future.
Transition: This is the second step in which, Sainsbury's implement changes and develop targets
and systematic tasks, so that goals can be achieved. Management has utilised this model so that
they can effectively implement change.
Refreezing: Once changes have been implemented, Sainsbury's can ascertain whether or not it
can be successful (Wang and et.al., 2016). This step ensures stability of organisation, and usage
of new improved guidelines that has to be followed by management and employees.
Kotter's 8 Step Change Model
Sainsbury's can use Kotter's model as it is a strategic model which includes increasing of
urgency for change by management to build a team that is dedicated to bring changes. This
tactical model can help to create a vision for managers and leaders, which can be communicated
to employees. This will aid in empowering staff, so that they are willing to adapt to changes
(Booth, 2015). This model helps in creating short term goals and ensure that there is persistence
in management, while working towards achieving them. Finally, changes can be implemented
permanently in Sainsbury's and Kotter's model can help organisation to strategically determine
change process for their improvement.
McKinsey 7-S model
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Sainsbury's can utilise McKinsey 7-S model as it provides a theoretical approach in
which the following factors are analysed to develop new strategies for change process.
 Strategy
 Structure
 Systems
 Shared values
 Skills
 Style
 Staff
Management can analyse these factors, which provide guidelines for implementation of
changes (Harmon, 2014). It is an effective strategic model as it helps in diagnosing areas of
concern in the organisation. Sainsbury's has used this model while implementing changes within
their management and have assessed each element to create effective strategies.
7. Korey's Model
7.1 Critical Review
This strategic management model helps Sainsbury's to analyse, plan and manage through
proper implementation of approaches created by them. This includes planning studies, reviewing
and controlling, studying feasibility of the company (Carnall, 2018). It can support Sainsbury's
management in ascertaining issues and plan their schemes accordingly. They have used this
model to create strategies that can help implement change in management.
8. The Schendel and Hofer Model
8.1 Critical Review
Sainsbury's can utilise this strategic management model by following the steps of
formulating a goal by analysing overall environment. They can formulate strategies and then
evaluate them so that implementation can be done (Strategic Management: Formulation and
Implementation, 2014). After execution, control can be exercised on plans that have been
initiated in company. This helps in determining available resources, so that optimal utilisation
can be done. Sainsbury's have created a goal of changing their management so that their strategic
issues can be fixed and they can control the organisation effectively.
21

9.Glueck's Model
9.1 Critical Review
This strategic management model helps Sainsbury's in determining mission and goals so
that managers can analyse and diagnose issues that they are facing. This allows consideration of
alternatives and implementation of correct strategies. Once plans are made and employed,
management can evaluate them so that it can be ascertained, whether objectives have been met or
not. Sainsbury's has been able to identify its missions and objectives, which has given their
management an insight on how changes in strategic plans can be done and issues can be solved.
10.Balanced scorecard
Illustration 8: Balance Scorecard
(Source: Strategic Management Models with examples, 2018)
10.1 Critical Review
Sainsbury's can analyse their management performance with the help of balanced
scorecard (Doppelt, 2017). This strategic model analyses how employees perform tasks, so that
measurement and feedback can benefit in creating strategies for application and improving
22

organisational performance. Management has been able to use this model by analysing areas of
deficiencies, monitoring feedbacks and implementing new improved strategies.
11. Maslow's needs of hierarchy model
Illustration 9: Maslow's needs of hierarchy model
(Source: Our Hierarchy of Needs, 2012)
11.1 Critical Review
Sainsbury's can utilise this theory by motivating their employees to adapt to the changes
that will be made in the organisation so that proper strategies can be made and implemented.
Maslow's needs of heirarchy will understand the psychological and basic needs of each
individual present in Sainsbury's, so that they can plan strategies accordingly.
23

12. Hertzberg’s Two-Factor Theory
Illustration 10: Herzberg's 2 factor theory
(Source: Herzberg’s Motivation Theory – Two Factor
Theory, 2018)
12.1 Critical Review
Hertzberg's two factor theory can be utilised by Sainsbury's management, as they can
look out for motivation and hygiene factors within the organisation. There may be chances of
lack of hygiene such as dissatisfaction of employees due to less salary, company policies and so
on.
REFLECTION
I have seen that Sainsbury's, being the 2nd largest company with supermarket chains, is
struggling to earn high profits from their business. I think that there should be proper strategies
that needs thorough planning and analysis before initiating any service in an organisation. When
I studied issues that Sainsbury's has been recently experienced, it came to my attention that they
did not have the required staff to perform daily operational functions. Their managers were not
efficient and competent at the work they did. Management and leadership are vital for an
organisation to grow and sustain (Carnall, 2018). I have learnt that there are functions that have
to be done in a proper and systematic method by managers. There are many industries present in
24

the business world, and these consist of many organisations, which makes running operational
activities extremely tough.
I feel that it is important for an individual to work in a peaceful and positive atmosphere
with a culture that supports and respects one another. But this was not the case at Sainsbury's as
employees were discriminated by each other on the basis of their race and gender. This made it
difficult for them to work. I noticed that job cuts at this organisation was another reason about
issues in their work culture. The high amount of re-staffing and restructuring had created
dilemmas for Sainsbury's (Bolden, 2016). I feel that any organisation must have key strategies
that are made optimally by using resources available to them. This includes creating plans for
human resource, operations, marketing and financial activities. Managers have to be flexible
while making course of actions and can refer to their subordinates so that they get various ideas
that can be beneficial for organisation.
The study of this assignment has made me evaluate use of strategic strategic thinking
while taking decisions regarding important matters, as it is a prerequisite. I have learnt that
communication is vital when discussing ideas and creating plans. I noticed that Sainsbury's
management did not communicate effectively, which is one of the main causes of their issues
with strategy and decision making. They constantly change their policies and struggle to provide
training and development programs to employees. Their staff are not aware about the protocol of
health and safety with regard to production and storage of food products at Sainsbury's stores
(Wang and et.al., 2016). Their visions and mottos did not meet with their work practices and I
believe that an organisation has to stay true to their words. I have noticed that due to these, they
gain a bad reputation over time as they do not strategically think about their choices before
making decisions.
On analysing strategic issues at Sainsbury's, I have learnt that there are key stages that
have to be taken into consideration when strategic plans have to be made. This consists of
studying reasons of why change is required in an organisation. I believe that it is a pre-requisite
to plan changes needed in an organisation after ascertaining the reasons behind it, such as
bringing positivity in the work environment and culture, so that it can lead to productivity and
profit maximisation. Along with, I feel that communication is a crucial step in change process, as
each employee must have a clear idea of the goals that have to be achieved with their help, that
will enable organisation to prosper. The next key stages involve implementation and provision
25

of training and development programs for management of all levels. This will help managers and
leaders to gain skill and knowledge that can aid them in adapting to new technology that is
introduced in Sainsbury's (Lewis, Passmore and Cantore, 2016). I have analysed that it is
important to monitor and ask for feedback from employees so that management can assess how
their implementations regarding change process and results gained from it. This can help in
evaluating each aspect and modifying areas that require alterations.
I can conclude that Sainsbury's has not been successful in implementing change process
in their management and organisation. They did not properly follow steps and methods that
would help them in improving their productivity and profits as well as fixing their cultural and
strategical issues. I have observed that there has to proper skills and knowledge present in
management, then only they can create successful plans for their respective organisations. In
Sainsbury's case, the persons taking decisions were not aware about many aspects related to
management and leadership, which is why they are facing the consequences of inadequate
strategies and an unhealthy culture.
Changes are required when an organisation is facing dilemmas and Sainsbury's made a
good choice to implement change process in their management. I have learnt that it is important
to make variances in areas that are not performing well, so that problems can be analysed and
determination of resolutions can be done in the future. It is necessary for managers to use
various theoretical or strategic models so that it can be easier for them to analyse various aspects
of their organisation, and encourage their employees to embrace the changes that has to be made
(Fundamental Change Management Models, 2018). I find it important to use approaches like
Kotter’s 8 step change model and Lewin's change management model as they are easily and have
in-depth steps that can be utilised by organisations such as Sainsbury's. It will allow examining
of skills and competencies that are present in employees and managers.
26

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Bolden, R., 2016. Leadership, management and organisational development. In Gower handbook
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Booth, S.A., 2015. Crisis management strategy: Competition and change in modern enterprises.
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Doppelt, B., 2017. Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for
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Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E., 2014. Strategic information management: challenges and
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