Discuss about the A Comparative Leadership Study of Tesco and Sainsbury.
Tesco is the leading UK food retailer. It has its 1878 retail stores that are located all over the country. Tesco serves global clients, and it has 261 stores in Europe and in Asia, they have 179 stores. Currently, Tesco is the big company in the world, as it follows flexible leadership style that is adapted as per the requirement of the enterprise and in the manner it deals with the various situations (Northouse, 2013). The significance of leadership strategies is also referred as different stakeholders require to account different ways in which company need leadership, and lead towards attaining higher employee’s productivity (Turner & Swords, 1997).
Sainsbury is the 3rd largest company in the UK, having the market share of 16.5%. The company was founded in the year 1869 by John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury in London, UK. The leadership of the company was laid back by their attitude, as it fails to challenge the staff in an important way (Wrigley, 2000).
Evolution of Leadership and Contemporary view
Leadership theory covers up behavioral and contingency theory, along with path-goal and situational approach. Contemporary leadership theory is related to the work that emerged through the postindustrial paradigm. Northouse (2013) mentions that situational leadership is considered as the ethical process, which demands the model and end value commitment. Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar (2014) suggests that the main responsibility of leaders is to develop its followers, as it can help the company in becoming a leader (Thompson & Martin, 2005). The outcome of the evolution of leadership and the contemporary view is that it is based on value, complexity, and direction towards achieving the goal (Mohammed & Heather, 2005). The contemporary theory clearly reflects over a various range of viewpoints in conceptualization, as it directs the movement and social activism towards market-based frames (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014).
Leadership and Learning Organization
The learning organization termed cannot be confused with the organizational learning concept. It explains the company as the ideal environment for learning, as this environment is perfectly tuned with the goals of the business (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). It explains the company as the ideal place, in which employees could quickly increase their capacity for creating the outcome, which they desire for (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). This place is also considered as ideal as new as well as broad patterns of thinking could be easily nurtured, aspirations could be set free, and where people could have continued learning. Caldwell (2011) explains that learning organization has five disciplines such as personal mastery, system thinking, managing mental models, team learning as well as building the shared vision (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014).
How Learning Organizations function?
Learning organization functions includes clarifying the significant objectives, and then it moves towards exploring the commitment that is marked by the willingness, which they deceive (Hughes & Merton, 1996). Learning organizations also analyze the mistake and try to correct it; they also reflect over the openness by not playing the game or identifying the personal agenda (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Learning organizations also take decisions by considering the companies best interest, learn different new ways, which are generative instead of adaptive; holds leaders that could enroll instead of selling (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). These organizations also try to replace the compliance through the commitment, strive towards replacing the dialogue discussion, try to suspend the assumptions, and even try to foster the personal vision migration towards shared vision (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014).
The Tesco experiences are mainly conceptualized in the three critical vast dimensions (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). All these aspects try to form the difference among the internal corporate and the broad external view of the global experience in retail. The first critical area implies the internal process of strategies (Caldwell, 2011). The next theme is related with the process of external procedures. It covers up interactive aspects related to the global environment of retailers. The next dimension includes the functions of internal operations. All these dimensions are mainly significance while conceptualizing the experience and interpreting the global learning of Tesco (Caldwell, 2011).
Teamwork and strong communication is part of the corporate culture of Tesco. In the company each employee is supposed to relate to the members of the team and come with inherent strengths. The team is considered as self-responsible towards their work, organization and goal (Caldwell, 2011). Tesco corporate culture helps the firm in becoming actual learning company, which initiate leadership by the support of openness, commitment, shared vision, and dialogue more than the compliance as it influences the cultivation and hierarchy of the inquiry spirit (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Many significant lessons are learned by the Tesco in the internationalization process, improving the responsiveness and adaptability of the firm. Tesco has also undoubtedly faced the various shocks in the market area, and in the result of that, the organization had to become quite vigilant and had even become interested in the experiment, learning and reacting towards the unexpected at the expansion later phases (John, 1996). However, it is noted that Tesco could apply the learned lessons through their experiences of the upcoming expansion and depend on the capacity of the company to explore the international learning sources in various contexts, institutionalizing, absorbing the knowledge (Caldwell, 2011).
Sainsbury holds the clear vision to become the most trusted retailer in the market, where people could like to work (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Sainsbury has the heritage that is set up from last 150 years of trading, and it’s considered as the central value of the company, and it’s considered as a great place to work that includes applying learning and development at the activities for attaining the set vision (Caldwell, 2011). The training process of Sainsbury was established by the explained audits. It also ensures the highest colleagues standards, by covering up material for learning, experience of training, assessment and finally taking feedback of learner (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014).
The organizational structure of Sainsbury was formed in such a way that is tune with the enhancement in the continuation and effectiveness of the services. The background of the company laid emphasis over the service provision (Caldwell, 2011). In this way, the workforce efficiency is not considered as the main priority of the enterprise. The substantial variation in the leadership style is also another important organizational factor. The particular branch includes bureaucratic in nature and holds the important cultural power that relies on the hierarchy and tries to control by the branch authority (Rowley & Slack, 2003).
Authentic Leadership and Ethics
Authentic leadership emphasizes over the positivity, high ethical standards, and transparency. It is noted that as the authentic leaders try to integrate and are committed towards the core ethical value, it contributes towards the positive climate of the company (Derr, 2012). The authentic leadership context is considered as the complex characteristics of the business through the uncertainty, additional components that cover up the culture of the company that is marked through the caring, nurtured through the human values at the workplace (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). It is evident that ethical leadership strives towards motivational ethical behavior in the staff through displaying the values, thoughts, good behavior and attitude of the leaders (Derr, 2012). There are many rewards for the company that selects to function ethically and it also enhances the reputation of the company and morale of staff members (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014).
Sainsbury and Authentic Leadership
Sainsbury believes in certain aspects of the authentic leadership. Derr (2012) mentions that work can complete us, and can give us real satisfaction. It depicts the concern of self-awareness about the main elements of authentic leadership. In the authentic leadership, it is important to have the interpersonal dimensions, as it makes one aware of the distortion of reality that influences the followers and completes the task with the help of few resources that contradict the transparency (Derr, 2012). Interpersonal style of the person might reflect the unethical behavior. Therefore, in this case nurturing and caring environment is considered as the central aspect of the authentic leadership that often misses in Sainsbury (Dandy, 1996). The leadership style adopted at Sainsbury holds the approach towards the staff that is referred as arrogant and employees is often pushed towards their limits (Derr, 2012).
Leadership is more related to the human conditions of the business. It takes place in the families, a spot as well as communities (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Authenticity includes the strength and weakness, but at the same time, authentic provides the consistent notion of what actually leadership is. Authentic leadership is explained as the process, which tries to draw through the actual capacity of psychology and is developed under the organizational context that results in the high self-awareness as well as self-regulated behavior that is positive and foster towards positive self-development (Anchor & Kourilova, 2008). Leadership at Tesco tries to facilitate the goals sharing, along with ideas, shared vision, in the result of that workforce become quite efficient, staff work towards the collaborative environment (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Tesco place the stringent procedure of hiring, recruiting people often fit into the culture of the company and make use of programs related to leadership development, promotes the transparency as well as shared vision (Anchor & Kourilova, 2008).
Dark Side of Sainsbury
In many incidences, Tesco is highly accused for forcing the miserable conditions of working at the stores (Anchor & Kourilova, 2008). Tesco had faced criticism through the trade bodies, individuals, national organizations, and consumer groups. One of the biggest challenge faced by the company created the threats that the firm poses towards small businesses due to the increase in a monopoly that is imposed on the products (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Various other controversial areas are related to the staff treatment, trading the deals with both the customer and suppliers relations, along with overseas approach (Anchor & Kourilova, 2008).
There is a belief that aggressive tactics are used by the planning permission for constructing the new stores (Jenkins & Williamson, 2015). Tesco was criticized by the media in both Ireland and the UK and various other places for its ruthless as well as harsh tactics of business as compared to the competitors (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). The company was charged for bullying the farmers for reducing the prices towards the unsustainable levels. Tesco was also highly accused by the UK government for abandoning the Hanley Grange (Anchor & Kourilova, 2008). Tesco had faced many other claims like out of date food that is labeled to appear as new; employees were contracting legionnaire’s problems in the stores, and poor hygiene at café (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014).
Dark Side of Tesco
Leadership at Tesco is respectful and follows the ethical conduct. It is noted that staff at Tesco often work long hours and its common in the company (Boddy, 2010). Even the company pays low salaries to the employees, which is less than the average base salary of the industry. Even the recruitment process of the company is quite tied and arduous. Tesco is often accused of having the structure of low reward (Fernie & Pierrel, 1996). Google is also alleged to have the practices of unfair practices along with quality issues. Tesco also continues to collect the extensive information and even aspire for the international domination (Boddy, 2010).
Obtaining the understanding about the process of team leadership needs the analysis of team functioning nature (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). To have this kind of understanding, one can try to articulate the leadership role better through fostering the effectiveness of team (Bogler, 2001). These type of team stress over the models of team leadership through the traditional models of leadership due to the central focus of the team and considered as the unit (Seth & Randall, 1999). Team work is highly undertaken through the continuous cycle of relying on communication. These entire temporary goals directed cycle activities could be categorized within two different phases (Bogler, 2001). In the phase of transition, teams are often connected with the evaluation or either the planning activities for designing the foster attainment of the goals. Providing the centrality of the team performance requirement, then, in that case, team leadership could be viewed as orientation for the satisfaction of team needs (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Whether it is outside or inside the team, it highly assumes the responsibility for team needs satisfaction and is often viewed as the role of team leadership (Bogler, 2001).
Team Leadership at Tesco
Tesco tries to come up with different as well as the attractive environment of working for their staff members that are profoundly explored cultural manifestation (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Tesco moves more than offering the necessary requirements of the staff through holding the snack room, cafeteria, doctors, etc. (Heinrich & Marschke, 2010). Leadership is referred as significant for discussing the innovativeness at Tesco. Even the staff operations are offered support through the team of leadership development and often conduct the research in the behavior that could influence the performance of team (Heinrich & Marschke, 2010). There are certain habits that often create impact on the performance of team, such as result orientation, good coaching, empowerment of team, supporting staff with developing career, taking part in well being of staff, clear vision, primary technical skills, and listen to the group (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014).
Each leader working at Tesco tries to evaluate all these habits, and these habits are usually the mimic of the internal actions of task leadership along with relational leadership activities (Rowley, 2000). Tesco holds the flat structure and often try to avoid the bureaucracy (Heinrich & Marschke, 2010). Even leaders working at Tesco are highly responsible towards the patching of the business; they even shape the emergent strategies, redeploy and build the coordination among the functional competencies and external skills (Poister, 2010). Tesco believes that the effective team building conditions along with shared vision. Apparently, Tesco places the state of the competent team with the performance of team by the support of stringent proves of recruiting the talented people, monitoring and offering the required resources (Heinrich & Marschke, 2010).
Tesco post modern approach clearly reflects and evaluates the projects. The top management of the company act as the base and leaders in the company are referred as the facilitator’s members of the top board and they have the highly innovative orientation and are prone towards the change (Heinrich & Marschke, 2010). Tesco make use of cross product and cross functional team approach, which could fulfill the set task for the purpose of sharing and for exchanging the details. At Tesco leaders direct their teams and also try to create the base of innovation in the company, and even act as the connector among the cultural followers and innovation facilitators (Heinrich & Marschke, 2010). Leadership at Google is explained as the leadership bottom that goes in parallel with the complete direction that is offered through the top management (Kearney, 2010). Tesco takes the pride in explaining the culture of the company, in which each person is highly committed towards exploring the best idea. Tesco leadership also tries to encourage the debates (Heinrich & Marschke, 2010).
Team Leadership at Sainsbury
Sainsbury has already enforced its accountability, and take swift decisions and even articulate the communication process from top level to bottom level. The company also shows the task that is associated with the leadership aspects of clear vision, along with the ability that could inspire the followers trust (Kahai, Sosik & Avolio, 1997). Under the organization structure, Sainsbury prevents the communication and often try to encourage the elitism. The elements related to the participative leadership are quite less (Kutsar, Ghose & Kutsar 2014). Sainsbury even had to face the fierce competition in the global market. The decision process in the company is conducted from top to bottom (Kahai, Sosik & Avolio, 1997).
Problem solving and Decision Making at Sainsbury
Decision making process at Sainsbury is considered as the top down approach. It relies on the particular group (Turner & Wilson, 2006). Decision making group includes the senior managers that holds the specialized knowledge. The company also includes the hierarchy system, but in case of taking decisions, they try to keep it within few people and welcome fewer questions (Turner & Wilson, 2006). Sainsbury structure permits to have the rapid decision making with un-wavering the discipline. Sainsbury leadership often tries to de-motivate to have the transparency, and ask people to work with scare resources (Turner & Wilson, 2006).
Conclusions and Recommendations
Tesco and Sainsbury are considered as the two major giants, which try to adapt different philosophies of leadership. Tesco believes in connecting, caching, mentoring the styles, where else, Sainsbury is the one that is autocratic, sometimes it flouts with the ethics, its secretive and avert towards the openness, but still it holds the charismatic leadership. On the other side, Tesco owns the flat structure and create less influence over the system of hierarchy. None of the models could be emulated completely and they are highly prudent towards the functions by considering the circumstances of the company.
References
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