Research Project: Tesco and Woolwish Employee Motivation

This research project analyzes the motivation management strategies employed by Tesco and Woolwish to enhance employee performance. The study investigates the relationship between motivation and employee performance, examining the motivational practices within Tesco. The research employs both primary and secondary data collection methods, including questionnaires distributed to Tesco employees and the review of academic literature, business reports, and online articles. The report identifies Tesco's commitment to employee motivation through non-monetary incentives and other strategies. The study also explores different motivational theories, such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's two-factor model, to understand the factors that drive employee engagement and satisfaction. The findings highlight the significance of employee engagement, training, and a supportive work environment in fostering a positive attitude towards work and achieving high performance levels. This report provides insights into how these companies utilize both financial and non-financial incentives to boost employee morale, improve skills, and enhance overall productivity, offering valuable information for understanding and improving motivation management in the retail sector.

RESEARCH PROJECT
An analysis of how Tesco, Woolwish uses motivation management to
enhance employee performance

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The success of any organization depends on performance of the staff members and the level
of motivation. From a long run, high level of significance is witnessed in motivation and employee
performance. This report is going to analyse how Tesco, Woolwish uses motivation management to
enhance employee performance. The objective of study is to assess the relationship between
motivation and employee performance. The report measures the motivation management practices
which are carried out in Tesco organization. Primary and secondary information is collected for the
present investigation. For gathering primary information questionnaire method is used in which
employees of Tesco, Woolwish are asked to fill responses. For secondary information, various
sources have used such as books, journals, business reports, online articles and so on. From the
report, it was found to be highly committed to motivate the workers. The company motivates
people through the non-monetary incentives.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................2
Chapter 1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................4
Research objectives .........................................................................................................................4
Significance of Study.......................................................................................................................5
CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW.............................................................................................6
CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................................................................9
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................9
Research Paradigm..........................................................................................................................9
Research Approach..........................................................................................................................9
Strategy..........................................................................................................................................10
Time-frame....................................................................................................................................10
Data Collection..............................................................................................................................10
Sampling........................................................................................................................................11
Ethics and Access Issues................................................................................................................11
Chapter 4 Data Analysis Findings......................................................................................................13
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations.................................................................................19
Reflective Statement...........................................................................................................................20
References .........................................................................................................................................21
Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................................23

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
Motivation is considered as an outstanding approach whose main motive is to generate
enthusiasm within the organization to accomplish desired goals and objectives of the company.
Further, high level of significance is present in order to keep customers of the enterprise happy by
keeping all the staff members satisfied. This allows business in enhancing overall productivity
along with the performance. Apart from this, it is well known fact that success of every organization
depends on performance of the staff members and this in turn allows in gaining competitive
advantage (Beardwell and Claydon, 2007).
With the help of current study, an analysis has been made to study how Tesco, Woolwich
works to raise and develop employee morale. Further, the emphasis has been laid over assessing the
different motivational practices which play an effective role in gaining the employee performance
and organizational productivity. The UK has giant retail industries with ample of firms who are
competitively working in order to strengthen their customer’s base (Overview of the retail sector in
the UK. 2016). For this, one of the largest company that is Tesco focuses highly on employees. This
is the reason that tends this retail firm to gain large market share in the competitive business
environment. The growth prospectus has been evidenced from the consistently rising growth rates
which contribute to be as major factors.
In respect to above stated aspect, it has been found that optimum utilization of working
practices of staff members, their potential enhancement through motivational theories and reward
practices and efforts for employee retention are some key aspects which are highly considered into
account by the Tesco. These factors and efforts add competitive advantage to the working of the
cited firm. Along with this, Tesco keeps activities which are associated with the overall employee
performance, their work commitment, dedication and efforts in the successful working of the
company in the entire retail sector of the UK.
Research objectives
The objectives of this research study are described as follows:
1. To determine if there is a positive relationship between motivation and employee
performance.
2. To measure the motivation management practices which are carried out in Tesco
organization.
3. To determine which motivational techniques or factors motivate the work force most or least
at Tesco company.
4. To analyze whether employees of this company are satisfied with their working
environments or not.

Significance of Study
Over the time, motivational levels of employees have been changed because of the changing
expectations of employees and their continuous demand of improved workplace. The present
research work \ is going to help in gaining greater insights about the key aspects which motivates
the employees in today's competitive scenario. The study has been conducted by taking into
consideration the Tesco company as a case study. It will help to gain an understanding that what
factors motivates the employees at the workplace. The significance of current investigation can be
said for contributing in making improvements in management practices in order to comply with the
employee needs. It is because the research will identify that up to what extent their employees are
satisfied with their job content and contexts and it can make a clear path to design strategies for
employee motivation

CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE REVIEW
Motivation can be considered as the crucial part of the human resource function. As per the
viewpoint of Hartman (2006), in order to stay competitive in the dynamic market, an organization
must bring innovation in the market. But this can be achieved only by motivating employees and
the motivation is the main push through which workforce can remain committed towards a firm. If
they are committed then they generate and implement innovative ideas so as to foster growth in the
company. Definition of motivation is described by Ankli & Palliam (2012) that “people who are
having the capacity for responsible actions, an inbuilt aspiration for learning and understanding
things as well and along with the desire of doing good at work and play.” In a similar manner, Dahl
& Smimou, (2011), has described the motivation as “a factor which exist among the individual who
possess the potential to affect the way, strength and eagerness of behaving towards the work.”
According to the statement of Gagne and Deci (2005), motivation occurs because of the
positive reactions which arises from the engagement in work practices and it also has a key impact
on the organizational performance. In support to this, Ankli & Palliam (2012) presented their
opinion that external pressures or other incentives are less motivational to workers then the intrinsic
values that includes job satisfaction, challenging job, responsibilities, authorities and many more.
Ivancevich (2006) explained that when an individual get salary satisfaction then only they get
highly motivated and more productive. On the contrary, Cheung & Wong (2011) stated that better
benefits and other monetary incentives motivate the workforce most then only salary. However, the
question remained that if money or intrinsic values of job motivate the staff members then it infers
that money is the highest motivational tool for employees. But this can be best understood by the
theories of motivation and those theories explains the behaviours and attitudes of employees toward
the work.
According to the theory of Agrawal (2010) motivation can be best explained. He has a high
concern for the employee motivation. This theorist has put forward a hierarchy of needs and has
said that each need is satisfied one at a time. Those five needs consist of physiological need, safety
need, social need, esteem need and self-actualisation need. On the contrary, Anitha, J. (2014) has
criticised this theory and has said that every individuals are not satisfied with similar need however,
different individuals are motivated by different needs.
Furthermore, another popular motivation theory is Herzberg's two factor models. The two
factors are hygienic factors and motivational factors. The former is known as factors related to job
context and the later is also called as the factors related to job content. In an opinion of Herzberg,

intrinsic factors which are related to work value is sustainable for long term which self motivate the
employees then the hygienic factors that are salaries, work environment, etc. They all are extrinsic
factors and they motivate the employees for shorter term. Along with that, Beardwell and Claydon,
(2007) has also supported this view. On the other hand, the motivational theory of Taylor has laid
more emphasis on the monetary incentives as the most important motivational factors. For example,
the company like TESCO motivates their employees through employee reward programme. These
are one of the incentives to motivate their workforce. This is how TESCO performs in similar to
Taylor's model.
According to Taylor´s research, it was found that people purely work for money, hence, it is
a motivational factor for them. In the investigation carried out in the form of case study of Tesco,
it has been witnessed that Tesco's Employee Reward Programmes have been designed while
considering Taylor”s theory. The financial reward packages provided by the entity are one
motivating factor. Nonetheless, a number of factors other than money which motivate people in
both their personal and working lives are there used by the mentioned entity. In some aspects, Tesco
is evident for moving far beyond Taylor and gives more than just a normal pay increase. This is to
be said that the organization supports varied lifestyles of individual employees through relevant and
targeted benefits.Along with that, the firm goes beyond this theory and it combines both the
financial and non-financial incentives in order to boost the morale of employees in order to take out
good performance out from them through motivation. Furthermore, the organization considers the
distinctive lifestyle of their employees by using targeted benefits. They provide incentives and
benefits like discount cards, free private healthcare, pension schemes, shared ownership and many
more (Tesco Plc, 2014). The business entity believes that non-financial factors can also motivate
employees for improving their performances. The company motivates people for improving their
personal skills to achieve promotions. The cited organization creates a good working environment
in which employees can feel valued, for this purpose business increases the level of communication
and ask for their opinions.
According to Martin and Fellenz (2010) by investing in employees through training and
development programme, it is likely to increase motivation of employees because it enhances their
skills, knowledge along with the increase in a high level of job satisfaction. In order to elaborate
employee skills, TESCO organize training programs and in turn provide rewards and promotions
based on the performance of workforce (Tesco Plc, 2014); Further, this raises intrinsic values on
employee work. Moreover, according to McClelland theory, there are three factors which motivates
the employees most. These consist of affiliation, achievement and power which are all included into
motivational factors of Herzberg’s. Generally, employees are motivated by financial and non-

financial elements. Managers are require to understand which factor works best for their employees.
As per the study of Martin and Fellenz, (2010), they stated that staff members are highly motivated
when company uses the combination of both factors as all the individuals have varied needs which
should be satisfied.
Furthermore, driving employee engagement puts a positive impact on their performance
(Anitha, 2014). McShane and Glinow (2003) commented that employee engagement helps in
capturing the hearts of employees in order to insert an intrinsic aspiration for excellence among
them. Further, by allotting financial incentives which are based on employee performance, TESCO
emphasizes more on employee engagement because they will get rewards for hard work. The study
conducted by Anitha (2014) which is based on the determinants of employee engagement and its
effect on performance, she found out that the working environment, team and co-worker
relationships are the key factors which trigger the engagement at workplace and this in turn raises
the performance of employees. Additionally, good leadership that involve employee's suggestion in
decision making process, consider their concerns and in turn create a healthy working environment,
they all assist in inspiring employees to perform in a better manner which could be beyond their
expectation (Cheung & Wong 2011). As per the expert view of May et.al, (2014) a supportive
business environment will enable employees to become more creative without the fear of failing. It
is because of the predominant importance for managers to understand those factors which initiate
the employees to possess a positive attitude towards job in order to gain a high performance level
(Beardwell & Claydon, 2007). As stated by Cheung and Wong (2011), the credibility of a firm is
highly reflected by employee engagement. Furthermore, Anitha (2014) progressed that engagement
can also be driven by acquiring the right people performing the right roles and having right
managers. Therefore, it is necessary to motivate employees in order to drive their engagement and
to enhance overall job performance levels which will help in ensuring a successful business.

CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology
In this section, research procedures will be outlined in order to provide a view that how the
research project will be carried out. This is comprised of research paradigm, research approach,
strategy, time-frame, data collection and analysis methods, sampling, ethics and access issues.
Along with that, limitation of the study has also been mentioned.
Research Paradigm
It is essential to have a high structured research as per the Anderson (2009) so that
hypothesis could be tested accurately and can have a proper layout of detailed information. Since
the study aims to measure the correlation between two variables so a positive philosophical posture
will be adopted. According to McGivern (2006) this approach is considered as the main approach
over the years and is used for social science research because it interprets the as it is situation. This
approach will help in expressing the reality of opinions which have been put forward by the
employees of TESCO. Reason for adopting this approach is that it is more objective and less
subjective in nature that would help the researcher to avoid subjective outcomes or assessments
from their own opinions.
Validity and Reliability of the research
Validity: As put forward by Creswell (2014), in order to check the successful achievement of
internal validity then it is necessary that outcome of the dependant variable is completely reliant on
the independent variable. Thus, there will be attainment of internal validity if there is a complete
reliance of dependant variable on the independent variable. It is very important to construct validity
of every research and the researcher cannot underestimate the essentiality of it. Linking results to
concepts will help in improving on construct validity of this research. For enhancing this it is
supposed to be measured or revealed in the study. Also the content of the survey is based on this.
The extent to which responses from several departments do not differ will also be a test of its
validity.
Reliability: In order to test the reliability of this study, the nature of the research should be highly
objective. The objective outcomes will not favour bias whilst interpreting results.
Research Approach
In order to define the nature of the relationship between motivation and performance
because it is the main focus of the research. This will allow the researcher to adopt a research of an
explanatory nature. It is good for the study as explanatory approach response causal relationship.
The major benefit of using an explanatory approach is that it will facilitate to round up

concluding stage of the research work which is based on findings. This is in contrast to the
exploratory research approach as it studies past published works (McNabb 2008). Using a
rationalist philosophical posture which is stated earlier, a deductive approach will be used in the
survey in order to assist the researcher to interpret the findings. The deductive approach which will
be used in the study will be derived from structured interviews and questionnaires.
Strategy
Quantitative research method will be utilized through surveys. This research approach is
viewed as the most beneficial while doing the research of issues as it need a clear understanding of
the most important factors which predict outcomes. Along with that it helps for an identification of
factors which trigger particular consequence. The testing of relationship between the variables is
involved in the given hypothesis which involves in the study (Yin, 2003). Therefore, deductive
method is applicable in such cases because it is opposed to the qualitative method which has led to
the formulation of a hypothesis whilst raising objectivity in analysis. By using deductive approach it
eases data collection from wide range of participants. This is a big advantage of using the present
method. Further, being numerical in nature, it facilitates statistical analysis and interpretation of
results.
Time-frame
A cross sectional time frame will be employed instead of a longitudinal time frame. It also
considers the time constraints on the study. It is very useful for the short term research projects. The
complete research will be undertaken for an eight weeks period of time.
Data Collection
By following the use of a cross sectional time frame by the researcher, collection of data will
be done at a point of time.
Primary Data
Structured questionnaire and interviews is the main sources of primary data. The
significance of these sources is that it maximises the time usage and make data collection process
easy. Employees will provide their response through the closes ended questions which will have
multiple choice options. By doing so, researcher will enabled to avoid gathering or receiving
information which may not be useful in the research study. Such questionnaire will ensure that only
necessary information which is required for the analysis has been received. Further, questionnaire
will be filled by the respondents privately and thus it will encourage the genuine responses from the
participants in a positive manner.
People have diverse ways of responding which may lead to misinterpretation of certain

questions. This may result in wrong responses. This issue can be rectified by accompanying
interviews along with the questionnaire. This will help to clear the doubts of participant and also
this will have more realistic understanding of their opinions. As said, structured interviews would be
conducted with the respondents along with the questionnaire filling.
Secondary Data
As it is known that secondary data are those which is already researched by others. In
respect to the present investigation various sources have used such as books, journals, business
reports, online articles and so on. Many of the articles written on TESCO's management practices
are used for the collection of secondary data.
After the collection of data, result will be quantified from the questionnaires in a percentage format
so as to analyze the data in an easier manner. To analyse the data thematic analysis method will be
used to make specific themes and to interpret the data.
Sampling
If there is a use of quantitative approach then it is advisable to employ a probability
sampling method. This is because it is the most suitable method for the study. For making the
process easier, stratified sampling size can be used which in turn will enable the researcher to
acquire lot of information from several departments. The reliability and validity of the study will
improve when the researcher will use stratified sampling method because representation of
workforce from various department will be assured. In order to successfully carry out the survey, 65
respondents will be selected for gathering information. However, a sample size of 65 participants
will be allocated for the survey. Along with that, survey will be spread among various departments
and functional areas. Stratified sampling process is outlined as per the below mentioned structure:
Finance 10
Marketing 15
Customer service 35
Senior Management 05
Total 65
Ethics and Access Issues
Floridi & Sanders (2002) explained that every entity that are an information object, is of
integral importance. Therefore it deserves moral respects. It should be assured that the information
of the employees, who are a part of this research, should be kept confidential. Along with that,

participation must be by their will and not by compulsion. Not only this, if they are feeling
uncomfortable then they should be free to withdraw their response at any point of time during the
course of study. This is considered as morally right because none of the respondents could be bound
for the research study. This falls in the ethics in research study which involves moral standards
while planning, carrying out and recording research results. Prior to the beginning of the research,
employees will be provided a briefing on the purpose of the survey, why it is being carried out and
will complete a consent form. Moreover, the permission will be taken from the director of TESCO
Woolwich in order to gain access for undertaking the research study. Further, this is based on the
fact that researcher is a part time employee at the outlet of TESCO Woolwich.