Analysis of Communication and Teamwork in Tesco and Zara (BUS201)

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EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & TEAM WORKING
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Executive Summary
The report essentially includes a comprehensive outlook on the various principles of
communication, group dynamics and team working in general and within two organisations
within the UK. The organisations chosen are Tesco and Zara due to the availability of
information and material resources. The report also includes the various stages and barriers along
with implementation procedures that exist within these organisations and how they have
influenced the general functionality as well.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Group dynamics...............................................................................................................................4
Communication................................................................................................................................8
Teamwork......................................................................................................................................11
Reference List................................................................................................................................14
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Introduction
Group dynamics refers to a scheme of mental, psychological and behavioural functionalities that
inherently occur within any organisation or a social group. The group dynamics of a particular
group within an organization depends on two aspects, teamwork and the communication
processes. Team work refers to the formation of effective and functional teams within the
organization, bringing all the members with similar experiences and talents within the same
group, so that the productivity of the group can be increased. Communication refers to the flow
of information within the teams and the groups, in order to ensure that the goals and objectives
behind the formation of the teams and the groups are effectively met. The assignment seeks to
study the various means of communication and group dynamics involved in the chosen
organisations. Theories related to group dynamics and effective communication have been
critically analysed and presented in an in-depth manner to provide a comprehensive overview of
the same. The important aspects of communication within an organisation have also been
outlined along with the barriers and hindrances that act as an obstruction to the communication
flow and the process of group dynamics and teamwork.
Communication
Meaning of communication
Communication in the broader sense of term fundamentally means the process of channelling
information from an individual, a group of individuals or one location to another (Barnlund,
2017). Any form of communication must comprise of at least three components – a sender, a
recipient and the information. Various things affect the flow of communication like preferred
medium, geographical location and even the cultural position. There are typically four forms of
communication, namely interpersonal, non-verbal, written and verbal. Communication faces a
host of barriers in workplaces and organisations, like language, attitude, emotional, technological
and so on.
Berlo’s SMCR model of communication
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The SMCR model was formulated by David Berlo in 1960 basing the theory on the Weaver’s
model of communication. The theory comprised of the various factors influencing the
communication to make it more efficient and essentially had four basic elements – the sender,
receiver, message and the channel. The sender acts as the source of the message whereas the
receiver is essentially the end of the flow of communication. The channel and the message act as
intermediary functions to complete the communicative flow (Gallois and Giles, 2015). Although
having been widely accepted, the theory received certain criticisms in the context of the absence
of feedback or barriers and that it followed a linear method whereby two-way communication
was essentially not considered.
Figure 3: Berlo’s SMCR Model
(Source: Created by the learner)
Communication in the context of Tesco and Zara
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In both the organizations, verbal as well as non-verbal communication is practiced extensively.
The verbal communication includes the usage of language for the communication of information
while the non-verbal communication utilizes gestures and sign languages as the mode for
communication. Since both the companies are involved with handling the customers directly, so
both verbal as well as non-verbal communication channels are relied on, by the employees, for
their operations.
The process of communication within these two organizations is very different and complex in
nature. Zara functioning more as a luxury brand focuses on direct communication and efficient
feedback system, both for employees as well as customers. It also relies heavily on the usage of
social media to address queries and feedback from consumers in different territories (Gamboa
and Gonçalves, 2014) and essentially negates the geographical barriers to communication. With
a relatively simple organisation structure, the flow of communication is very efficient and is a
key factor when it comes to their success. The training of the staff members in this context has
also been focused on by the organisation largely. Berlo’s model has seen implementation to a
certain extent whereby a transparency is maintained in the flow and all the components
accumulate to eventually form a steady flow throughout the organisation.
Tesco on the other hand follows a pyramid structure due to the extensive number of locations
and stores they operate. Interpersonal communication is high and somewhat structured, with each
location functioning individually and in an isolated manner. Catering mostly to people of all
classes, effective communication processes face certain limitations due to the presence of several
barriers. With heavy focus on quick responses and rapid transfer of information, the essence of
communication often misses out on clarity. They too use the Berlo’s model where a clear
distinction between the senders, receivers, channels and messages are maintained in order to
streamline the process and ensure optimum efficiency.
Communication and its link to Group dynamics within organizations
Meaning of group dynamics
Group dynamics as a concept has been long present since the modernisation of humankind and
has existed in several forms throughout (Bjerregaard and Jonasson, 2014). An effective study
and analysis helps any organisation largely in their choice of decisions, strategy of growth and
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development as well as to identify key social problems that might be creeping up due to various
psychosocial factors. To comprise a group, at least two individuals must be present adhering to a
structured societal structure. Groups within organisations typically have two distinct categories –
formal and informal (Hovmand, 2014). Formal groups include command, task and functional
groups whereas informal groups comprise of interest, friendship and reference groups at large.
Communication between the different group members in groups, be it formal or informal,
ensures seamless execution of the tasks that either of the groups are bestowed with, within the
organization. Training the employees on the usage of non-verbal communication channels aids in
the involvement of the employees with special needs within the work group and thus, enhances
the work-culture of the organization in a positive way.
Figure 1: Types of groups
(Source: Created by the learner)
Tuckman’s Team-Development Model
The team development model was formulated and published by Dr. Bruce Tuckman in 1965.
Initially comprising of four stages, a fifth stage was further added later on in 1970. The model
extensively describes the various developmental and behavioural functionalities that may exist
within a group, and although some similarities exist with other models like the Schmidt
Continuum, the Tuckman theory has generally received widespread acknowledgement.
The Tuckman theory describes a group through five different stages it goes through, namely
forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The forming stage is when the group is
initialised, where the leadership plays a very essential role. Personal accountabilities are not very
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precise, where the groups typically tend to depend on the management to provide a sense of
direction. Communication is an essential aspect in this phase as it helps in conveying the goals
and the instructions required for the formation of the team, within the team members. The
storming stage is the establishment phase whereby a lot of doubts and incertitude exist and
although a slight increase in limpidity is observed, challenges and power driven conflicts may
take place. The norming stage is where the group is normalized and a general sense of
agreement prevails. There is increased delegation both in term of responsibilities and individual
leadership, while the individual roles and accountabilities are well defined and precise. Effective
communication channels are formed in this phase, among the team members, which aids in
effective information exchange during the later phases.
The performing stage is the peak phase of any group, whereby productivity and performance are
the primary focus. Disagreements are mutually discussed and resolved to facilitate the
achievement of organisational objectives in an efficient manner. Requirement for assistance and
guidelines are relatively low and a general sense of direction is prevalent. The adjourning stage
is the final phase that any group goes through. Ideally, this occurs when the objectives are
achieved or completed and further targets are provided to establish new groups. However, certain
scenarios may occur whereby groups are restructured or broken-down as a whole. This is mostly
due to gross misunderstandings or miscommunications whereby the impact on the team would be
fatal and performance would suffer. Despite the widespread acknowledgement, Tuckman’s
theory received criticism on the context of being too simple and not factoring in any variables at
all, like specializations and specific objectives.
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Figure 2: Tuckman’s theory
(Source: Created by the learner)
Group dynamics and communication in the context of Tesco and Zara
Zara as a luxury brand has extremely specialized groups with individual focus on each product
and category. High-class customer bases generally tend to desire personal attention and direct
communication (Gallien et. al., 2015), mostly due to their high ticket sizes. Zara understands this
factor and emphasises on it as well through their training and development modules as well as
the implementation of the Tuckman’s theory, whereby specialized groups are formed and
monitored internally to ascertain the effectiveness and performance of the groups until the last
stage. It is specifically seen whether the trainees are being able to effectively execute official
communication within the workplace as well as with the consumers properly or not, before
concluding on the ability of the employees to perform well in the organization. Each product and
brand has divisions of highly specialized groups with all the relevant information that a
consumer could have queries about in order to serve more efficiently and covert a prospective
purchase into a monetary transaction.
Tesco on the other hand running on a mass model of sales, focuses more on quantity rather than
quality. This is also partly due the presence of an exponentially large store and operating facility
count. Moreover, all social classes are catered to at Tesco, ranging from cheap value meals to
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expensive luxury items. The Tuckman’s theory is also applied at Tesco whereby the different
teams are created in respect of the internal operations, and usually are spread out and dispersed
in nature in the context of functionality. Naturally, the teams are generalised and possess a
common overview as opposed to a specialized team in the context of consumers (Jones et al.,
2014). The need for direct communication within the group of employees still exists, however
the class of the target customers is mainly middle to upper-middle class, which is why the
communication is more reliant on verbal communication than the non-verbal communication.
The internal operations however have specific and specialized team to an extent, and this has
been a large factor in the success of the organisation as well.
Teamwork and its link to Group dynamics within organization
Meaning of teamwork
Teamwork fundamentally comprises of a collective effort among several individuals within a
group or several groups at large to attain a common organisational objective with the context of
mutual profitability and advancement (Chuang et al., 2016). There is a heavy flow of
communication and general interdependence among the members, and it is very essential for the
efficient functioning of the group at large. Teamwork within organisations offer a host of
benefits like facilitating unity, providing different takes and perspectives, new opportunities to
learn and grow personally as well as improve efficiency and create a sense of synergy within the
organisation. However, while most of the effects are positive in nature, certain instances may
present drawbacks as well, whereby there may be an influx of opinions and disagreements
(Galegher et. al., 2014). Seamless and effective communication is the key to flawless team work;
the team should be well-versed in both verbal as well as non-verbal communication, in order to
exhibit their readiness to work with others in the team and thus, bring about effective team
performance. Organisational objectives may be hampered due to different approaches to a
common goal or target, and in such cases, managerial tendencies are typically to resolve or
dismiss the problem at large using various control measures (Salas et. al., 2015).
T7 Model of team effectiveness
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The T7 model of team effectiveness was primarily formulated and prepared by Michael
Lombardo and Robert Eichinger in the year of 1995. The study essentially comprised of attempts
to understand and facilitate the various factors that affect the productivity within a team and how
efficiently they perform. Seven key factors were considered and put together and broadly
classified into two categories, namely internal factors and external factors. Internal factors
included thrust, trust, talent, teaming skills and task skills; whereas external elements primarily
included team leader fitness and team support from the organisation (Humphrey and Aime,
2014).
Thrust indicates the general organisational objective that drives the team and pushes it to
achieving the objective. Trust indicates the mutual understanding that exists within the team and
acts like a cushion whereby a lacking member or individual could fall back upon if necessary.
Talent indicates the skill set and the technical knowhow present within the team to efficiently
achieve and complete the given organisational objective. Teaming skills indicates the ability of
the individuals within a team to function as one single unit at large and their functional ability to
take on tasks and perform them efficiently as a collective instead of several individuals pooled
together. Task skills refer to the various ways in which the team in question can handle specific
organisational tasks and how they can achieve common goals efficiently. In order to facilitate
this, all of the above five components must be present and function together in an organised
manner. External factors like team leader fitness include the compatibility of the manager or the
team leader with the team and include several factors like managerial skill, ability, leadership
qualities and so on. Team support from the organisation essentially includes the overall support
and addressing of grievances, if any, by the organisation at large, and is very essential to the
performance of a team in general.
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Figure 4: T7 Model of team effectiveness
(Source: Created by the learner)
Teamwork and communication in the context of Tesco and Zara
Tesco offering services to all classes and almost all categories, usually implements a scattered
policy whereby teams could interchange roles quickly and efficiently to fulfil immediate short
term needs and goals (Felgate and Fearne, 2015). Operating a massive number of facilities and
stores, personnel management gets increasingly difficult and as a result, the scattered system
works best to immediately achieve specific objectives that may arise due to circumstantial
occurrences. In order to ensure that this system of teamwork runs effectively, both verbal as well
as non-verbal communication systems are resorted to, within the organization. Tesco heavily
relies on the T7 model to boost efficiency with the managers and authority playing a crucial role
in the process. The internal factors are established after detailed researches and analyses to
ensure there is no gap within the group or team.
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