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Introduction

Report on Tesco plc Terms of reference To investigate Tesco plc. This report on Tesco plc was requested by Margaret McNally on Friday 26th September 2003. Procedure 1. Research the Tesco website and found information. 2. Spoke to staff from Tesco. 3. Found information in textbooks. 4. Visited Tesco to find information. Findings 1. History of the company When Sir jack Cohen first started out in 1919 he began as a sole trader and was selling groceries in London's markets. The brand name Tesco didn't appear until the 1920's. Over the years Jack Cohen's business grew and become a partnership. There are many advantages of this one being that more funds are available and also you can share the responsibility of the business. This can be an advantage to some people and in Jack Cohen's case it was a good idea to go into partnership because he just kept expanding his business and has come very far in life. To start as a sole trader and now become Europe's biggest food retailer. A disadvantage of being a sole trader is that you have unlimited liability over your business and could find it difficult to obtain additional funds, also you have all the work to do and it might get too much. A disadvantage of being a partnership is that you still have unlimited liability and capital may be restricted. Where as an advantage of been a sole trader is that it is your business so you are your own boss, also you get to keep all the profits. 1.2 How Tesco started its chain Tesco opened its first store to the public in the late 20's at Edgware. By the early 30's they opened a self-service supermarket in the USA. The name Tesco came from a partner in tea supplies, which was based on the initials T.E.Stockwell. They started selling a bigger range of stock and buying in bulk, which meant that they could promote low prices. ...read more.

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One is to underline their belief that "every little helps". Tesco supports projects and initiatives this gives particular benefits to children, people with disabilities and the elderly. 2.6 Caring for the environment Tesco take pride in taking care of the environment in many ways one being to "re think rubbish" they say they are always looking for ways to reduce packaging. Such as biodegradable packaging this means that people can dispose of fruit trays, cling film and plastic nets in the back garden rather than putting it in the bin. The packaging is made out of starch and will decompose without damaging the environment. They are also involved in reusable plastic crates, which are known as green trays they are used instead of cardboard boxes and other materials, which could damage the products. They won the Queens Award for the Environment 2002. Tesco aim to be more efficient and kind to the ozone layer to show customers that they can do more for the community by being environmentally friendly. 2.7 looking after the customers Tesco use a number of things to help their customers like help for the hearing impaired. They have introduced a loop service is available on some checkouts and at the customer service desk and tobacco kiosks. 3. Functional areas of Tesco A functional area in a business is what keeps the business running. Functional areas within a business include Production, Human Resources, Finance, Administration, Sales and Marketing and Customer Services. All these functions do not exist in every business some only have two or three. Businesses have functional like these so it is easier to run the business. The same way businesses have a purpose individuals in a business have set jobs to do. Most businesses have more or less all the functional areas to operate efficiently. They divide everything up so people can do different things like Tesco a person that works on the shop floor will not promote the products they sell as well, they get someone else to do that job. ...read more.

Conclusion

Also a business can communicate externally by sending a customer a sales invoice to be paid. You could place a job advert for a sales assistant this would be communicating with potential employees. Banks are another external function. Tesco would interact with the bank when they have any outstanding bills or to look at there financial records i.e. profit and loss account and balance sheet. Businesses can now use ICT and the Internet to set up a website for the business i.e. Tesco customers are now able to shop online instead of going into the shop. The Internet is also a way of businesses communicating with suppliers and the public. Tesco also use the telephone to communicate this is also needed when using the Internet. 6. Tesco organisational structure Tesco operate a hierarchical structure, which is where there are lots of different layers or levels. With management at the top then the department managers, supervisors/line managers and sales staff would make a basic structure. A hierarchical structure can have many levels. Businesses that employ a lot of staff or are a public limited company, they often have a hierarchical structure this is sometimes so big and has many levels they are broken down into different functional areas i.e. Finance, Administration, Human Resources and many more. All employees in the structure are controlled by the people on the level above them e.g. sales staff and department managers. Tesco have an autocratic management style. This means that the manager of the business makes all the decisions and they are mostly obeyed although employees tend to be less motivated in the workplace. This could be a disadvantage to tesco because if staff motivation is low then moral is low and staff may not want to work in that environment any more and leave the company. As for the organisational culture of tesco I would say that tesco had a role culture because it is best suited to hierarchical structures and where every employee has there own role to do this also involves a clear chain of command. ...read more.

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