Case Study: Pandemic's Impact on Workplace Transformation at Tesco

This case study examines the impact of the global pandemic on accelerating workplace transformation at Tesco. It begins with an introduction to workplace transformation and its importance in the context of the pandemic. The research aims to evaluate workplace transformation and analyze the challenges faced by Tesco employees. The research objectives include reviewing the concept of workplace transformation, determining the challenges faced by Tesco employees due to the pandemic, and investigating insights and strategies for better transformation. The literature review explores the concept of workplace diversification, challenges faced by Tesco during the pandemic (increased employee turnover, low productivity, improper communication, and inability to retain talent), and strategies for efficient transformation (focus on change management, boosting employee morale, and using digital platforms). The study employs a positivism philosophy and deductive research approach, using questionnaires and surveys for data collection. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are used, with a cross-sectional time horizon. Primary and secondary data are collected, and ethical considerations are addressed. The research also identifies the approximate cost, followed by data analysis and findings derived from the questionnaire responses.

Research Project
Title: The impact of the global pandemic on accelerating workplace transformation. A case study on
TESCO.................................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1.................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Research proposal including research question or hypothesis with literature review ...........3

P2 Appropriate research methods and approaches to primary and secondary research..............6
TASK 2.................................................................................................................................................8
P3 Primary and secondary research............................................................................................8
TASK 3...............................................................................................................................................15
P5 Communicating research outcomes for the intended audience............................................15
TASK 4...............................................................................................................................................15
P6 Reflection..............................................................................................................................15
P7 Alternative research methodology........................................................................................15
CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................17
APPENDIX .......................................................................................................................................18
QUESTIONNAIRE...................................................................................................................18

Title: The impact of the global pandemic on accelerating workplace transformation. A
case study on TESCO
INTRODUCTION
Workplace transformation in the process of enhancement of the work for skills and abilities in
order to keep up with the dynamic changes in the business strategy of the organisation. Due to the
covid-19 pandemic workforce transformation has rapidly shifted to the work from home environment
which has resulted in the workforce transformation. Organisation chosen is Tesco which was
established in 1919 and headquartered in the United Kingdom. It is one of the leading international
retail supermarket companies. The following discussion is based on the research aim and objectives
along with the literature review and data analysis with the help of questionnaire and findings with
proper conclusion and recommendation.
TASK 1
P1 Research proposal including research question or hypothesis with literature review
Research aim
To evaluate about the topic of workplace transformation along with analyzing the challenges faced by
employees due to the global pandemic. A research project on Tesco.
Research objectives
 To review about the concept of transformation in workplace.
 To determine about the challenges faced by employees of Tesco due to global pandemic that is
embarking on workplace transformation initiatives.
 To investigate about the insights and strategies that can be used by the Tesco to have better
and efficient transformation of its operations.
Research questions
 What is the concept of transformation in workplace?
 What are the challenges faced by employees of Tesco due to global pandemic that is
embarking on workplace transformation initiatives?
 What are the insights and strategies that can be used by the Tesco to have better and efficient
transformation of its operations?
Literature review

Literature review holds a special part in the whole research. It helps the research to gain a detailed
understanding about the topic. In this section all the secondary information about the selected topic is
been collected from various secondary sources are been published. The main reason to study the
literature review is to identify the gap between the past data of workplace diversification. This main
reason behind this is to help the researcher to gain the objective and aim in appropriate manner.
Explain the concept of workplace diversification?
As per the view of Ljubiša (2021), With the time the traditional way of doing work has change
with the modern ways and methods. The working environment has changed the way of working which
was done before 10 years. The concept of workplace transformation is gaining more importance with
the constant change in the surrounding. Organisations are planning a lot so that they can adopt the
dynamic situations in very effective manner. Many new technologies, workers and the environment
are be design in such a way that all the functioning can be done in flexible way. Workplace
transformation is a process where the whole workspaces of the companies are bring changed towards
more digital manner. Many digital platform are been adopted so that all the work can be done using
the network devices. This is done so that competitive advantages can be gained by the
organisation(Hamburg, 2019).
It is all about adopting the opportunity so that business can move forward in the race of
technology, innovation and surrounding. There are so many benefits that can be gained by the
companies if they adopt the strategies of workplace transformation. One of the important benefit is
enhanced productivity, as the employee are using more technology which help then to remove the
burden of the work as many repetitive work are been removed with the help of machines as well as
thee profit of the organisation are also increased as they can compete with their competitor in very
effective and efficient manner. The motivation level of the employee is also boost with the
transformation of the digital workplace. Second major benefit is better communication, with the help
of many software the internal communication and sharing of data is done in very effective way. This
helps the companies in improving the communication gap and built a strong workforce for them
(Haddud and McAllen, 2018).
Briefly identify the challenges that are faced by the Tesco during the pandemic which force them to
think about workplace transformation?
According to Bailey and Breslin (2021), With the hit of global pandemic, Tesco faces many
challenges which force them to adopt the workplace transformation. The challenges which are faced
are discussed below:

 Increased Employee turnover: When the Covid 19 hit the world, employee turnover has
increased a lot as they are not felling safe and secure to go office and work. Employee safety is
the major challenge that Tesco faces with the pandemic. The spread of virus is so dangerous
that most of the workforce want to work while be at the home so that they cannot infect by the
diseases. The turnover rate at the time in Tesco increases a lot which also affect their
productivity(Donthu and Gustafsson, 2020).
 Low productivity: When the lockdown was announce in the world whole operation are being
stopped. So to continue their productivity they need digital software which can help them to
enhance their productivity while sitting at some other place rather than in organisation. The
profit margin also decreases and employee revenue was so low in the first time after they are
gaining brand image.
 Improper communication: Many of the work are been doing while sitting at home. This create
the communication gap as employee are not able to share the information in most productivity
way. The network problem, noises and many more affect the Tesco. They do not have the
proper software that helps the employee to transfer the data in most effective way.
 Unable to retain talent employee: All the working are being stop at the time of the crisis.
People are not allowed to move outside which affect the Tesco as they are not able to attract
and retain the talented employee in their organisation. The recruitment process is being
disturbed by this(Kennedy, 2020).
Discuss the strategies that can be used by the Tesco so that better and efficient transformation of the
operation can be done in the workplace?
In the eye of Selimović, Pilav-Velić and Krndžija (2021), There are so many strategies that
can be acquired by the Tesco so that workplace transformation helps them in enhance their operation.
Focus on change management is one of the important strategies that can be adopted by them. If Tesco
with the help of the mangers audit the change that will gone happen when they change their working
in more specialised way than they can effectively see what the opportunities they will gain and how
the employee within the organisation will react on it. This will help then in improving their operation
in more better way. Second strategy that can be adopted by them is boosting the morale of those
employees of resist the change. Many workers are more comfortable in doing the job that they are
working with the same way in the past (Guruprasad and Murty, 2020).
So if Tesco want more digitalised space then they need to adopt the strategy of boosting the
motivation of the employee by teaching them the importance of the tools and techniques they will go
work on. Training and coaching strategy will help the employee to change their mind set towards

working in the transform work environment. The next strategy that they can adopt is using various
digital platform to gain the customer. There are so many social media which will help the Tesco by
attracting the customer toward them and then enhancing their production level. Gone are the days
when advertisement is only done through print media side. With the change social media platform has
gain more importance and help the organisation to increases their productivity by gaining the
customer base (Dhiman and Marques, 2020).
P2 Appropriate research methods and approaches to primary and secondary research
The research philosophy used in the current investigation is the positivism philosophy which is
valuable for the researcher as it has helped in collecting and analysing the data in the form of numbers
and given quantitative results. The research approach used in the current investigation is the detective
research approach because it is linked with the quantitative research and it is essential for the
quantitative information in minimum time duration. Research strategies selected is the questionnaire
and survey questions so that the opinions can be gathered from the individuals regarding work this
transformation due to global pandemic. in the current research investigation both quantitative and
qualitative research is used for the effective data collection and analysis of it so that the interpretation
can be done in a more effective manner. In terms of time horizon then the cross sectional approach is
used because it is based on the real situation and helps the investigator to complete every activity of
the study within the given time period. Collection method used is both primary and secondary
methods of data collection in the form of questionnaires and surveys along with the books and articles
information that are reflected in the current investigation. Sampling is the entire population through
which the entire data is collected in terms of opinions and there are 35 respondents in total who have
given the opinions regarding the survey questions. Research instrument is the questionnaire with the
help of which the information and data is gathered on the research topic and moreover it is not
expensive and less time consuming.
Timeline and Activity
Activities List Start date End date Duration in days
Identification of a topic 22.07.2021 23.07.2021 2
Literature review 24.07.2021 06.08.2021 14
Aim and objectives 31.07.2021 06.08.2021 7
Methodologies 07.08.2021 16.08.2021 10

Proposal 17.08.2021 21.08.2021 5
Questionnaire 10.10.2021 12.10.2021 3
Data Collection 13.10.2021 20.10.2021 8
Data interpretation 21.10.2021 30.10.2021 10
Conclusion and
discussion
01.11.2021 07.11.2021 7
Submission 08.11.2021 08.11.2021 1
Gantt chart
Activities
List/In days
2 7 7 5 5 5 3 8 10 7 1
Identification of
a topic
Literature
review
Aim and
objectives
Methodologies
Proposal
Questionnaire
Data Collection
Data
interpretation

Conclusion and
discussion
Submission
TASK 2
P3 Primary and secondary research
Cost used in conducting the entire research is approximately 1500 Euro and this is because this
is the amount of capital which helps the investigator in completing the project in a systematic way. It
is important for the investigator to have the access for collecting the primary information as well as
the secondary information in order to provide the authentic data in the current research report which
must be relevant for the reader. There are some ethical considerations which must be followed by the
investigator such as the entire study must be adequately and systematically done which is the essential
part so that data and information gathered must be private but not public. Respondents who are
involved in the current project must feel safe and free to share their opinions so that accurate data can
be collected for better analysis and interpretation.
P4 Appropriate analytical tools, analyse research findings and data.
Question 1: Do you have understanding about the workplace transformation?
Q1) Do you have understanding about the workplace transformation? Frequency
a) Yes 30
b) No 5

a) Yes b) No
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
30
5
Frequency
Q2) What is the importance workplace transformation? Frequency
a) Increased productivity 10
b) Reduced employee turnover 10
c) Improved creativity 15
a) Increased productivity
b) Reduced employee turnover
c) Improved creativity
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
10 10
15
Frequency
Question 3: In what manner global pandemic impact on workplace transformation of Tesco
Q3) As per your opinion, in what manner global pandemic impact on
workplace transformation of Tesco?
Frequency
a) Positive manner 25

b) Negative manner 10
a) Positive manner b) Negative manner
0
5
10
15
20
25
25
10 Frequency
Question 4: Negative effect of the global pandemic on Tesco workplace transformation
Q4) What are the negative effect of the global pandemic on Tesco
workplace transformation?
Frequency
a) Creation of barriers 15
b) Miscommunication 10
c) Dysfunctional adaptation behaviours 10

a) Creation of barriers
b) Miscommunication
c) Dysfunctional adaptation behaviours
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16 15
10 10
Frequency
Question 5: What type of issues Tesco is facing in managing the workplace transformation within
their organization
Q5) According your opinion, what type of issues Tesco is facing in
managing the workplace transformation within their organization?
Frequency
a) Ethnic and Cultural Differences 20
b) Language and Communication. 7
c) Gender equality 8
a) Ethnic and Cultural Differences
b) Language and Communication.
c) Gender equality
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
20
7 8 Frequency

Question 6: Several ways Tecso should adopt to overcome from global pandemic issues in an
organisation and also develop positive workplace transformation
Q6) What are the several ways Tesco should adopt to overcome from
global pandemic issues in an organization and also develop positive
workplace transformation?
Frequency
a) Learn about different cultures 10
b) Provide diversity training 12
c) Share knowledge 13
a) Learn about different cultures
b) Provide diversity training
c) Share knowledge
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
10
12
13
Frequency
Question 7: Advantages Tesco can gain from managing the workplace transformation
Q7) What advantages Tesco can gain from managing the workplace
transformation?
Frequency
a) Improved reputation of company 15
b) Improves cultural insights 10
c) Wider range of skills 10