Leadership & Management Theories in Tesco: An In-depth Analysis

This report provides an in-depth analysis of leadership and management concepts within Tesco, drawing upon various theoretical frameworks to differentiate between the roles of leaders and managers. It begins by exploring Zaleznik's theory, which contrasts leaders who embrace chaos and innovation with managers who seek stability and control. The report then delves into Stogdill's Trait Theory, Lewin's Style Theory, Taylor's Classical Theory, and Drucker's Management by Objectives, examining their relevance to Tesco's operational practices. Furthermore, it discusses Fiedler's, Blake and Mouton's, and Drucker's leadership theories, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in the context of Tesco's organizational structure. The report offers examples of leadership and management roles within Tesco, illustrating how different theories are applied in various situations to achieve organizational goals, emphasizing the importance of both leadership and management in driving Tesco's success.

LEADERSHIP AND
MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS
OF TESCO

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager............2
2 Analyse and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a manager by
effectively applying a range of theories and concepts.................................................................3
3 Use your chosen organisation(s) to give examples of the roles of leader in different
situations and the role of manager in different situations............................................................8
4 Leadership theories of fiedler, druker, blake and mouton......................................................11
5 Critical analysis and evaluation of these approaches to leadership........................................13
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................17

Introduction
Management operation is conceptualized with the controlling and designing of the organization
operations. This report will discuss about Zalezniks theory which will specify the role of
managers and leaders. It will provide brief description between management and leadership. This
report will also states about Stogdill’s Trait theory, Lewin’s Style theory, Taylor’s Classical
theory and Druckers theory which will relates with each other in analyzing the functions of
leader and manager. This report will also specifies about the Fiedler’s, Blake and Moutons and
Drukers theories of leadership which will specify the strength and weaknesses of managers and
leaders. This will also states about the way of working throughout the organization by the
managers and the leaders.
It will also focuses on how the leaders should work with their workers and how managers should
follow the basic guidelines to work for an organization to bring the organization at desired
position. The purpose of this report is to investigate the impact of leaders and managers on the
operations of Tesco. Looking at the various leadership theories of Zalezniks, Stogdill, Drucker,
Fiedler, Blake and Moutons, the role of a leader and the function of a manager will be
differentiated and applied in given contexts.
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Task 1
1 Define and compare the different roles and characteristics of a leader and a manager
Zalezniks’ theory - leaders vs. Managers
What is a Leader vs. a Manager? Simply put, Leaders lead people and directs the efforts of
others through inspiration and motivation. Managers manage tasks and by virtue of their
position, have the authority to instruct employees to carry out those tasks.
A successful business needs both if to drive it towards its vision and its delivery of services.
Abraham Zalezniks’ theory which he wrote in 1977 provides a definition of the roles of
managers and leaders whilst highlighting differences between management and leadership. He
does this through the idea that it lies in the conceptions managers and leaders hold, deep in their
psyches, of chaos and order. “Managers embrace process, seek stability and control, and
instinctively try to resolve problems quickly—sometimes before they fully understand a
problem’s significance (Zalezniks’ theory - leaders vs. Managers, 2018). Leaders, in contrast,
tolerate chaos and lack of structure and are willing to delay closure in order to understand the
issues more fully. In this way, Zaleznik argued, business leaders have much more in common
with artists, scientists, and other creative thinkers than they do with managers. Organizations
need both managers and leaders to succeed, but developing both requires a reduced focus on
logic and strategic exercises in favour of an environment where creativity and imagination are
permitted to flourish.” (Harvard Business Review, 2004).
Zaleznik brought avant-garde themes. He pointed out that “managerial leadership unfortunately
does not necessarily ensure imagination, creativity, or ethical behaviour in guiding the destinies
of corporate enterprises. Leadership inevitably requires using power to influence the thoughts
and actions of others. Management consists of the rational assessment of a situation and the
systematic selection of goals and purposes (what is to be done?)" (Jona, 2018)
Having defined the roles of managers and leaders through Zalezniks’ theory, we will now look at
other leadership theories and how each of those either relate or apply to TESCO.
2

2 Analyse and differentiate between the role of a leader and function of a manager by effectively
applying a range of theories and concepts
There are a number of leadership theories written, however for the purpose of this report, this
section focuses on Stogdill’s, Lewin’s, Taylor’s and Drucker’s and how TESCO apply these
today.
STOGDILL’S TRAIT THEORY
Ralph Stogdill wrote his leadership theory in 1974 based on the assumption that people are born
with inherited traits, some of which are particularly suited to leadership (Learn to be a leader,
2018). Those with the sufficient combination of traits would therefore make good leaders.
Stogdill identified the following traits and skills as critical to leaders (Brainmass, 2018)
• Adaptable to situations
• Alert to social environment
• Ambitious and achievement-orientated
• Assertive
• Cooperative
• Decisive
• Dependable
• Dominant (desire to influence others)
• Energetic (high activity level)
• Persistent
• Self-confident
• Tolerant of stress
• Willing to assume responsibility
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• Clever (intelligent)
• Conceptually skilled
• Creative
• Diplomatic and tactful
• Fluent in speaking
• Knowledgeable about group task
• Organised (administrative ability)
• Persuasive
• Socially skilled
(Brainmass, 2018)
Stogdill’s Trait theory for leaders is attractive as it is easy to understand and an example of this
having been the influence is found on one of TESCO’s current job advertisements; where they
seek a Local Campaign Manager to join their consumer PR team. Apart from the required work-
related skills and experience of their ideal candidate, TESCO further detail personal skills sought
in the right person which includes:
 a confident, sociable type who enjoys working as part of a lively and dynamic team
 Well organised, flexible, pragmatic, creative and a lateral thinker (Study.com, 2018 a).
Someone with an inquisitive mind who’s motivated and always wants to do the right
thing for our customers
 a good communicator at all levels (not a chatterbox or a waffle, but articulate and
persuasive) (TESCO Careers, 2018)
 able to present work to people of all levels and disciplines (Edology, 2017)
4

 comfortable leading an initiative from an early stage and communicating the plans to the
business, while displaying the attention to detail, prioritisation and problem-solving skills
needed to spot and deal with challenges as they crop up
 comfortable with ambiguity
 Driven and proactive. As a new team, we’re shaping our world, so you’ll need to be able
to drive projects forward using your initiative and internal contacts (TESCO Careers,
2018)
 Adaptable. From time to time, you may be asked to work on campaign communications
outside of the PR channel; so you’ll relish the opportunity to learn new things
 more than capable of juggling lots of different tasks at the same time
 someone who’s invested in personal development and who can support the wider team
 unflappable
(TESCO Careers, 2018)
It is evident from many of those personal skills listed by TESCO above, that Stogdill’s trait
theory is very much the benchmark applied. That is, those qualities desired in a manager working
for TESCO are matched with those skills identified by Stogdill as traits critical to leaders.
Another theory which
Lewin’s Style Theory
In this theory Kurt Lewin mentioned the factor that for making decisions the leader should
choose the right type of style of leadership. The three types of styles are as follows:
Autocratic
In this type of style, the leader takes all decisions by leader without consulting anybody. In this
method, the discontentment has been notified because of not taking any help by anybody.
Democratic
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In this style, the decision is being taken by listen other people also. The last decision is taken by
the leader, which is mentioned in the group by the leader (Kurt Lewin's Styles of Leadership ,
2018).
Laissez-Faire
This style keeps away the leader from the decision making process, it gives permission to the
people to take their decisions, but the decisions taken by the people will have its own outcome
which has to be faced by them (Laissez-Faire, 2018).
Taylor’s Theory
It is the theory of management which stimulates the flow of work in the management. Its aim is
bring efficiency in economy, majorly in productivity of labour. Scientific management is also
called as taylorism, because of founder Frederick Winslow Taylor. His theory is been used many
businesses and firms of manufacturing for achieving organizational goals. This theory is
recognized by the planning of production, control of production, designing process, control of
quality, accounting and other economics.
Four Principles of Scientific Management
1. Applying rule of thumb which states easy habit and sense full way of completing any given
task.
2. Employees are being train to work at their high level of efficiency, by giving them proper
motivation and encouragement (Taylor’s Theory, 2018).
3. Checking the work of employees and giving proper guidelines and instructions of work so that
they can work in easy and effective manner.
4. Distributing the work among managers and other employees so managers can focus on
preparing the employees for working in most effective ways.
6

Drucker’s Theory
The phrase Management by objectives (MBO) is bought by Peter Drucker in “The Practise of
Management” book (1954). MBO is used to check the performance of employees in an easy
manner.
SMART Method
To check the validity of any objective this method has been brought into existence. The
managers has verified this acronym for the objective which is to be specific always, can be
measurable, should be achieved, have real facts and figures, and it should be time oriented.
Knowledge Worker
This term is also introduced by the Drucker using theories of management by him. The worker of
the knowledge is judged as the executive of any organization as he has many innovative ideas to
get the real fact and figures (Cramer, 2017).
Decentralization
Drucker wants the management to be fully decentralized. Most of the leaders try taking powers
to control each and everything as they assume that they can only complete their tasks in a correct
way. So the Drucker thought to have authority to the managers to take some sort of control over
their employees so that the people working cannot face pressure while completing their work.
Having looked at other leadership theories and how each of those either relate or apply to
TESCO, the next section will provide examples of the role of leaders and the role of managers
within the organisation and in different situations (Cramer, 2017).
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3 Use your chosen organisation(s) to give examples of the roles of leader in different situations
and the role of manager in different situations
A leader is a person who lets his employees to see the real picture of the organization by
providing them a proper motivation and encouragement to achieve organisational goals. Manager
is a person who has responsibilities of managing the organization by his duties and some
guidelines.
Roles of Leader in an Organization:
1. Required at all Levels – Leadership is very much important in management. At the top level
management, to implement the policies and plans, proper co-operation is very much needed. At
middle and lower level, the plans and policies which are made by top management should be
executed. By guidance and good counselling to subordinates the leadership method can be
properly applied (Heathfield, 2017).
2. Organizational Representative – The leader is the person who is known as organizational
representative which has the equal right to take decisions regarding any conferences, meetings
and seminars where steps of growth of enterprise has to be decided. He is the leader of his
department also which he himself guides.
3. Integrates and reconciles the personal goals with organizational goals – By using his
leadership quality with the help of integration and reconciliation the employees personally held
goals are also achieved with the goals of organization. For achieving goals, he collects all the
efforts made by the employees to reach some specific purpose. It can only be done if he avails
the leadership quality by influencing and cooperating with his employees.
4. As a friend, philosopher and guide – The leader should have these three elements. Leader
can be a good friend so that he can share his ideas, feelings and needs with employees.
Whenever the employees need him he should provide intelligent and experienced ideas to them
which can make him a good philosopher. Leader should possess the ability to guide their
employees and let them know the plans and procedure which has been decided by the top level
management (Heathfield, 2017).
8

Essential Roles of a Manager
Hire Great People – The managers are there to recruit great and effective man power, but
sometimes due to tough process of recruiting or selection somebody they hire less deserving
people which should be avoided by managers so to maintain proper position into the company.
Performance Management
This term contains people-management nature which is the part of manager’s work. This defines
the work of manager like setting goals and tasks, to measure the results, mentions problems
while performing any task, giving feedback, providing training and reviews of completed tasks
of employees. While analysing each and every point he has to make proper report for all
employees.
Team Development
The manager is also known by his team which he had to guide for achieving organizational goals
by giving high level of performance. The group of people who work independently is least
successful than group of people who works as a team.
Setting Overall Directions
The manager has the capability to follow both long term and short term ideas to give proper
direction to the organization. The manager has a powerful tool to be used i.e. strategy which
identifies objectives and vision of the team. The managers who always waste time in thinking of
strategies always try to change the decided plan.
Being an Important and Supportive Team Member
The author of “The Five Dysfunctions of Team” states that the first number team should be
owned by manager not by others. The manager should be supportive to their team members so
that the employees can win all battles without having any fights which brings increase in growth
of the organization.
Improve Processes and Quality
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The employees should take charge of their work which is done by them with the proper quality,
and on that basis the manager should check all the work together of all the employees so that the
good position of employees can be decided by the manager. By this all employees will take
responsibility to make required improvements in work.
Communicate Information
The manager should keep in mind about the flowing of all information in all the directions of the
company. It should reach all the levels of the organization so that there is no mishap caused due
to miscommunication.
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4 Leadership theories of fiedler, druker, blake and mouton
Fiedler: Fiedler theory is based on the leadership quality. It enhances three elements: relation
between leader and member, power of the position and structure of the task. Theory states that
the efficient work depends on the perfect combination between style of leader and the given
demand. He believed that the style of leadership is gained by the real experiences from the life.
According to Fiedler, the salary, their discipline and giving time to time promotions are the
major factors which can affect the work efficiency of leader. This can bring a great boost in the
working style of any leader. Fiedler wants that one should not focus on given leadership style,
instead of that, the person should be helped in learning leadership style so that he can cope up
with the given situation (Dininni, 2017). For understanding of leadership style, he bought the
idea of least-preferred co-worker scale. Some people are great leaders than the other ones, is the
example of limitation of Fiedler‘s model.
Blake and Moutons: The managerial grid model (1964) is based on 5 leadership styles which
states major concern for people and production. The grid training is used to check the leadership
style by providing them a set of questions is the major advantage of this model. The demerit
states that it does not follow all the aspects of leadership.
Druckers Theories of leadership: Druckers theory states that subordinates should be given
chances of risk taking, learning and growing in the work area.
Decentralization
Drucker wants the management to be fully decentralized. Every employee should be valued and
feel power to work within firm and should have for liking their work. For achieving
organizational goals he thought that the work given to their employees should be liked by them
and should bring all staff together (Cramer, 2017).
Knowledge Work
Engineers and analysts are known to be as knowledge workers which should have knowledge of
how to handle and use information. Drucker wants that environment in which employees can
give and use innovative ideas.
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Management by Objectives
Management by objectives states that employees of different levels should work together. For
working as a team they should share their ideas to make common place in an organization
(Cramer, 2017). This will help in making a complete team for achieving goals and performing
tasks. MBO has five steps which include: Firstly, reviewing of goals. Secondly, deciding
objectives, thirdly, monitoring the progress, fourthly, performance evaluation, fifthly, and
rewarding employees.
S.M.A.R.T
Drucker focused on this process while practising his MBO to give increase in tasks related to
work. The objective of the acronym is as follows: Specific- the tasks performed should be clear
and should have specific area to be covered (Cramer, 2017). Measurable- tasks are to be
calculative according to their requirement. Achievable- the task should be completed on time so
to avoid loss. Relevant- tasks should be very much clear so that information can be easily
accessed from the task. Time Oriented- The time consumed while completing the task should not
be exceeded.
12

5 Critical analysis and evaluation of these approaches to leadership
Leadership is an opportunity to prove ourselves in the front of the entire world to that only best
people will lead. Leadership is way to knowing about self, having a goal of good
communication, learning how to attract and build trust among the team and taking decisions to
know own skills (Webster, 2018).
Different approaches to the leadership
1. Position based leadership:
In this definition people decides leaders. These decisions usually took the higher authority. In
this leadership people gives more importance to a position of leader of instead of character
(Webster, 2018).
2. Person based leadership:
In this definition people focused on person’s character. It is also known as character based
Leadership. This type of leadership character and work make a leader.
3. Result based leadership:
In this leadership people focus on results of the leadership. We focus at the result of the work in
the leadership of a person and decide the qualities.
4. Process-based leadership:
This leadership focuses on leader and their field of work. In this leadership leader focus on the
process which is his/her strength. As per this definition leader leads the process in which he/she
have very good knowledge (Webster, 2018).
After the reading above approaches we only get one thought that leadership cannot define in one
definition.
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Here are some Leadership theories which will help to define Leadership:
Trait Theories:
In the leadership studies trait was the first organized attempt. Theories make difference in the
qualities and characteristics of the leader and his team (Psychestudy, 2018). Trait helps people to
take required actions to be a successful leader for his team.
Behavioural Theories:
For a successful leadership leader’s behaviour is the best forecaster of his leadership results.
Behaviour is the important key skill of a successful leader; if a leader will lead the team with a
good and positive behaviour they will defiantly achieve the goals with the quality (Ebrary.net,
2018).
Following are Behaviour based two important studies on leadership:
 Ohio State University Studies (1940s)
 University of Michigan Studies (1950s)
Skills Theory:
The skill theory was an improvement to the trait approach. Trait theory has a drawback as the
people who do not have the traits will not be able to become good leaders. Skills theorists
focused on the skills which the leaders need to have become good leaders
Contingency Theory:
As per the contingency theory, there is no style of leadership which can ensure effective
leadership. The makeup of a leader for different working environment is different. The theory
focuses on the skills of the leader as well as the environment which helps make a leader better
(Study.com, 2018 b).
14

Great Man Theory:
“Great leaders will arise when there is a great need.” There is few research were based on the
some people who were known as a great leaders. In these few peoples are come from the lower
classes and they got the opportunity to lead and they become a great leader. Some of people
believe in a saying which says when time needs a man would arise with the great skills.
 Leader-Member Exchange Theory:
As per this theory leaders maintain their positions in a group by exchanging thoughts and
agreements with a series in their team. According to this theory leaders have special relation with
a team of trusted advisors, assistants & colleagues to whom they give responsibilities and all
accesses. All members need to follow instructions of the leader (Mindtools, 2018).
All above approaches define leadership to the understanding the leadership but those are not
providing a complete definition of leadership. So we led a conclusion that the leadership is not
define by the words because “Leaders are born, not made” a very true said.
15

Conclusion
This report has been concluded that leaders and managers plays very important role in making of
successful organization. The leaders are the persons who guides and shows the major instructions
for completing any specific tasks given by the leaders by influencing them on the basis of salary,
promotion and bonuses. This conquers a sense of responsibility among the employees. Leaders
are the ones who can motivate and encourage their workers for doing proper work for the
organization. It also concludes about the managers who are the important part of any
organization, they conducts seminars, conferences and meetings to discuss future related tasks
and company’s growth. Manager also helps in managing the organization by hearing of all levels
of employees. It also mentioned the theories of leaders and managers like Fiedlers, Blake and
Moutons, Drukers, Taylor’s Classical theory, Lewin’s Style theory etc, which will help in
growing of an organization.
16

References
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