Organizational Theory and Practice Report: Leadership at Sainsbury's

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of organizational theory and practice within Sainsbury's, examining various aspects of its management and operations. It begins with an introduction to organizational theory and provides a brief overview of Sainsbury's, including its CEO, Simon Roberts. The main body of the report delves into the management style, principles, and functions of management employed by the CEO, highlighting the collaborative approach. It then explores Sainsbury's hierarchical organizational structure, leadership style, and the effects of power, influence, and conflict within the company. The report also identifies the types of motivation used by Sainsbury's to engage employees, referencing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Furthermore, the report includes corporate examples to justify its stand and concludes with recommendations for enhancing organizational performance and a brief conclusion summarizing the key findings. The report uses various academic resources to support its claims.

Organizational Theory and
Practice
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
A) Management style, principle and functions of management .................................................3
B) Organizational Structure ........................................................................................................4
C) Leadership style .....................................................................................................................5
D) Effects of power, influence and conflict. ..............................................................................6
E) Type of motivation that used in Sainsbury ............................................................................7
F) Corporate examples to justify stand........................................................................................9
G) Recommendation & Suggestion ............................................................................................9
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
An organization is a combination of human resource and their respective duties and
responsibilities within different departments. People come together to attain certain objectives
and is the act of establishing reporting relationship. Organizational theory is the solution for
solving the problems faced by organization and determining various ways through which
organization can increase its efficiency and productivity. Sainsbury's is UK based supermarket
chain and it is the second largest retailer in UK. Current CEO of Sainsbury's is Simon Roberts.
In the further report management style, principle and function of management used by CEO of
and also the steps taken by the CEO for organizational structure will be discussed. Also the
leadership style of the CEO will be described and the effect of power, influence and conflict at
will be analysed. Lastly the type of motivation used by and certain recommendations will be
given in regard to enhancing the organizational performance.
MAIN BODY
A) Management style, principle and functions of management
The management style followed by CEO of Sainsbury's is collaborative management
style. This type of management style helps to cover the gap between the top authorities and the
lower authorities. In this type of management style the ideas and suggestions of employees and
people at lower hierarchy are also taken (Kiseleva. and et.al., 2017). Simon Roberts adopts this
management style which he encourages active participation of all the members in decision-
making and through this he creates a high level of transparency in the organization and in teams.
Under the management style adopted by Simon Roberts risk taking is encouraged and efforts are
made in the organization to build strong networks. In this style of management the
communication lines are kept open and also prevents silos (Chandolia. and Anastasiou, 2020). A
collaborative leader is one which have the following skills and attributes such as it acts as a
mediator and addresses the conflicts constructively.
The principles of management was given by Henri Fayol and it consists of 14 principles
which are division of work, scalar chain, remuneration, unity of command , unity of direction,
discipline, authority, subordination of individual interest to general interest, centralization, order,
esprit de corps, stability of tenure of personnel, initiative, equity. The principle of management
used by Simon Roberts is subordination of individual interest to general interest as he tries to
make coordination between the employees individual interest and the interest of the
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organization. He does not only try to put the organizational goals and forces employees to
achieve the targets of the company only but also Simon considers the goals and interests of
employees too (Budhwar. and et.al., 2019). He also adopts order in Sainsbury's as he ensures that
there is place for everything and everything must be at defined place. He also follows the
principle of unity of direction and keeps the employees with similar objective under one head.
The leader also adopts the principle of equity and also Simon ensures that there is fairness at the
workplace. The principle of initiative is also being followed by Simon Roberts as he gives a
level of freedom to create something new from the employees and carry out the plans.
Functions of management consist of planning, organizing, staffing, directing and
controlling but Simon Roberts mostly performs planning function and the controlling function
(Gablas, Ruzicky. and Ondrouchova,2018). He plans all the activities of Sainsbury and controls
it and ensures that if they are going as per the plans.
B) Organizational Structure
The organizational structure of Sainsbury is Hierarchical structure. In this type of
organizational structure the power remain with the single person or limited group of people at
the top position. As the flow of communication is limited therefore the communication overhead
in this type of structure reduces. There is formal decision-making and there is also clear line of
authority and responsibility. The employees of Sainsbury's under this organizational structures
have clear knowledge about their roles and responsibilities. Simon Roberts defines clear
reporting relationship within the organization to avoid any ambiguity. A tight control over the
operations in regard to quality and distribution of products and services is maintained. The
power under this structure remains at the top-level that is with Simon Roberts, and he gives
opportunity to the employees to develop expertise in their department which ultimately helps in
achieving high performance. Due to this organizational structure every employee is clear about
their roles and their reporting relationship which enhances their satisfaction level and contributes
in higher level performance in Sainsbury's.
In the pyramid first comes Simon Roberts which is the CEO of Sainsbury's and under
him there are two positions which are group HR director and group chief digital officer. Under
these two there are again two position which are chief financial officer and chief marketing
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officer respectively. Under chief finance officer there comes commercial director and under
chief marketing officer there comes group chief information officer.
The organizational culture of Sainsbury's is fortress culture in which the employees are not sure
about their development and commitment and also the employees are terminated when they
underperform and do not reach the targets. Simon Roberts can undertake certain changes to
improve the organizational culture of Sainbury's such as he makes efforts to coach their
employees and empowering them. He focuses on communication and make it effective. By
working onto the organizational culture the work atmosphere is enhanced and also the quality of
work is improved. Simon Roberts makes sure that employees suggestions are considered.
Also there is hierarchy culture in Sainsbury's in which the focus is mainly on structure
and stability. The chain of command and there is a way of doing things. Efforts are made by
Simon Roberts to convert the fortress or hierarchy organizational culture to clan organizational
culture. As in clan structure the focus is on team work and mentorship and the focus is on
employees. Simon Roberts is making a lot of efforts to make the organizational culture very
collaborative in which the human resource and the environment is also valued.
C) Leadership style
The leadership style followed by Simon Roberts is transformational as he is very
optimistic and resilient. Transformational leadership is a theory of leadership in which the leader
acts as influencer and motivates the employees to perform at their highest potential. To enhance
the organizational effectiveness and morale of employees transformational leadership theory is
used (Xie. and et.al., 2018). The leaders of this theory inspires their employees to innovate and
bring effective changes in the organization. Simon Roberts encourages ethical work culture with
high values and standards. He also emphasis on cooperation and open communication within the
organization and also provides coaching and mentoring to the employees. There are four factors
of transformational leadership such as:
Idealized influence – Simon Roberts serves as a role model for many employees and also it boost
their trust on the leader and the employees also trust the leader when the leader advises them
about any decision-making to be done.
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Individualized consideration – Simon Roberts encourages open communication among the
employees and also consider the issues of the employees and also fosters supportive
relationships.
Inspirational motivation - The leader communicates the mission, vision and values to the
Employees and encourages them to work enthusiastically and also fosters team spirit.
Intellectual stimulation – The transformational leader motivates the employees to innovate and
encourages creativity among them.
When the transformational leadership style is been followed by Simon Roberts it
empowers the followers to perform better, listens to all the concerns of the employees of
Sainbury's and encourage high values at the workplace (Nguyen. and et.al., 2017). By adopting
the transformational leadership style at Sainbury's, Simon Roberts can increase the
organizational effectiveness. The employees in Sainsbury's which are under the leadership of
Simon Roberts have higher level of job satisfaction and also increases commitments on the part
of employees.
The behavioural theory of leadership applies to Simon Roberts as according to this theory
the behaviour of the leader make him more influencing and relates to skills which are acquired
and learned during the period. The leadership depends upon the qualities possessed by the leader
rather than traits. According to this theory people can learn to lead and influence people in the
way they behave. The actions taken by Simon Roberts makes him a leader, and he can lead it by
following three skills such as technical, human and conceptual skills. The main benefit of this
theory is that the leader can decide which skills he or she wants to acquire which makes him
stand out among the rest.
D) Effects of power, influence and conflict.
There are various effects of power in the organization as if used well it can give positive
results and if used for malefide intention then can give negative results (Anicich. and Hirsh, J.
B., 2017). French and Raven's theory of power have described the power on five bases which
are:
Legitimate – Under this base it is believed that the person has the formal right to make the
employees work and in return they can expect obedience from the others. The CEO of Sainbury's
has the legitimate power.
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Reward – This power comes when the person can reward someone based on the performance
and Simon Roberts the CEO of Sainsbury has this power.
Expert - The power under this base comes form certain set of skills and knowledge which are
being possessed by the individual.
Referent – the power that comes from the company a person keeps and considers he has the right
to receive respect.
Coercive – This power comes when a person believes that he or she can punish others for their
non-compliance of tasks. The leader can force employees to do something.
Informational – This is the power in which the person has the ability to control the flow of
information which is important and crucial.
Influence is the lifeblood of the organization whether internal or external. It is an ability
to stimulate the efforts or actions of others (Qi. and Armstrong, 2019). Influence in the
organization can be from the following segments which are the individual, groups and the
environment. Simon Roberts tends to have an influence in Sainsbury's as his behavior, actions
and decisions tends to effect the employees and working of the organziation.
Conflicts are the inherent part of organization and it cannot be eliminated but the
conflicts can be handled in a healthy manner. There are both negative and positive effects of
conflicts in Sainsbury's such:
Negative effects on Sainsbury's are it can lead to decrease in productivity as if Sainsbury
spends much of their time in resolving the conflicts that occur now and then, the productivity can
hamper (Caber. and et.al., 2019). Also it may lead to increase in employee turnover as due to
conflicts frustration may arise within employees, and they can decide to leave. Mental health can
also deteriorate and can distract the employees from the main goal.
Conflicts also leads to creative solution to a given problem in the organization. If taken in
a right way conflicts can have positive effects such as it can lead to group unity, improve
communications and encourages effective decision-making.
E) Type of motivation that used in Sainsbury
There are various motivations are used within the Sainsbury that helps them, to
motivate their employees and make them more effective in their work. Leaders and mangers of
the company believe that motivation is necessary to improve the performance of the employees
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it also helps them to create trust within the workers (Howard. and et.al., 2020). Sainsbury's
leaders to motivate their employees take the help of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs theory:
Maslow's Hierarchy of needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of the needs is an motivational theory that covered some needs of
human that have potential to motivate employees and comes different level of needs within the
Pyramid and from the Bottom to upwards. Higher level provide greater satisfaction and lower
level fulfill the basic needs.
Physiological needs
Physiological need covered the basic needs in the human life like water, sleep, food
drink etc. Sainsbury provide all those faculties to their workers for their motivation and fulfill
their employees needs and demand.
Safety Needs
Once the Physiological needs are satisfied by the organization another step is Safety
Needs which relates to financial security, freedom from fear, social stability. To fulfil these
needs Sainsbury provide insurance polices to their employees and also have some medical
faculties to provide quick helps for the basic injuries. It helps to decrease the fear from the
employees, and they can work without having any fear in them and helps company to achieve
their goals and objectives. Sainsbury's also give staff incentives and provide reward scheme.
Love and belongingness need
Employees who are working at the workplace of Sainsbury are human, and they also
need to meed their close once like their family members, friends and create relationship at the
workplace. To fulfill this demand Sainsbury give their employees played leaves, so they can
meed their family manners and spent some times with them, it help them to motivate and
company also organize fun activities at their workplace so employees can create relationship at
their work and have good flow of communication.
Self Actualization needs
It is the highest level of need that need to be refer to the realization of a person's
potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences (Locke. and Schattke,
K., 2019). Leaders and mangers of the company should communicate with the employees and
make them under set their potential and how they are helping the company, it will help them to
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motivate, and they will understand their importance within the company and how they are
helping company to achieve success.
F) Corporate examples to justify stand.
As per the views of Fiaz, Su. and Saqib(2017) organizations have been engaged in
following various strategies of motivation. For example, Marks and Spencer's are been
engaged in making sure that employees stays motivated and also they are been able to achieve
set target and objectives. It has also been analysed that M&S is been engaged in providing
monetary satisfaction to their workers so that they can grow and also been able to increase
productivity of organisation.
On the other hand, Van den Bosch. and Taris (2018) argued that other companies have
been involved in enhancing motivation of workers by evaluating their needs and demands. For
example, organization such as Aldi take feedback from employees related to the gaps in their
policies. This has assisted them in increasing motivation of workers. It has also supported
company in achieving goals and objectives. As compared to this, AUTHORS () stated that
organizations motivate their employees by satisfying the two factors which are hygiene factors
and satisfiers. They also provide their employees with better salaries which satisfies their basic
needs in the Maslow's Need Hierarchy pyramid. For example, Tesco provides its employees with
different types of training to keep their interests in the company.
It has also been summarized from above review of literature that Sainsbury's must be
engaged in making use of appropriate motivational techniques, so that they can also be able to
grow. They can be involved in making use of monetary as well as non monetary rewards so that
satisfaction level of workers can be increased. It has also been analysed that this will assist firm
in enhancing self-esteem of employees. The productivity can be increased. Company can also
make use of other management strategies so that they can ensure that there has been an effective
use of resources. This will assist them in growing and also because of this they can be able to
achieve set target and objectives.
G) Recommendation & Suggestion
Based on the discussion done above some recommendations to improve organizational
performance are:
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For improving the organizational performance the performance of the employees must be
taken care off. Proper training must be provided to the employees and staff working at
Sainsbury's. Training related to handling the inventory, keeping the records of inventory and
other training which are necessary at the retail stores.
The organization came go for restructuring the strategy, mission, structure to improve the
organizational performance. For restructuring, various strengths and weakness of the
organizations or its systems must be identified. Simon Roberts can also redefine the roles of
employees and their responsibilities or make them familiar with any changes that are needed to
be done.
As in the future technology will take over in various segments and adopting the
technology can help the organization in enhancing their performance. Simon Roberts should
analyse different digital technologies and should select the most appropriate one for Sainsbury's
that helps them in getting competitive advantage.
Efforts should be made by Simon Roberts to identify the internal roadblocks and make
efforts to remove them and should work on the quality of distribution of products and services.
For improving the organizational performance the employee performance must be optimized.
They can use the data and facts which are had a recording of the employees' performance. Simon
Roberts can also adopt employee performance evaluation system.
Also simon Roberts should make efforts to make the workplace environment little fun
and encouraging positive work culture. Positive work culture can be encouraged by introducing
employee recognition program, promoting diversity etc.
Sainsbury should also try to reduce operational costs related to human resource and other
type of resources and should make efforts to increase the return on investment by making better
decisions after analysing all the factors which are both internal and external to the organization.
For gaining the trust of customers the company can also increase their level of
transparency in terms of quality of product and also they can focus on their supply chain
management to reach out to the market segments which are untouched.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that an organization is a combination of human resource and their
respective duties and responsibilities within different departments. The management style
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followed by CEO of Sainsbury's is collaborative management style and in this type of
management style the ideas and suggestions of employees and people at lower hierarchy are also
taken. The principle of management used by Simon Roberts are subordination of individual
interest to general interest, principle of unity of direction, principle of equity, principle of
initiative. Simon Roberts mostly performs planning function and the controlling functions of
management. The organizational structure of Sainsbury is Hierarchy structure. In this type of
organizational structure the power remain with the single person or limited group of people at
the top position. The organizational culture of Sainsbury's is fortress culture in which the
employees are not sure about their development and commitment and also the employees are
terminated when they under perform and do not reach the targets. Efforts are made by Simon
Roberts to convert the fortress or hierarchy organizational culture to clan organizational culture.
The leadership style followed by Simon Roberts is transformational as he is very optimistic and
resilient. The behavioral theory of leadership applies to Simon Roberts. Sainsbury's leaders to
motivate their employees take the help of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs theory and appropriate
examples are used to justify the stand of different corporate.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
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Caber, M. and et.al., 2019. Conflict management styles of professional tour guides: A cluster
analysis. Tourism Management Perspectives. 30. pp.89-97.
Chandolia, E. and Anastasiou, S., 2020. Leadership and conflict management style are
associated with the effectiveness of school conflict management in the region of epirus,
NW Greece. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and
Education. 10(1). pp.455-468.
Fiaz, M., Su, Q. and Saqib, A., 2017. Leadership styles and employees' motivation: Perspective
from an emerging economy. The Journal of Developing Areas. 51(4). pp.143-156.
Gablas, B., Ruzicky, E. and Ondrouchova, M., 2018. The Change in Management Style during
then Course of a Project from the Classical to the Agile Approach. Journal of
Competitiveness. 10(4). pp.38-53.
Howard, J.L. and et.al., 2020. A review and empirical comparison of motivation scoring
methods: An application to self-determination theory. Motivation and Emotion. 44(4).
pp.534-548.
Kiseleva, E. M. and et.al., 2017. Implementation of innovative management in the actions of the
business enterprise. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic
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Locke, E. A. and Schattke, K., 2019. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: Time for expansion and
clarification. Motivation Science. 5(4). p.277.
Nguyen, T. T. and et.al., 2017. Effect of transformational-leadership style and management
control system on managerial performance. Journal of Business Research. 70. pp.202-
213.
Qi, M. and Armstrong, S. J., 2019. The influence of cognitive style diversity on intra-group
relationship conflict, individual-level organizational citizenship behaviors and the
moderating role of leader-member-exchange. International Journal of Conflict
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Van den Bosch, R. and Taris, T., 2018. Authenticity at work: Its relations with worker
motivation and well-being. Frontiers in Communication. 3. p.21.
Xie, Y. and et.al., 2018. Leadership style and innovation atmosphere in enterprises: An
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