Inclusive Leadership: Benefits, Case Study Analysis of Tesco

This article discusses the concept of inclusive leadership and its benefits in driving employee engagement, creativity and performance. It includes a case study analysis of Tesco's inclusive culture through their website and social media platforms. The article also provides suggestions on how Tesco can become more inclusive based on industry best practices.

Leading People 2
The guidance supports you in developing your skills in research, literature analysis, case study
analysis, making judgements and in academic writing (structuring your report, writing
paragraphs, embedding references)
Delete all of the prompters before you submit your . Tables and references are NOT
part of the word count.
Reminder of the task
(a) Define ‘inclusive leadership’ and explain its key benefits in terms of driving
employee engagement, creativity and performance (20%)
(b) With reference to a business/organisation of your choice,
● examine the extent to which their leaders demonstrate an ‘inclusive
culture’ through TWO of the following - their job advertisements,
website OR social media platforms (50%)
● based on the examination above, provide TWO suggestions to how the
organisation could become more inclusive. Your suggestions should be based
on industry best practices. (30%)
Introduction (approximately 1 paragraph to state what you will cover in this )
Task (a) Definition analysis of Inclusive Leadership
Table 1 provides an overview of definitions of inclusive leadership. Make some
comment about the importance of conducting a definition analysis.
Table 1: Definitions of inclusive leadership
Reference (put in
chronological order, starting
with the earliest)
Definition Key qualities of an Inclusive Leader
Javed, B. and et.al., 2019.
Impact of inclusive
leadership on innovative
work behavior: The role of
psychological
safety. Journal of
Management &
Organization, 25(1), pp.117-
136.
Inclusive leaders are the individuals
who are highly aware of their own
partiality and actively seek out along
with consider diversified
perspectives to inform their decision-
making and collaborate more
appropriately with others.
Inclusive leaders are highly
committed towards the company as
well as their team members because
they believe in creating welcoming
culture and posses personal sense of
responsibility for change.
Ashikali, T., Groeneveld, S.
and Kuipers, B., 2021. The
role of inclusive leadership
in supporting an inclusive
climate in diverse public
sector teams. Review of
Public Personnel
Administration, 41(3),
pp.497-519.
Inclusive leadership is basically a
capacity to manage and lead a
heterogeneous group of people in
efficient manner along with
respecting the uniqueness in
empathetic and unbiased manner. It
They are highly shows their
courageous behavior within the
company.

is highly authentic kind of leadership
style that rules out discrimination
and favor based upon the race, color
and other characteristics that allows
employees to feel valued for their
own inputs.
Sung, S.L.S., 2021. Effects
of Inclusive Leadership on
Job Satisfaction: The
Mediating Role of
Organizational
Justice (Doctoral
dissertation, Alliant
International University).
It is the kind of leadership that highly
values team members, invite
diversified perceptions and creates
an environment where feel that their
opinions are contributions are being
improved the company's overall
well-being.
Curiosity and openness are the
primary characteristics of inclusive
leaders which helps them to
increase and improve their
decision-making.
Comment on the level of similarity/differences in the definitions – does any definition cover
more features/elements? Which reference provides the best definition – or do they all state
the same thing?
Ans- In order to evaluate the similarity level among the above represented three major definitions, it
has been identified that out of above presented three definitions, the first two are quite similar in a
manner that both of them illustrates about the authenticity of the aspects related to the inclusive
leadership. Both definitions illustrate that the inclusive leaders are highly unbiased in nature and
take decisions accordingly with the collaboration of more and more employees into the effective
decision-making procedure. The second definition covers more features as according to it this
specific style works without any discrimination manner along with make their employees and team
members highly valuable. Moreover, the third definition also elaborate the aspects to some extent
that they are the people who invite diversified perceptions through which they are successful in
order to create positive environment within the organization. The second reference provides the best
definition as it includes the crux of all the above mentioned three definitions. Although they all state
the similar kind of things but still the second one is highly able to provide specified illustrations
about the inclusive leadership style.

Comment on the qualities of an inclusive leader within that reference - comment on the
level of similarity/differences across the references – is there any reference which captures
the qualities better than the other references?
Ans- In order to illustrate the qualities of inclusive leader, it has been highlighted that inclusive
leaders are extremely committed towards cultivating a diverse work place with the help of appropriate
time and energy which are the major commodities of an individual. This helps to motivate large
amount of people in order to complete their tasks. Another is related to their courageous behavior
which shows that they never afraid of entrench challenges. And the last one is related to the curiosity
level among such kind of leaders (Emmanuel, 2020). According to this they are the ones who generate
an idea of value, respect and make their employees presentable in front of others by boosting up their
confidence level. In context of similarity, it has been elaborated that all three characteristics are
different from each other and in collaborative manner it creates and fulfill the requirement of an
inclusive leadership style among individual leader.
Pros/Cons of inclusive leadership
Introduce Table 2 here – which provides an overview of the benefits and limitations of inclusive
leadership which can impact employee engagement, creativity etc
Table 2: Pros and Cons of Inclusive leadership
Pros of Inclusive Leadership (include a reference
(or 2) for each point)
Cons of Inclusive Leadership (include a
reference (or 2) for each point)
Enable individuals to feel free to bring out their
authentic selves to work (Fujimoto and Uddin,
2021).
Lead to ambiguity of roles (Offermann and
Coats, 2018).
Provide each employee with a sense of
empowerment to take risks (Shore and Chung,
2021).
Less clarity over hierarchy (Crisol Moya,
Molonia and Caurcel Cara, 2020).
Reassure individuals that there is equity and fairness
and that they will be challenged with job stretch
opportunities (Qurrahtulain and et.al., 2022).
It requires deep level of understanding and self
awareness (Wahab and Khan, 2021).
Comment on the key benefits (pros) of inclusive leadership based on your table above –
do the pros outweigh the cons (or limitations)? Are these benefits potentially achievable in
all organisations? Justify your answer here.
Ans- According to the above represented table, it has been highlighted that inclusive
leadership style helps to make people feel free, motivated and generate a sense of
responsibility within themselves (Oad and Alwi, 2021). No doubt the all have their own

disadvantages and thus, in this the pros outweigh the cons in certain limited manner. Yes the
above mentioned benefits highly able to make the company successful in complete manner.
References
Crisol Moya, E., Molonia, T. and Caurcel Cara, M.J., 2020. Inclusive leadership and education
quality: Adaptation and validation of the questionnaire “Inclusive Leadership in
Schools”(LEI-Q) to the Italian context. Sustainability, 12(13), p.5375.
Emmanuel, M., 2020. Impact of Inclusive Leadership on Innovative Work Behavior with
Mediating Role of Employee Volunteer and Moderating Role of Trust in
Leadership (Doctoral dissertation, CAPITAL UNIVERSITY).
Fujimoto, Y. and Uddin, J., 2021. Inclusive Leadership for Reduced Inequality: Economic–
Social–Economic Cycle of Inclusion. Journal of Business Ethics, pp.1-20.
Oad, L. and Alwi, S.K.K., 2021. Level of Inclusive Leadership Qualities of a Leader: A
Perceptions of the Teachers of Tertiary Institutions in Sindh Pakistan. Global
Educational Studies Review, VI, 6, pp.42-53.
Offermann, L.R. and Coats, M.R., 2018. Implicit theories of leadership: Stability and change
over two decades. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(4), pp.513-522.
Qurrahtulain, K. and et.al., 2022. Impact of inclusive leadership on adaptive performance with
the mediation of vigor at work and moderation of internal locus of control. Journal of
Public Affairs, 22(1), p.e2380.
Shore, L.M. and Chung, B.G., 2021. Inclusive leadership: How leaders sustain or discourage
work group inclusion. Group & Organization Management, p.1059601121999580.
Wahab, W. and Khan, K., 2021. Inclusive Leadership with Relation to Employee Engagement:
Mediating Role of Psychological Empowerment. Management, 4(4), pp.1-21.
Task (b) Case study analysis
Opening paragraph – state the organisation you are examining and which information you will
consider (2 from website, job ads or social media). Provide a brief overview of the organisation -
when it was established, where is its base, what does it do, how many staff does it employ etc – keep
this brief as this is descriptive information (and there are less marks for descriptive text)
Ans- Tesco is the organization that has been chosen in order to illustrate the concepts in detailed
manner. From the website of Tesco, the information about the company has been gathered according
to which it is a leading multinational retailer firm located at diversified locations all across the world.
From the social media platform it has been evaluated that the company offers various kind of services
to their users along with provide employment to around 350000 people all across the nation (Dyer,
Middlemiss and Thew, 2021). Their primary and major aim is to serve their customers every day with

healthy, affordable and sustainable food products and assist them in order to live their life in better
way along with in easier manner. It is the third largest retailer in the world as per the gross revenue
that has been collected by the firm. Tesco was established in 1919 by jack Cohen with initially
operating into 11 countries in the world. But due to some circumstances, they have to pull themselves
back from some of the markets such as from US in 2013 (Kennet, 2020). The company operates into
diversified areas which includes retailing into books, clothing range, toys, furniture, electronics,
financial services, home appliances, internet services, telecommute, etc.
Choose 2 of the following
Examination of its
website
Table 3 provides an overview of the organization's website in terms of its coverage of
inclusive leadership features, as identified in Task (a).
Table 3: Website analysis of inclusive leadership and culture within TESCO
Quality 1 Evidence Quality 2 Evidence Quality 3 Evidence
The website is well-designed
and functional in nature as it is
highly able to reflect over the
detailed information about te
Tesco, their services and upon
the overall brand in successful
manner. Thus, the websites is
highly appealing, polished as
well as professional
(Stephenson and et.al., 2020).
It is extremely quick in
functioning along with
appropriately build a web
standards. It highlights that
everybody is welcome within
the company with the help of
creating an inclusive workplace
that celebrates the culture,
preferences and personalities.
The website is highly easy in
order to use them efficiently.
This is capable enough to
provide detailed information in
just few clicks to their users as
it is very important for users to
understand the content and stay
over the website (Sitko-Lutek
and Jakubiak, 2020). Thus, the
users are able to generate
logical navigation with clear
hierarchy. It provides
information that they have
appropriate leaders who are
capable enough to make their
employees feel positive vibes
within the workspace.
The website of the Tesco
provides sense to their audience
with the help of using
appropriate language by
avoiding any jargon and
acronyms. Moreover, it has
been updated on regular basis
(Patwardhan, 2020). As per the
website, the Tesco offers
various and different types of
committees in order to resolve
significant issues which
includes executive committee,
diverse talent committee, etc.

Source: include the website link here
Dyer, J., Middlemiss, L. and Thew, H., 2021. Towards just and inclusive community sustainability
initiatives: learning from the Mixed Ability movement. justice spatiale-spatial justice, (16).
Kennet, M., 2020. Green economics insights for economists: Diversity leads us out of our silos.
In Contemporary Issues in Heterodox Economics (pp. 87-99). Routledge.
Stephenson, J.H. and et.al., 2020. Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in Caribbean Organisations and
Society. Springer Books.
Patwardhan, S., 2020. Employee volunteering programs: an emerging dimension of modern
workplaces. Mandated Corporate Social Responsibility, pp.215-243.
Sitko-Lutek, A. and Jakubiak, M., 2020, Development of Employees’ Potential in the Context of
Diversity Management. anna rakowska, p.149.
TESCO PLC, 2022. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/colleagues/diversity-and-inclusion-at-tesco/>.

Comment on the evidence found within the table above- how effective is the website in
communicating an inclusive culture? Does the organisation promote a diverse staff base,
have ambitions to become more inclusive/diversified organisation? Have they won awards
in this area? Overall, how effective is the website in communicating an inclusive context? Is
it limited/adequate/good/excellent? Cross link this to the references from Task (a) on
definitions and qualities of inclusive leadership.
Ans- The evidence that has been selected above in order to grab the information related to the Tesco
company, it has been evaluated that the website as well as social media platform is somehow
sufficient to create an image within the mind of users that the company highly bale to follow
inclusive, diversity and appropriate culture within the workplace. The Tesco appropriately promotes
a culture of diverse staff base as they have more than 350000 employees who are based upon
different ethnicity, culture, race, age, caste, gender, other demographics, etc. Thus, for future terms
as well, they are still tries their maximum to work towards diversified actions and activities in order
to complete the tasks efficiently. Yes, the company also wins award for best network at the British
LGBT Awards (Park, 2020). Thus, in total, the websites are efficient enough to give detailed
information about the inclusive criteria. It s good enough along with requires certain and few
modifications in order to improve some parts of the website.
Examination of social media (use recruitment sites such as indeed.com, The Guardian Jobs, Linked-in
Jobs etc) Table X provides an overview of the organisation’s job ads in terms of its
coverage of inclusive leadership features, as identified in Task (a).
Table X: Job ad analysis of inclusive leadership and culture within X
Job: Customer Service agent (this is just an example – choose any ad where there is useful information
Quality 1 Evidence Quality 2 Evidence Quality 3 Evidence
The job advertisement website
of the Tesco provides easy and
appropriate site layout to their
users. The job advertisement is
suitable enough to provide
detailed information which
consists of the roles and
responsibilities of customer
service agent into detailed
manner (Calvard, 2019). This
page also illustrates about the
inclusion and culture in most
It is efficient enough to provide
clear calls to actions such as
they offer the website users to
give their feedback
appropriately.
It has been optimized the
search for job advertisements at
Tesco as they offers nice
looking platform that is
extremely easy to use by their
users and provide effectual
content related to the jobs or
vacancies required to be
fulfilled by the candidates
(Pasic, 2020). The jobs are
related to other leadership
positions as well have been

successful manner. shared within the
advertisements.
Source: include the website link here
Park, H.M., 2020. Talent management dilemma and distance between South Korea and the
USA. International Journal of Export Marketing, 3(4), pp.335-355.
Calvard, T., 2019. Integrating social scientific perspectives on the quantified employee self. Social
Sciences, 8(9), p.262.
Pasic, A., 2020. Cultural Diversity Impact on the Decision-Making of Leaders within Organizations.
Jones, P. and Comfort, D., 2019. Stories and Retailer Brands: A Study of the UK’s Leading
Retailers. Indonesian Journal of Contemporary Management Research, 1(2), pp.65-77.
Loonam, J. and et.al., 2018. Towards digital transformation: Lessons learned from traditional
organizations. Strategic Change, 27(2), pp.101-109.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stephanie-nicoll-b80877145_tesco-aplacetogeton-
everyoneswelcome-activity-6902376028715778048-anaR
https://www.studocu.com/en-gb/document/university-of-wolverhampton/researching-business-
and-management-issues/customer-service-assitant-job-advertisement-unit-8-la-b/13521073
Comment on the evidence found within the table above- how effective are the job ads in
communicating an inclusive culture? Examine the language used? Are staff encouraged to
participate in decision-making? Are flexible work arrangements offered? How significant
are these? Do they offer staff professional development opportunities? Any other positive
features?
Overall, how effective are the job ads in communicating an inclusive context? Is it
limited/adequate/good/excellent? Cross link this to the references from Task (a) on
definitions and qualities of inclusive leadership.
Ans- From the above represented detail, it has been identified that the job
advertisement are highly effectual in order to communicate the inclusive culture as
according to it, the hours of working and the role required to be performed is
efficient enough to illustrate the flexible culture within the workplace. The
language were highly professional in nature as it is the official job add which has

been represented on behalf of the company (Jones and Comfort, 2019). Employees
are encouraged to take part into the decision-making processes along with offer
flexible work place arrangements within the Tesco. All such facilities are more
important for employees in order to perform better with increased productivity.
The company also offers staff professional development opportunities with the
help of providing suitable and relevant information to candidates.
Thus, overall context, the job ads are efficient to some extent as they provide
limited information about the inclusive culture which is only relevant to the job
role (Loonam and et.al., 2018). Although from sites it has been clear that the
leaders and managers of the company follows inclusive culture.
Suggestions to addressing gaps in inclusivity
Table X and Y provide an overview of best practices from other organisations in driving an
inclusive culture. These best practices could be implemented in ….[Tesco Plc. ]
Table x: Best Practice from other organizations
Gaps Best Practice Organisation (include bullet points on key features of
inclusivity and evidence of their success – for eg positive employee
review, awards).
Recognise bias
Recognise efforts and treat the
workforce with rewards irrespective
of the gender, age, caste, color, race,
nationality and only considering the
skills and efforts of the workforce.
It has been determined that even though Tesco Plc
implements the use of different types of inclusive practices in order
to promote a culturally diverse environment and enhance their
performance through the same. They provide equal opportunity to
each of their employees in order to move ahead within the
organization. However, it has been identified that Tesco Plc. is
unable to recognize the bias taking place between their employees
within the organization. Only implementing strategies and
informing the workforce about the inclusive practices of the
organization is not enough. Similar to other organizations, Tesco
Plc. should take a step forward and implement certain strategies or
form a committee that could help the company in determining the
bias taking place among the employees within the organization
(Matamala, and Orero,, 2019). This will help the company in
determining the various types of partial treatments taking place
within the organization such as promoting an employee who does
not have sufficient skills in order to carry out a particular but
because of certain personal relationships within the organization,
he has been able to get a high position within the organization. The
eradication of such unfair treatments will help the organization in
motivating the employees and increasing the efficiency of the
organization.
It has been determined that the Tesco Plc. is weak as
compared to other organizations in determining the efforts of the
workforce within the organization. In today’s world, it is essential
for the companies to determine the efforts made by each and every

individual within the organization and provide them necessary
rewards. The recognitions of the efforts made by the individuals
should purely be based on the skills of the employees within the
organization and the contribution they made in the success of the
company. It helps the company in developing a sense of
belongingness and a sense of importance among the employees of
the company. Also, motivates them to work hard for the
organization as they are received respect, rewards, fair treatments
and equal opportunities within the company.
Sources: https://www.tescoplc.com/sustainability/colleagues/diversity-and-inclusion-at-tesco/
Matamala, A. and Orero, P., 2019. Training experts in inclusive practices for an equity on access to
culture in Europe. In Inclusion, equity and access for individuals with disabilities (pp. 263-
280). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.
Comment on how easy it would be for your organisation to implement the above practice –
justify based on your evidence in the earlier part of this task.
Table x: Implementation of inclusive practices within Tesco plc.
Gaps Best Practice Organisation (include bullet points on key features of
inclusivity and evidence of their success – for eg positive employee
review, awards).
Recognising Bias
Recognising efforts
Tesco plc. can easily implement the strategy of recognizing
bias within the organization. This can be done by the senior level
management employees within the organization by providing the
all the employees with training programs in which the main heads
of the company can teach the other employees about they should
avoid the use of unconscious bias at workplace (Chappell, and
Provident, 2020). also, the organization can formulate punishment
if anyone is found following the biased practices.
The Tesco Plc. can also determine the efforts of the employees by
constantly keeping a check on the performance of the employees
and determine their contribution the success of the company.
Sources: https://trainingindustry.com/articles/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/unconscious-bias-
how-to-address-equality-and-train-for-better-outcomes-in-the-workplace/
Chappell, T.A. and Provident, I., 2020. Cultural competency: Integrating an evidence-based course for
increasing inclusive practices. Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice. 18(3).
p.9.

Comment on how easy it would be for your organisation to implement the above practice –
justify based on your evidence in the earlier part of this task.
Suggested Reading List to support you as you start your
(Try to include as many current references as possible (ideally 2019-2022, but if a significant
one from earlier, that is fine)
Bourke, J & Titus, Andrea (2020) The Key to Inclusive Leadership. Harvard Business Review. March
6th. https://hbr.org/2020/03/the-key-to-inclusive-leadership
Basu Mallick, Chiradeep (2021) 6 Examples of Inclusive Leadership from Around the Globe
https://www.toolbox.com/hr/workforce-planning/articles/inclusive-leadership-example-salesforce-
google- facebook/#:~:text=This%20is%20where%20inclusive%20leadership,and%20Facebook
%20practice%2 0inclusive%20leadership.
Deloitte (2016) Six Signature traits of inclusive leaders – thriving in a diverse changing world
https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/insights/topics/talent/six-signature-traits-of-inclusive-
leadership.html
Indeed (2021) What is Inclusive Leadership and why is it important? September 2021.
https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/what-is-inclusive-leadership
Jolly, Phillip M. & Lee, Lindsey (2021) Silence is not Golden: Motivating Employee Voice
through Inclusive Leadership. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research. Aug2021, Vol. 45 Issue 6,
p1092-1113. 22p. (access this article via our Library Portal)
Kleanthis K. Katsaros (2022) Exploring the inclusive leadership and employee change participation
relationship: the role of workplace belongingness and meaning-making. Baltic Journal of
Management. Vol. 17, Issue 2, pp. 158-173.March 14th. (access this article via our Library Portal)
Ping Bao, Zengrui Xiao, Gongmin Bao, Niels Noorderhaven (2021). Inclusive leadership and employee
work engagement: a moderated mediation model. Baltic Journal of Management. December 2nd
(access this article via our Library Portal)
Tapia, Andrés & Polonskaia, Alina (2020). The 5 Disciplines of Inclusive Leaders: Unleashing the
Power of All of Us. First edition. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Ebook – accessible via our Library portal
UK’s Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion – Inclusive
Leadership https://www.enei.org.uk/diversity-inclusion/inclusive-
leadership/
Wyman, Oliver (2021) Inclusivity & Active Listening go hand-in hand – how leaders can get better at
both
https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/insights/2021/mar/inclusivity-and-active-listening-go-
hand-in-hand.html

Identifying companies to examine for Task B
Use their websites in general or use a job search site to find such information
Indeed.com https://uk.indeed.com/?r=us
Guardian Jobs https://jobs.theguardian.com/jobs/recruitment- consultant/?
CMP=PPC_JOBS_GGL_&gclid=Cj0KCQjwma6TBhDIARIsAOKuANx8D6oFBlTU6XWwUg97o
6xy1QMWfid5crUgDTv3AGLFw_GRTV4Cz3kaAujxEALw_wcB
Linked-in (useful to set up an account!) https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/?trk2=ga_campid
%3D16727096618_asid%3D133707649663_crid%3 D590296549192_kw%3Dfind+jobs_d%3Dc_tid
%3Dkwd- 19681273_n%3Dg_mt%3De_geo%3D9045544_slid
%3D&mcid=6915044353484693540&gclid=Cj0KC Qjwma6TBhDIARIsAOKuANz0GgZMf-
06DQKQmAlwKS5Fzd_P1OS92TyWl34BIs- znW6V7iU1_s0aAu99EALw_wcB&src=go-pa&src=go-
pa&gclsrc=aw%2Eds&trk=li_sem_emea_careers_jobsgtm_CON-C_EMEA_GB_T1_EN-
US_SEM_SEM_GoogleAds_NA_ALL_NA_NA_Core_JobsLP_Job- Search_Nonbrand_Exact_network
%3Dg_campaign%3D16727096618_keyword%3Dfind+jobs&origin alSubdomain=uk