Kmart Burwood NSW: Leadership, Teams & Decision-Making Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of leadership management and team dynamics within Kmart Australia, specifically using Kmart Burwood, NSW, as an example. It begins by outlining the emergence of teams in the modern workplace and traces their origins through different schools of management thought. The report then delves into Tuckman's stages of team development, identifying the leader's role at each stage, and applies managerial decision-making insights to team decision-making processes. Furthermore, it explores how physical structures can be designed to facilitate teamwork and outlines various ways managers can promote teamwork within the organization. The analysis considers factors such as team formation, conflict resolution, goal setting, and performance improvement, ultimately aiming to provide a holistic view of effective team management in a retail setting.

Running head: ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP MANAGJENT SYSTEM
ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP MANAGJENT SYSTEM
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP MANAGJENT SYSTEM
Executive Summary
The report is based on the analysis of the organizational decision making process which can
be helpful for the proper operations. The ways by which the groups are formed in the
companies also affect the entire process of decision making. The effect of the managers on
decision making is an important part of the entire operations of the modern companies. The
company that has been taken for analysis of the decision making process is Kmart which is an
organization that operates in the retail sector of
Australia.

2ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP MANAGJENT SYSTEM
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Analysis of Tuckman’s stages in development of teams...............................................4
Use of decision making in teams...................................................................................7
Effects of physical structure on teamwork.....................................................................8
Ways by which managers promote teamwork...............................................................9
Conclusion......................................................................................................................9
References....................................................................................................................10

3ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP MANAGJENT SYSTEM
Introduction
The development of teams is an important part of the successful operations of an
organization. The teams within an organization help in the process of decision making and
the ways by which the organization operates in the environment. The structure and the culture
of the various modern organizations affect the ways by which the teams operate. The
members of the team are considered to be the most important part of the development of
teams. The decision making process is the most important function that is considered by the
teams in the modern companies (Bals, Kirchoff and Foerstl 2016).
The report will be based on the detailed analysis of the teams that are operating within
the organizations and the process that is involved behind the formation of these teams. The
company that has been taken as an example to explain the processes of team development is
Kmart. Kmart Australia Limited is a retail organization which is based in Australia. The
company mainly operates in the area of low cost products. The organization was formed as a
result of the joint venture between G.J. Coles and Coy Limited and the S.S. Kresge Company.
The Kresge Company is the owner of around 51% of the total shares. The development of the
Kmart stores in Australia had started in the year 1968. The first store of Kmart was opened in
Burwood East, Victoria.
Analysis of Tuckman’s stages in development of teams
The process pf team development is based on five major stages that have been
described by Tuckman. The stages of tea, development were proposed and explained by
Bruce Tuckman, who was a psychologist in the year 1965. The stages of team formation start
from the time when the members of the team meet up to the completion of the entire project.
Each of the stages that have been described by Tuckman plays an important role in the high
functioning teams of the organizations (Conrado et al. 2016).

4ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP MANAGJENT SYSTEM
Forming – This is the first stage of the development of the teams. This step involves
the process of the meeting that takes place among the potential members of the team. The
team are also able to learn about the challenges and the opportunities that they are likely to
face within the teams or the organization as a whole. The members in this case are required to
behave in an independent manner. The members of the team can be motivated, however, they
are informed about the objectives and the issues of a team. The members show their best
behaviour in the first step and are highly focussed on themselves (Driskell, Salas and Driskell
2018). The mature members of the team aim at formulating the appropriate behaviour that is
important for the team in the early phase of its operations. The meeting of the team members
is also important for the with respect to their initial behaviour within the organization. The
major task related functions thereby include the orientation of the members who are
considered for the formation of the groups. The members have the chance to get oriented to
the tasks and the to one another as well (Fay et al. 2015). The discussions that take place in
the meeting are based on the tasks that have been provided and the scope of the tasks as well.
The members thereby need to grow from this stage of team development to the next stage.
For example, the teams can be formed in Kmart with respect to the different operations like,
the marketing of the products, the finance related activities and the other functions that are
performed within the organizational operations.
Storming – The second step is based on the process of storming. This step is based on
the process when the team members try to sort out their arrangement and then gain the trust
of each other. This is further based on the method where the employees try to voice their
personal opinions about the formation of various teams. This stage is thereby based on the
ways by which the members try to create their own position within the team. This can further
lead to many conflicts among the members. The team members are thereby able to
understand the effects of working with each other in a team and their individual style of

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working as well (Ghattas, Soffer and Peleg 2014). The identification of hierarchy among the
members of the team is also possible in this step. The atmosphere that is created is polite and
positive in nature and the members are quite pleasant with each other. The leader plays an
important role in this stage. The tasks that are assigned to the group are explained to the
members in this stage itself. The disagreements between the members of the team and the
clashes that occur between the personalities are resolved at this stage. This phase can also
cause destruction to the team as the members may also leave the team after the various
conflicts that surface after the completion of this stage (Karimi, Papamichail and Holland
2015). The teams may also not develop further after the completion of this stage. The
tolerance of the members and their individual behaviour is also analysed in this stage. The
lower levels of motivation can cause destructive effects for the team. The teams which are not
able to pass this stage are mainly not able to reach the goals that have been set previously.
The members of the team thereby need to resolve the issues that are being faced by them in
the team. This will help the team to move to the next stage (Lacerenza et al. 2018).
Norming – This stage occurs when the team is aware of the competition that they
need to face in the market. The members thereby set a common goal which needs to be
achieved by them in a joint manner. The main responsibility of the team is to thereby take the
responsibility of further work towards the achievement of the objectives that are set by the
management. The main ambition of the team members is to work for success of the team in
the future (Rosemann and vom Brocke 2015). The members start tolerating the fancies and
the whims of the fellow workers and work in such a manner which will help in achieving the
goals. The members thereby tend to accept the ways of working of the others in the team and
the make the effort that is related to the resolving of the conflicts between them. The
members are focussed towards preventing the conflicts that can occur among the members of

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the team. The ideas of various members of the team are shared between each other (Salas and
Martin 2017).
Performing – This stage occurs when the members of the team are totally
knowledgeable and motivated to provide their best performance in the organization. The
members of the team are thereby competent enough to achieve the various targets and goals.
The process of decision making in the organization is also handled in an effective manner in
this stage. The supervisors of the teams also participate in this stage which helps in the faster
achievement of the organizational goals. The important decisions are also made by the teams
in this stage. The teams may also need to revert to the earlier stages in case of the issues that
can occur in the performance of these teams (Salas et al. 2015). The long standing teams also
need to go through this process for the purpose of bringing improvements in the work
process. The existing processes and policies of the teams are also changed if there is a need
for the same. For example, the employees of the various departments in Kmart can also go
through many changes in their work process.
Adjourning – This is considered to be the last stage of the entire team development
process. This helps the organizations to break up the teams that had been created for the
purpose of completing a particular task (Sharma, Mithas and Kankanhalli 2014).
Use of decision making in teams
The process of teamwork can provide huge opportunities to the employees and the
organizations to which they belong. The identity of the team is important for the benefits that
can be provided to the teams. The teamwork further provides the feel of belonging to the
employees who are a major part of the organizations. This also helps the groups to work more
closely to achieve the goals and the objectives of the organizations. This also helps in
improving the levels of motivation and the performance of the teams. The members of the

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team are further able to improve the skills that are already possessed by them (Shepherd,
Williams and Patzelt 2015). This helps the individuals to lean different types of skills which
can be the major reason behind their success in the future. The members are also able to learn
a lot from the skills that are possessed by the other members. This can further enhance the
performance of the teams and the morale of the teams are also increased with the help of
teamwork. The effectiveness of decision making in the teams is also based on the many
factors. The abilities and the skills of the members of the teams are important for the
effectiveness of the decisions that are taken by the teams within an organization. The mix of
members in the team is an important factor that can affect the decisions that are taken by the
teams (Smith 2014). The effectiveness of the teams is also based on the ways by which they
are able to achieve the objectives and goals of the organization. The size of the teams can also
impact the levels of effectiveness of the decisions that are taken by them. The process tends
to be much more complex for the larger teams as compared to the teams of smaller size. The
complexity of the tasks that are undertaken by the teams also affects the effectiveness of the
decision making based process. The teams thereby play an important role in the dealing with
complex issues that are faced by the companies in the process of their operations in the
environment (Ståhl et al. 2015). The process of group decision making is thereby considered
to be a participative process and the multiple individuals take decisions that are based on the
improvement of the organizational operations. The number of members of the groups also
affect the process of decision making by the various functional groups that are a part of the
organizations. The decisions of the organizations are sometimes taken based on the decisions
of the groups that are a major part of the company. The process of group decision making is
totally different from the concepts of the teams, team management and teamwork. The
various methods that can be used for the purpose of group decision making are,
brainstorming, dialectical inquiry, nominal group technique, Delphi technique (Vahlne and

8ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP MANAGJENT SYSTEM
Johanson 2017). The decisions are thereby made by the groups with the implementation of
any one of the methods. For example, the groups that are formed in Kmart are important for
the proper operations of the teams in the working environment. The teams can provide their
opinions and insights that are based on the process with which the decisions are made by the
companies. This will further help in the achievement of the organizational goals in an
effective manner.
Effects of physical structure on teamwork
The structure of organization affects the process of decision making of the
organizations. The teamwork and management of the teams is also affected by the hierarchies
that are set by the organizations. The setting up of the organizational structure and the effects
that this has on the productivity of the company is important for the successful operations of
the company. The effective process of the monitoring employee effectiveness and their
outputs is also based the structure of the organizations (Wheelen et al. 2017). The efficiency
that is depicted by the managerial staff further affects the ways by which the structure of the
organization can be effective in nature. The incompetency of organizational management can
further have adverse effects on the successful operations of the organizations. On the other
hand, the proper management of employees can have a positive effect on the success of the
organization irrespective of the industry to which it belongs. The issues and flaws in the
organizational structure can affect the organizational processes in a huge manner. This can
also cause a breakdown in the entire operations of the company in the industry (Ståhl et al.
2015). The creative and innovative capabilities of the company can also affect the operations
in the various industries. The differences in the structure can also cause huge effects on the
ways by which the teams operate. The growth of the company is also affected by the structure
that has been implemented. The strong corporate structure can also affect the improvements
which are important for the decision making process in the teams. For example, the

9ANALYSIS OF LEADERSHIP MANAGJENT SYSTEM
organizational structure that has been implemented in Kmart is hierarchical in nature. The
process of decision making is quite slow in this case and the decisions have to be taken and
implemented based on the various levels that are present in the organizational structure
(Sharma, Mithas and Kankanhalli 2014).
Ways by which managers promote teamwork
The managers of the organizations can promote teamwork with the help of the five
strategies which are,
 The managers need to be good leaders and they should lead the teams towards
the goals and objectives in an effective manner.
 The communication that is practiced by the managers also needs to be
effective so that they are able to create a relationship with the employees.
 The responsibilities of the members of the teams need to be clearly explained
by the managers. The thereby need to lead the teams in an effective manner.
 The resolution of the conflicts can also be possible with the help of the proper
leadership of the managers or the leaders.
 The leaders need to remain positive about the various organizational processes
(Shepherd, Williams and Patzelt 2015).
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the process of decision making is totally
based on the ways by which the teams operate within the companies. The decisions that are
taken by the teams or the groups are affected by the ways of operations of the teams in the
environment. The structure of the company also affects the ways by which the decisions are
taken in the teams. The organization which has been taken as an example is Kmart which has
proved the importance of teams in the process of decision making in the modern

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organizations.

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collaboration. American Psychologist, 73(4), p.334.
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[Accessed 30 May 2018].
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Psychologist, 73(4), p.517.