Business Operations and Team Dynamics Report: Debenhams Case Study

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of business operations, focusing on the Debenhams organization. It begins with an introduction defining business and its requirements, followed by a discussion of organizational types and a PESTEL analysis. The report then delves into team development, outlining the stages of team formation based on Tuckman’s model, and explores various team roles. Furthermore, it examines motivational theories, including Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Theory X and Y, and their application within a business context. Finally, the report analyzes different leadership styles, such as autocratic, democratic, and gratifier, and their impact on employee motivation and overall business performance. The conclusion summarizes key findings, emphasizing the importance of team collaboration, employee motivation, and effective leadership for achieving organizational goals and market sustainability. The report utilizes various academic sources to support its analysis.

How Business Operates

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................3
TASK 4............................................................................................................................................3
Stages of team development...................................................................................................3
Team Roles.............................................................................................................................4
Motivational theories..............................................................................................................5
Leadership Theories...............................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Business can be defined with those activities which are performed by individuals or group of
persons with objective of achieving business gains and another reason is to gain sustainability
and growth. It is required by business to fulfil all the legislation requirements. In order to carry
the business smoothly and achieve the desired objectives all internal and external factors must be
considered while policy making and decision-making process (Brennan, Canning and McDowell,
2020). In this report we are studying Debenhams organization which is one of the largest
supermarket-chain in UK. This report will discuss the type of organization with various
approaches along with PESTEL analysis. Various team development stages and team members’
roles will also be considered in this report. At the end of the report various leadership styles and
motivation theories will be analysed along with its impact.
TASK 1
Covered in PPT
TASK 4
Stages of team development
Learning and development curve of team development consists of multiple stages. And
those stages can be understood by Tuckman’s team development model (Campbell and
Tawadey, 2016). This model can be used by Debenhams for developing effective teams which
can bring positive results to business. Forming: This is the initial stage were all team members meet for the first time with each
other and share their interests, ideas and stories. In case of Debenhams since employees are
from different backgrounds, this can help in breaking the ice between them. Storming: At this stage the team starts work and share and brainstorm their ideas and
suggestions. In Debenhams, it is the duty of manager and team leader to bring teams together
for this stage. Norming: This stage denotes bringing of all the team members together and working more
efficiently to achieve the common organizational goals. All the individual goals are left at
this stage by employees.

 Performing: After certain period employees start working with their whole efficiency and
perform at advanced level. This stage helps the team members to gain and provide trust
among each other. Members of Debenhams can be motivated by ensuring proper
implementation of this stage.
 Adjourning: This is the last stage of project whereas the desired objectives are achieved, and
project is towards its end. After this stage employees start moving in separate directions. So,
Debenhams can organize small parties at some time to bring all the team members together
and increase their bond (Gursansky, Kennedy and Harvey, 2020)(.
Team Roles
A team role is the job position having certain specified responsibilities in the organization.
Meredith Belbin has defined theory on team roles having name Belbin’s team roles which lists 9
roles performed by the individuals as part of team. These roles are divided into 3 types i.e.
Action oriented, people oriented and thought oriented. Some of the role type are discussed
below:
Action oriented role Shaper: This role is assigned to person who takes initiative and ready to accept
challenges. They generally possess good communication skills. Implementer: People with this role get thing done smoothly for team. Generally, they are
well-organized, practical and efficient. Completer/ Finisher: These people evaluated and finish the work with perfection. They
are perfect in their specific area and make sure the work done is in correct direction.
People-oriented Role: Coordinator: Coordinators are people with good listening and communication skills.
They work together with whole team and work as a bridge between whole team
Laskovaia, Shirokova and Morris, 2017).
 Team Worker: They are the ones who keep the team lively and active. Issues and
conflicts among the team member are resolved by person with this role. Resource investigator: These people are highly enthusiastic in nature and pertained with
effective negotiation skills. In Debenhams these people are dedicated to collect
information from varied sources in order to provide business succession.
Thought-oriented Role:

 Monitor-Evaluator: This role is the most vital as it is given to the person with critical
thinking skills. For Debenhams this role is useful for them in order to reach out to
their goals without facing any complexity and rushing.
 Specialist: These are defined as expertise in their own field which are helpful for the
organisation to execute their working in easy manner. For Debenhams this role is
helping the organisation to enhance working and overall business capabilities through
which market prominence can be attained.
Motivational theories
There are multiple motivational theories which can be used by the Debenhams for
motivating their employee for success of their future training events. Some of those theories are
discussed below:
Maslow's Hierarchy of needs: Abraham maslow’s theory states that it is necessary for
business to fulfill needs of their employees to keep their employees motivated so that positive
results can be achieved from their work. There are five types of needs which are discussed
below: Physiological needs: This includes basic needs of human and employees such as Food,
shelter, clothing etc. Debenhams should evaluate those basic needs and fulfill them to
keep their employees satisfied (Mikalef and et. al., 2018). Safety needs: Need for law, security, protection from elements, stability etc. also needs to
be evaluated and addressed by managers of Debenhams to make sure that their
employees feel safe and secure. Love and belongingness needs: Intimacy, friendship, affection and love are also needing
of employees to keep them attached and bonded with the organization. Management of
Debenhams must provide family holidays, vacations etc. to employees for motivating
them. Esteem needs: Every individual wants dignity and respect from their fellow members and
society. It is responsibility of organization to treat all the employees equally and with
respect and also establish the same policy across whole organization. Self-actualization needs: These consist of self-fulfilment, realizing personal potential
etc. Management of Debenhams needs to ensure that employees are recognized.

Advantages Disadvantages
This theory do not have any complexities
which enable management to apply this theory
in effective manner.
Individuals are pertained with their own needs
which are not understood by management
which creates difficulty in application of this
theory.
This theory is related with humans so this is
dealing with needs of human in effective
manner.
This is difficult for the management so as to
determine level of satisfaction to employees by
using this theory.
Theory X and Y Theory x: This theory states that there are certain employees who have lack of interest in
their work which leads to negative impact of performance of individual as well as team.
Such employees should be either rewarded or punished by Debenhams to improve their
performance and keep them motivated (Moore, 2016) Theory y: There are certain people who work hard to be rewarded and appreciated.
Therefor managers of Debenhams should provide the same to those to further motivate
and enhance their performance at max level.
Leadership Theories
There are multiple leadership theories available which can help organization to motivate the
employees and get most effective work done. Debenhams should analyse the same and apply
different theories as per situation. Some of these are discussed below:
 Autocratic: In this style, employees are directed through guidelines by their managers. The
ideas from employees are not taken into consideration in this approach which leads to
dissatisfaction among employees (Smallwood, 2019)..
 Democratic: This approach is reverse of autocratic where ideas from employees are
considered while any decision making. This makes employees feel more engaged and
motivated. This is one of the best styles of motivation.

 Gratifier: This style follows the old carrot-and-stick approach where leaders determine the
goals in initial time and share those with employees for accomplishing them. Employees are
rewarded based on performance which keeps them motivated.
These leadership and motivational style are useful for Debenhams in handling the various
situations faced by business. For e.g. when management needs to take quick decisions autocratic
can be used whereas when management is facing problem of employee’s turnover then
democratic style is useful (Soto-Acosta, Popa and Palacios-Marqués, 2017).
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from above detailed analysis that both public and private
organization has their own purpose and they can follow different organizational structure. Along
with these various aspects such as Business accounting, motivation of employees, team
collaboration, customer profiling and customer services are also important for businesses to
analyse and evaluate their business process and plans and inhale if any modifications are
required for same. There should be a team that works with complete efficiency towards their
respective areas so that organization can grow and maintain in market sustainability. There are
various motivational theories which can be used by management in order to motivate their
employees and encourage them for working hard.

REFERENCES
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