Individual Case Study Analysis: Leadership and Management at Sainsbury

This case study analyzes Sainsbury's management practices, organizational structure, and leadership styles. It explores the application of Fayol's principles, different leadership approaches (including democratic and autocratic styles), and the impact of organizational culture on employees. The study examines the effects of power, influence, and conflict within Sainsbury's, identifying various motivational techniques, including Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and reward power. It also provides corporate examples and literature to support the analysis, concluding with recommendations for enhancing management effectiveness and achieving organizational goals. The case study emphasizes the importance of democratic leadership and reward power in fostering employee engagement and productivity, and it highlights the interconnectedness of organizational structure, culture, and employee performance. The analysis aims to provide insights into how Sainsbury's can optimize its management strategies for sustained success in the retail sector.

INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDY
ANALYSIS
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
A. Management styles with principles and functions of management........................................3
B. Organization structure and changes in the organization culture and its impact on employees
......................................................................................................................................................5
C. Leadership Style .....................................................................................................................6
D. Effects of power, influence and conflict at Sainsbury............................................................7
E. Various types of motivation used at Sainsbury.......................................................................8
F. Corporate examples and literature for justification ................................................................9
G. Recommendations ................................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13
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INTRODUCTION
Motivation is defined as the process in which the individual encourages the employees of
the organization to achieve the objectives and goals effectively and efficiently. Sainsbury is the
second — the largest retail chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom (Akhmetshin,
Morozov, Pavlyuk and et.al., 2018). The product segments in which company deals are
hypermarket, supermarket, convenience shop etc.
The report will consist of management style and state of principles along with functions
of management of Sainsbury. Analysis of organization structure and organization culture will be
identified which impacts the employees. Leadership style to enhance organizational effectiveness
will be demonstrated for the purpose of organization to function smoothly. Effects of power,
influence and conflict will be assessed for Sainsbury so that loopholes are identified beforehand.
Different types of motivational theories will be elaborated in reference with the organization.
Corporate examples along with recommendations/suggestions will be demonstrated for company
to achieve the objectives and goals for future.
MAIN BODY
A. Management styles with principles and functions of management
Henry Fayol's management style — Fayol attributed five main aspects of the theory
are -
Planning — The CEO of Sainsbury ensures that planning is flexible, accurate, continuous and
relevant.
Organizing — The CEO of Sainsbury checks that the plans framed are organized.
Coordination — Coordination involves determining timing and sequence of activities by
allocating proper resources (Edwards, 2018).
Commanding — The command function of the company denotes all the functions within the
organization work effectively.
Controlling — Controlling checks whether corrective actions are taken for the plan
implemented.
Fayol's 14 Principles - Division of Work — It allows individual to build up expertise and therefore be more
productive.
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 Authority — CEO of Sainsbury has the authority to issue commands along with
appropriate responsibility (Pagare, 2020). Discipline — If management plays the part of providing good leadership then employees
of the company obey orders. Unity of Command — CEO of Sainsbury is one man — one boss with no conflicting
lines of command. Subordination of Individual Interest to General Interest — The interest of the
organization must come to the group and then to the individuals of the company. Remuneration — The remuneration of Sainsbury is fair and equitable, encourages
productivity and performance of employees. Centralization — Sainsbury follows centralization management. Scalar Chain — Sainsbury follows scalar chain system in which lateral communication
is also fundamental. Order — The company avoids duplication and waste (Godwin, Handsome, Ayomide and
et.al., 2017). Equity — Sainsbury deals with employees by following combination of kindliness and
justice. Stability of Tenure — Sainsbury being the most successful business thus has more stable
management. Initiative — CEO of Sainsbury encourages individuals to use their initiative as a source
of strength for the organization. Esprit De Corpse — Individuals of the company foster and develop the morale of the
employees and encourage them to use their abilities.
Functions of management are - Planning — CEO of Sainsbury ensures that the planning is done well so that current
actions are foreseen in the long run (Tasie, 2017). Organizing — Formal structure and direction of flow of authority is done by CEO of
Sainsbury to provide direction to organization. Staffing — Company hires and retains suitable workforce for the process of recruiting,
training, developing, compensating and evaluating employees.
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 Directing — Concerned with leadership, communication, motivation and supervision so
that employees perform their activities efficiently (Krutyakova and Anyushenkova,
2018). Controlling — Corrective measures are taken for the deviations by measuring actual
performance of the work done.
B. Organization structure and changes in the organization culture and its impact on employees
Charles Handy defined four kinds of Organizational Culture Power, Role, Task and
Person which are elaborated as -
Power Culture — As the power of Sainsbury is in the hands of CEO, therefore the CEO decides
what happens and initiates to what will happen next for the perspective of growth and
development (Warrick, 2017).
Role Culture — CEO fulfils its roles and responsibilities and an individual in role culture highly
controls everyone in the organization knowing what the position that individual is on.
Task Culture — Task cultures are formed to address specific team problems or to progress
projects of the company. Thus, the team foresees the objectives and goals to be achieved.
Person Culture — Individuals in this type of culture see themselves as unique and superior to
the organization. The CEO of Sainsbury delivers the same position as in this category.
Organization Structure -
Line Organization Structure — In the line organizational structure, the authority flows
from top to bottom. The chain of command is there and the head has control over all the
departments. As it is a unified structure, line officers can take the decisions regarding the
important aspects of the organization (Joseph and Gaba, 2020). As effective communication
flows between each department of the organization it enables more effectiveness and efficiency
in the structure which is formed. The top position is of the CEO which ensures that the managers
of the Sainsbury are aware of their departments for which they have been assigned. Therefore,
the CEO of the company is liable for all the processes which actively works under different
categories and departments for its operation for organizations growth and betterment.
Thus, organization structure directly impacts the organization culture and its employees
as the structure formed is the basis for the culture which Sainsbury adopts or the system that
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company has build up to work. The employees are also affected by organizations structure which
Sainsbury follows as it consists of the power, role, task and person culture. The employees
within the organization work on the rules and regulations which are framed to obey. Employees
performance is ranked and analysed by the changes which are done on daily basis in the
organization structure. These changes initiate new methods but on the other side it affects and
influences the employees work and performance and organization culture at large. Therefore, it
is analysed that organizational structure is the major factor influencing the whole organization.
C. Leadership Style
Leadership is defined as the management approach in which leaders set objectives and
goals for attainment while motivating individuals to achieve those goals effectively and
efficiently. Various leadership styles are -
Democratic Leadership — Democratic leadership is also known as participative leadership
style in which there is collaboration of delegation of responsibilities and group level decision-
making (Al Khajeh, 2018). The leader in this leadership style knows know to cultivate and
prosper participation with the team members or the employees. The decisions are taken on the
factors that ability of decision, influence and power of the leader is at what level exercised within
organization.
Autocratic Leadership — Autocratic leaders are those leaders who provide clear expectations
for what is to be done, when it is to be done and how it is to be done. Autocratic leaders take
decisions independently and are not bothered by the members of the group. Also, autocratic
leaders are viewed as controlling, bossy and dictatorial (Fiaz, Su and Saqib, 2017). All the goals,
procedures and tasks are delegated by the leader and the members of the group have to follow
them. Autocratic leaders are not concerned about team members rather they are more focused on
how to achieve goals and objectives in an organization.
Laissez — Faire Leadership — In this leadership, rights and power to make decisions is given
to the followers or the team members. This leadership allows followers to have complete
freedom and perform their work accordingly. Leaders are more concerned about the team
members decision, and so they consider their opinions and work altogether with them so that
collectively they are able to achieve the goals and objectives which are being set for the
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perspective of providing clear vision to the organization. This style is effective to use when
followers are highly skilled, experienced and educated performing their work effectively.
Thus, CEO of Sainsbury should follow Democratic Leadership style. It is also known as
participative leadership. Because in this leadership style the leader and the team members
contribute collectively to achieve higher results leading to productivity. And also because this
leadership style focuses on the new ideas generated by team members and considered by leaders,
it leads to more participation along with growth in sills and abilities of the individuals in a group
or a team. The leader of group supports the ideas and share equal interest with team members.
Therefore, Democratic Leadership style is considered as most effective type.
D. Effects of power, influence and conflict at Sainsbury
French and Raven Forms of Power — There were six different forms of power that can
be used to influence others. These forms are — Coercive Power — This power is defined as forcing someone to do something against
their will. Coercive power usually causes resentment (Kovach, 2020). Reward Power — Reward power is the appreciation and benefits given to someone for
doing something. This is the most positive form of power. Legitimate Power — It is derived from the position from a set of formal relationships.
Individuals in this power are told what to do by following the rules and regulations at the
workplace or organization. Expert Power — This power is derived from the individual's expertise. This power is
about the personal traits, skills, competencies and experiences which an individual has
within while contributing all these factors to the organization. Referent Power — Referent power is based on being liked and respected as an
individual. Individuals in this power have perceived value, worth or attractiveness. It is
denoted as highly personal type of power which concerns individual's behaviour.
 Informational Power — Informational power is based on ability to control the flow of
information. It is very important power as all the necessary information and data provides
access in the informational power.
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Sainsbury should adopt reward power of French and Raven form of power. As
this power helps in indicating the performance of the employees and provide them benefits and
rewards to achieve goals. Reward power will encourage the employees to contribute and add up
to the quality work within the organization effectively (Da Silva, Neto, Coelho and et.al., 2019).
Effects of power, influence and conflict at Sainsbury can be described by considering all
the three factors as important aspects for the organization. Power effects the organization on
large basis as the form of power which the organization practices denotes the calibre and the
capacity to which extent can the company hold its value for as long as it is in the market. Effects
of influence in the organization refers to the factors which directly or indirectly impacts the
company or the organization at large. The influential aspect is one of the major aspects which
justifies the key elements. For example — internal and external environment, market structure,
employees etc. Effects of conflict on Sainsbury is analysing the situations or problems in which
conflict arises between the employees or on external grounds the competition between similar
segment organization.
E. Various types of motivation used at Sainsbury
Motivation is defined as process that accounts for individual's intensity and persistence of
effort towards attaining a goal. Different types of motivation are -
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs — It is motivational theory in psychology comprising a five —
tier model of human needs. These needs are defined as - Physiological Needs — Physiological needs consist of biological needs for human
survival. Eg air, food, shelter, warmth, clothing, sleep. These needs are very important
and prior for Sainsbury (Fallatah and Syed, 2018). Safety Needs — The second most important need for an individual is the safety and
security need. The security needs consist of the financial security, emotional security,
social stability, health and well-being. These factors play an important role for the
employees working in the organization. Love and Belongingness Needs — The third level of human needs is social needs which
involves feeling of belongingness. Examples — Friendship, intimacy, trust, acceptance
etc. These factors keep the employees motivated and therefore they work together by
maintaining cordial relationships with their peers.
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 Esteem Needs — This is the fourth level which is classified into two categories —
esteem for oneself and desire for reputation or respect from others. These two categories
helps the employees to identify their esteem and what they expect from the organization
or their subordinates. Self — actualization Needs — These are the highest needs in the Maslow's hierarchy and
refers to an individual's personal growth and self — potential. Employees of Sainsbury
ponder upon their personal growth by analysing their potential and improve the loophole
factors thereafter.
Vroom's Expectancy Theory — It is a cognitive process in which Vroom realized that an
employees' performance is based on individual factors such as personality, skills, knowledge,
experience and abilities. For this, Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence are defined - Expectancy — Expectancy aspect is believed as increased effort will lead to increased
performance. For right performance to be delivered by the employees there must be right
resources available constituting raw materials, time required to complete the work, to
have right skills to do the job (Patil, 2020). Instrumentality — Instrumentality refers to the belief that if the employees perform well
then valued outcome will be received. For this, clear understanding of relationship
between performance and outcomes. Trust and transparency in the process are the key
factors of the employees. Valence — The importance that the employees places upon the expected outcome is
denoted as Valence factor.
F. Corporate examples and literature for justification
Corporate examples for justification are as follows -
Tesco Company — The company considers that the business depends on two groups of people
customers and employees. The company appreciates that they have unique employees and so
company supports by rewarding them with benefits like flexible working hours, free or reduced
health rate benefits, competitive salaries, staff discounts, company share options. Tesco value
their employees by following the Taylor's motivation theory (Xinyun, 2018). The financial
rewards of the theory are the main rewards which the company provides to its employees. And
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not only through financial rewards but the company supports the varied lifestyles of their
employees through non — financial benefits. The company incite its employees through training
and development programmes held for the purpose of motivating them.
Hilton's Company — Hilton's follows corporate culture where the environment is fully fledged
works on the business which the company runs. The motivational theory which the company
follows is the transformational leadership style. This leadership style shows mutual motivational
relationship between the leader and follower. This leadership strategy provides vision, passion
and inspiration to the employees of the company for keeping them motivated. The company
focuses on both the factors which are employees and their performance (Abratt and Mingione,
2017). The motive of the company is to ensure that the employees of the organization promote
organizational goals and achieves them within the time period. Effectiveness and efficiency of
Hilton is measured as how the employees contribute to the organization collectively and what the
company offers to its employees foreground.
G. Recommendations
Recommendations/Suggestions to increase organizational performance are -
 Sainsbury should make use of Human Resource effectively which helps in forming new
business strategies. Because the Human Resource of the company impacts the
organization as whole along with the goals and objectives.
 The company should focus on the education of the employees as to which background
they are from which is reflected in their ability and skills of how they accomplish their
tasks and objectives.
 Organization should keep the customers in mind as to what their demand and needs are.
Customer engagement is very important for the company's growth and development. This
factor is as important as employees are important for the company. Customer needs and
requirements should be satisfied.
 Sainsbury should engage more on the quality of services and products which the
company offers. As products and services are the key factors of the company, the
enhancement should be more on the products which are delivered to the customers.
 Advancement in technology should be done for the operations' management to run more
smoothly and effectively. Technology is that aspect on which the reputation of the
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company depends upon, as the products are only valued when they reach the hands of
customers, and they approve its quality.
 Effective leadership practices should be followed by the organization so that the
organization structure is accordingly framed and the company follows the style of how
organization works altogether.
 Identify and remove roadblocks which arises in the organization. Because if they arise in
the company then it will hamper the employees performance and the entire entity on large
basis.
 Sainsbury should use training and development strategies effectively for the enhancement
in recruiting and selecting the employees so that the employees deliver their best of work
and performance.
 Corrective measures should be taken on the feedback which is been received by the
consumers.
 Financial assessment of company should be analysed for keeping the proper evaluation of
the past and present profits and losses. This measure will help identify the loopholes and
the production processes of the products.
Thus, these recommendations denote what measures are to be considered.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded from the above report that management style of Henry Fayol helped
in analysing the theory along with the fourteen principles. Along with this, functions of
management were also explained for the Sainsbury company to know the key aspects and
factors. Organization culture was assessed by demonstrating its key aspects like power, role, task
and person culture. Organization structure was explained by the line organization structure which
is followed by Sainsbury. Different leadership styles were explained which constituted
Democratic, Autocratic and Laissez — faire leadership styles depicting their key role and which
style should the company follow. Effects of power, influence and conflict were analysed by
demonstration of French and Raven model at Sainsbury. Types of motivation like Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs and Vroom's Expectancy Model were illustrated. And finally, corporate
examples of Tesco and Hilton company are explained along with the recommendations to
increase organization's performance.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
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innovative business climate.
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Human Resources Management Research, 2018, pp.1-10.
Da Silva, A.W.P., Neto, A.R.V., Coelho. and et.al., 2019. Correlations between power and
affective organizational commitment. Revista de Gestão e Secretariado.10(1).pp.91-
118.
Edwards, R., 2018. An elaboration of the administrative theory of the 14 principles of
management by Henri Fayol. International journal for empirical education and
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Xinyun, T., 2018, December. A Multimodal Critical Analysis in Business Discourse: the Case of
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[Online]
J Sainsbury PLC [Online] Available through
<https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/SBRY:LN>
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