Organizational Behaviour: Tesco's Culture and Management

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of organizational behaviour within Tesco, a prominent UK-based retail giant. It examines the influence of culture, power dynamics, and politics on individual and team performance, utilizing Hofstede's model to assess cultural dimensions. The report further explores the impact of various motivational theories, including Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Vroom's Expectancy Theory, on employee satisfaction and goal achievement. It then contrasts the composition of effective and ineffective teams, highlighting the importance of teamwork in achieving organizational objectives. The report also delves into relevant concepts and philosophies of organizational behaviour, such as network and systems theories, while addressing current management issues faced by Tesco and suggesting potential improvements. The analysis covers various aspects of Tesco's operations, from employee motivation and team dynamics to the influence of power and politics, providing valuable insights into its management strategies.

ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Effect of culture, power and politics on individual, team behaviour and performance.........3
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................6
P2 The impact of Motivational theories and techniques on achieving goals in an organisation.
.....................................................................................................................................................6
LO 3.................................................................................................................................................7
P3 Composition of an effective team as compared to ineffective team......................................7
LO 4 ................................................................................................................................................9
P4 Concepts and Philosophies regarding Organisational Behaviour..........................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Organisational Behaviour can be defined as the behaviour of individuals in a professional
environment. It studies the relationships and bonds that are formed between various employees
in a professional setting. Tesco is an UK based retail giant which has its stores and branches
operating in many countries. This report highlights the impact of culture, power and politics on
decision making and their impact along with the importance of motivational theories in creating
a satisfied employee base. Further, this report highlights the importance of effective team and
application o different theories and philosophies in achieving the organizational behaviour that
the management wants. Lastly, this report discuses the present issues that the management of
Tesco is facing and how it can be improved.
MAIN BODY
LO 1
P1 Effect of culture, power and politics on individual, team behaviour and performance.
There are many attribute associated with an organisation's culture and it is highly
dynamic in nature. Moreover, Tesco has been operating since many years and in al this time, it
has undergone a significant amount of change in its working culture and ethics. All the aspects
i.e. culture, power , politics, authority etc. have experienced tremendous change in Tesco
overtime. While working in a organisation operating at a such a huge scale, Tesco employs a
number of people fro different backgrounds (Borkowski, 2015). This helps the company in
maintaining cultural diversity and encouraging the employees to embrace and accept variety of
culture's that co-exist in a company. For evaluating the culture and its impact in Tesco,
Hofstede's model can be used.
Hofstede's Model :- This model was built by Geert Hofstede where he defined 6 basic
dimensions of culture which influenced the values and working style of their employees. It
helped in distinguishing culture of two countries rather than individual.
Power Distance Index :- This evaluates whether the power distribution is equal and just i.e. it
identifies that how quickly and readily the employees at lower position accept the fact that the
power given to them is lower or inadequate (Brickley, Smith and Zimmerman, 2015). In Tesco,
the employees are given the authority that they require to take decisions which are covered in
their job description and authority. This has led to quicker decision making.
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Individualism v/s Collectivism :- Individualism refers to the the level of integration between
individuals i.e. whether they prefer to complete work alone or they would like to complete it with
assistance of other. The managers at Tesco emphasize upon developing teams and hence the
employees enjoy working in teams thus developing organisation as a whole.
Uncertainty Avoidance :- This index reflects the acceptance level of individuals when an
unexpected situation arises and how easily can they deal in such situations. The higher level of
his index refers to degree of ambiguity and lower degree signifies lower intolerance level.
Employees at Tesco are trained in such a manner that they can face any situation (Klotz and
et.al., 2018).
Masculinity v/s femininity :- When the employees or the society or the working policies are
developed with a mindset or giving superiority to males in the society, the culture is said to be
male oriented. And, when the females are given priority they are said to be female oriented.
Tesco, earlier was male oriented in its operations but with changing times, it has adopted
practices giving equal importance to both male and female sector.
Long term Orientation v/s Short term orientation :- When the changing culture and trends are
interlinked with the past values and traditions, the culture is evaluated on the basis of its
orientation. When the degree of integration is higher, it indicates that the culture does not holds
to its past values and changes and adapts itself quickly. These kind of culture are more prone
towards growth (Chen, Chen and Sheldon, 2016). A lower index on the voter hand show that
they still hold on to their past traditions and refuse to acknowledge the changing times. This
signifies a redundant economy whose growth is restricted.
Indulgence v/s restraint :- This signifies the freedom with which the individuals can satisfy
their desires and needs as compared to the restriction society imposes on them. While one enjoys
the life and its fun, other emphasizes on valuing and respecting it. At Tesco, the employees have
a tendency to indulge in their whims rather than avoid it.
Apart from this, the culture of Tesco has also experienced changes in its working practices due to
development in technology and the necessity to accommodate it in the practices so that the
organization can compete with its other competitors and keep itself updated with the changing
norms (Borkowski, 2015).
For understanding organization's, Network theory and System's theory are also relevant theories.
Network theory emphasizes on the degree of networks and the social relationships that the
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individuals working in a company form with each other professionally or personally. This
emphasizes on how quickly they form networks in teams or with individuals or at workplace.
Systems theory on the other hand state that all the activities carried out in an organisation are
linked with each other and the psychology of al the individuals get influenced by a particular one
individual who might think negatively.
At Tesco, emphasis is on building and developing organization as a whole rather than individual
growth and the mangers and leaders keep their subordinates motivated by understanding their
state of mind and tasking them accordingly so that they can make the individuals perform in such
a way that they are able to achieve the goals that they are required to (Tasselli, Kilduff and
Landis,2018).
Influence of Power :- There are different kinds of power that are exercised in a company or in a
professional environment such as Legitimate power, Expert power, Coercive Power, Referent
Power and Reward Power. The different kinds of power signify different traits of the leader and
mangers and speaks a lot about the organizational culture and values. At Tesco, leaders and
managers have to exercise all kinds of powers while regulating like coercive owners practice
when the consistently bad performance of any employee forces the managers to terminate or
remove them. Legitimate power is exercised when the Directors or mangers convey the
necessary rules and guidelines to their subordinates; Reward Power when the employees are
giver incentives and benefits or are praised ad recognised. The referent power is exercised when
the working skills or position of a leader acts as a guiding light for the subordinates and they
consider them as their role model.
Influence of Politics :- Politics always portrays a negative vibe when implemented in a
company. At Tesco, the company being a wide organization operated on a large scale, politics is
an inescapable part and this often leads to an increased turnover in the company. This also
creates mistrust between the employees forcing them to plan and plot against each other
(Lăzăroiu,2015). However, the leaders are efficient and they try to implement politics in a
positive manner by motivating employees to be united and adopt innovative practices which
integrate employees with each other.
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LO 2
P2 The impact of Motivational theories and techniques on achieving goals in an organisation.
Motivation is an important aspect in increasing the performance and it can be basically of two
kinds that are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation arises when an employee
strives to achieve a particular goal or objective ad this internal motivation forces an employee to
work harder and extrinsic motivation arises when an outside factor i.e. rewards, incentives etc.
acts as a motivator in achieving the set objectives.
Content Theories of Motivation :- This theory is individual centric focusing on motivating an
individual and recording the changes in their behaviour with changing needs. It consists of
various models and theories like :-
Maslow's Need Hierarchy :- It documents the changing needs and motivational factors of
individuals in 5 different stages. Tesco implement's this theory to keep its employee base
motivated. Physiological Needs involve meeting the basic requirements like food, shelter etc.
(Miner, 2015). Tesco, by giving appropriate salary ensures that their employees can meet these
basic requirements. Safety Needs involve the desire of being secure and safe and Tesco; by
giving schemes like medical insurance or health insurance etc., ensures that their employees are
secure and safe. They also give house rent allowance, loans etc. Social needs is the desire to be
accepted in the society and feel motivated by forming relations with each other. Tesco maintains
a healthy work culture in a company which motivates each other and creates a healthy
competition so that the organizational objectives can be achieved. Esteem Need is the desire to
be respected and recognised and the managers of Tesco give proper reward and benefits to their
employees so that the colleagues recognize each other and acknowledge their contribution
motivating them to develop together so that they can grow collectively. Self Actualization is the
last stage at which the individual strive to grow more and by giving timely promotions and
authorization, Tesco ensures that this desire of their employees is also met (Brickley, Smith and
Zimmerman, 2015).
The process theory of motivation focuses on how the human needs can be met satisfactorily. It
involves theories like Vroom's expectancy Theory etc.
Vroom's Expectancy Theory – This theory stated that the behaviour of an employee varies with
the their expectation. It gives the concept of Valence :- This discuses that particular thing or
aspect which employee puts foremost I.e. if an employee seeks promotion than increment in
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salary will not satisfy him. Instrumentality :- It is the belief that a particular outcome can be
achieved only when the performance is up to the mark. Here, an employee relies on his manager
that he will acknowledge his performance and reward him accordingly. Expectancy :- For
enhancing the performance levels, an employee is expected to increase his efforts. At Tesco, this
aspect is achieved by assigning tasks and jobs to the employees as per their skills.
Behavioural Psychology is another aspect in determining the behaviour of various employees
working in the organisation. Emotional Intelligence, a concept related to behavioural science can
be defined as the capacity to control and express an individual's own emotion (Musringudin,
Akbar and Karnati, 2017).
LO 3
P3 Composition of an effective team as compared to ineffective team.
In an organization , team work is very important and there are many types of teams that are
formulated. Functional teams can be defined as corporate teams which are formulated in a
traditional way and are usually referred to as different departments like the marketing function in
a firm is handled by a different team called marketing department. Problem-Solving Teams are
those teams which are formulated for a very short time period with a particular task of solving
an issue and as soon as the assigned task is met, the team is dissolved. Project teams are
formulated when employees from different departments come together for completing one single
project and after the project is successfully finished, they are dismantled. Tesco being an
organization whose operations and activities are spread over entire world, it is a bit difficult and
unnecessary wastage of resources to gather all the managers at a single place while taking any
important decision for solving this problem, the the mangers spread all over the world are
connected by the technological means. Team can be defined as group of people working
together to achieve a common goal and objective and Group refers to two or more individuals
who synchronize their individual efforts to work peacefully (Van Knippenberg and Hogg,
2018). For creating an effective team the two major theories that can be applied are :-
Tuckman's Theory :- This theory categorized the various stages and life of group in four
different stages which are relevant in following manner :-
Forming :- At this stage, the team members do not fully understand the tasks assigned to them
and they do not agree mutually depending on their leaders entirely for guidance. Tesco tries to
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resolve this part by forming healthy relationships between its employees and employer thus
helping them understand each other and perform better.
Storming :- Here, although the objective become a bit clearer, yet the team members lack any
trust the decision making is still difficult. At Tesco, the leaders guide the team members in
respect to resolving conflicts so that better decisions can be taken.
Norming :- At this stage, the team members have formed better relationships with each other
and understand each other. They now have a understanding regarding the objectives to be
accomplished and understand their duties and roles to be fulfilled in a better way (Vasu, Stewart
and Garson, 2017).
Performing :- All the initial obstacles that might arise in a team have been overcome at this
stage and the team members have become completely familiar with each other. Now their entire
focus is on achieving the goals that they have been tasked with and they make efficient plans to
achieve such goals. At this stage, the employees of Tesco are highly motivated and they are
highly knowledgeable which makes them capable of taking decisions.
Belbin's Theory :- Belbin devised a behavioural theory where he stated that different individuals
tend to behave in a different manner and there are 9 major categories in which they can be
qualified. Its application is recommended for better formulation of teams in the organisation :-
Resource Investigator, Team worker, Plant, Co-Ordinator, Monitor Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper,
Implementer and Complete Finisher are the nine different personalities that must be include in a
team so that the task can be achieved efficiently (Belbin Team Roles, 2019). There are Soft and
Hard Communication Skills that the employees must have in order to achieve goals and form a
effective team. Hard skills can be defined as those skills which can be measured i.e. reading,
writing ability and soft skills can be defined as leadership skills, problem solving ability etc.
which helps the individual in analysing a situation in a better way. It is recommend that an
individual should develop both these skills so that they can take meaningful decisions which are
based not just on whims but on facts and figures as well. All these techniques collectively help in
minimizing the conflict levels and increase the performance and lack of these leads to ineffective
team formation.
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LO 4
P4 Concepts and Philosophies regarding Organisational Behaviour.
At present, Tesco Company is facing the major problem of rising turnover in the company. This
has been attributed to the reason that the autocratic leadership style that has ben implemented in
the company is creating a negative environment and decreasing the morale of the employees as
they are not able to exercise sufficient powers and skills in the workplace (Borkowski, 2015).
This problem can be addressed by studying the path goal theory so that appropriate conclusions
can be formed.
Path Goal Theory :- This theory was formulated so that the management in the organisation
could determine which type of leadership style it should adopt and the theories to be applied in
the organization. It was elaborated by keeping Vroom's Expectancy theory as its basis. Under
this theory, there are 4 major leadership styles that have been described :- Directive Path goal
Clarifying Leader under which the leaders directly instruct the subordinates regarding the tasks
that they have to perform and the means of completing those tasks (Path Goal Theory, 2017).
Achievement Oriented leader is the one where the leaders challenge employees allowing them
to make decisions in the manner that they consider best. This allows the leader to judge the
decision-making ability of their employees. Participative Leader is the one where the
employees are consulted and their feedback is taken before implementation of any plan or policy
and they are involve in the decision making process. Supportive Leadership Style is the one
where leader focuses on satisfying employees and the leader is employee oriented working
towards their benefit and plan the activities accordingly. There are various barriers that the
leaders encounter while application of such theories and in various other factors.
Plan For Tesco :- In Tesco, at present there is Autocratic leadership style which is Appropriate
due to the sheer size of its operations and activity. This helps the company and its mangers in
taking better decisions and directing their subordinates i.e. departmental mangers so that
effective decision making can be done. However, the problem of rising employee turnover can
be sufficiently met by implementing positive aspects of the autocratic leadership style. This can
be done in the following manner i.e. by taking feedbacks and suggestion from the employees
before formulating any plans and policies (Osland Devine and Turner, 2015). This helps in
synchronisation of the different mindsets and will increase the productivity of the Tesco
Company along with creating a satisfied employee base. The Tuckman's theory also helps in
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developing a healthier environment. The management can assign job role as per the key skills
that employee possess which will help them in performing their job in a better way. The effective
team building will hep in minimizing the conflicts and hence reduce turnover as the employees
will feel a sense of belongingness and will try to remain loyal to the company.
CONCLUSION
After evaluating the points explained in the research above, it is evident that the way an
organisation and implement the policies and encourages the employee behaviour is instrumental
in the growth of the organisation. The various models and theories have been applied in the
above report like Hofstede's Model, Maslow's Need Hierarchy, Vroom's Expectancy model etc.
to identify the importance and impact of Culture, power ad politics in a company and the
importance of developing a motivated employee base. This report also highlighted the
importance of creating effective teams by implicating Tuckman's theory and Belbin theory which
emphasized upon forming teams in a better manner. Lastly, this report also discussed the present
problem of rising employee turnover in the Tesco Company and how by formulating an
appropriate plan, they can resolve it. The various recommendations that can be made here for the
management of Tesco Company are :-
 Adopting and implementing a business policy that encourages and involves employees in
its decision making process.
 Motivate and involve employees so that they will feel attached through good
communication skills.
 Changing the present strategies so that the new methods such formed can help in
improving the performance and reduce employee turnover.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Osland, J., Devine, K. and Turner, M., 2015. Organizational behavior. Wiley Encyclopedia of
Management, pp.1-5.
Borkowski, N., 2015. Organizational behavior in health care. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Vasu, M.L., Stewart, D.W. and Garson, G.D., 2017. Organizational Behavior and Public
Management, Revised and Expanded. Routledge.
Van Knippenberg, D. and Hogg, M.A., 2018. Social identifications in organizational
behavior. The self at work: Fundamental theory and research. pp.72-90.
Musringudin, M., Akbar, M. and Karnati, N., 2017. The effect of organizational justice, job
satisfaction, and organizational commitment on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of the
principles. IJER-INDONESIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL REVIEW. 4(2). pp.155-165.
Brickley, J., Smith, C. and Zimmerman, J., 2015. Managerial economics and organizational
architecture. McGraw-Hill Education.
Miner, J.B., 2015.Organizational behavior 4: From theory to practice. Routledge.
Lăzăroiu, G., 2015. Work motivation and organizational behavior. Contemporary Readings in
Law and Social Justice. 7(2). pp.66-75.
Tasselli, S., Kilduff, M. and Landis, B., 2018. Personality change: implications for
organizational behavior. Academy of Management Annals. 12(2). pp.467-493.
Borkowski, N., 2015. Organizational behavior, theory, and design in health care. Jones &
Bartlett Publishers.
Chen, M., Chen, C.C. and Sheldon, O.J., 2016. Relaxing moral reasoning to win: How
organizational identification relates to unethical pro-organizational behavior. Journal of Applied
Psychology. 101(8). p.1082.
Klotz, A.C. And et.al., 2018. Examining the nature, causes, and consequences of profiles of
organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior. 39(5). pp.629-647.
Online
Path Goal Theory. 2017. [ONLINE] Available through:<https://pathgoal.com/path-goal-theory/>
Belbin Team Roles. 2019. [ONLINE] Available through :<https://www.belbin.com/about/belbin-
team-roles/>
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