Knowledge Management and Information Systems in Tesco

This report discusses the integration of Knowledge Management and Information Systems (KMIS) in Tesco, a British multinational supermarket. It explores the benefits of using KMIS in improving performance and decision-making, and recommends suitable KMIS for the company. The report also analyzes the factors affecting Tesco and provides insights on its corporate objectives, business overview, and corporate structure.

Knowledge
management and
Information Systems

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the organisation.................................................................................................3
Factors affecting company.....................................................................................................4
KMIS suitable for the company.............................................................................................7
Implementation challenges of KMIS....................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Knowledge management and information systems is the use of information systems in
managing knowledge in an efficient manner so that it can be well stored and used to create
information that can help in collaborating work in organisations. KMIS help an organisation in
gaining a competitive advantage in market as with the effective use of data and information
accompanied by knowledge on how to use it help in making informed decisions (Archer-Brown
and Kietzmann, 2018). Knowledge management thus help an organisation in gathering
information for useful sources, storing them, sharing the information effectively throughout the
organisation etc. so that the operations can run smoothly. In this report Tesco plc is taken which
is a British multinational supermarket having its headquarters in England, UK and about 6,800
shops located in various countries. The company offer groceries and general merchandise
products to its customers at high quality and at reasonable prices so that high customer
satisfaction can be achieved. In this report the integration of KMIS in Tesco so that the
information can be used in an efficient manner to take decisions that can help in increasing its
competitiveness in market will be discussed. Further recommendation on which KMIS to be
installed so that performance of business can be improved will also be discussed.
MAIN BODY
Overview of the organisation
Tesco plc is a British multinational retailer which offers high quality groceries and general
merchandised to its customers and is located in 7 countries having more than 6800 shops which
help it in reaching to a large number of customers. The company was founded in 1919 and has its
headquarters in England, UK and is a market leader of groceries in UK. The company earns a
revenue of more than £63.911 billion and also has more than 450,000 employees.
Corporate objectives: The main objective of Tesco is to maximise it s sales by increasing
value for its customers and providing them high quality of items so that their experience can be
maximised. The company also aim at decreasing the prices at which it sell its products so that it
can gain a competitive edge in market and attract a large number of customers that can help in

increasing its sales. The company is also aiming at increasing the shopping experience of people
by making online shopping easy for them so that they can buy their required products and get
them delivered at their home.
Business overview: Tesco is engaged in retail business which make available to its
customers with groceries and general merchandise so that high value can be created to them by
delivering the products at high quality and low prices (Au and Fung, 2019). Tesco is one of the
largest retailers in UK and also the most profitable supermarket chain. The company was
established by Jack Cohen in 1919 and has its headquarters in England, UK.
Corporate structure: The corporate structure of a company decides the way in which
work is done in the company and also determined the flow of information among the member
present in the company. Tesco follows a hierarchical structure as it focuses on various
departments in the business. This structure help the employees getting a clear idea about their
roles and responsibilities in organisation, higher authorities they have to report etc. which help
them in performing their work in an efficient manner.
Outline of business model: The company keep its customers at its core and help in
creating high customer satisfaction by delivering them with products and services that are high in
quality and low in price so that the standard of living of people can be raised.
Factors affecting company
There are various factors which affect a business while working in business environment.
It is important that the companies analyse these factors on a regular basis so that both their
positive and negative effects can be determined and measures can be taken to take advantage of
these factors. Following are the various methods that can be used to analyse the factors which
affect businesses:
SWOT analysis
This is a strategic management tool that helps in analysing the internal capabilities of the
company by determining their strengths and weaknesses so that effective measures can be taken
to take the advantages of company’s strengths while minimising its weaknesses.
Strengths
 Strong brand image and large market
share.
Weaknesses
 Decrease in operating profits
 The low cost strategy affects its profits.

 Geographically diversified which help
it in having large number of customers.
Opportunities
 Expansion in untapped markets so that
customer base can be increased.
 Increased use of technology for online
shopping
Threats
 Increased competition in market like
Asda, Lidl etc.
 The uncertainty in Brexit which can
affect its market.
PESTLE analysis
This a strategic tool that help in analysing the external environmental factors which affect
the operations of company while working in the market. It is important that these factors are
analysed regularly so that effective steps can be taken so that competitive advantage can be
achieved by company.
 Political: These are the factors related to the rules and regulations of country in which the
company operates like trade tariffs, tax regulations etc. UK is politically stable which means
that the country rules do not change frequently with changing governments which give
advantage to Tesco as it do not have to change its strategies and policies frequently that help
it in saving the cost of change. However as UK is planning on Brexit it can affect the
business of Tesco in EU nations and also affect the free movement of raw materials between
these nations (Hwang, Lin and Shin, 2018).
 Economical: These are the factors related to the economic conditions of country like its
unemployment rate, purchasing power of people, GDP etc. The economic conditions of UK
are stable and also the people have high purchasing power which help in increasing the sales
of Tesco and also it can earn large profits by selling more of its products. However with the
increased inflation rates can affect the purchasing power of customers adversely affecting
the business of Tesco.
 Social: These are the factors related to the people who comprise the society of the place
where the company operates like their demographics, culture, religion etc. The society of
UK have high standard of living which means that they can afford products even at high
prices which help in increasing the profits of Tesco. However as the focus of people is

changing from consumer goods to education and travel which can affect the business of
company.
 Technological: These are the factors related to technological advancements and the rate of
R&D of the place where a company operates. UK is a technologically advanced nation
which means that highly advanced technology is easily and cheaply available to Tesco.
However with the increased use of technology the competition in market for Tesco has
increased (Karamitri, Talias and Bellali, 2017).
 Legal: These are the factors related to the laws of company and its legal framework within
which the company has to operate. UK has many laws that are to be followed by company
so that it can work within the legal framework. Also the company can use the patent rights
to secure itself from being imitated that gives it a competitive advantage. However with the
compliance of laws the cost of company gets increased.
 Environmental: These are the factors related to the availability of resources, amount of
pollution etc. of the place where a company is operating. UK has many environment
protection laws that are to be followed by businesses working in the country. Thus it is
important that Tesco use CSR so that it can help in contributing towards environmental
development and successfully sustain in the market.
Porter’s five forces model
This model can help in analysing the five factors which affect the ability of a firm to make
profits in its industry:
 Threat of new entrants: The threat of new entrants in retail industry is moderate as Tesco is
a global retailer and has a string brand image which means that the new entrants will not
create a large impact on its business.
 Bargaining power of buyers: The bargaining power of buyers is low as the company offer
its products at low prices than other retailers which help the company in attracting a large
number of customers so that its sales can be increased (Lim, and et. al., 2017).
 Bargaining power of suppliers: The bargaining power of suppliers for Tesco is low as the
company get its supplies from a large number of suppliers which do not affect prices at
which the company purchase its products.

 Threat of substitutes: The threat of substitute for Tesco is more as there are many retailers
in market who are able to provide better services to customers which help in enhancing the
customer experience.
 Existing rivalry: The competition in supermarkets is ever increasing and increasing pressure
on Tesco like the presence of Sainsbury, Lidl, Asda etc. who are highly competitive in
market and also affect the company’s ability of remaining more profitable.
KMIS suitable for the company
KMIS can be used in Tesco so that its performance in market can be improved and it can
take use of the information system in taking better decisions that can help it in taking competitive
advantage in market. There are various types of knowledge management information systems
which can be implemented in an organisation which can help in effectively using knowledge,
processing it and using it in such a manner that efficient results can be achieved (Cai and
Vasilakos, 2016). KMIS can help the company in collecting data from appropriate sources,
organising it, summarising it, analysing it and synthesizing it so that effective decisions can be
made. It help in preventing miscommunication among team members, collaborating their work,
improving access to important company data, providing better customer service etc. Following
are the various types of KMIS that can be used by Tesco so as to improve its use of knowledge
and data that can help it in taking better decisions:
 Intranet based system: These are the private networks which help in easy transfer and
sharing of information within an organisation which is linked with the network. As the
intranet is private it is accessible to only the members of organisation so that the data can be
prevented from being stolen or getting misused. This system help in the transfer of data
quickly among all the employees of company and can reach to them in undamaged form
which can help all the employees in interpreting the data in a desired manner so that work
can be efficiently completed (Bettinger and Grebner, 2016).
 Electronic document management (EDM): It is a software system which helps in storing
and organising different kinds of digital documents so that they can be utilised and
interpreted that can help in making better decisions. It thus help in organising a large
number of data which is stored in various documents in a systematic manner so that the
employees of company can easily get the data and use them in carrying out their work. EDM

systems help in efficient retrieval, better security and version control of documents that can
help in making the utilisation of data better.
 Groupware: It is a software which help a group of people to work together collectively
irrespective of their geographical location. This help the teams in collaborating their work
from various branches of a company so that a common decision can be implemented
throughout the organisation. It also help in making the work easy, delegating tasks among
members so that they can complete their work on time and in a collaborative manner.
 Knowledge map systems: These systems do not store knowledge but help in mapping the
knowledge of people so that what is known to whom can be known which can create an
opportunity to share the knowledge to other people in organisation. The knowledge map
help in finding the experts in certain knowledge who can be used in completing the projects
in an efficient manner. This system also help in determining the level of knowledge of all
the individual in company that can help in delegation of tasks among members so that they
can use their knowledge and help in completing the work in an efficient manner (Martin,
2017).
 Innovation support tools: These are the software which help in bringing innovation in the
product design process so that better products and services can be produced which can help
in fulfilling the dynamic needs of customers. These tools also intend on creating a virtual
environment so that insights can be created and innovation in the products can be brought by
the help of R&D activities. These tools can be used by companies so that they can
continually innovate their processes, products and services which can help them in
completing their work in a cost and time effective manner.
 Competitive intelligence tools: These are the software tools that can help organisations in
gaining knowledge about the competitive environment in which the company operates so
that better decisions can be made and company can achieve a competitive advantage. This
tool is effective as it help in collection of data and generating knowledge which is important
to know about the position of company in market so that effective measures can be taken
that can help in increasing its competitiveness in market.
All the above mentioned tools can be used by Tesco that can help in managing its operations
in an efficient manner so that the use of data and information can become effective and better
decisions can be made. These tools also help in arranging the data systematically so that the

employees can easily make use of them to carry out their work that can help the company in
achieving its goals and objectives on time. Tesco is a large organisation which is globally located
and also it has many employees who work in different departments. Also the company has many
competitors in market along with a large number of customers. Thus it can be said that Tesco has
a large amount of database that has to be used by it so that they can be properly arranged and
made available to be used by respective employee in company (Cherry and Jacob, 2016). It is
important that KMIS tool is prudentially chosen by the company so that it can be efficiently
implemented in the organisation that can help in making work easy and also in gaining a
competitive edge in market. From the above discussions it can be said that Tesco can use several
tools like intranet based systems, groupware, competitive intelligence tools. All these tools can
collectively help the company in achieving its objectives in better manner. Following are the
reasons on how these tools can help Tesco are becoming more competitive in market: Intranet based systems: This is an important tool as it can help Tesco in easily and quickly
sharing information within the organisations so that effective communication can be
established and correct information can reach to all employees. This also help in increasing
the security of data which is stored in company as it can only be made available to people
who have the authority to access to company data. Efficient and quick decisions can be
made with the help of these tools which will help in increasing the profits of company.
 Groupware: This software can help the employees of company who are located in different
geographic locations to work in virtual teams in an effective manner that can help in
monitoring and controlling the work of teams of all the branches of Tesco. It also help in
collaborating the work of all team member in an efficient manner so that objective can be
efficiently achieved (Cabitza and Satta, 2016).
 Competitive intelligence tools: This tool can be used by Tesco as it can help the company in
increasing its competitiveness in market by analysing the market situations and formulating
strategies that can help it in attracting more number of customers and achieving its
objectives in a cost and time effective manner.
All these tools can be applied in an integrated manner so that data and information of
company can be effectively managed which can help it in gaining knowledge on how it can
become better in its work and help the company in achieving its objectives efficiently. With the
help of these tools the work in Tesco can also become easier and the large amount of data of

company can be effectively stored and retrieved that can help employees in making effective
decisions. KMIS thus can play an important role in the better use of company’s information that
can help it in competing in a better manner in the market and formulating strategies that can
attract more number of customers towards the company. Better use of information also help in
increasing customer satisfaction as they can be give better services by offering them the products
and services which they needs and want.
Implementation challenges of KMIS
KMIS is an information system that can help in making better use of data by storing it in
an efficient manner so that employees can get access to the information at the time and place
when they require so that they can complete their work in a desired manner and achieve results
effectively. There are various tools which can be implemented in company that can help it in
managing information in a systematic manner and effectively using data to make decisions that
can help it in gaining competitive edge in market. However the implementation of KMIS in
organisation is not easy as there are various challenges that are faced by managers and leaders of
company in effectively implementing the tools some of which are as follows:
 Motivating employees to accept change: In order to implement change in an effective
manner it is important that the employees of company accept the change in the way they
have been traditionally recording and storing information. The lack of motivation of
employees to accept change and use of technology in doing their work is a challenge that is
being faced by the mangers and leaders of company. It is thus important that the managers
and leaders motivate the employees to accept changes by informing them about the benefits
of KMIS so that they can accept the changes. Also with the help of participative culture the
employees can be motivated to get involved in the implementation of KMIS tools effectively
throughout the organisation (Zinke and Reif, 2017).
 Frequent change in technology: Withy the advancement in technology the KMIS tools also
keep on developing which increase the need to train and develop employees so that they can
become efficient in using these tools so that better decisions can be made. This increase the
challenges of managers as they have to train the employees continually with the
improvement in technology.
 Data accuracy and relevance: KMIS help in effective storage and systemic arrangement of
data and information which can be utilised as and when the employees of company want.

However it is important that the data which is being stored using these tools are accurate and
relevant so that better utilisation of information can be done. Thus it is a challenge of
managers to evaluate the accuracy of data so stored and used with the help of KMIS so that
better decisions can be made (Bazan and Estevez, 2019).
All the above challenges need to be effectively dealt with so that the KMIS tools can b
implemented effectively in organisation and can help in the storage and utilisation of information
in a better manner. Overcoming these challenges will also make it easy for the employees in
accepting change so that they can effectively work towards improving their work efficiency and
performance which is essential in improving the overall performance of company in market.
CONCLUSION
From this report it can be concluded that KMIS plays an important role in maintain the
database of company so that it can be effectively used in making better decisions. In order to
effectively implement these tools it is important that the factors which affect business are
identifies so that best tools that can help the company in becoming competitive can be selected.
It is also important that the tools selected help in achieving the goals and objectives of company
in an efficient manner. The challenges while implementation of these tools must be recognised
so that steps can be taken to minimise them so that better results can be achieved.

REFERENCES
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