Critical Review of Culture and Leadership of Tesco:

Organizational culture can be referred as the behavior of the people within an organization and how
those behaviors attach meaning to the organization. Culture can include the habits, beliefs,
assumptions, language, norms, systems, values, and the visions. In every organization a specific
pattern of collective behavior is seen and it is the part of the organizational culture. An
organizational culture can affect the interaction within the people of the organization like
stakeholders or the clients. So it can be said that the culture is the surrounding environment at
workplace. Organizational culture is one of the strongest factors that can shape the work processes,
work relationships, and the work satisfaction. It is known that the culture is unseen but the culture
can significantly affect the activities in an organization. A group of people can work together by
following unspoken, written and unwritten rules and it affects the organizational culture (A, 2013).
There are various factors that can affect the organizational culture. The values, education,
upbringing, strengths, weaknesses, life experiences can define the organizational culture and the
leadership. Organizational culture can significantly affect whether a company can reach their goals
and objectives.
Organizational Culture of Tesco:

Tesco PLC is one of the leading multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer
headquartered in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England, UK. In terms of the profits, it ranks number 1
among all the retailers in the world. It is the second largest retailer in the world in terms of the
revenues. The company has stores across 12 countries and it is the market leaders in the UK with
the market share of 30%.
The company employs 600,000 people all over the world and thus it is very important to maintain a
better organizational culture. The structure of the organization is simple and they effectively utilize
the labor force for the growth and development of the organization and for achieving their goals
and objectives. The organization has always followed the implementation of innovation and
technological improvement in the provision of the service and it has effectively improved the
efficiency of the employees. The innovation has also allowed the reduction of human error and thus
more responsibility can be given to the general staff for the provision of better service to the
customers (Elsmore, 2001).
In each store the managers are given a greater span of control with the workforce and the managers
work effectively to manage the operations as well as maintaining a positive organizational culture
with effective communication and cooperation. There is an effective relationship within the
employees and the manager and proper training has been given to the employees for executing the
services. A centralized decision making is followed in Tesco as all the decisions in the company are
made by the board of directors.
Organizational Structure of TESCO:

An organizational structure basically depends on the type of sector that is operates on and the
number of employees within the organization along with the physical resource that is used in the
process. There are basically two types of organizational structures that are followed by Tesco. Both
the organizational structures serve different purposes for Tesco but the both the structures are less
complex, transparent and clean. One of the organizational structures is for the company as a whole.
In that organizational structure, the board of directors are at the top level management. On the
other hand another organizational structure is followed in the stores all over the world. In the
traditional structure the board of directors are at the top level and the subordinates and the
mangers are in the next hierarchical order (Boynton, 2007). There is a clear description of the
responsibilities and the roles of each and every individual in the organizational structure and thus
the structure is clearly defined and less complex. The employees have a clear idea in each and every
store regarding their duties and to whom they need to report in certain situations and who is in
charge of several operations.
The human resource department of the company is also effective in managing the human resource
of the company. It is known that the human resource is one of the critical success factors of an
organization and thus it is very important to manage the resources efficiently. The HR department
also updates on the requirement of new employees. The employee appraisal, rewards and
remunerations, the training and development of the employees are also performed effectively
within the organization. They have implemented techniques for the labor turnover reduction and for
planning in advance for increasing the efficiency in the department. It is evident that flexibility is very
important and thus it is implemented within the HR department for the employees and they are
given appropriate training for increasing the efficiency (Boothby, 2007). The work ethics are
maintained in the organization and measures are also taken to provide a healthy and safe
environment for the employees. But there are certain problems that are faced by the company in
HR department like the lack of required skills and abilities among the newly hired employees,
attracting new employees in the industry and the increasing turnover rate as the company fails to
retain its employees (Bell, 2013).

Organisational Culture:

The company was founded by Sir Jack Cohen and he had the vision to provide all variants of
products to the customers in a single location at an affordable price. His vision was to Pile it high
and sell it cheap. Thus it can be said that Tesco had the culture of selling the products at a cheaper
rate to the customers (Elsmore, 2001). The culture is still followed in the company but there has
been an addition in terms of providing high quality product to the consumers. Tesco has also
broadened the range of products that are offered to the customers. At first the company was
opened as a grocery store but now they also offer CDs, DVDs, electronic goods, clothes to the
consumers. Thus the organizational culture of Tesco has changed to one stop shop (Barnes, 2011).
It is known that, at present Tesco is one of the leading retailers in the world and there are many
stores that has been opened in different countries. Thus in this context it can be said that the
company need to implement appropriate measures for managing and maintaining an effective and
efficient organizational culture as there can be several issues that may be faced by the company in a
cross-cultural environment (Kummerow and Kirby, 2013). It is known that Tesco has diversified
group of people working in the organizationacross the globe. Thus the interaction, the cooperation
and the communication within the employees and between the managers and the employees are
necessary for an effective and efficient organizational culture. Flexibility is one of the major factors
that are followed across the organization so that the company can sustain their position in a
continuously changing and the dynamic environment. The leadership is also one of the critical
success factors for the company and it can be discussed here.
The Management and Leadership at Tesco:

The leadership can be described as the process of social influence where a person can help in order
to achieve certain goals or in accomplishing certain task. A leader can be described as a person who
is basically followed by others. A leader can organize a group of people and can help them in
achieving the common goal. In case of an organization the managers can play the role of leaders
and they can help the employees in achieving various goals and objectives or for accomplishing the
common task (Ahn, Adamson and Dornbusch, 2004).
It is known that Tesco is the largest chain store in the UK. The mission of the company is to ensure
that the customer loyalty is built in the long-run by creating value for the customers. The main
objective of Tesco is to operate effectively and efficiently and achieve sustainable growth in the
market (Raelin, 2011).
One of the reasons for the success of the organization can be stated as the leadership practice in
the company. The company maintains a clear organizational structure where the roles and
responsibility of each and everyone is clearly defined. The chief executive officer of the company Mr.
Tery Leahy has worked effectively for the success of the Company. Mr. Leahy has been identified as
a visionary leader and he has also led the company towards strategic organizational change
(Arvinen-Muondo and Perkins, 2013). The main focus of the change is on the needs and
requirements of the consumers. He has been proved an excellent leader in terms of motivating the
employees and he has also identified the importance of the link between the employees and the
customers. His philosophy is based on the fact that the productivity of the employees can be
increased if they are treated and motivated properly. It is identified that the employees should be
given a task that they are interested in. This can increase the job satisfaction and the involvement of
the employees. Participatory leadership is followed in the organization (Raelin, 2011).
One of the visions of the company is to open several business opportunities in the UK and across
Europe. There are basically five functional departments in the company and they are marketing,
human resource, finance, administration, and research and development. Each department is
managed by the managers in that department and effective communication and coordination is
maintained in each department and it increases the efficiency. In Tesco the concept of management
by objective is followed (Tesco boosts investment in leadership development, 2010). That means the
managers act as leaders and they lead the employees in achieving the predefined goals and
objectives. Specific duties and responsibilities are thus given to the managers in each department
and they work effectively to fulfill their responsibilities.
Thus it can be said that the organizational culture and the leadership that is followed in the
organization can affect the strategic decision making in the organization. It is known that the
company is operating in a market where flexibility is very important. The environment of the market
is dynamic and it is continuously changing. Thus the company need to implement various strategies
for achieving the sustainable growth in the market and to expand more in the global framework. In
that context it can be said that the leaders can play significant role in successful implementation of
the strategic decision making. The leaders also need to ensure that the organizational culture is
maintained effectively for the success of the company.