Leadership and Management with Reference to Tesco - Case Study Example

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT WITH REFERENCE TO TESCO Lecturer Address Leadership and Management with Reference to Tesco Outline I. Introduction Why change is unavoidable Changes depend on market and: i. Innovations ii. Challenges and iii. approaches changes render an organization able to compete and survive II. Main Body Leadership has direct influence on organizational changes Changes take place in Tesco as new strategies are developed through: i. Experimentation ii. Feedback and iii. Experiences During change, Tesco management is involved in: i. Decision making ii. Effective planning and iii. Comprehensive communication Tesco expecting many changes with the new CEO, Dave Lewis Challenges facing Lewis i. Improve amid intense competition ii. Reverse current performance What Lewis must do a. Engage in intense interaction with customer base b. Establish a distinct marketing campaign strategy c. Develop better promotions and events Main leadership styles a. Participative a) Encourages employee input b) Encourages communication c) Several opinions used in decision making b. Autocratic a) Does not favour upward communication b) Directives followed without questioning c) Should be used with caution not to de-motivate employees d) Tesco’s new CEO uses this but can alternate Issues facing Tesco a. Previous CEO failed to improve performance b. Intense competition c. Sales and profits deteriorating Roles of management in facilitating change – according to Henri Fayol a. Planning b. Controlling c. Coordinating d. Organizing e. Forecasting Differences between leadership and management a) Leader is an original while manger copies and follows existing protocols b) Manager administers while leader innovates c) Managers have subordinates while leaders have followers d) Leaders tolerate chaos while managers prefer organization e) Leader is people focused while manager is task focused Leadership at Tesco not a one person role a. Mid-level managers help in leading lower level employees b. Size of Tesco cannot allow a single person to run it III. Conclusion Change is inevitable and constant Market status lead to organizational changes Fayol’s management strategy Summary of key differences between leadership and management Introduction Change is one of the most unavoidable practices in the modern business environment. This is because there are constant advancements both in the technology and in the practices that are exhibited in the workplace. Over the years, many changes have been exhibited such as from the traditional autocratic leadership style to a modern participative one. Changes are made according to the changes in the market within which an organization operates in addition to other aspects such as new challenges, approaches, and innovations. This not only helps the organization to fulfil the requirements of modern workplace laws but also help the organization in remaining competitive amid competition, which has been on the rise in today’s world. Change can be facilitated in various ways that require intense input and research to be done by the management to ensure that the outcomes are clear. Main Body An organization’s leadership is of critical importance and has a direct influence in how change is done in the organization. In the same way, Tesco’s leadership has similar role in the outcome of any changes that the organization may intend to undertake. In this organization, change takes place as new insights as well as strategies are developed through feedbacks, experimentations and experiences. In Tesco, the leadership of the organization is expected to perform certain strategies so as to facilitate change. These include display effective decision-making capabilities, exhibit sensible and effective planning, and ensure regular and comprehensive communication to all parties in the organization (Bonheim, 2006, p. 30-34). In most instances, the employees are affected more than any other parties in the organization are. This implies that the organization must be keen when determining how to communicate changes to the employees. Planning is another important aspect in the overall change process in Tesco. With respect to Tesco and through the management, the organization must plan on how to ensure that the impending changes that are bound to happen as the organization has acquired a new CEO, Dave Lewis. Such planning is appropriate because there may be many changes to be exhibited in the organization since the leadership styles are exhibited in different ways by different leaders. On the other hand, some leaders perform as managers while others lead (Sims, 2002, p. 218). Lewis has a big challenge in ensuring that the organization improves amid competition for the main discounters that include Aldi. The main roles that Lewis will need to perform include engaging in intense communication with the customers and engage closely with the customer base. In the wake of the present changes, Lewis will also be faced with the role of establishing a distinct marketing campaign strategy that will identify Tesco’s brand afresh. Such a strategy was missing from the previous CEO’s management strategy. The strategy, which is the main change, will also incorporate development of better promotions and events. A clear management strategy will also be important in instilling confidence and trust in his team. Therefore, Tesco’s management has a large stake in the change process. In spite of the availability of various leadership styles that leaders can choose from, the most common include the participative and the autocratic styles. With specific reference to Tesco’s new CEO, Dave Lewis, the leadership style that he adopts is the autocratic style although he maintains that leaders do not have one style of leadership. By this, he means that he has the capacity to shift between various styles. According to research, this is one of the best ways to lead people. Having the capacity to apply various leadership styles according to the situation may be the main reason why Lewis was successful in when working at Unilever and why he was preferred as the most appropriate individual to turn Tesco around. Before Lewis joined Tesco, the company was under Phillip Clarke who was ousted by Tesco after he failed to reverse the issue facing the organization. This issue incorporates a slide in the company’s sales as well as profits as compared to the previous periods. This shows that Lewis has a huge task geared towards reversing the performance of the organization. The capacity to use the autocratic leadership may be important in this case. This is because autocratic method favours following of directives without questions being raised by the employees or other involved parties. With the current situation, Lewis will have to resort to using autocratic method and then shift to the participative as soon as the anticipated improvements in the organization are realized. The autocratic method will be appropriate because researchers sustain that it should only be applied in fewer situations as it does not encourage motivation as the participative method does. It will be appropriate because the organization is under pressure to deal with the current issue and does not have time to consider employees’ input. With reference to Henri Fayol, the main roles of the management include forecasting, organizing, commanding, planning, controlling, and coordinating. Here, a strategy is very important and depends on forecasting after which the leader devises a plan to deal with or take advantage of the possibility. The management undertakes this role to ensure that the future of an organization is guaranteed. In organizing, the management has the role of building the structure, mostly with regard to human resources, of the undertaking. This ensures that the organization follows a specific organized operation manner when executing its tasks (Wren, 2001, p. 480-483). Fayol also maintained that the management has a role of commanding. This involves maintaining activities among the organization’s human resources. This management’s role ensures that the organization becomes and remains productive through provision of directives on what activities should be undertaken within what period of time. Additionally, the management also has the role of controlling where it ensures that all activities take place in conformity with the established rules and commands. An organization’s culture is usually developed for controlling how the organization behaves. Lastly, Fayol maintained that coordination is paramount to the success of the organization since it binds, unifies, and harmonizes activities as well as efforts in the organization. There are several differences between leadership and management. Specifically, a competitive business environment calls for a leader but not a manager. Managers have subordinates. Here, the managerial roles involve embracing processes, controlling, seek stability and resolution of a problem instinctively. Here, the managers resolve problems without full comprehension of what it entails and what its effect could be on the organization. In contrast, the leaders tolerate organizational chaos since it may bring development in the long runs, do not have a specific structure that they follow increasing flexibility, and are usually willing to delay the closure of an issue so as to understand it fully. This clearly states that leaders have a similar approach to business as scientists and the creativity displayed by artists. The key difference between the manager and the leader is the level of imagination exhibited by both individuals (Bonfante, 2013, p. 2). This is because while the manager restricts their imagination to the existing and pre-determined practices, the leader is more open to changes and exhibits more creativity. In spite of this key difference, organizations require both leaders and managers from the perspective of an individual who can be a leader at one time and a manager at another. With specific attention to the focus, there are also differences that include the manager being work focused while the leader is people focused. This implies that the manager is mostly concerned about the completion of tasks with little attention to those working on the tasks while the leader creates loyalty by crediting others when necessary. In Tesco, leadership is not solely executed by the CEO or any other individual alone. Instead, the organization ensures that a group of individuals are in charge of the operations and the overall leadership role. While Lewis may have a leadership role as the CEO of Tesco, he also has to rely on the mid-level managers to lead lower levels of employees. In most instances, leadership by a single individual is done in small organizations. Since Tesco has a very large market and customer base, one person would not be in a position to lead effectively. This implies that additional help is required and is acquired from the middle level managers. The CEO collaborates with the managers to ensure that leadership is executed effectively and that the organization has realized the anticipated goals. Therefore, leadership at Tesco is undertaken by a group of individuals. Conclusion Since change is inevitable and remains the only constant thing in the business world, organizations must adapt to the status of the market so as to remain competitive. Leadership of an organization has a key role in change that includes planning and coordinating activities. From Fayol’s strategy, the management of an organization must fulfil activities that include forecasting, organizing, commanding, planning, controlling, and coordinating. These help the organization in functioning in the market. The key differences between leadership and management include focus where the manager revolves around the pre-established norms in the organization while the leader is more concerned with new ideas. References Bonheim, M. E. 2006, Change, Change, Change: A Study of Leadership’s role in Changing an Organization’s Culture. Michigan, Proquest Bonfante, L. 2013, Lessons in it transformation technology expert to business leader. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley. Sims, R. R. 2002, Managing organizational behavior. Westport, CT, Quorum Books. Wren, D.A. 2001, "Henri Fayol as strategist: A nineteenth century corporate turnaround", Management Decision, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 475-487. Read More