Leadership and Organizational Culture Analysis: Waitrose Supermarket

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Waitrose's organizational culture, examining its influence on employee behavior and motivation. It explores the impact of culture, power, and politics within the organization, highlighting the company's consumer-oriented approach and its clan culture type, which emphasizes teamwork and employee well-being. The report delves into the application of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to understand how Waitrose motivates its employees, addressing physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs. Furthermore, the report discusses the role of organizational politics and power dynamics in shaping employee behavior and achieving organizational goals. It emphasizes the importance of a positive work environment, employee growth, and effective communication in fostering a productive and motivated workforce, ultimately contributing to Waitrose's success and growth. The report also touches upon the role of leadership in the organization.

ORGANISATIONAL
CULTURE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Part 1................................................................................................................................................1
P1 Influence of culture, politics and power on the behaviour of others in Waitrose..................1
P2 Motivational theories used within Waitrose influencing others behaviours..........................3
Part 2................................................................................................................................................6
P3 Understanding of an effective team as opposed to an ineffective team.................................6
P4 Application of concepts and theories of organizational behaviour in situations...................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

INTRODUCTION
It is important for an organization to maintain strong organizational culture in order to
achieve growth and success. The below report identifies the organizational culture of Waitrose. It
is a British supermarket which operates a retail business. Its one of the largest employee owned
type businesses across the globe and United Kingdom. The company is having 353 retail outlets
throughout the country and its headquarters are situated in Bracknell, Berkshire, United
Kingdom. The report identifies the influence of culture, power and politics on the behavior of
others in Waitrose and evaluates in what ways individuals can be motivated to achieve goals.
Along with it, the report focuses on creating an understanding in what ways work can be
cooperated effectively with others (Balmer, 2017). Also, required philosophies and concepts are
applied in given business situations for Waitrose.
MAIN BODY
Organizational culture refers to encompassing behaviors and values which contributes in
the unique psychological and social environment of Waitrose. It is important for the organization
to have such culture that brings success and growth along. In order to have a better
organizational culture, it is important for the organization's management and leadership to keep
transforming its culture in such ways that it is serving the needs and requirements of the
stakeholders perfectly. Understanding and fulfilling these needs allows Waitrose to manage its
operations well and set a environment which is positive and understanding of the employee
needs and demands. It helps the organization to grow and develop its services accordingly.
Overall, it is an important aspect for Waitrose to achieve success and growth and maintaining a
better organizational culture helps it in achieving the same. Below mentioned are the important
organizational culture theories used within Waitrose to maintain a better and strong
organizational culture:
Part 1
P1 Influence of culture, politics and power on the behaviour of others in Waitrose
Waitrose is a consumer oriented organization which means that the organization in order
to ensure growth and success tends to follow consumer needs and demands and its strategies,
products and services, etc. are prepared as per their needs and desires.
The culture of the organization is one of the major aspects that helps the organization to
break its set limits and achieve set growth and advantage (Heller and Rowlinson, 2018). The
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culture of Waitrose is positive and its people are often following the organizational set standards
in order to fulfill the individual and team goals accordingly. Having such culture helps Waitrose
to create an environment where its people are working happily and are satisfied. The
organization is having Clan culture type, in this type of the culture the working environment is a
friendly one. People of the organization have a lot of things in common and is it same like a large
family (Cannon, 2017). The executives and leaders of the organization are observed as mentors
and as father figures. It is held together by tradition and loyalty and is having a huge
involvement. Waitrose in its culture emphasizes long-term development of human resource and
bonds colleagues by its morals. The success within the organization is mainly defined with the
framework of addressing the client needs and caring for the people and consensus, teamwork,
and participation is promoted within the organization.
This kind of culture within the organization environment makes the employees feel safe
and ensures their professional growth and development. Along with it, the employees feel more
positive and are works are per their complete potential in order to achieve required growth and
success (Wren, 2016). This helps the organization to fulfill its consumers needs and demands and
achieve profitability as well. The major benefit of having such culture is that it promotes growth
of the employees. For example, when the organization's employees are having a positive
environment to work into, they tend to yield more growth for the organization. In this manner,
they work as per their full potentials and learn new things in order to keep growing and maintain
continuous learning. It helps both the organization and its people to seek growth and
development.
The politics of the organization is another major aspect that transforms the behavior of
others in the organization. The politics going on within the organizational environment tends to
develop a certain mentality within the mindset of the organizational people. It depends on the
kind of politics they are a part of. The politics which only seeks the growth of the self without
appreciating understanding its stakeholders and employees needs and requirements often fails to
achieve growth and diminishes the organizations capacity of achieving its goals. In Waitrose, the
organizational politics in defining, it helps the organization to achieve set growth and advantage.
Defining politics tend to manage and achieve the organizational goals by supporting its
employees growth first. In this politics, the employees are put first and an effective
communication is established within them in order to share values, opinions and decisions. The
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management of the organization often creates strategies in which it deals with employees stress,
their work pressure, needs and requirements etc. It helps the organization to create such
environment where its employees are sharing their concerns with each others and their seniors. It
helps the organization to achieve development and ensuring better growth.
The power practiced within Waitrose is legitimate or positional. In this power, it is
derived from the position which a person holds in an organizational hierarchy (Lischinsky,
2017). For example, In Waitrose the power of the organization flows from both top-to-bottom
and bottom-to-top approaches. In this, the employees of the organization tends to provide
required needs and developments to the management of the organization. After, evaluation and
analyzing the management of the organizational as per these needs and requirements set
strategies, developments and provides directions to its employees accordingly. This provides the
employees with required directions as well as helps them in maintaining a better advantage over
the provided power. It helps them to achieve growth and development and does not creates any
sort of dominance within the organizational environment. This kind of power helps in achieving
growth and development and maintains organizational environment.
P2 Motivational theories used within Waitrose influencing others behaviours
It is important for an organization to motivate its employees in order to achieve required
profitability and growth. In order to ensure motivation, organizations across the world makes use
of a variety of theories to motivate their employees in order to achieve set growth and
development. Waitrose, in order to motivate its employees and influence their behavior makes
use of Mas-low's hierarchy of needs motivation theory. Below explained is the usage of theory
and how it helps the organization to achieve growth and advantage and influence its employees
behavior:
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(Source: What Mas-low can teach us about leadership, 2017)
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory of motivation. It is comprised of five-tier model
of needs of human needs which are often depicted as levels of hierarchy within a pyramid. From
the bottom to the upwards hierarchy in pyramid the needs are physiological, safety, love and
belonging, esteem and self-actualization (Thomas and Haskins, 2018). The lower needs in the
pyramid of hierarchy needs to be satisfied before the Waitrose attends to the needs which are
higher up. Below explained in what ways Waitrose makes use of these needs in order to
influence its employees behavior: Physiological needs: Physiological needs are the biological requirements for the survival
of a basic human being (Floriani and Amal, 2018). For example, these needs are air,
food, drink, shelter, sleep and clothing. These needs required to be satisfied first by
Waitrose in order to ensure that their employees biological needs are being satisfied
completely. In order to do that, the first thing which organization considers is
understanding the requirements of food of its employees. Waitrose provides good quality
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Illustration 1: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

food to the employees during their shift timings. The food is fresh and the quality of the
food is best. This provides the employee with good food and they tend to work with full
capacity without getting sick and facing any health issues. Also, good food provided by
the organization helps the employees to motivate in providing best efforts to ensure
growth and development and maintain organizational growth. Safety needs: The safety needs in Maslow's hierarchy includes provision of better
security, order, stability, and freedom to the employees of the organization. In order to
ensure this, the organization ensures provision of better security to its employees.
Provision of better security ensures that the people working in the organization are safe
and secure and their needs are being satisfied. Also, it helps them to keep their security
concerns outside and focus on the particular work which they are doing. It is an essential
factor which helps the organization to motivate its employees in working faster in
achieving their set goals and work towards bettering the overall organizational
profitability and standards. Love and belonging needs: This ensures that the needs of belonging and feeling of the
employees of Waitrose is being fulfilled by the organization. It is important for the
organisation to understand the needs of its employees belongings (Park, 2016). These
needs includes interpersonal relationships needs and satisfactory needs. For example,
Waitrose fulfills its employees personal needs by understanding what is making each and
every employee feel satisfied and belonged to the organisation. Such as, an employees
when provided with better salaries and incentives makes him feel satisfied and create a
sense of belonging for him towards the organisation. It maintains the employees feeling
of achievement and help them in achieving better growth and advantage. It is one of the
most important aspect which the organisation takes care of towards employee satisfaction
and to motivate them towards achieving individual and team goals. Esteem needs: The needs of esteem is classified into two categories by Maslow. The first
category is the need of esteem for oneself such as dignity, achievement, mastery, and
independence and the second category is the needs of respect or reputation such as
prestige and status. Waitrose in order to fulfill the needs of esteem for its employees and
in order to motivate them makes use of strategies such as providing them with
opportunities to stand the best between the team and employees of the organisation. The
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human resource department of the organisation organizes such activities where
employees of the organisation are provided with gifts and employee of the month/year
awards (Nkomo, 2018). This helps the organisation to motivate its employees by
regularly provide them with new achievements and growth prospects. It helps them to
fulfill their needs of esteem. Other important aspect which the organisation takes care of
is the fulfillment of respect and reputation. In order to ensure that, the organisation
creates an environment and promotes a culture where its employees are provided with
respect and value. In order to do that, better communication, respect and professionalism
is promoted by the human resource department and the employees are regularly trained
with new skills to improve themselves in order to provide better respect to the colleagues
and seniors. It fulfills their set needs of respect and ensure proper motivation and
organizational growth.
 Self-actualization needs: In this needs of Maslow, the realization of personal potential,
fulfillment of self, seeking peak experiences and personal growth are explored. It is
important for Waitrose to fulfill these needs in order to ensure that the organisation is
retaining its employees for a long-term by regularly motivating them. This can help the
organisation to achieve growth and advantage and maintain its employee advantage. For
example, in order to ensure that its employees are realizing its peak potential Waitrose
makes sure that each and every employee working within the organisation is provided
with opportunities to develop themselves and advance themselves on new stages of
growth (Swaffield, Evans and Welch, 2018). They are regularly promoted as per their
potentials and set of skills and the employees which lack skills and knowledge are
provided with constant training and development opportunities. This provided the
employees and people working the organisation with motivation to grow themselves
completely and change their attitudes in learning and development. It helps the
organisation to retain its employees and ensure better growth.
Part 2
P3 Understanding of an effective team as opposed to an ineffective team
Teamwork is an essential in order to achieve growth and success. Waitrose ensures that
its employees are involved in better team work to achieve profitability and growth. In order to
ensure better teamwork Waitrose makes use of effective strategies such as motivating its
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employees, and providing them with required training's to increase their efficiency. Better
training increases team efforts and maintaining better advantage of having success of the overall
team in achieving a set of goal. Below explained the characteristics of an effective team and an
ineffective team:
 Effective Team: The characteristic of an effective team include better coordination, better
understanding of team members, following set rules and guidelines, initiation, helping
each other in achieving set goals, motivation etc. An effective team always tends to have
better coordination with the team members (Camilleri, 2018). This coordination ensures
that they are understanding each other and are putting efforts in growth and development
of each other. The team members tend to develop a nature of understanding between each
other, they communicate their differences, share their skills and manage time effectively
in order to achieve set goals. Better communication allows them to keep their differences
apart and work for the team goals together, along with it, it ensures that each of the team
members are sharing their opinions, ideas, etc. with each other. It is one of the most
important aspect of team development and an effective team have these qualities within
them. Other essential qualities which an effective team have is initiation. The team
members showcase initiation while there is anything new arrives. This helps the team to
maintain motivation as its motivates the employees which are working within the team
tend to feel motivated when one of the team members shows initiation in achievement of
goals and objectives. It is one of the most important aspect that a team holds in order to
achieve set growth and development and ensures achievement of goals.
In what ways Belbin Theory is used in Waitrose to increase team efficiency Resource Investigator: This is a sort of inquisitive nature used by the team to find ideas
which are later bring back to the team. Team-worker: This worker helps the team to gel. The team-worker uses his versatility in
order to identify the required work and tends to complete it one behalf of the team. Coordinator: His job role is to focus on the objective of the team and draw out team
members along with delegating them with work properly. Plant: This individual is highly creative and imaginative in the team. Monitor Evaluate: It provides a logical eye, makes impartial judgments and weighs up
the options of the team dispassionately.
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 Specialist: The specialist is responsible to bring in-depth knowledge to the key areas of
the team. Shaper: He is responsible to provides a necessary drive in order to ensure that team
keeps moving and does not loose focus or momentum. Implementer: He is responsible to plan a strategy that is workable and carry out these
strategies as efficiently as possible. Completer Finisher: Required at the time when tasks are ended in order to polish with
scrutinizing the work for errors. He maintains the highest standards in order to ensure the
quality control within the team.
 Ineffective Team: An ineffective team does not follows the set rules and guidelines for
teamwork. The individuals working in the team are not cooperative with each other.
When this situation occurs in Waitrose, most of the employees are not successful in
achieving individual and group goals. Also, it is hard for the organisation to achieve
better growth and advantage when the team is working ineffectively. In order to ensure
growth and advantage, the organisation develops new prospects of growth within the
team to build its efficiency again. Ineffective teamwork leads in profitability issues for
the organisation and makes it hard for the organisation to survive and prosper. Along
with it, ineffective teamwork tends to create disturbances within the team and the team
members feels like having a hard time with each other while working. It is important that
good team work is ensured within the organisation and the overall needs and
achievements are being achieved within the team.
RELEVANT GROUP AND DEVELOPMENT THEORIES USED IN WAITROSE
Waitrose in order to ensure effective team development makes use of Tuck man's stages
of team and group development (Pearce, 2016). This model is widely known as a basis of
effective team building. The teamwork theory helps the organisation in achievement of growth
and development and ensure and maintain team growth. Below mentioned the how Waitrose
makes use Tuck man theory in order to achieve set growth and development:
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(Source: Teamwork Theory: Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development, 2017)
Forming: This is the initial stage of team building in Tuckman theory. In this stage, the
organisation tends to build its team as per the set requirements of and maintains better efficiency
within the team. During this stage of team building in Waitrose, everyone becomes busy in
finding their right places in the team. They converse with their team members, senior team
officials and understands the environment of the team. It helps them to gain a better
understanding the environment in which the team is thriving into and is gaining what rituals or
policies they need to follow. This stage is carefully observed and managed by the team leader in
order to achieve required goals and objectives and maintain growth within the team.
Storming: Storming is next step in Tuckman team building and development. In this
stage, the people tend to see themselves as part of the team. Also the team members challenge
each other in order to understand the efficiency of each other and compete with themselves. The
conflict and confrontation most of the times typify the stage, as differences surface within the
team (Swaffield, Evans and Welch, 2018). The members bring harmony with each other an
maintain a course of dignity because the main motive of the team is to achieve a certain goal.
Norming: In this phase, the team members come together, they develop processes and
establishes ground rules. Along with it, the team member clarifies who is going to do what and in
what order things will be done within the environment to achieve set growth and development.
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Illustration 2: TuckMan Team and Group Development theory

This is the phase which is characterized as an increasing sense of togetherness in the team. The
overall team tends to maintain better efficiency and they manage their goals and works with each
other in such directions where organizational efficiency along with the team efficiency is gained.
Performing: In the final stage, the team performs at their best efficiency in order to
achieve better results. This stage ensures that the organisation is achieving proper growth when
its people are performing effectively (Lindeberg, 2016). In order to achieve set growth. Along
with it, it maintains a good environment within the team and provide directions to the team in
order to achieve required advantage. The team leader in this stages tends to manage the teams
efficiency by constantly being a part of the team and managing is activities time to time.
The above stages help the team to achieve its goals perfectly and ensure effective
development.
In what ways Eddie Obeng theory is used within the organizational environment to increase the
efficiency of team Walking on the fog: When the team do not know what its wants how to achieve they are
likely to have this sort of project. In order to ensure that project goes accordingly. The
organization provides them with required directions and good controlling. Making a movie: In this case, the team knows how but not what to do. It helps the
company to help their team in achieving growth and advantage and maintain a better
efficiency. Going on the quest: The quest issue provides the team and its stakeholders to understand
what needs to be done. It helps the organization to prepare a basic set of skills in which
the team is provided with good skills and developments to ensure better results.
 Painting by numbers: This type of project is where one always wants to invest the
money in the project because of the interest and good money. It helps the organization
and the team to achieve good set of profitability and garner success.
The above mentioned strategies are used within the organization in order to achieve
growth and success within the team environment.
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