A Report on Organizational Behavior: Tesco's Culture and Motivation

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of organizational behavior within Tesco plc, a British multinational grocery and merchandise retailer. It examines Tesco's organizational culture, identifying it as a Market culture driven by competition and profitability, while also recommending improvements such as fostering open communication and collaboration. The report delves into Tesco's organizational structure, highlighting its hierarchical nature and decentralized power allocation, which promotes a role culture emphasizing specialization and productivity. Furthermore, it explores the application of motivational theories, including Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, within Tesco, demonstrating how the company addresses employee needs and fosters a supportive work environment. The analysis concludes by emphasizing the positive influence of Tesco's organizational culture on employee behavior, leading to high motivation, smooth operations, and a strong emotional attachment to the organization.

Running Head : ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational Behaviour
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Task 1:
The organizational culture can be referred to having the underlying beliefs, the values,
the assumptions along with the methods for interacting which contributes to the formation of
a unique psychological and social environment of an organization. It consists of the
organizational experiences, the expectations, the philosophy along with the values which
guide the member behaviour. It is expressed in the inner workings, in the self-image, in the
interactions with the outside world along with the future endeavours of the organization. The
culture of an organization is based on the beliefs, the shared values, the customs and both the
written and the unwritten rules which have been developed over a significant period of time.
The culture also consists of the mission, vision , systems , norms , language , symbols ,
beliefs , assumptions and the habits of the organization.
It is to be noted that every organization is different from the others and subsequently,
the cultures are also different. There are four major types of organizational cultures. The four
parameters include both the external forces and the internal forces. As per the framework,
the organizational cultured is broken down into the four distinct parts such as the Clan
Culture, the Market culture, the Adhocracy culture and the Hierarchy culture. It has been
found that the flexible organizations are more successful than the rigid ones as it can manage
the competition between the cultures. The different types of the organizational cultures are as
follows:
The clan culture - This is a type of culture that is rooted in collaboration. The members in
this type of organizational culture view themselves being the part of a big family and equally
involved. The mentorship is shaped by the right type of leadership and the organisation is
restricted by the traditions and the commitments. The values of these types of organizations
are rooted in the consensus, the communication and teamwork. It can be built by keeping

2ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
respectful relationships with the customers, the employees the suppliers and the environment
itself.
The Adhocracy culture - This is a type of culture that is founded on the creativity and
energy. The employees in such organizations are encouraged to take up the risks and the
leaders are perceived to be the entrepreneurs or the innovators. The organization is
strengthened by the individual ingenuity and the individual freedom. The core values of these
types of organizations are founded on the agility and the change.
The market culture- The dynamics of market competition and the achievement of the
concrete results forms the vase of this type of organizational culture. The focus is much more
goal-centric where the leaders are demanding and extremely tough. The entire organization is
driven by the common goal of beating the market rivals. The primary drivers are the
profitability and the market share.
The hierarchy culture- This type of culture is founded on the control and structure. The
environment of work is quite formal having strict institutional procedures for the guidance
purpose. The leadership in these type of organizations are depended on the monitoring and
coordination. This culture emphasizes on the predictability and efficiency. The values consist
of uniformity and consistency.
Among the above mentioned four types of organizational culture, the Market culture
can be found in Tesco as there are various competitors in the industry where Tesco works.
Tesco is one of the largest grocery firms of United Kingdom and the main competitors are
Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s, ASDA which are called the Big Four in UK. In the current
years, the grocers of Germany such as Aldi and Lidl are coming towards being powerful
competitors of U.K grocery market.

3ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
The organizational culture is the key to the organizational success as it shapes the
employee behaviour and determines the way the employees will work in future. An improper
organizational culture impacts the employee motivation and can also lead to the employee
fraud. Since Tesco follows the marketing culture, the employees are connected with each
other through the common goal defeating the market rivals and achieve highest profitability.
The organizational culture of Tesco has shaped its working environment and the employees
always feel agile towards what they do. The company works in the convenience stores to gain
popularity because the customer preferences are changing every-day.
However, some recommendations on the organizational culture of Tesco will enable
the company to progress further. The company should provide the employees with an
environment where they would feel free to share their opinions. Since communication is the
key to success, the mission of the company should be to communicate effectively. A
collaborative atmosphere should be encouraged instead of an isolating environment. It will
help the company to reinforce that they are a team. The transparency should be maintained in
the organization and the leader should be followed.
Task 2:
About Tesco –
The Tesco plc actually trades as Tesco. It is one of the largest British multinational
groceries along with a general merchandise retailer in United Kingdom( Hertfordshire). It is
also the third largest retailer in the whole world as far as the gross revenues are concerned. It
is also the ninth largest retailers in the world by revenues. The organization has almost 7
shops in the entire Europe and Asia. It is also considered to be the market leader among the
groceries in the United Kingdom having the market share of almost 28.4 %. The company

4ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
was founded in the year 1924 by Jack Cohen and initially it was the group of the market
stalls. Since the later part of the 1990s, Tesco has expanded in the United Kingdom and
globally too. Now, it operates in 11 other countries too in the entire world. In the year 2013,
the company pulled out of the USA and seeks the growth elsewhere. Starting from the 1960s,
the Tesco company has diversified in various areas such as the clothing, electronics,
furniture, petrol, toys and books too. By the year 2019, it has successfully opened 6,800
shops around the world. It is a public limited company and the headquarters are located in
Shire park , Kestrel Way, Welwyn Garden City and others apart from Hertfordshire.
The company feels proud to have almost 3000 people connected with them that
ensure the betterment of the customer services. They have strengthened the foundation of the
UK business and aim to continue offering more to the customers which can help them to
become more competitive in the market. They are focused on improving their product quality
with sharper prices, better services and stronger ranges.
Organizational culture of Tesco
The company is focused on understanding the people , the colleagues , the customers
and the concerning topics for them. The company also tries to make everything better that is
the at the core values of Tesco. They believe that listening to their people is the most
important factor and this is the reason behind why they use all the tools. They treat their
people the way they want to be treated. They address their employees to be their colleagues
and know that the culture of trust and respect is the key to the success of Tesco. They focus
on the colleagues feeling that they are recognized in the organization. They are rewarded too
when they work collaboratively. They further believe that every little help makes a huge
difference. They value their customers and ensure that they are served well. They put effort

5ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
in making the community better everyday. The company sees itself in a better position when
all the small efforts are added together.
The managers of the company always encourage the group members to learn from
each other and concentrate on their tasks along with giving time for the social or the
interpersonal relations. They members are also encouraged to build confidence within
themselves for superior performance in the organization. The decision making process is
designed to be done individually rather than consulting with the supervisors. They value the
personal equality more than anything and believe in the empowered subordinates or
decentralization.
Politics and Power in Tesco
In terms of the power culture, control is the necessary element. The politics and the
power cultures are found in the business of small and medium size organizations. Those
organizations where the centralized decision making is found, the power cultures exist. The
group work is not apparent in the power culture of an organization. The organizations where
the power cultures exist, sudden dangers can be rapidly reacted with as there is no
involvement of the consultation. In Tesco, there is decentralized structure with higher degree
of power allocation, the organization encourages the role culture over the power culture. As
per the role culture, the organization is split into different functions and in each of the
functions the individual is assigned to a particular role. The role culture has the special
advantage of specialization. The employees are much focused on their particular roles
assigned to them in accordance with their job demands. It has helped Tesco to maintain the
working culture and increase the productivity of their company. When the power structure of
Tesco is being discussed, the organizational structure of the organization should be known.

6ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Tesco serves with a hierarchical organizational structure as it has different layers
along with a good number of people who report into more than one person. As per the
hierarchical structure, the organization has different levels and each level is monitored by a
single person. The hierarchical commands are passed from one person to another until it
reaches the bottom. The hierarchical culture has strengthened the organizational culture of the
company and the workers are well aware of their duties.
The motivational theories applied in Tesco
The mission and vision of Tesco suggests that the company not only focuses on the
service and quality they provide but also focuses on their employees. They rather concentrate
on motivating the employees which would help them reach their goals. As far as the
application of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is concerned, the physical/basic needs of the
employees are fulfilled. The company prepares a good condition work place, provides the
salaries on time , have good facilities such as restaurants. The security needs are also fulfilled
by providing health insurance and formal contract of employment. The social needs are
focused on by enabling the groups work at the different levels inside the organization. It
provides special discounts to the employees along with giving the gym facility. The self
esteem of the employees are maintained by their appraisals to the hard working ones and the
self-fulfilment is concentrated by offering personal development plans and scopes. On the
other hand, Herzberg’ two factor theory is also applied to the organization. Tesco pays huge
attention to the hygiene and the satisfaction factors. Hence, they pay more attention to the
personal growth opportunities, the employee promotion and the motivation factors. This
theory is applied in this organization by making an annual survey for measuring the level of
staff satisfaction that enables the staffs to express their opinions.

7ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
How it influences the employee behaviour in the workplace
It is said that the organizational cultures shapes the employee behaviour in the
workplace. In Tesco, the employees are highly motivated and driven towards fulfilling the
common organizational goals. Due to the most supportive organizational culture of Tesco the
employee productivity is at its best. As the employees are more agile to work, the operations
are managed smoothly and there are lesser chances for conflict. They put some of the special
responsibilities on the lower ranked employees that motivates them and helps them to stay
supportive during the period of crisis. The hierarchical structure has resulted in equal
distribution of power among the employees and they feel emotionally attached to the
organization upto greater extent. The teamwork and environment of cooperation is
encouraged within the organization which helps it to conduct the business operations every-
day. The working culture in the organization leads the employees to provide better customer
service resulting in more loyal customers of Tesco.
Task 3:
The Reflective Statement
In a group project or discussion forum, the teamwork is an essential part. I believe
that there are various advantages of teamwork. The teamwork comforts the learning process,
the creativity and at the same time blends all the elements to attain the common goals of a
particular project. There are various factors present in team work which control the project’s
success. Hence, as per my understanding, teamwork should take place with proper
integration and flexibility. In this discussion forum , we were six people in the discussion
forum and we tried our best to complete the assessments properly. As per my views
regarding teamwork, it is a mix of knowledge, the experience and the skills required for

8ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
fulfilling its functions in a particular project. Hence, communication is the key to achieve
the best teamwork results. I was assigned with the role of managing the team and I put effort
to encourage the team members to engage in an open communication. I also encouraged
them to share their experiences to create a bond at first.
My co-mates also believed that we should build trust among ourselves at first which
will promote the team spirit. In order to avoid conflicts of interests, the team members were
given the opportunity to share their thought and opinions one by one. The combination of the
unique perspectives led to the easy and affordable solutions. Since the team members had
various experiences, the amount of shared knowledge has also been maximized. Although
there were occasional disagreements, the experience of working together has helped me to
proceed further without looking back. At the end of the successful accomplishment of the
group project I believe that the effort of building trust and open communication as the reason
behind everything. Taken for instance, one member of my team desired to be the team lead
in spite of knowing that he in incapable of managing teams. As a conflict resolution method,
all of us supported him until he himself understood that team management is not his cup of
tea.
As far as my contribution in the team is concerned, I believe that I have given my best
efforts to the development of the team and its management. I have done a good job in the
discussion forum and contribute to the easy accomplishment of the project. On a concluding
note, I would like to say that I am looking forward to become a part of many moré group
projects and lead them to success.

9ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
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