The checkouts at Tesco are to help the customers to be in and out of the store as fast as they can. There are now self service checkouts at the front of the store for people with ten items or less. This is so that people who want to scan their own items, pack their own bags, have a payment option and have a quicker exit can do so. For those who have ten items or less but do not want to scan their own items or have a CD protection cover they need to be taken off they go to a till for ten items or less with a cashier to scan their items on. This is a convenient quick check for those customers with few items. A traditional checkout has a Tesco cashier on it and a conveyer belt. There is room for a trolley and the cashier asks is you need any help with your packing if there is a big shop and only one customer to pack the bag.
There is a saving’s scheme board placed at the front of the shop near the exit, this is to show the customers what kind of saving they could make if they chose to have a scheme with Tesco. There are payphones next to the scheme board so that any calls of importance can be made.
For customer convenience there are other shops that have been established on the site to offer a variety of sales that a customer can purchase. All these shops provide a different type of sale that Tesco does not and it attracts more customers into Tesco as well as providing a variety of products. These shops have been placed within Tesco in the interest of the customer as it means that the customers can stay within one store instead of having to go elsewhere for particular products.
In particular newspapers articles there have been arguments for Sunday Openings. Supporters of people having family time at church and church ministers argue that the employees work during the week and do not need to have to be at work during church time if they are religious. The customers argue that they work during the week and cannot get to work any other time so they need the extra day to shop when they are off work. Tesco have reacted by having a limited Sunday opening in the interests of the customers as they want more customers and want to satisfy everyone and the customers have to shop on another day.
Employee
Employees are people paid to provide a service to Tesco and they need a variety of skills, and get a variety on their pay depending on their skills. Their skills and experience could be to work in the bakery. If a need to work as a cashier or manager they need to be qualified at their job and do their best at it. This is so that they provide a good service to the customers to encourage them to come back to Tesco to shop. If they do their best at their job they will get positive feedback and maybe even a pay-rise or a promotion.
The employees want to be treated fairly and equally, they want good working conditions and reasonable working hours. If they don’t get this then they will complain about the standards and this may even lead to them quitting their job. If they quit their job they won’t encourage any friends or relatives to work at the shop, therefore Tesco will get a bad name and may even lose employees through their conditions.
Their influence on Tesco is that they are the ones basically making the business successful because they are the people getting up every morning and coming to work for Tesco and putting out the goods on the shelves that the customers will buy and Tesco will receive profit from. They are the people keeping the store open to the public and providing a good service to the customers. They keep the customers coming back. Tesco need different employees for the different types of work going on in the shop; different areas. These areas can be anything from working on the traditional tills to being a personal shopper.
The management is important at Tesco as they are the people who react upon certain complaints that the customers may have made. The management can tell their employees what they could improve on in store and overall this could make Tesco a better place for their customers and employees to be.
I talked to Kirsty Lemin, an employee at Tesco, she said that Tesco gave her a little bit of a choice with what she does within the store; this involves being able to choose to do a slightly different kind of work within the particular job that she has so that she does not get bored and has a variety of things she can help with. Kirsty explained that Tesco have an offer on for employees at Tesco which involves money off a new computer. This computer can be paid for over a certain period of time and it is interest free. This is a very good offer as most people that are employed at Tesco are students as they can be paid cheaply and will be interested in this offer as students do not have much money and need computers. They need money off anything they can and have an opportunity to get something they need for a fraction of the price. I think that employees influence Tesco by physically being there. This is because they are the ones that make Tesco a business. Without the employees there would be no one there to run Tesco and provide the customers with anybody to scan their items at the tills, or to put out the products on the shelves or to even offer help to find things in the store.
From a recent newspaper article I found out that some employees are affected by the Sunday opening and they have complained to Tesco. A campaigner for the ‘keep Sunday special campaign’ said, “11 million people are now usually, or sometimes, working on a Sunday. This is having a dreadful impact on family life.” To keep their employees happy at their 1819 stores nationwide, Tesco have agreed to have an earlier finish on a Sunday as it is a day for the family. This has encouraged their employees to stay on at Tesco and know that their needs are cared for.
Financiers
Financiers are helping to fund Tesco and lend the business money to help them expand the business. This expansion creates more interest in Tesco as it can expand into larger stores or even a brand new store. A lot of very good improvements to their current store from the money also. An example of Tesco expanding is on the West Road where a new store may be built in place of the general hospital that is all going to be moved over to the RVI (Royal Victoria Infirmary). If Tesco expands it will get more customers and the more customers it gets the more profit will be made. If Tesco is successful they will have no problems paying back the loan.
Financiers are a very important role on Tesco as if they think the business is not doing well they can demand the money back. If they demand the money back then Tesco will go downhill. This will make all the shareholders that Tesco have think it is a failing business and they will sell their shares as soon as they can in case Tesco becomes bankrupt. Financiers are needed for the business in expansion as the store may want to expand or put the money towards anything else that might occur to need funding.
Suppliers
The suppliers want to get paid a good price for the goods they are selling to Tesco. They have an interest in Tesco because they want their products to do well in the shop rather than them not selling. If their products don’t sell then Tesco may not want to buy them anymore resulting in the suppliers not getting any money.
Tesco is a big seller but if they offer a ridiculously low price for the goods the suppliers will not get as much profit. If Suppliers refuse the price that has been offered that means that Tesco will have to sacrifice more money to buy it, and depending on the quantity this could lead to a loss. The suppliers also want Tesco to do well as if they don’t then Tesco will be lost as a customer as they will turn to better suppliers or cancel their orders because they are not doing well. The suppliers supplies Tesco with all kinds of goods, such as essential and non-essential goods.
Fair Trade encourages Tesco to sell their products so that people in third world countries can be better off. If Tesco sell Fair Trade’s good they will not get as much profit but they will get good publicity and may even get more customers from it.
Tesco could lose the suppliers and have to take their sales elsewhere if they ask the suppliers for goods on short notice. The suppliers could be unable to supply these goods on time and Tesco would want to take their interests elsewhere, preferably to places which will provide what they need on time. Tesco also wants good value for money and a fair price for the goods they are buying.
Government
The government is better off when Tesco opens new stores across the country as this means that Tesco will employ a lot of people from that area, this decreases the amount of unemployed and the amount of unemployed disabled people. Every shop that employs over 1000 people has to employ a percentage of disabled people. The government wants Tesco to be successful so that they get more VAT but they also want Tesco to obey laws to keep everyone happy, i.e. customers and employees will feel safe and feel as though they are being treated fairly.
The government has a very large impact on Tesco because they will fine Tesco if they break the law and they decide how much VAT is paid. The government forces Tesco to provide disabled facilities such as recycling bins to meet targets of the government. Tesco have responded to this by putting bins at the top of the car park which are used frequently.
Shareholders (owners)
A shareholder has invested money into Tesco and would like the shop to do well so that they gain profit. They want Tesco to succeed. Radio four has made comments that Tesco is doing very well for itself. Their share prices are high; this is very good for existing shareholders. Without the shareholders there would be no investment so it would be impossible for the shop to have opened in the first place. Tesco needs to do well and succeed to give the shareholders a profit; if Tesco does not reach these standards than the shareholders could sell their shares. The price of the shares would decrease and the impression is that Tesco is a failing business. Because Tesco is run properly, the shareholders want to invest and share prices are higher because they are in demand.
Local Community
The local community is a big influence on Tesco as their house prices are affected by Tesco. Their house prices could go up or down depending on the sort of expansion they are producing. It can adversely effect the area. Tesco’s neon sighs are very bright and the traffic that builds up outside the shop creates noise and pollution. Since Tesco has had a twenty-four hour opening the safety of the neighbourhood is more at risk with it staying open so late because more and more people are going into the store and causing bother as they may be intoxicated or youngsters may just be going out of their way to cause hassle. If trolleys are taken off the site and left lying around nearby houses it creates an awful lot of litter and makes the place look untidy.
If the local community is unhappy with Tesco they will protest. This creates a lot of bad publicity for the shop and Tesco does not want that so they try their best to keep the local community happy.
Some things have been done because if the local community protesting or simply being unhappy with some efforts that have but been made by Tesco. These things involve trolleys being left around and near the site of Tesco. The local community does not want trolleys making their neighbourhood look untidy. As a result of this Tesco are putting forward more funds to retrieve their trolleys and employing new staff to collect trolleys for the local community’s convenience.
The large sign at the front of Tesco has been covered up/hidden by trees and bushes as a result of one of the complaints that may have been made by the local community.
Another thing which has caused upset within the local community was the large neon sign that was going to be placed up for Tesco as Tesco needs to advertise. The local community in Hexham thought that the sign was simply unsightly as it was too large and took over their skyline. Tesco agreed with the local community and now have limited signs and they have planted trees around the signs at Kingston Park and a smaller sign at Hexham as they do have to make them blend in a bit more with their atmosphere.
The parking spaces in Tesco have to have a certain percentage of their spaces for the disabled and for parents to park. If Tesco did not provide these spaces then the local community would not be able to use the spaces and would not have as much room to take their prams/wheelchairs out of their vehicles. Tesco have provided the local community with parking spaces for the disabled and the parent and child parking. They have made sure that there are enough of these different spaces so that the overflow of the customers does not have to use normal spaces. Although Tesco have provided these spaces they are also encouraging other modes of transport.
Pressure Groups
The pressure groups want Tesco to provide fair trade products and healthier options as an ideal viewpoint. They also want Tesco to pay fair prices for the goods they are receiving, through fair trade, to ensure that people in less economically developed countries are getting paid well for the labour they are doing. Therefore Tesco are paying out more so that the people in less economically developed countries are being paid fairly so they are gaining less profit but they are providing fairness in variety.
Pressure groups also push Tesco to recycle and reuse different things, as a result of this pressure Tesco have placed recycling bins at the end of the car park and recycling carrier bags at the front of the store.
In a recent newspaper article the pressure groups have been outraged by Tesco wanting their store to be open on a Sunday for shopping and people to work more hours in store. They want it to be a family day and used only for family time. A Church of England spokesman said, “Sunday is not a normal day, it is a holy day. You cannot seriously argue that the nation needs more time to shop.” This argument from the church shows that they do not, under any circumstances, want Sunday trading.
I think all the stakeholders are as important as each other because they all have important roles in the running and success of the Tesco store. Each stakeholder has a different impact on how Tesco is changed and improved. Each individual stakeholder can have different ways in which they influence Tesco but they all want it to be successful as if it isn’t then they will be affected in different ways. If Tesco wants to keep all its stakeholders happy then it responds to them to do this. As a result of Tesco responding the stakeholders will be happy and keep doing what they do to keep Tesco a successful business.
Conflicts
Shareholders and Local Community
The shareholders and the local community have had a disagreement about extending the opening hours.
The local community is not very happy with this as it will affect their homes if they live very close to the shop and their roads will increase in traffic as more and more people will be shopping in the extra hours. This, in turn, will disturb the local community and keep children/pets awake when it is their bed time. The importance of the local community in this disagreement is the fact that if the community is not very happy with Tesco they might complain/protest about the particular changes. This will bring bad publicity to Tesco which they do not want as they will lose customers and this will result in them losing money from lack of sales.
The shareholders want extended opening hours as they want more customers which will result in more profits. The shareholders are important to Tesco as if they are not happy because they are not getting extended opening hours and no profits they might share their share in the business. If they sell their share in the business then other people who have share will look into why they sold their share and may also sell their share. If a lot of the shareholders start to sell they shares then the shares will not be worth as much as they would have been worth if they had not been sold.
To resolve these problems between the two stakeholders there have been public relations to show the different things everyone could benefit from as a result of the extended opening hours. To stop the local community from thinking that the traffic, as a result of the extended opening hours, will not be bad Tesco has improved the exit/access to Tesco so that the traffic flows more freely and smoothly. There are also donations made to the local community to keep them happy with the hours that the store will be open for. These donations could be such things as a new sports centre open for the community and Tesco may advertise this to show how great it is and that the community should go. This can benefit the community by keeping them fit and giving them a hobby and also keeping them happy with the fact that the stores opening hours will be increasing.
Shareholders and Employees
The shareholders and the employees also have a disagreement about the extended opening hours Tesco wants to have.
The employees are upset about this decision because it means that they need to do more shift work and work unsociable hours. The employees are important to Tesco as if they are not happy with the way Tesco are going about opening the store for longer hours they may protest. If the employees protest then Tesco will not have anyone working for them, therefore losing out on profits and bringing bad publicity to the store, which, in turn, will stop people from wanting to shop at Tesco or even physically stopping them.
The shareholders want these longer opening hours because of the same reason as before, they want more customers as more customers means more profit which will give them more money on improving the store to, yet again, gain more money. If the shareholders are not happy because they have been refused longer opening hours because of the customers they might sell their shares as said before also.
To resolve the issues and conflict between the two stakeholders Tesco have come to the agreement that they will employ more part time workers. These can be such people as mothers with children and students. Tesco at Kingston Park are more then welcoming students at their store as Tesco can work around their time which needs to be spent at work. More part time workers may encourage even more part time workers from word of mouth. If the workers Tesco have taken on are happy with they way they are being treated and the hours they are given then they might encourage friends or family to become employees there.
Management and Local community
The conflict between the management and the local community concerns the building of the new premises. The new stores that have been built are the Tesco store in Hexham and the store that is going to be built in the place of the general hospital on the west road.
The management want these new stores to get more customers and more profits. If there are more stores in the Newcastle upon Tyne area then the more chance there is of the customers going to a store, the more customers that are in the stores then the more products will be sold. If there are more products sold then that means that there will be more profits. If Tesco receive more profits then they will be able to buy more stores to gain more profits and keep their stakeholders happy in turn.
The local community see this as a bad thing as they see Tesco taking over the rest of the stores, this gives the customers and the local community less choice about where they will shop and will cause problems for profit in the smaller stores. Tesco are getting smaller stores in their large shop in Kingston Park. These smaller stores are giving more opportunity to the people who shop in Tesco and they are seeing products, either for cheaper or better value for money and the customers are not going to smaller shops in the same area that may also offer these goods because they offer them in Tesco. This is a big problem for the local community as their little shops that are near Tesco’s large stores will lose money as Tesco are offering more goods.
This problem was resolved by having meetings with the Local community and discussing how the extra shops will benefit them. It will provide more jobs for the unemployed an d also to people in the community who only want to work part time as they are students are single mothers. These discussions put the locals at ease and provide a lot of encouragement for them to agree with the proposals the Tesco is placing in front of them.
Management and Government
The conflict between these two stakeholders is the fact that the government does not want the management to break the law but in turn if the management breaks the law then the government will gain fine money. Taxes are also taken from the management by the government. The Government are not happy with the fact that Tesco wants to recycle as this takes money away from the government.
The management have restrictions. They receive fines if they do not act within the law. If the management break the law then they will have to pay a fine to the government. This has an affect on the profits of Tesco. The management have to work hard in order to not break the law as they do not want to get fined too much as if they do they will get very low amounts of profit. If Tesco’s profits start to decrease then they could lose their shareholders if the shareholders think Tesco is failing as a business.
The Government does not hesitate to fine Tesco if they think that they are breaking the law. If the government fines the management then that means they have a source of income that can be benefiting towards the local community. A community centre could be built with the extra money and also better conditions at the local schools. The trading standards of the government must be met by the government unless yet another fine will be put in place.
This conflict between the management and the government can be resolved by the management working within the laws the government have put in place so that they will not get fined. The managers must know the laws of the government so that are not telling their employees something that is against the law. Also if the managers know the law it is much more useful then the lower down employees knowing the law as the managers knowing the law with benefit the Tesco store more. If the management know the laws and practice working within the law then they will not get fined and have more profits because they don’t have to pay out to the government to pay for the fines.
Management and Employees
The management have conflict between them as they have different objectives and needs to each other.
The management want to keep pay to the employees low and the price of their products high but not too high. If the do this then their profits will be higher. If their profits are higher then they will be able to improve their stores and make the local community happy and the customers happy.
The employees are not very happy with the fact the Tesco are keeping their pay so low and wanting them to still work for nearly minimum wage. Trade Unions represent the workers and if the workers aren’t happy with their pay then the Trade Union will not be happy with Tesco. Tesco does not want to make their employees unhappy otherwise they will either go on strike or look for a better place which gives them better pay. If Tesco’s employees go elsewhere for better pay then they will have competition that is trying to steal their customers. If Tesco’s employees go on strike then they will attract bad publicity to Tesco. Tesco does not want bad publicity as that will attract the attention of customers and the local community. If the attention is attracted by the customers then they will not want to shop at a store which cannot keep their employees happy. If the customers think that the management cannot keep the employees happy then what is the chance that they will be happy going into the store. The customers will go elsewhere to shop, creating competition for Tesco. If the local community’s attention is drawn to the employees that are on strike members of them who may have been thinking of working there will not want to if they see that they will not get good pay and kept content in their job.
The conflict between these two stakeholders has been resolved by the fact that Tesco is working with the Trade Union to keep their employees happy. They are going to pay their employees more then minimum wage and either the same as or above what their competitors would pay them if they were to be working for them.
Management and Pressure groups
The conflict between these two stakeholders is that they both have different viewpoints.
The management want an efficient organisation which is run effectively with lower costs. This means that they do not want pressure put on them to arrange more things that would be good for the community because it will cost a lot of money which the management would rather keep for itself. The management want to please the pressure groups by giving them what they want but they do not do this is some cases as the things the pressure groups are asking for may be expensive or a very large job.
The pressure groups want the working hours on a Sunday at Tesco to be limited as they want more time spent on the family and for family time. This family time could be spent at church in some cases. Pressure groups put a lot of exaggeration on the fact that they want healthy eating to be encouraged in Tesco. This could make the people in their community a lot healthier and more able to do more things. If emphasis is put on the fact that healthy food is good for you then parents will be very happy is their children are drawn to the more healthier option if is (for example) very colourful. The parents also do not want sweets to be at the tills when they are at the end of their shop and paying for their shopping. They do not want this as it is unhealthy for their children to want sweets and also adds to the money they are spending. Pressure groups main issue is to encourage recycling at Tesco’s store as it will cut down on the amount of rubbish clogging up our land and let us live in a less polluted community.
These issues were solved by Tesco providing many of the things that the Pressure Groups want to show that they are a caring organisation and they want to look after their community by giving them all the different choices that they would like.
Management and Suppliers
These two stakeholders have the issue if their product deliveries which is causing conflict.
The management want to deliver goods by customer demand to meet the customer’s needs. If Tesco do not have enough of a particular product that the customer wants then they will lose profits that they could have had if they had bought more products, hence the need to purchase orders on customer demand. The management want this flexibility so that they don’t purchase more orders of what they think that customers are interested in just to find that the customers are interested in something completely different.
The Suppliers want regular orders so that the orders are not being made and then more products are being added or taken away from what Tesco have ordered. If there have been large orders made by Tesco and they decide they do not want it at the last minute it means a lot of hassle for the Suppliers and they may even lose some of their profits as they may lose their products. If Tesco orders a certain amount of goods and then they have been posted out and Tesco decide they do not want them anymore then the Suppliers have posted them out and they will lose their products as Tesco may complain that they didn’t order them.
This conflict was resolved by their contracts being drawn up so that other orders cannot be purchased after a certain amount of days that it has been ordered. Tesco usually has an advantage on this as it is mostly a larger firm then most of the Suppliers.
Management and Customers
The conflict between these two stakeholders is the fact that the customers want a range of products in front of them hen they want them.
The management don’t want to be left with out of date products. If the management purchase them and then the customers decide they do not want that particular product anymore then the management will have wasted some of their money on goods that will have to be reduced to even have a chance of being sold.
The customers want good quality, value for money products which will be there, and there are enough of them, for all the customers that want them. They do not want the products to run out over time, they want them there when and where the customers need them. The customers need a range of products to choose from also so that they are not reduced to only choosing from one particular make.
This conflict has been resolved by just-in-time stock ordering. This means that the management can have the products on the shelves ready for the customers for when and where they need them. They also don’t have to worry about ordering too many products and having to reduce the price of them to sell them. If the management has some idea of how many of a certain product that the customer wants then they will get the right amount and keep their profits up and their customers happy.
Financiers and Shareholders
The conflict between these two stakeholders is the fact that they both want provision of finance at a cost that both of them will be able to afford.
The shareholders want to be able to borrow money from the financers at a reasonable interest rate which they will be able to pay back. The shareholders want this money so that they can expand their current business and improve it for their customers, local community and pressure groups. They want a good background with the financiers as well so that they will get this good interest rate. If they do not have a good background with the financers then they might not get a good interest rate or they could even get refused for a loan because they don’t pay their money back in time.