Leadership Qualities at Tesco free essay sample

Each area of expertise requires leadership and management skills. Tesco aims to develop the leadership qualities of its people throughout the organisation, from administrators and customer assistants to the board of directors. It adopts a similar approach to leadership development for staff at all levels. The aim of this essay is to show how a medium sized Tesco’s leadership framework is fundamental to developing the qualities of leadership needed at every level in the business and how the various leadership styles can benefit the organisation. Leadership does exist not only in an organisational level, but in the wider Supply Chain context. Hence the last chapter’s aim is to discover how a single organisation can turn into a Supply Chain Leader amongst the other chain members. 2. Defining Leadership Leadership is a critical determinant of organisational effectiveness; therefore it is not surprising that leadership continues to be the subject of intense academic research and controversy. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Qualities at Tesco or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Part of the reason it has become so important in recent years is that the business world has become more competitive and more volatile. Major changes are more and more necessary to survive and compete effectively in this new environment. More change always demands more leadership. Ralph Stogdill (1950) defined leadership as an influencing process aimed at goal achievement. His definition has three major components. First, it defines leadership as an interpersonal process in which one individual seeks to shape and direct the behaviour of others. Second, it sets leadership in a social context, in which the other members of the group to be influenced are subordinates or followers. Third, it identifies a criterion for effective leadership in terms of goal achievement, which is one practical objective of leadership theory and research. 3. Management versus Leadership Leadership and management are related, but they are not the same; both are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each has its own function and characteristic activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment. Kotter (1990) argued that management is different from leadership. Leadership is concerned with the development of vision and strategies, the alignment of relevant people behind those strategies and the empowerment of individuals to make the vision happen, despite obstacles. This stands in contrast with management, which involves keeping the current system operating through planning, budgeting, organising, staffing, controlling, and problem solving. According to Griffin (2008) organisations need both management and leadership if they are to be effective. Leadership is necessary to create change, and management is necessary to achieve orderly results. Management in conjunction with leadership can produce orderly change, and leadership in conjunction with management can keep the organisation properly aligned with its environment. 4. Tesco’s Leadership Framework Tesco looks for managers who are positive, confident and genuine, with the capacity to inspire and encourage their teams. A key part of Tesco’s programme for building leaders is encouraging self-review and reflection. This allows staff to assess their strengths and find ways of demonstrating the characteristics that are vital to the long-term development of the business. Business Case Studies LLP, 2013) Tesco’s leadership framework sets out not just the skills and competencies but also the personal characteristics and behaviours it expects of its leaders: 4. 1 Delegation Tesco’s process of managing starts with the target to be achieved. A manager needs decide on the appropriate approach for reaching that target, and then he needs to communicate th is approach clearly to his or her team and to allocate tasks to each team member. Task allocation and delegation of responsibility is part of the management function. 4. Empowerment The style of leadership can vary depending on the task. Some managers allow teams to take charge of their own decision making for many tasks. Team leaders will set the objectives, but empower team members to decide how these objectives are achieved. This has several advantages; it helps to motivate individuals in the team and it draws on the expertise of the members of the team. 4. 3 Productivity One of the key challenges of a Tesco bakery manager’s job is to ensure his team produces the right products to meet demand at key times. His usual management approach is to allow the team to take responsibility for achieving the desired result. In this way, the team not only buys into the activity, but also develops new skills. For example, when the bakery expanded its product range and the team needed to ensure that all the products would be on the shelves by 8. 00 am, the manager rather than enforce a solution, he turned to the team for ideas. The team solved the problem by agreeing to split break times so that productivity could be maintained. The manager’s approach produced a positive outcome and increased team motivation. 5. Leadership Styles Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1973) categorised different leadership styles. They suggested that leadership styles could be explained on a scale ranging from â€Å"autocratic† through â€Å"democratic† to â€Å"laissez-faire†. The autocratic or authoritarian style is characterised by an â€Å"I tell† philosophy. Autocratic leaders tell their staff what to do. This approach can provide a business clear direction, but it may also lead managers to undervalue or ignore input from their teams. However, an autocratic approach is appropriate in some situations; such as when the business faces a crisis or when an urgent problem arises that requires an immediate response. There are some leadership approaches that sit between autocratic and democratic. These styles allow team participation up to a point but, the manager reserves the right to make the final decision. (Tannenbaum amp; Schmidt, 1973) Managers adopting an â€Å"I sell† philosophy will try to persuade their teams to accept their viewpoint, while managers using an â€Å"I consult† approach will seek the opinions of subordinates before taking a decision. This is moving closer to a democratic style of management. A store manager of a medium sized Tesco is usually in charge of a team of around 20 departmental managers, who between them are responsible for almost 300 people. The store manager’s leadership style is usually to allow his managers to make most operational decisions. However, if an accident occurs in the store, he may take control to ensure a prompt and co-ordinated response. (Business Case Studies LLP, 2013) The best managers adopt leadership styles appropriate to the situation. The store manager’s referred leadership style is to take a democratic approach. He consults widely as he feels that staff responds better to this approach. This increases team motivation and encourages creativity. Some mistakes may be made, but they are used as a learning experience. However, sometime business-critical problems can arise and it is important that he responds to these in the most appropriate way. In such situations, he m ay need to adapt his leadership approach and exert more authority. Laissez-faire is at the other end of the spectrum from autocratic. A laissez-faire manager takes a â€Å"hands-off† approach and trusts teams to take appropriate decisions or actions with broad agreed boundaries (Huczynski amp; Buchanan, 2007). For example, the Tesco store manager might leave an experienced departmental manager to develop a budget. This could be because he trusts that the manager has a good knowledge of the needs of the department and of the business. 6. Factors Influencing Leadership Style People at each level of responsibility in Tesco, from administrators and customer assistants to directors, face different types of decisions. Each comes with its own responsibilities and timescales. These will influence the most appropriate leadership style for a particular piece of work or for a given project. Tesco managers have responsibilities for â€Å"front of house† (customer-facing) staff as well as â€Å"behind the scenes† employees, such as office staff. Before making a decision, the manager will consider the task in hand, the people involved and those who will be affected. Various internal and external factors may also affect the choice of leadership style used. Internal factors include the levels of skill that employees have. Large teams may have members with varying levels of skill. This may require the manager to adopt a more directive style, providing clear communication so that everyone knows what to do to achieve goals and tasks. On the other hand, team leaders may take a more consultative approach with other managers of equal standing in order to get their co-operation for a project. External factors may arise when dealing with customers. For example, a manager may need to use a persuasive style to convince a customer to accept a replacement product for an item that is temporarily out of stock. 7. Supply Chain Leadership (SCL) Leadership is also found in the macro context of inter-organisational leader-follower relationships in the supply chain environment. Leadership is necessary to coordinate the efforts of multiple firms in a supply chain in order for the supply chain to function effectively. (Clifford, 2007) The existence of supply chain leaders seems undeniable, but supply chain performance requires the cooperation of multiple member organisations and the coordination of complex processes across all members. A supply chain leader can provide the incentive that encourages supply chain member firms to work more collaboratively. However, unless supply chain member organisations willingly choose to follow the leader, conflict may arise and supply chain performance may suffer as a result SCL has frequently been a label applied to the largest, most powerful firm in the supply chain. A supply chain leader may use its power to dominate supply chain members to achieve overall supply chain goals like increased collaboration or tighter integration (Benton amp; Maloni, 2004). Tesco, Wal-Mart, Dell, and Toyota are examples of supply chain leaders whose power is based on size and economic might. Power-based SCL can develop from other sources; a firm may become a leader because it possesses control over an information source critical to the success of other supply chain members. Retailers control access to mountains of customer purchase data that can be used by upstream firms to refine product designs and tailor production and distribution processes. The fact that retailers possess this information places many of them in a leadership position, and is consistent with the downstream shift of power downstream in supply chains (La Londe amp; Masters, 1994). According to Clifford (2007) SCL is not always predestined to the largest or most profitable organisation in all cases. A leader may emerge when it develops a distinctive capability that benefits other supply chain members, or SCL may accrue to a smaller, especially skilled organisation when a special expertise is lacking from an otherwise more powerful firm. For example, third party logistics (3PL) providers may find themselves in a position of leadership because of the more efficient product flow processes they have developed. 8. Conclusion Effective leadership is critical for organisational effectiveness, and it has become important in recent years since the business world has become more competitive and more volatile. Leadership and management are related, but they are not the same. Each has its own function and characteristic activities. Both are necessary for success in a business environment. Tesco leaders need to be inspirational, creative and innovative, ready to embrace change and with a long-term vision for achievement. Effective leaders manage by example and in doing so, develop their teams. Tesco encourages all its managers to lead by example. It requires leaders who can motivate, problem-solve and build great teams. Leadership also exists in the inter-organisational leader-follower relationships in the supply chain environment. Leadership is necessary to coordinate multiple firms in a supply chain in order for the supply chain to function effectively. Supply Chain Leadership (SCL) is not always predestined to the largest or most profitable organisation; a leader may emerge when it develops a unique capability that benefits other supply chain member.