Primark's Leadership and Management Strategies: A Case Study Analysis

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MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVES
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Task..................................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Bibliography..................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
Leadership is the most important function of management that contributes to the growth of the
organisation by utilising organisational resources properly. Leaders and managers help to
maximise the productivity and working quality of employees. The study will emphasise the
importance of leadership and management perspectives in an organisation. The analysis will be
performed on Primark.
Primark is an Irish fast fashion brand. The main branch of the company is located in Dublin.
Arthur Ryan founded the first store of Arthur Ryan in June 1969. The brand offers a wide range
of products to their customers such as menswear, women wear, kids wear and other accessories
(primark.com. 2019).
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Task
1. Identify key theories and perspectives of leadership and management within a range of
contexts and diverse environments.
Leadership theories are beneficial for understanding the characteristics of leaders and their
styles. Leadership styles of Primark will be analysed with the help of these theories. The key
theories of leadership and management have been discussed below:
Contingency theory: According to this theory, the effectiveness of leaders is contingent upon the
situation. If their leadership style is being matched perfectly with the situation, they can be
considered as effective leaders. It is stated that chief executive leader of Primark has been
awarded as the outstanding leader of this year, as he has effectively used his leadership style and
traits to reinvent and transform their business operation.
Behavioural theory: Behavioural theory is most commonly known as the human relations
theory of management, as it helps to address the employee’s dimension of work. It is very
important for leaders and managers to understand the needs of employees in the workplace. The
leaders and managers of Primark have efficiently used their leadership and management traits to
enhance its radical organisational behaviour.
Scientific management theory: In the words of Waring (2016), the tasks should be allocated to
the employees by matching their area of specialisation. In this way, the performance level and b
quality of employees can be enhanced. Employees also become more willing to work due to such
management. Primark has been able to increase their productivity with the help of scientific
management process.
Trait theory of leadership: Trait theory refers to the common characteristics and personality
traits of leaders and managers. The organisation has more than 281 stores and employs around
58000 employees in 9 countries. The leaders and managers have efficiently managed the
employees and ensured a better quality of work from them by using their traits
(belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 2014).
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2. Analyse and apply motivational and team working principles and theory to effective
styles of management and leadership.
Motivation plays a key role in the development of team performance. The leaders of Primark use
their motivational skills for enhancing the performance level of their subordinates. It has been
stated that the leaders of Primark use a democratic leadership style, which has helped to achieve
employee satisfaction. The leaders have allowed their employees while making any decision,
which has helped to bring new innovation into the organisation. The employees have also felt
valued in this way. Managers of this organisation have used rewards and incentives for
motivating their employees. Rewards and incentives play a key role in motivating employees.
Both monetary and non-monetary rewards have been used for motivating the employees of
Primark. In this way, the leaders and managers have ensured a better quality of performances
from the employees.
Tuckman’s team dynamics is beneficial for understanding the working principals of the team.
According to this model of team dynamics, the performances of a team can be developed in four
different stages such as forming, storming, norming and performing (Vigier et al., 2018). In the
first stage, the team is formed. In the second stage, the team members start to gain each other’s
trust and the culture of co-operation can be ensured within the team. In the norming stage,
conflicts and other challenges may be aroused due to greater intimacy and the competition
between team members. Leaders play a key role in the conflict resolution process. In the last
stage of team development, team members work together for achieving the common goal of the
organisation. Leaders of Primark have efficiently distributed tasks to the employees and guided
them for completing their tasks. The leaders and managers have ensured enough communication
among team members so that chances of misunderstanding can be avoided. In this way, they
have managed the team development.
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Figure 1; Tuckman’s team dynamics
(Source: Poston et al., 2017)
3. Analyse the extent to which effective management and leadership can contribute to
organisational effectiveness within its ethics and values framework
Effective leaders and managers help to maintain organisational ethics and organisational
behaviour. The chief executive leader of Primark has stated that they have been able to manage
their organisational growth by using an effective formula. Ethical leadership is required for being
adaptive to the changes that will be beneficial for the organisation. The leaders of this
organisation respect their employees that have helped to achieve employee satisfaction. An
ethical framework is used for making a decision on any particular strategy or plan. The leaders
and managers of this organisation follow a democratic leadership style as discussed before. This
was beneficial for showing respect to the employees.
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There are three important ethical standards of an organisation, which includes laws, policies
and individual (Bishop and Connors, 2018). The behaviour of employees has been monitored
effectively so that the unpleasant situation and discrimination can be avoided. The employees
have been provided with employee handbooks, which was helpful for setting behavioural limits
for the employees in the workplace. The managers have developed a set of policies that will be
helpful for preventing injustice in the workplace so that the toxic reasons of conflicts can be
avoided. There are laws such as equality act 2010 and others which have been followed by the
managers of an organisation so that they can be able to develop organisational behaviour and
culture. Primark has been able to ensure better performances from the employees by managing
the values and ethics in the workplace. In this way, the company has also a reputation in the
markets.
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Figure 2: Ethical
framework
(Source: Bishop and Connors, 2018)
5. Demonstrate and debate the effectiveness of leadership and management behaviours on
the impact of the organisation’s vision and mission.
When a particular organisation is seemed to be well equipped with effective leaders and
managers, their effectiveness plays an integral role in the achievement of organisational
objectives and goals. It can be said that it is upon the creditability of leaders and managers of
Primark to evaluate and focus on shaping the workforce in association with other higher
authorities to clear out the perspective of organisational existence. Skilled leaders and managers
of the organisations are the sole contributors that have the potential to influence organisational
and workforce values for commitment and integrity in attaining organisational mission
collectively (Weng et al., 2015). However, there can be real time situations when the leaders and
managers of the particular organisation shall not be able to deal with the changing perspectives
of organisational workforce. In this scenario, they must consider these tentative aspects and must
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strategise solutions, so that there are least cases of employee turnover during these kinds of
scenarios.
6. Evaluate how managers and leaders can facilitate change using appropriate tools and
models.
Employee engagement and workforce productivity are among the major aspects where leaders
and manager are supposed to justifiable decisions and actions for incorporating changes in an
organisational context. Change is inevitable is required to implement in such a way that there is
the least hindrance to the same. Within the premises of Primark, leaders and managers do
consider to implement changes when there is a requirement to bring alignment within the
organisational operations. Change is witnessed when the existing procedures are not being
carefully and effectively carried out. One of the major theories that can be adopted by the leaders
and managers of the particular organisation is Lewin’s Change Theory. The particular theory is
adopted in three major stages in order to facilitate changes within the organisational operations
effectively. Demonstration of the particular theory in context to facilitate changes within Primark
by the leaders and managers within the same is enumerated below:
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Figure 3: Lewin’s Change Theory
(Source: Burke, 2017)
Unfreeze
This is the first stage with which the leaders and managers shall be able to prepare the
organisational elements and workforce to participate and execute effectively during the change
process. Awareness is the key implications within the particular stage without which the leaders
and managers shall not be able to motivate the employees to actively support the implications
where the changes are supposed to be witnessed. The higher authorities of Primark are required
to first breakdown the existing status quo that is prevailing within the organisational premises so
that a positive environment is created at the time of implementing a whole new procedural of
organisational operations (Wojciechowski et al., 2016). Beliefs, values, and workforce
perceptions are required to be evaluated by the selected authorities of change management, so
that a positive attitude is built towards the considered changeable aspects within the
organisational premises.
Change
This is an uncertain area that starts soon after the employees within the unfreeze stage becomes
well-informed and aware of the changes that are going to be implemented within the
organisation. The reason for the uncertainty is that there are probabilities where some of the
diligent and enthusiastic employees shall be able to cooperate with the implied changes.
However, in the initial stage, there might be consequences where diligent employees may find it
difficult to cope up and sustainthe proposed change management plan. The leaders and managers
of Primark are required to be highly conservative, so that they are able to integrate a high level of
motivation that shall aid the diligent workforce to perform productively thus; achievement of
proposed changes becomes desirable under their supervision (Cummings et al., 2016). Moreover,
the employees that react in a negative way towards the proposed changes shall be reconsidered
by the leaders and managers since, bringing change in organisational operations is one among
major factors of promoting employee turnover that shall negatively influence workforce
planning, creditability and overall scope of organisational profitability.
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Refreeze
The particular stage in the change management process resembles the actual state where the
changes are being practically implemented by the proposed leaders and managers of the
particular organisation. This is the area that has high chances of uncertainty in terms of
workforce commitment and employee creditability. There might be consequences where a
diligent employee may lose hope after witnessing its creditability as soon as the changes are
being implemented within the organisation. Leaders and managers of the particular organisation
are required to support beliefs, values, and efficacies of the employee so that the same are able to
refreeze the status quo that was being broken down entirely during the first stage. Reward
systems, appraisals, and incorporating feedback from the employee’s ends are the juvenile
approaches to hold up the employee’s interest and predict outcomes of implied changes in terms
of sustainability and adaptability.
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Conclusion
Management and leadership perspective are necessary aspects that are not only supposed to be
considered rather shall be practically implemented in order to increase organisational
productivity as a whole. Thus, it can be concluded that effective change management, employee
motivation, and enhancement of personal and professional skill, as well as the abilities of the
workforce of the organisation, are among the essential responsibilities of a leader and managers
that are responsible to increasing their own agility in respective careers.
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