Dissertation: Working Environment Impact on Tesco Performance

This dissertation investigates the impact of the working environment on employee performance at Tesco, a multinational grocery company. The study aims to analyze how factors such as job aids, cooperation, respect, management, and feedback influence employee outcomes. It employs a positivism philosophy, deductive approach, and descriptive research design, using a survey of 100 Tesco employees to gather primary data. The research explores the concepts of working environment and employee performance, identifying key factors affecting both. It examines theories like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two-factor theory to understand employee motivation and satisfaction. The findings reveal that Tesco's working environment has negatively impacted employee performance due to insufficient job aids, lack of cooperation, and inadequate feedback, thereby affecting the overall business and customer base. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for improving the work environment and enhancing employee performance within Tesco. The study's structure includes an introduction, literature review, methodology, data analysis, and conclusion with recommendations, providing a comprehensive analysis of the issue.

Running head: DISSERTATION
Analyze the impact of the working environment on employee performance: A Case Study of
Tesco
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Acknowledgement
Thank you to all of those who have helped listened and encouraged me throughout this study. I
am indebted to my supervisor ……………………. whose guidance, advice and patience have
been immeasurable. My sincere thanks to all members of the…………… [Mention your
university/college name], both staff and students, whose continuous support have made this
thesis possible.
I would like to thank all of the participants in the study: students, teachers and Local Education
Authorities, for the time and help given throughout. Without their participation, this research
would not have been possible. In this context, I am also thankful to them, whose research work
helped me to execute this paper well.
Finally, I thank my family, without whom this thesis would not have been started or completed!
Your encouragement and support have never faltered; thank you.

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Abstract
The employees form the backbone of the business organizations that determine the overall
success. It is the hard work, effort, commitment and dedication of the employees that ensure
organizational success. Issues in terms of the working environment of Tesco have been identified
that is affecting the performance of the employees. As a result, the overall performance of the
organization has hampered. The aim of the research is to analyze the impact of the working
environment on employee performance. It is important to analyze the impact of working
environment on the performance of the employees, as the employees are the main resources of
the business organizations. The research is significant, as this will provide an opportunity for the
researchers to analyze the potential reasons of lack of positive environment for the employees of
Tesco. The researcher has chosen positivism philosophy, deductive approach and descriptive
research design. In addition to, the researcher uses random probability sampling technique for
selecting 100 employees of Tesco that took part in the survey in order to determine the impact of
working environment on their performance. It can be concluded that positive working
environment has an impact on the performance of the employees. It can be seen that Tesco has
been unable to provide positive working environment to the employees that is hampering their
performance. The employees at Tesco have not been receiving job aids, cooperation, support,
mutual trust, respect, management and leadership and adequate performance feedback in terms
of appraisal and acknowledgement. As a result, the performance of the employees in Tesco is
deteriorating thereby, affecting the overall business and customer base. The employees
regardless of their age, gender and duration of being employed with Tesco have agreed that the
company has been unsuccessful in providing suitable working environment due to which their
performance is hampered.

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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction....................................................................................................................8
1.0 Overview...........................................................................................................................8
1.1 Problem statement.................................................................................................................9
1.2 Research aim........................................................................................................................10
1.3 Research objectives.............................................................................................................10
1.4 Research questions...............................................................................................................10
1.5 Research hypothesis.............................................................................................................11
1.6 Research rationale................................................................................................................11
1.7 Structure of the dissertation.................................................................................................11
1.8 Summary..............................................................................................................................12
Chapter 2: Literature review..........................................................................................................14
2.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................14
2.1 Conceptual framework.........................................................................................................15
2.2 Concept of working environment........................................................................................15
2.3 Factors affecting working environment...............................................................................16
2.3.1 Job aids.........................................................................................................................16
2.3.2 Cooperation and support...............................................................................................17
2.3.3 Physical work environment..........................................................................................17

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2.3.4 Mutual respect and trust................................................................................................18
2.3.5 Performance feedback..................................................................................................18
2.3.6 Management and leadership style.................................................................................19
2.4 Theory..................................................................................................................................19
2.4.1 Maslow’s hierarchy of needs........................................................................................19
2.4.2 Hertzberg’s two factor theory.......................................................................................21
2.5 Concept of employee performance......................................................................................22
2.6 Factors affecting employee performance.............................................................................22
2.6.1 Goal clarity...................................................................................................................22
2.6.2 Motivation.....................................................................................................................23
2.6.3 Working environment...................................................................................................23
2.6.4 Organizational culture and commitment......................................................................24
2.7 Impact of working environment on employee performance................................................24
2.8 Challenges of establishing positive working environment affecting employee performance
...................................................................................................................................................25
2.9 Summary..............................................................................................................................25
Chapter 3: Research methodology.................................................................................................26
3.0 Overview..............................................................................................................................26
3.1 Research outline...................................................................................................................26
3.2 Research philosophy............................................................................................................26

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3.2.1 Giving reason for choosing positivism philosophy......................................................27
3.3 Research approach...............................................................................................................27
3.3.1 Giving reason for choosing deductive approach..........................................................28
3.4 Research design...................................................................................................................28
3.4.1 Giving reason for choosing descriptive design.............................................................28
3.5 Research strategy.................................................................................................................29
3.5.1 Giving reason for choosing survey strategy.................................................................29
3.6 Sampling technique and sampling size................................................................................30
3.6.1 Giving reason for choosing random probability sampling technique...........................30
3.7 Data collection technique....................................................................................................30
3.7.1 Giving reason for choosing primary data collection technique....................................31
3.8 Data analysis technique.......................................................................................................31
3.8.1 Giving reason for choosing quantitative data analysis technique.................................31
3.9 Ethical considerations..........................................................................................................32
3.10 Accessibility issues............................................................................................................32
3.11 Summary............................................................................................................................33
Chapter 4: Data Analysis...............................................................................................................34
Chapter 5: Conclusion and recommendation.................................................................................46
5.0 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................46
5.1 Linking with objectives.......................................................................................................47

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5.2 Recommendations................................................................................................................48
5.3 Future scope of the study.....................................................................................................49
References......................................................................................................................................50
Appendix 1.....................................................................................................................................56
Survey questionnaire.................................................................................................................56

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List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual framework...................................................................................................15
Figure 2: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.........................................................................................20
Figure 3: Hertzberg’s two factor....................................................................................................22

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.0 Overview
The employees form the backbone of the business organizations that determine the overall
success. It is the hard work, effort, commitment and dedication of the employees that ensure
organizational success. Thus, it is important for the business organizations to identify the need of
the employees and fulfill them (Anitha 2014). There are various factors that affect the
performance of the employees. Out of the various factors, the positive working environment is
one of the most important factors that determine employee performance. The business
organizations comprise of a diversified workforce that has employees of different background,
culture, ethnicity, habits and behaviors. The diversified work force demands working
environment that facilitates the performance of all the employees. This is because the combined
effort and hard work of the employees determine the success of the business organizations
(Karatepe 2013).
Identifying the factors that result in establishing positive working environment provides an
opportunity for the business organizations to enhance the performance of the employees. This
allows the business organizations to strengthen the commitment of the employees by providing
them suitable working environment. As mentioned by Elnaga and Imran (2013), positive
working environment results in employee satisfaction that has several benefits for the business
organizations. It can be said that the satisfied employees are the most productive ones thereby,
leading to improved performance of the organizations. In addition to, the positive working
environment provides an opportunity for the business organizations sustain in the competitive
environment. As the employees are satisfied due to the working environment, they tend to give

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their best towards their job roles and responsibilities (Cascio 2018). Thus, unable to provide
suitable working environment hampers the performance of the employees thereby, resulting in
potential threats and issues for the business organizations.
Tesco is a British multinational general merchandise and grocery company has expanded
globally since its establishment. Welwyn Garden City, England, United Kingdom houses the
head quarter of Tesco. Keeping in mind the revenue and profit, Tesco is considered as the third-
largest grocery retail. Tesco has retail outlets all over Europe and Asia along with its presence in
over 12 countries. The estimated employees of Tesco that are currently working is 4, 76,000.
However, recently the performance of the employees of Tesco has been an issue due to the
current working environment. This has resulted in deterioration of the performance of the
employees. Thus, the research is commented in order to analyze the impact of positive working
environment on the performance of employees (Tesco.com 2018).
1.1 Problem statement
Issues in terms of the working environment of Tesco have been identified that is affecting
the performance of the employees. As a result, the overall performance of the organization has
hampered. The employees spend almost 8 hours of their shift in the organization that has a
diversified workforce. Thus, the business organization becomes a crucial part of their daily life
thereby, having a huge impact on them (Singh, Winkel and Selvarajan 2013). In Tesco, lack of
positive working environment has been noticed that has affected the performance of the
employees. Tesco is a multinational business organization that has a diversified workforce. Lack
of respect has been noticed among the present workforce in Tesco thereby, resulting in conflicts.
The present employees of Tesco lack adequate respect towards each other due to their distinctive
and varied ethnicity, background and habits. Another issue identified in Tesco in terms of the

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working environment is lack of cooperation and support for each other. As a result, the unity
among the present work force of Tesco is highly questioned, as the performances of the
employees are hampered. Lack of support, cooperation and respect among the work force of the
employees of Tesco has hampered the performance of the employees. The employees do not
communicate effectively as well as maintains distance from the fellow employees. It becomes
difficult for the employees to handle and work effectively during their shift timings due to lack
of positive working environment.
1.2 Research aim
The aim of the research is to analyze the impact of the working environment on employee
performance.
1.3 Research objectives
The research objectives are:
 To understand the concept of working environment and employee performance
 To identify the factors of working environment and employee performance of Tesco
 To assess the association between working environment and employee performance for
Tesco
 To provide suitable recommendations for improving the working environment in Tesco
1.4 Research questions
The research questions are:
 What do you mean by working environment and employee performance?
 What are the factors affecting working environment and employee performance in
Tesco?

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 What is the association between working environment and employee performance in
Tesco?
 What are the suitable recommendations for improving working environment in Tesco?
1.5 Research hypothesis
The formulated research hypothesis is:
H0: Working environment has no impact on employee performance
H1: Working environment has an impact on employee performance
1.6 Research rationale
It is important to analyze the impact of working environment on the performance of the
employees, as the employees are the main resources of the business organizations. In accordance
with the gap that has been identified for the working environment of Tesco and its impact on the
performance of the employees of Tesco. The research is significant, as this will provide an
opportunity for the researchers to analyze the potential reasons of lack of positive environment
for the employees of Tesco. Thus, recognizing and addressing the potential reasons of
appropriate working environment will also allow the researcher to access the relationship
between the working environment and performance of the employees. Thus, it will be possible
for the researcher to compare and contrast the performance of the employees with and without
the presence of positive working environment.
1.7 Structure of the dissertation
Five main chapters mainly comprise the overall structure of the dissertation. The five
chapters are introduction, literature review, research methodology, data analysis, conclusion and
recommendations.