ContentsIntroduction.................................................................................................................................................2

Literature review.........................................................................................................................................2

People Management...............................................................................................................................2

Task Oriented Management................................................................................................................2

People Oriented Management............................................................................................................2

Leadership Approaches...........................................................................................................................3

Authoritarian Style..............................................................................................................................3

Paternalistic style.................................................................................................................................3

Democratic Style..................................................................................................................................3

Organizational Culture.............................................................................................................................3

Application of management principles of TESCO........................................................................................5

HR issues in TESCO......................................................................................................................................6

Current HR policy at TESCO.....................................................................................................................6

HR issues in TESCO..................................................................................................................................6

Usage of ‘People Management Principles’ to improve the HR issues......................................................7

Weaknesses of Organizational Leadership at TESCO and use of Team Work..........................................7

Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................8

Bibliography................................................................................................................................................9

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IntroductionThis report encompasses the Human Resource function of an organization and the concepts of this course are therefore applied on the real life corporate scenarios to further strengthen the human resource theories. This report will not only be covering the industrial point of view but will also be incorporating the literature already published on this topic.

The company case being thoroughly reviewed for this report is: TESCO which is one of the largest supermarket chains globally and on the UK scale range. The issues which are being faced by the Human Resource of TESCOs have been addressed and appropriate suggestions to pare them have been proposed.

Literature review

People ManagementPeople management has been a topic of great concern since the rights for employees and workers have been around. As per the paper by Slemo, since the organizations are made of people only, it is imperative that the people who are responsible for the formulation of strategies are managed in the most effective manner ever (Warigon, 2013). Regardless of the importance of the human resource in any business, they are usually the most neglected in the organizations. Usually the leaders of the organizations are celebrated to all lengths and those employees who have worked towards the same goal under that particular leader are forgotten. This is one of the reasons why the motivation levels of the employees falls way below and therefore the productivity also cascades.

Since the ‘people’ part of the organization is a living aspect which needs to be driven, it is important that the employees are satisfied in the workplace which is being provided to them.

The paper by Dr. Kline emphasizes on how in all organizations, it is important to have the people satisfied and provided opportunities which they will be able to further improve their career lines. This is also applicable to the governmental sector and the defense sector as well (Kline, 2008). The management of people can be done in a number of ways and there are few schools of thought which shed light on this (Friedman, 2013).

Task Oriented ManagementThe Task oriented management only focuses on the task at hand regardless of the impact on the employee. This approach has lost its popularity as it not only reduces the motivation level of the employees but also decreases the productivity level of the workforce.

People Oriented ManagementThe people oriented management however is the opposite of the above and it focuses on the employees’ needs; the emphasis is on the energizing the employees in order to make them feel

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appreciated. This approach makes the workforce feel a part of the company’s success story which is another distinctive motivation.

Leadership ApproachesThere are a number of leadership approaches which are pursued by the organizations and the selection of the leadership approach depends on a number of factors i.e. society values, motivation drivers etc. The type of leadership approach also is affected by the organization’s own core values and the school of thought the leaders belong to.

Leadership approaches:

Authoritarian StyleThis leadership style maintains a very strict control on the employees at all levels. There is a clear distinction between the leaders and the employees in this approach and it therefore ensures the development of professional relationships (Gerard Timothy Gordon, 2011).

Paternalistic styleThe paternalistic style is the leadership approach which is usually adopted by any parent. There is concern shown for the work force; trust levels between the employees and senior management improve with time in this style. The loyalty and trust level increases the tenure of the employees who further their time with the organization.

This leadership approach harnesses better organization skills as per the work of (Erben and Guneser,2008). The leader motivates the employees to work better as the leader wants to see the maximum potential of the workforce being exercised. This therefore inculcates the parental aspect.

Democratic StyleThe democratic style ensures that the entire workforce is involved with the leadership in order to gauge the company to success. The democratic style provides the employees with a number of set rights and encourages participation at every level. There is no them and us attitude in this approach as the democratic style has been seen to improve the group morale of the organization’s workforce and develop creative ideas which have been fruitful. As per the statement by (Martindale, 2011), democratic style may be a disadvantage to an organization which works at a very tight clock as large amounts of time might be consumed when long debates and voting agendas are in session.

Organizational Culture The term organizational culture is basically the behavior of the employees and other people in the organization. The term culture includes the norms, values, systems, beliefs or habits of any set of group of people. However as per the words of Ravasi and Schultz, “Organizational culture is a set of shared mental assumptions that guide interpretation and action in organizations by defining appropriate behavior for various situations” (Ravasi, 2006).

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The most popular categorization of organizational culture was done by Hofsteade when he stated that there are four basic dimensions of culture if the grouping is done by national and regional sections (Hofstede, 2001).

The first type of organizational culture can be determined by the power-distance aspect. This is the distance between the leaders and the subordinates which if exceeded more than the expected societal distance might result in a stricter organizational culture where the employees hesitate to approach their bosses. Vice versa, if the distance is less, then there is more of a democratic approach which has been seen as fruitful in the past.

The second aspect of Hofsteade’s dimension is the uncertainty avoidance. This feature focuses on how strictly and rigidly any company ensures the lack of any future uncertainty. With a high measurement on the uncertainty preparation scale, the company might be seen as risk averse and always-too-prepared in its activities. This also plugs in the latest technological advancements which are expected to reduce the future risks (Hofstede, 2005).

Individualism vs. Collectivism is the conflict between the personal interests and the group aims. A collectivist society or organization will be more synced with the company’s aspirations and goals as the individual will connect himself to the larger body. Whereas the individualism approach has the employees thinking only for themselves and there is no attachment with the company or any group at large which might hinder their own personal success speed (Biddle, 2012).

The last aspect of the Hofsteade’s social dimensions is long-term vs. short-term orientation: in this, those organizations which believe in long term approaches seek to trust their employees and harness their potentials in the best possible manners. The long term approach also means valuing traditions which are lost on the short term approaches of the organizational culture (ITIM, 2011).

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Application of management principles of TESCO The people management at the case company, TESCO is done in a very profound manner. In the past years, TESCO has delivered impressive performance and that success is surely pinned on the effective strategies of the Tesco group in large. Tesco is a part of the international grocery and general merchandising industry.

Tesco has a very active and well-managed people’s management approach where as per the corporate steering wheel of TESCO, the employees of the company are promised an interesting job, a manager who helps and an entire corporation who respects the individual employee. TESCO manages its employees effectively by regular training sessions and other methods. Training of the employees is one of the motivating factors which make the employees feel that their career is being taken care of by the organization they are currently functional in. TESCO follows a people-oriented management where the employees are cared for as TESCO believes in cementing relationships with the workforce which increases the trust and loyalty levels between the large retailer and the employees.

The leadership style at TESCO is. Since TESCO is a customer oriented retail brand, it has to maintain a staff which is highly qualified and apt for the role required. This therefore requires a package inbuilt in the employee and the leaders at TESCO only have to provide enough amount of encouragement to ensure high productivity levels. TESCO hence believes in exercising a democratic leadership style where the floor is always open for suggestions by the work force. It is imperative to note that usually an organization is not comprised of solely one leadership style in fact there can be a myriad of styles as per the requirement of seriousness of the task.

The top management of TESCO therefore functions within the autocratic capacity as the strategic decisions need to be taken in utmost confidence and not with the consent of the entire workforce of TESCO. Other than this, the most tactical affairs of TESCO like the aisle shifting or setting of products is done via the Laissez-Faire where the employees have the right to make some decisions as per their best judgment. This is a very effective approach as the teams are trusted with the confidence in their capabilities.

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HR issues in TESCO

Current HR policy at TESCOThe human resource policy at TESCO is very thoroughly defined. The strategy is to ensure that every member of the TESCO Company is aware of the core activities of the retail industry. This in addition to the rolling out of core skills for all the employees highlights how TESCO closely ties the business measures to the performance management.

TESCO certifies that every single employee is aware of the task assigned and the importance of that task to the TESCO foundation as a whole is also instilled in them during their rigorous training sessions. Since the commitment required by the job necessitates a proper skilled staff which befits the role, TESCO undergoes a laborious screening process at the inductions of the employees. In addition to the front line employees who are considered TESCO’s most important replication; the other employees also face the same arduous commitment as their role to convert core values of customer satisfaction to monetary profits and societal benefits is considered as important.

A major Tesco challenge is to make sure that each one of its workers, where they work, are tuned in to the role they play which they will clearly see however their actions have an effect on the “big picture” of the business. The coaching creates a graphical journey through the history of Tesco, its core purpose, values, business goals, monetary aims, operations and promoting strategy and its commitment to customers. All workers are receiving a lot of coaching than before.

A human-resource-led business strategy has helped Tesco to require the lead over its rivals within the fiercely-competitive kingdom grocery sector. The strategic policy (Future) started within the company’s supermarkets, wherever its aim was to unencumber stores workers so that they might do a lot of and improve client service.

Future concentrates on providing a transparent approach of process roles, responsibilities and activities. The system guarantees that each one of the workers are accountable, responsible, consulted and up on. A set of thirteen key management techniques is employed to enhance the core skills of the personnel. The techniques embody root cause analysis, downside finding, plan-do-review, situational leadership and training for top performance.

For the first time, people are created a core component of strategy. The importance of this strand of the project has been recognized by golf shot a senior director accountable. Quarterly board conferences forever review human resource problems. Tesco currently tracks human-resource info as closely as monetary results.

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HR issues in TESCOThe major issues in TESCO’s Human resource management is not that of lesser trust placed in the employees or less decision making power delegated to the lower staff: the main discrepancy is that of the mobility of the training of the employees. Regardless of the fact that TESCO invests in the employees’ training as much as required in the market in order to stay in the lead globally and region-wise also: there is an increasing need for the training to be more of a mobile addition to the skillset of the employees of TESCO. This is so as the job market of retail businesses are no longer built on long term contracts instead are on-the-go jobs with a very volatile and competitive market.

This issue has been raised by the employees of TESCO and the HRM strategists have not yet seen the impact of this appeal of the workforce.

Usage of ‘People Management Principles’ to improve the HR issuesThe first and foremost principle of people management is to ensure that the correct lot is inducted in the business on day 1. This therefore requires severe criterion which need to be fulfilled by the applicants. This should also include the time period of the contract and since the job market of the retail market is very volatile, it is vital that the contractual term is mentioned and adhered to. Both the parties should be aware of the conditions that can lead to the lapse of the contractual obligation.

Once the hiring has been done, the management needs to ensure that the employees have full understanding of the workings of TESCO and are cognizant of every function of the organization. One of the main reasons why sometimes the HRM fails in large organizations is the lack of the long-term view or the holistic view. Unless the employees are shown how their little efforts might be able to contribute to a greater success at TESCO, the motivational levels will not be very high and hence TESCO will lose its competitive edge in the market.

The employees must be treated fairly at all occasions. Since the retail business is more or less for and from the customer only, excess attention to detail must be paid by TESCO when training the employees regarding dealing with customers. There can be reward systems set up regarding the performance of employees who have good rating.

Weaknesses of Organizational Leadership at TESCO and use of Team WorkLately, TESCO has been unsuccessful in its endeavors to motivate the younger generation being inducted in the retail business. About 20,000 of the employee force of a total 250,000 workforce is between the ages of 18-24. The lack of motivation in the employees at TESCO is a weakness of the organizational leadership where the leaders of TESCO are failing to keep the employees active and happy at the job (Peacock, 2010). This therefore probes deeper in the issue that maybe the job description at TESCO is not as energetic as the employees might have hoped for when they applied or maybe the competition in the market is livelier.

This problem can also arise due to lack of delegated work which keeps the newbies idle for most of the part of their job. This fact can coincide with the age factor as the employees are not in their prime career options so the level of seriousness is being compromised on their part with maybe no fault of TESCOs.

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The lack of motivational levels in the new employees can also be due to the lack of socializing at TESCOs or the one-sided team work where the senior employees take over most of the work and leave the most undesirable work to the fresh inductions. This therefore fails the teamwork approach which TESCO so openly propagates about: the senior management at TESCOs might wish for a more democratic approach of leadership but the middle management may be trying to stay superior and delegate work instead of train and teach (Peacock, 2010).

A team work approach is where a group of people work towards a similar goal and that becomes possible with the appropriate mix of skillset each of the employees possesses. With active communication and collaboration, the new inductees would become easily comfortable in the TESCOs retail environment. Initiatives taken by the senior management in order to improve the interpersonal relationships at TESCOs with the new inductees regardless of age would certainly have a major impact on the motivation level and hence the productivity levels (UK HRM, 2011).

In addition to the interpersonal skills, giving an appropriate job description to the new employees which fits their skillset is a challenging job in its own regard and TESCO should ensure that there is no inconsistency between these two factors.

ConclusionThis report discussed the Human Resource function in great detail with the example of TESCO Wholesale which is one of the largest global retail outlet chains. As per the managerial styles and universal leadership approaches to organizations which are in a volatile market as this of TESCO; the global approach of the organization was taken in consideration. TESCOs is generally a successful business however, since it is customer oriented, the need to ensure apt attention to detail when dealing with the customers is one of the vital jobs of the HR of TESCO to maintain uniformity globally.

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Erben and Guneser, G. a. A., 2008. "The Relationship Between Paternalistic Leadership and Organizational Commitement:Investigating the Role of Climate Regarding Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 82(4), pp. 955-968.

Friedman, E., 2013. TASK-ORIENTED VS. PEOPLE-ORIENTED MANAGEMENT STYLES: WHICH IS BETTER?. [Online] Available at: http://blog.eskill.com/task-people-oriented-management/[Accessed 10th June 2014].

Gerard Timothy Gordon, J., 2011. An Analysis of Autocratic and Democratic Leadership Styles in the Contingency Model:, Lowndes: Valdosta State University.

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Peacock, L., 2010. Personnel Today. [Online] Available at: http://www.personneltoday.com/hr/tesco-failing-to-motivate-its-young-workers/[Accessed 11 June 2014].

Ravasi, D. S. M., 2006. Responding to organizational identity threats: exploring the role of organizational culture". Academy of Management Journal, 49(3), pp. 433-458.

UK HRM, 2011. Essay UK. [Online] Available at: http://www.essay.uk.com/free-business-essays/tesco-hrm-essay.php[Accessed 11 June 2014].

Warigon, S. D., 2013. Managing People for Organizational Success. [Online] Available at: https://www.itmpi.org/Portals/10/PDF/WarigonPeople.pdf[Accessed 10th June 2014].

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