Leadership in Crisis: Tesco's Leadership During COVID-19 Crisis

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Tesco's leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining the company's response to the crisis from social, political, and economic perspectives. It assesses the challenges faced by Tesco's leadership, including decreased sales and employee retention issues, and highlights the characteristics and importance of demonstrating responsible leadership. The report explores how Tesco adapted its strategies to navigate the pandemic, fulfilling its social responsibility by maintaining employment and providing essential goods and services. It concludes that Tesco's leadership effectively managed the crisis by taking necessary steps to ensure business continuity, demonstrating a strong commitment to its employees and customers. The report uses various sources to support its findings.

LEADERSHIP IN CRISIS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Assessment of perspectives of leadership in social, political and economic contexts................3
Challenges faced by leadership in current pandemic period.......................................................4
Characteristics of responsible leadership.....................................................................................5
Importance of demonstrating responsible leadership..................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Leadership plays an effective role within each company. No busines can gain its
objectives without effective leadership. Currently top-level management within most companies
tries to make their leadership aspects effective to gain long-term benefits. Basically, a leader
enables organisation to take productive work from employees (Firestone, 2020). There are lot of
leadership styles also available in market which are used by leaders of different ventures to
systematically lead different people within workplace. This report discusses leadership in crisis
topic in the context of Tesco. Currently Tesco is one of the most popular retail ventures, and this
venture is also badly affected through coronavirus (Covid19). This report has included
assessment of changing perspectives of leadership. Some major challenges also have been
mentioned here which faced by leadership in current pandemic period. Few key characteristics of
responsible leadership are fully covered in this report.
MAIN BODY
Assessment of perspectives of leadership in social, political and economic contexts
The leaders of Tesco is required to take lot of decision and steps for systematically
dealing with the current pandemic time period (Gidado, 2018). Of course, this is really tough
time period to this retail company, but steps which was taken by leader of Tesco are really
appreciable. Due to this pandemic, perspectives of leadership are completely changed in social,
political and economic contexts.
Political
Tesco’s leaders were influenced by this lockdown decision to stop its different business
operations to fight against corona or Covid19. The government of the United Kingdom was
taken the decision of imposing lockdown in across the country, and that was necessary decision
of government to stop the spread of coronavirus. So, after knowing the lockdown decision of
local government on this pandemic, leader of company met with its different employees and
stakeholders to inform them about how to deal with this pandemic situation. Leaders said that,
we all need to follow all guidelines and regulations of government, because these guidelines are

the best solutions to us to be protected from corona virus infection (Canyon, 2020). However,
after few days of lockdown government was given permission to Tesco for running its
operations, because this company mostly provides essential goods and services. Lastly, leader of
Tesco gain started its operations under the regulations of government to provide essential goods
to people during coronavirus pandemic.
Economic
Economic factors have also affected to leader’s mindset in this pandemic time period.
When leader of Tesco has taken the decision of stopping its different operations according to
government guidelines of lockdown, so on that time company’s growth was started decreasing
due to lack of selling. On the other side, it was not able to achieve raw-material, because
different national and international suppliers not export required material to Tesco just because
of lockdown (COVID-19 Impact on Tesco, 2020). This company serves in many countries, but
people within few of countries was become not able to purchase products and services of Tesco
due to poor economic conditions, so that the leader set up its prices something favourable to
customers who belongs to countries which has poor economic conditions. Leader was taken the
decision of stop operations, because it was necessary to this venture for protecting its different
employees from the infection of coronavirus. This pandemic is negatively affected to the UK’s
all-over economic conditions as well, because there was lots of people lost their jobs in
lockdown time period. So that, this economic factor influenced to leader of Tesco to make prices
of its products something cheaper, so local people can simply consume them.
Social
In this pandemic time period, Tesco faced huge loss due very minimum sales ratio, but it
fulfilled its social responsibility by not terminating its different employees in lockdown time
period. On the other side, this company provides such products which fulfils essential needs of
people, like; clothes, food, beverage etc. So that, company’s leader has taken decisions for
providing its services and products to customers in this pandemic time period as well. In this
situation, it was taken all precautions in its work zone for protecting its various employees and
customers from coronavirus infection (Anderson, 2018). The leader has taken high risk while
helping people by providing essential services and products in pandemic period. These all factors

are enough to show that how Tesco’s leader has fulfilled its social responsibility in this pandemic
time period.
Challenges faced by leadership in current pandemic period
The UK’s people and businesses still faced lots of challenges due to this coronavirus
pandemic, because still an appropriate vaccine for this Covide19 is not available in market place.
In this situation, Tesco’s leader also faced lots of challenges due to this virus, in which some
major challenges have been discussed below which faced by leadership of company.
Sales is decreased
This is one of major challenges which has faced by leader of this retail company.
Basically, when this pandemic occured, then many of people got scared from the infection of
coronavirus, so that they are still avoid to visit in market place for buying various products and
services. This factor has decreased the sales ratio of company. Of course, now many of stores
and supermarkets of Tesco opened after lockdown time period, but number of visitors in stores is
still very less in comparison of before Covid19 time period (Vardarlıer, 2017). So due to lack of
customers, leader of this company is faced the challenge relating to decreased sales.
Employee retention
After coronavirus pandemic, many talented and skilled employees of Tesco not want to
work with organisation, because while working in company, an employee has required to interact
with lot of customers. Employees thinks that, they will be infected through corona virus while
interacting with strangers in stores and supermarkets, so they are not taking interest to work with
company. In this situation, it is really a tough challenge to Tesco’s leader for retaining these all
talented and skilled employees who not wants to work with organisation to protect themselves
from infection of coronavirus.
Characteristics of responsible leadership
Some key characteristics of responsible leadership has been mentioned below;
Humanistic

Leader of Tesco is very humanistic as well, so this is another main trait or characteristic
of leader. the leader thinks about the safety and security of its employees and workers, so that
currently it has fulfilled all obligations in its work place which can enable its employees to be
safe and secure in workplace (Bakatsaki and Zampetakis, 2020). For example; it provides
sanitizers to its employees, it uses corona testing kit in its stores and supermarkets to check the
temperature of all employees and visitors. These all step of leader shows its responsibility to
towards protection of Covid 19.
Helpful
This is one of major characteristics of responsible leadership in this pandemic time
period. This trait enables to Tesco’s leader to maintain better interaction values with different
employees of the company for listening their problems, because this is necessary to help
employees by providing proper precautions for coronavirus. After helping employees, the leader
will simply protect its various employees from the infection of Covid 19.
Importance of demonstrating responsible leadership
Demonstration of responsible leadership in Tesco is very important in order to know the
role of responsible leadership in coronavirus pandemic time period. After demonstration, we can
simply identify that how leader of Tesco is playing its role for protecting its different employees
and worker in pandemic time period. Demonstration helps to knowing the obligations of leader
also towards fulfilling corporate social responsibility in corona virus pandemic time period
(Roberts, 2020). So that after demonstration anyone can simply aware about the great role of
leader of Tesco in fulfilling CSR in this period. For example; the leader of company has taken a
huge risk to provide its products and services to customers in pandemic time period as well,
because its most products and services helps people to fulfil their essential needs, like; food,
beverage, clothes, groceries and consumer goods etc. Leadership is very important to guide
different people and employees in existing pandemic situation, because proper guidance and
suggestions of leader are main ways for employees to be protected from Covid19.
On the other side, demonstration of responsible leadership motivates leader of Tesco to
be responsible to for dealing different crises. Existing pandemic is also a very big crisis to
present retail company, in which leader of company has completely fulfilled its responsibility.

For example; it has not terminated its employees in the lockdown time period, it was taken huge
risk to provide essential goods and services in current pandemic time period, it fulfilled all
measures of safety and precaution in its workplace by using corona testing kit and sanitizers etc.
(Lampinen, 2020). This is the main reason that, demonstration of responsible management is
very important to know that the organisation’s leader is fulfilling its responsibilities and
obligations in proper way or not.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above findings, it can be concluded that the coronavirus (Covid 19)
pandemic has negatively affected to operations different business leaders. Currently leader of
Tesco is also badly affected by pandemic. However, existing leader of existing retail company
completely knows that how to deal with this type of crises. That’s why it has taken those all
necessary steps which can smoothly run its different business operations in pandemic time period
as well. The leader of Tesco is able to fulfil its various responsibilities in proper manner in
present pandemic time period.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Anderson, L., 2018. Leadership during crisis: Navigating complexity and uncertainty. Leader to
Leader. 2018(90), pp.49-54.
Bakatsaki, M. and Zampetakis, L., 2020. of Leadership. Natural Risk Management and
Engineering: NatRisk Project, p.63.
Canyon, D. K., 2020. Definitions in Crisis Management and Crisis Leadership. Daniel K. Inouye
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies Honolulu United States.’
Firestone, S., 2020. Crisis Leadership and Development of Organizational Resilience. In Biblical
Principles of Crisis Leadership. (pp. 95-103). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Gidado, T. O., 2018. Internal Democracy and Leadership Crisis in the Nigerian Legislature.
In Africa Now! (pp. 167-187). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Lampinen, J., 2020. The True Test of Leadership is How You Lead in Times of Crisis:
Understanding Crises in Organizations.
Roberts, R., 2020. COVID‐19, leadership and lessons from physics. The Australian Journal of
Rural Health. 28(3). p.232.
Vardarlıer, P., 2017. Learning from catastrophes and leadership thought. Researchers
World. 8(3). p.160.
Online
COVID-19 Impact on Tesco. 2020. [Online]. Available Through: <
https://store.globaldata.com/report/vr0201tr--coronavirus-covid-19-company-impact-
tesco/>.