Organizational Behavior of Sales Team at Countdown

This report analyzes the sales team of Countdown through Tuckman’s Model of Team Development, team leadership, and the effectiveness of the team. The sales team of Countdown at Auckland location is at the stage of performing as per the Tuckman’s Model of Team Development. The team leader and also the manager of the Countdown in Auckland, New Zealand follow the situational as well as the transformational style of leadership. The effectiveness as well as the efficiency of a team depends on various factors like the style of communication which is being used for conveying important information to the various members of the team, the roles or the tasks which are being assigned to the different members of the team and others.

Running head: ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Organizational Behavior
Name of the Student:
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Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Sales Team of Countdown.........................................................................................................3
Team leadership.........................................................................................................................5
The effectiveness of the team.....................................................................................................8
Conclusion and Recommendations............................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................12

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Introduction
Woolworths Limited or presently called by the name of Countdown in New Zealand
is not only the 2nd largest retail organization of the nation of New Zealand but at the same
time one of the largest ones of the world in terms of the annual net revenue which they
generate (Countdown, 2018). Furthermore, with the framework of this particular enterprise
the sales team is one of the most important entities and is mainly imbued with the role of
selling the diverse products as well as services offered by the concerned enterprise.
The purpose of this report is to analyze the sales team of Countdown and the manner
in which they operate. Furthermore, the report will analyze this particular team of Countdown
through Tuckman’s Model of Team Development, namely, forming, norming, storming and
performing. In addition to these, the report will also discuss about the kind of leadership
which is being used for the effective management of these teams and also the overall
effectiveness of these teams. Finally, the report will also provide some recommendations
through the use of which the concerned company can enhance the effectiveness of these
teams.
I would firstly take the help of the information which is being provided by
Countdown at its official website for the completion of this report. I would also like to take
the help of various kinds of surveys as well as questionnaires and if possible would interview
some of the existing employees of Countdown for the collection of the data which is
necessary for the completion of the report. For the completion of the report I would also take
into consideration the various kinds of team building theories as well as models which have
been propounded by the scholars in the past like Tuckman and others.

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Sales Team of Countdown
Teams can be seen as the conglomerate of similar kind of individuals who specialize
in doing almost the same kind of tasks or job roles (Gallardo, 2015). In the recent times it is
generally seen that the various enterprises take the help of various diverse kinds of teams like
self-managing teams, virtual teams, cross-functional teams and others (Gallardo, 2015).
However, many experts are of the viewpoint that the primary reasons why the majority of the
business enterprises take the help of these diverse kinds of teams are not only to enhance the
effectiveness of their enterprise but at the same time to enhance the overall performance of
their concerned enterprise (Levi, 2015). Therefore, it would be apt to say that these diverse
teams have emerged as an indispensible part of the modern day business world.
The sales team of Countdown at Auckland location is at the stage of performing as
per the Tuckman’s Model of Team Development. It is significant to note that there are some
6 new employees within the team however the majority of the members of the team belonged
to the experienced category and have extensive experience in the sales department.
Furthermore, it can be said that this particular team is a cross-functional team since they are
not only imbued with the responsibility of selling the products or the services offered by them
to the customers but at the same time to effectively understand the needs as well as the
requirements of the customers and offer the kind of products or services that would be the
most agreeable with them. Moreover, it is also seen that at various points of the year they are
also required to indulge in various kinds of promotional activities as well.
The company currently has more than 111,000 employees at its disposal and of these
the majority ones belong to the sales section of the company (Countdown, 2018). These sales
personnel in turn are segregated into various smaller groups depending on the supermarket to
which they are related and these teams in turn are being taken care of by various team-leaders
and regional managers.

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The supermarket of Countdown in Auckland, New Zealand is not only one of the
largest ones of the nation of New Zealand but also one of the most visited ones in terms of
the number of people who visit this particular supermarket on annual basis (Countdown,
2018). The supermarket under discussion here provides a wide range of products as well as
services to the customers starting from groceries to petroleum and other important products
(Countdown, 2018). The sales-team of this particular location is not only imbued with the
role of effectively understanding the needs as well as the requirements of the customers but at
the same time to sell the products to the customers who visit the store as well. Thus, it would
be apt to say that the sales team of this particular location is one of the most important entities
of the concerned organization. The sales team of this particular location consists of around 39
individuals and they are being handled by a team-leader who in turn is answerable to the
manager of the supermarket. In addition to this, the sales team of this particular location is
also required to effectively promote the products as well as the services offered by the
supermarket to the customers.
Tuckman’s model of team formation is one of the most important frameworks which
are being commonly used by the various individuals for the formation of effective teams
(Folger, Poole & Stutman, 2017). This particular model of team formation outlines four
important stages of the process of team formation, namely, forming, storming, norming and
performing (Folger, Poole & Stutman, 2017). It is generally seen that the various
organizations like Countdown take the help of this particular model of team formation for the
process of formation of the various teams that they have within the framework of their
organization. As already mentioned, the sales team of Countdown at Auckland is at the stage
of performing wherein they are required to perform as per the expectations of the company.
The stage of forming can be referred to as the stage when the different members of this
particular team initially joined the organization and were just a conglomeration of diverse

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individuals with no common goals (Cameron & Green, 2015). The second stage of norming
was the stage when the diverse members of the team acted as individual entities and thus had
to deal with numerous conflicts (Natvig & Stark, 2016). The third stage of storming when the
various conflicts of teams were resolved not only by the team leader of the team but also by
the various individual members of the team themselves(Natvig & Stark, 2016). Finally, the
stage of performing that is, the current stage of the team is the stage wherein all the individual
members of the team are not only performing as the goals and the target set for the team
which was commonly agreed upon by them but also the vision and the mission of the team
are in synchronicity with the vision and the mission of the organization (Natvig & Stark,
2016).
Team leadership
The organization structure as well as the behavior of the modern day business world is
starkly different from the ones of the past decades (Bolman & Deal, 2017). This can be
attributed to the fact that the processes of globalization and the reliance of the contemporary
business enterprises on the modern innovation has not only made the business world much
more competitive but at the same time has made it imperative for these enterprises to take the
help of innovative organizational structures as well as behavior which in turn contribute in a
significant manner to enhance the efficiency and the effectiveness of these enterprises
(Katzenbach & Smith, 2015). Thus, it is generally seen that the various teams have emerged
as one of the most important constituents of these modern day business enterprises.
The concept of leadership has emerged as one of the most important ones within the
framework of the contemporary business and it is generally that the prospects of any business
enterprise depends to a large extent on the quality of the leadership or the style of leadership
which is being followed within the business enterprise (Bolman & Deal, 2017). It is a

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reflection of this particular fact that various styles of leadership have gained prominence
within the framework of the modern business world like the situational style of leadership,
transformational style of leadership, transactional style of leadership and others.
During the process of telephonic interview with several members of the sales team of
Countdown revealed the fact that team leader and also the manager of the Countdown in
Auckland, New Zealand follow the situational as well as the transformational style of
leadership. It is generally seen that during the course of their working together the team
leaders and also the manager of the supermarkets come across various diverse kinds of
situations wherein one particular fixed style of leadership is not adequate (Bolman & Deal,
2017). In other words, there are various circumstances wherein the team leaders and also the
managers are required to act or make decisions depending on the merit of the situation or the
things that the situation demands and it is precisely here that the situational leadership style
becomes very important (Bolman & Deal, 2017). Some of the members of the team even
revealed the fact during the course of their working together they come across various
situations like the shortage of employee, shortage of products, decrease in the number of sales
made by the members of the sales team and others and the team leaders are required to act in
these situations as per the merit of the situation. Thus, they are of the opinion that the use of
the situational leadership style has contributed in a significant towards the success of this
particular team. In addition to this, there were other members of the team who revealed the
fact that there are various kinds of situations wherein the team leaders also take the help of
the concept of the transformational style of leadership and try to lead the members of the
team by example. One of the members of the team even revealed the fact that there are
certain circumstances wherein he is unable to handle to situation and the team leader
intervenes on behalf of him and at the same time helps in making the sale for him. It would
be apt to say that the use of both of these leadership styles has contributed in a significant

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manner towards not only the stability or the cohesion attained by this particular team but at
the same time has contributed in a significant manner towards the success attained by them
(Reimer, Russell & Roland, 2017).
There are other members of the team who felt that the team leader takes the help of
the Leadership Member Exchange theory of leadership for the purpose of providing
leadership to the team members. Thus, following the precepts of this particular theory there
exist a “two-way (dyadic) relationship” between the team members and the team leader and
this helps in a significant manner in the effective management of the concerned team.
In addition to the above mentioned ones there were a few members of the team who
felt that the intervention of the senior managers of the company and others would impact the
performance level of the team in a significant manner. Most of them were of the viewpoint
that there it is often seen that the team works in an isolated manner with no concrete
information about the things that are going on in the other branches of the company or the
things that are happening in the company as a matter of fact. Furthermore, it is generally seen
that the members of the team and also the team leaders are only concerned about the targets
and also the incentives which they get. Moreover, at times it is seen that the team leaders are
not able to effectively motivate the members of the team as well. In addition to these, there
were others who complained of favoritism and complained that inspite of performing better
than the others they never got the respect or the appreciation that they deserved. Thus, the
members of the sales team are of the opinion that the intervention of the senior managers and
others would resolve these issues in a significant manner and at the same time would help in
the enhancement of their performance.

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The effectiveness of the team
The effectiveness as well as the efficiency of a team depends on various factors like
the style of communication which is being used for conveying important information to the
various members of the team, the roles or the tasks which are being assigned to the different
members of the team and other (Salas et al., 2015). As already mentioned there are about 39
members in the team under discussion here and the majority of them are assigned the role of
selling the products or the services offered by the company under discussion here.
Furthermore, some of the senior members of the team are even required to groom as well as
guide the new members of the team so that the team is being able to achieve the target given
to them. Thus, some of the senior members of the team are assigned the role of mentors and
at the same time are required to work in conjugation with the other members of the team. The
team has a Watsapp group through which all the important information is being conveyed to
the different members of team. Furthermore, for official purposes like leave taking, shift
timings and other relevant information the company takes the help of an official Gmail email
account. In addition to this, formal one-one communication is also being used for the process
of communication. The majority of the decisions within the team are being made by the team
leader however the different members of the team do have a say in the decisions that are
being made. It is generally seen that the decisions which affect the different members of the
team are being made taking into consideration not only the senior members of the team but
all the members of the team.
Interactions with the various members of the team under discussion here revealed the
fact that the team for the process of attaining effectiveness takes into effective consideration
five important entities namely, team members, team leadership, team relationships, team
problem solving and organizational environment. The team members, leadership and
relationships have already been mentioned. The problem solving process in the team is not

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only undertaken by the team leader of the concerned team but at the same time the senior
members of the team as well. Furthermore, some of the members of the team even revealed
the fact that whenever there is such a situation usually a meeting is taken wherein all the
members of the team are encouraged to place their opinions or viewpoints regarding the
problem. The organizational environment at the supermarket is a very congenial one for work
and the different members of the team are encouraged to take the help of innovative methods
for the achievement of their targets. In addition to this, the organization at the same time tries
to create a continuous learning environment wherein the different members of the team are
not required to wait for the diverse training programs to enhance their skill sets. Therefore, it
would be apt to say that the team has been able to achieve effectiveness on the score of all the
mentioned factors.
Conclusion and Recommendations
To conclude, teams have emerged as one of the most important entities of the various
business enterprises and in a way it can be said that they have contributed in a significant
manner towards the efficiency as well as the effectiveness of these enterprises. Thus, it is
generally seen that the various business enterprises take the help of this particular concept to
further enhance the prospects of their enterprise. However, it is significant to note that the
effectiveness as well as the efficiency of a particular team depends on a variety of factors like
team members, team leadership, team relationships, team problem solving and organizational
environment. Thus, the business enterprises need to take into effective consideration all these
factors to further enhance the efficiency as well as the effectiveness of these teams.
The overall analysis of the team reveals that the team is an effective as well as
efficient one yet at the same time there is a room for improvement. The group under
discussion here can take the help of the concept of “total quality management” to further

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enhance the performance as well as the productivity level of their organization. The use of
this particular strategy is not only likely to help the concerned company to maximize the
performance as well as the productivity level of the individual members of the team but at the
same time it will help them to enhance the overall productivity of the organization itself. The
concerned organization can also take the help of the concept of employee engagement for the
purpose of enhancing the engagement level of the employees. It is generally seen that the
teams which have a higher level of engagement are more likely to perform better than the
ones with lower levels of engagement level.
2 recommendations for Sales team effectiveness improvement
 The concerned organization must conduct weekly sales meetings in order to ensure
the efficiency and productivity of the sales team. As the sales team of Countdown is
typically led by its sales manager, it is highly essential for him to integrate the team
engaged in proficiently delivering sales revenues.
 Countdown as operating in the highly competitive retail market of Australia must
employ to effective process of business networking that is identified as a low-cost
method of acquiring prospective new consumers, stakeholders as well as supplier
contacts. This process can take place through advanced digital media via membership
communities as well as topical communities such as LinkedIn and Quora.
Relevant theories related to the recommendations
 Goal setting theory can be applied to the recommendations that suppose that people
possess specific demands and aspirations in order to accomplish the factors for which
they aim to establish specific objectives for themselves (Gallardo, 2015). Thus

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Countdown must adopt elevated goals in order to produce advanced outputs and
organizational growth.
 Furthermore, fundamental aspects of expectancy theory suppose that an individual
develops high level of motivation by the professed outcomes of the actions performed
(Salas et al., 2015). Thus the concerned company must approve these theoretical
understanding in order to ensure specific job attributes which would persuade these
needs.

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