Analysis of Leadership Styles and Models at Tesco PLC

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report analyzes Tesco's leadership styles and models.

MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
1. Explain difference between the leader and manager...............................................................2
2. Examine, utilizing relevant examples, different organizational leaders your selected
company has had in the past. You should highlight their differences and similarities in your
answer..........................................................................................................................................4
3. Apply two of the following models to your selected organization illustrating with examples
situational leadership, contingency leadership and system leadership models...........................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Situational leadership.......................................................................................................5

Introduction
The current unit or task is discussing with the purpose of developing knowledge of different
principles of management and operations. The unit will enable the learners to identify and use of
different fundamental concepts and tools for improving leadership and management performance
to ensure effective management and operations of the business earn maximum benefits. The unit
will discuss different principles and fundamental concepts with reference of Tesco that is the
third largest retailer in the world and sells groceries and general merchandise to its customers
worldwide.
1

Task 1
1. Explain difference between the leader and manager.
In the business organization, leadership and management are important aspects that ensure the
effective management and operations of the business organization. Leaders and managers
perform different functions and play important roles in operating and managing the business
activities and human resources within the business organization. The current task is discussing
the discussing the difference between the leaders and mangers of Tesco retailer organization.
Definition of leaders and managers
Leaders are important person in the business organization that execute the plan, coordinate with
managers and motivate and guide employees for accomplishing the assigned task of the business
organization. It is the role of leaders in the Tesco to guide, instruct and motivate its team
members or employees for performing their assigned task to achieve business goals. On the other
hand, managers are the person that performs different functions such as planning, organizing,
commanding, coordinating and controlling for achieving the desired goal of the business
organization (Algahtani, 2014). Managers in the Tesco retail prepares plan and marketing
strategies, organize resources, and command, coordinate and control employees for achieving
their business targets efficiently on time.
Differences between the leader and manager
Leaders create a vision, manager creates goals: Leaders in the Tesco create vision and focus on
that how to execute a plan and accomplish the assigned tasks by adopting possible appropriate
method. Leaders think differently from others and guide, instruct and motivate their team
members to accomplish the assign tasks on-time efficiently. On the other hand, managers in the
Tesco retail mainly focus on developing, measuring and accomplishing the desired gaols
(Dinkmeyer and Eckstein, 2015).
Leaders are unique, managers copy others: Leaders are unique that thinks and performs their
functions and roles differently from others. They develop their own ideas and strategies to
accomplish the assigned on -time efficiently by influencing and leading their team members. On
2

the other hand, managers copy style and behaviours of others and adopt management and
leadership style of other experts for performing their functions efficiently.
Leaders take risks, managers control risks: Leaders in the Tesco take risks to accomplish their
assigned targets within given specific time and resources. They always try new things and take
calculative risk to achieve their targets as they know that failure is step toward the path of
success. Managers make efforts to control risks or problems for getting positive outcomes
(Pantano, 2014).
Leaders build relationships, managers build systems and processes: Tesco is one of the largest
retailers in the world so its leaders mainly focus towards building healthy relationships with and
trust towards stakeholders fulfilling their promises. Managers on the other hand focus towards
building effective systems and processes within the organization to achieve desired objectives.
Leaders coach, managers direct: Leaders in the Tesco check that their team members are
competent and optimistic about their assigned work or not then coach and guide to enhance their
competency. On the other hand, managers direct employees in right direction so that desired
targets can be achieve on-time (Ellis and Abbott, 2015).
3

2. Examine, utilizing relevant examples, different organizational leaders your selected company
has had in the past. You should highlight their differences and similarities in your answer.
Tesco is the third largest retailer in the world and its current CEO is Dave Lewis, who joined the
Tesco in October, 2014. Dave Lewis left the Unilever to become the CEO of the Tesco this is
because of stepping down from the post by the previous CEO Philip Clarke. Dave Lewis became
CEO or leader of the Tesco when it was revealed that Tesco has overestimated its profits (Evans
and Mason, 2018). Tesco decided to chose Dave Lewis due to his many leadership qualities and
experience that he gained while working in the Unilever for national as well as international
market at different posts.
Dave Lewis possesses various leadership qualities that made him effective leaders within the
Tesco. Lewis’s creative and innovative skills enable the Tesco to earn highly satisfactory profit
and also established good market image and value in the retail sector. An effective and quick
decision –making skills of Lewis enable him to take crucial decisions in extreme critical
situations and hence ensure maximum benefits to business organization (Sohmen, 2015).
On the other hand, the previous CEO or leader of Tesco was Philip Andrew Clarke who left the
Tesco in September, 2014 because of overestimation of the Tesco profit and later in October,
Lewis joined as the new CEO or leader of the Tesco. As per retail analysis report, it has
identified that Philip Andrew Clarke was the street-fighter and his leadership skills was not much
beneficial for the Tesco retailer. He was good decision-maker like Lewis but lack of integrity and
commitment skills forced him to left the Tesco (Mekraz and Gundala, 2016). As per retail
analytical report, Clarke was good communicator that had good influenced on their team
members in the Tesco retail organization. Therefore, both the leaders Philip Andrew Clarke and
Lewis possess some similar as well as different leadership qualities that proved themselves as
good leaders.
4

3. Apply two of the following models to your selected organization illustrating with examples
situational leadership, contingency leadership and system leadership models.
There are different leadership approaches or models that leaders in the Tesco can apply to lead,
guide and instruct their team members for accomplishing the assigned business targets efficiently
and effectively. Use of appropriate leadership model or approach by leaders in the Tesco can
positively influence their team members and enable them towards attaining the assigned work
more efficiently. There are given below two popular leadership models or approaches that
leaders in the Tesco can use to perform their roles and attain targets.
Situational leadership
As per this leadership model, leaders in the Tesco can apply their leadership styles or behaviours
as per skills and competencies of their team members or employees as different employees come
from different background and possess different skills. Use of appropriate leadership style will
help the leaders to influence employees positively and achieve assigned task on-time with the
help of team work (Thompson and Glasø, 2015). In the situational leadership model, there are
four different leadership styles such as directing, coaching, supporting and delegating which
leaders can use as per suitability of the situation at the workplace in the Tesco.
Figure 1: Situational leadership
(Source: http://atodorov.org, 2017)
5

Directing: As per this leadership style, leaders in the Tesco direct their team members or
employees that what to do and how to do the assigned task so that tasks can be complete within
given time efficiently.
Coaching: as people within the Tesco possess all required skills and competencies but they are
not fully developed so leaders can focus towards developing skills and competences their team
members by providing them proper coaching (McCleskey, 2014).
Supporting: As people in the Tesco posses skills and abilities but if their skills and abilities are
not competent to achieve the final gaol, then leaders can provide support to them to perform their
roles more efficiently and achieve the assigned targets of the business.
Delegating: In this phase, people or employees acquire sufficient skills to perform their work
efficiently and hence leaders delegate roles and responsibilities among them so that they can
perform their self. Also, this phase develop or give new future leaders to the business
organization (Thompson and Glasø, 2015).
System leadership
This leadership model or approach suggests that slight change in the internal system within the
organization could provide maximum benefits to the business. By applying system leadership
model, leaders in the Tesco can create effective environment at the workplace where all
employees or people will work efficiently as per their potential (Senge et.al, 2015). Leaders can
use appropriate human behaviour principles to develop effective organizational strategy, system
design and good leadership models
6

Conclusion
The discussion in the current unit or task has concluded that leaders and managers in the business
organization can use and apply different principles and fundamental concepts or tools of the
management and operations for providing maximum benefits to the business in the competitive
environment. The unit or task has discussed the differences between the leaders and managers by
taking the example of Tesco retailer. Leaders can use or apply different leadership models such
as situational, system and consistency leadership for ensuring effective management and
operations of the business.
7

References
Books and Journals
 Algahtani, A., 2014. Are leadership and management different? A review. Journal of
management policies and practices, 2(3), pp.71-82.
 Dinkmeyer, D. and Eckstein, D., 2015. Leadership by encouragement. CRC Press.
 Ellis, P. and Abbott, J., 2015. Exploring the differences between leaders and
managers. journal of renal nursing, 7(2), pp.96-97.
 Evans, B. and Mason, R., 2018. The lean supply chain: managing the challenge at Tesco.
Kogan Page Publishers.
 McCleskey, J.A., 2014. Situational, transformational, and transactional leadership and
leadership development. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 5(4), p.117.
 Mekraz, A. and Gundala, R.R., 2016. Leadership style and retail store performance-A
case study of discount retail chain. Journal of Business and Retail Management
Research, 10(2).
 Pantano, E., 2014. Innovation management in retailing: From consumer perspective to
corporate strategy.
 Senge, P., Hamilton, H. and Kania, J., 2015. The dawn of system leadership. Stanford
Social Innovation Review, 13(1), pp.27-33.
 Sohmen, V.S., 2015. Reflections on creative leadership. International Journal of Global
Business, 8(1).
 Thompson, G. and Glasø, L., 2015. Situational leadership theory: a test from three
perspectives. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(5), pp.527-544.
Online
 Situational leadership, 2017 [Online] [Assessed through]
http://atodorov.org/blog/2017/11/11/4-situational-leadership-styles/[Assessed on
19th March, 2019]
8

9