To maximise sales through competitive pricing and heavy advertising campaigns
To make the supermarket a happy and an enjoyable place for the staff to work together in harmony
To ensure complete customer satisfaction and minimise any complaints about their products or prices.
To make shopping at ASDA a completely new, unique experience which provides customers and their children with a convenient, warm, welcoming, happy and safe shopping environment.
To keep the customers happy and satisfied by providing them with the best and latest products and services at the lowest prices, without having to compromise on quality.
To provide as much relevant information about products and services throughout the store, in a manner that is understandable to the customer.
In order to achieve most of these aims and objectives it is down to the staff. If the employees are not motivated then all of these aims will not be completed. To maximise sales through competitive pricing and heavy advertising, the departments of advertising will be responsible for this to be successful, if the team whom are in charge of this are de-motivated in any way then the campaigns may be produced to a low standard and this could therefore lead to a decline in sales for ASDA which could affect the entire company. The same goes for the forth aim, here it is down to the staff to create excellent customer service as this will ensure that the shoppers have the best ASDA experience, in order for them to create great customer service, they must be enthusiastic and happy within their job, this will only happen if all of the staff are encouraged and motivated through incentives or rewards, it is therefore essential for all the employees to have various prods and encouragement to ensure that they feel their work is being acknowledged. Finally for the last objective, staff motivation is again a crucial factor in order to achieve this. If an employee is not motivated they will not feel the necessity to learn and train to up to a high standard and they will half-heartedly complete training, as a result they will not have full product information and will not be able to provide service and information about their products at a high level, this will in turn reduce ASDA reputation and sales. However, of course if the staff are being motivated all of this will be reversed and ASDA will be able to achieve all of their aims and objectives simply through motivational strategies. ASDA’s mission statement is ‘To be the UK’s best retailer and exceed customer needs’ for this to be effective ASDA must achieve all of the aims above, of course for these aims to be met the staff will need to be motivated and staff development is requirement as if they are not these aims and objectives will not be accommodates and as a result of this the mission statement cannot be successful. As this mission statement is extremely optimistic clearly the staff will require a lot of development and training, therefore the staff are required to be motivated to ensure that they all collectively work so that ASDA becomes UK’s largest supermarket.
Motivational strategies
Salary:
Monetary rewards come in financial form. ASDA pays each and every worker more than minimum wage which is approved by the government. ASDA pays £6.50 for under 18’s while over 18’s get £7.50. They also pay extra money for those who work on Sundays. Also as ASDA is open for 24 hours, they pay extra money for those who work during unsociable hours such as nights and early in the morning. ASDA also pay double during bank holidays and also provides a raise for those who those who are loyal within the company. If a person has worked for ASDA for a long period of time they are entitled to a bonus and also an extra holiday. The various levels and position of the employee depends on the amount they get paid, a higher position worker will get paid than one who is lower for example a shop floor assistant will get £15,000 an hour where as a department manager will get around £23,559 as you can see there is a huge difference between the two wages however a department manager would have much greater responsibility and also a larger workload. ASDA follows Fredrick Taylor’s theory, a scientific approach which is based majorly on money being a huge factor for motivating workers. Though Taylor’s theory stated the employee being on piece rate, ASDA does use money as a motivation as they pay workers more than the minimum wage as they hope this will encourage staff to work harder and be happier as this will reflect a positive image on ASDA. Also as they pay employees extra on bank holidays and Sundays, this shows that they feel that by increasing the pay employees will not worry about working such days, this suggests that the only reason they are working is for the financial reward. However, Herzberg would argue that monetary rewards like this are not real motivators. Maslow would contradict that they simply relate to lower-order needs. A Theory X manager might believe that offering pay helps to get people to meet targets however Taylor is the only theorists that believes money is that main factor needed to motivate staff. ASDA clearly fulfils Taylor’s theory however; they do also take other factors into account in order to motivate staff.
This is one of the motivational factors that ASDA use as a large majority of their staff are part-time students however, ASDA can’t presume that all workers are motivated by money. Yes, for the young students who are part-time money will be an important factor without a doubt as the main reason for them to have a job would be to make extra money to buy clothes, paying for tuition fees and personal expenditure which they want or to save up for university. Such a money motivating strategy will be effective to people who have a low household income as money will be a high motivator. Upon speaking to my friends who work in ASDA, same age as me and completing A-levels, they stated that money is the biggest motivator and they are extremely worried about paying bills, accommodation and whether student finance will be enough for them to live off. Therefore for them money is the biggest motivator and this theory would clearly be valuable.
Many individuals would agree with Herzberg’s view that money is not the most important motivator. Taylors theory can be criticized as many people believe in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which states the importance of other factors such as self-actualisation, esteem, social needs, love and belonging, security and safety and physiological need. When speaking to my family member Sonia, who is 48 and works at ASDA, she explained to me that for her, money is not the main motivator along with Raj who is 52. They are happy to work for ASDA as they enjoy the job and the social aspect rather than the financial benefits. Sonia is married to a qualified GP and she had only applied for the job so she would have a ‘time passing’ job. They both relish working and are given full chance to use their potential, to be innovative and carry out the job. Working as a team and being praised gives them a feeling like no other; they are both also to two employees who have the fastest checkout time, they also enjoy the freedom of their job and are also very worried about their job security and having a safe environment, also they are looking to expand their role and status within the business, they are always looking out for promotions or any way in which they can develop their role. Their priorities are mainly set on all of these factors rather than on their monthly salaries or bonuses. As you can see for them money is clearly not a crucial motivational factor. Following Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, ASDA would be able to motivate them by providing a privilege cad, promotion prospectus, gift vouchers, flexible working hours, extra holiday, better pension schemes or share schemes. Using both strategies is bet for ASDA as for the younger staff, clearly money was a major motivation factor while for Raj and Sonia money is a minor aspect of the job.
Privilege card:
Another money motivator that ASDA accommodate within their business is a privilege card. Once an employee has worked at ASDA for 6 months they are entitled to a discount card which gives them 10% off any products within their store. Not only does this demonstrate commitment of the staff it also motivates them to stay longer, even if they do not feel comfortable in the job within the early stages as they will look forward to receiving their discount card. ASDA employees can save hundreds of pounds each year when they are shopping in ASDA in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Staff discount is available for a person to spend around £6,000 and anything can be purchased from lottery, stamps, medicines and the cafe. This seems to be one of the biggest motivational factors for certain employees; however it is mainly older workers who this benefits. Younger employees do not find a privilege card motivating as they are less likely to spend money in large amounts at ASDA. When speaking to my friend who works at the store, she said that if she buys a dress for £10,000 there will only be a discount of £1.00 therefore this is not a great amount of money to be saved. However for older members, they often spend money on greater things such as TV’s and also buying food for the family, for this reason older member of ASDA will see this discount card as more of an incentive than younger ones. For example if an employee spends £400, they will save out on £40.00 which is more of a significant saving and sounds more appealing and rewarding. Younger people don’t usually carry out shopping large amounts therefore it wouldn’t be a big saving therefore the privilege card doesn’t seem very appealing. One of the aspects that differs this from all other supermarkets is that ASDA is affiliated with Walmart, so employees who are travelling overseas can also benefit from discounts whilst on holiday, this will be a major motivating factor for those who go abroad often as the amount of discount will allow them to save a lot of money whilst on holiday.
However the privilege card can be extremely motivating in a different perspective. The ASDA privilege card is also available to be used for close family, this way the employee’s parents can also use it which will allow them to get more use of it, also when saving money for the family, they will be praised and this will in turn increase levels of motivation simply through the application of a 10% privilege card that is only available to the staff. One way that this motivates the staff is that it fulfils Maslow’s hierarchy of esteem. Seeing as the privilege card is only given to staff who have worked in ASDA for over 6 months, therefore this privilege can be seen as a sign of acknowledgment and recognition. This allows the employee to reach the ‘self esteem’ level on Maslow’s hierarchy. Therefore you can see that ASDA implement Maslow’s theory within their workplace and it is clearly motivates staff. Maslow believed that in order to motivate staff they must climb the various levels within the workplace, by having this privilege card the staff will be able to take their hierarchy to a higher level and in turn be highly motivated. Certain shops have restricted discount on various items, such as lower discount will be provided for buying TV’s than for food, however ASDA allow the same amount of discount for every time, this therefore becomes a huge motivational factor when comparing against other stores such as Home Bargins and Morison’s. In a way the privilege card can also acknowledges Elton Mayo’s needs, as through the simple application of a card, employees feel more socially acceptable and they feel like ‘one of the team’ once they have received their discount as this suggests that they are just like the rest of the staff, this will do nothing but make the employee feel more socially adept within their job and this will automatically motivate the worker. Overall, I feel that this method of motivation is extremely successful and is one of the ways that organisations currently accommodate within their business.
Shares:
Another way in which ASDA motivates their employees to ensure that they are content within their workplace is by including them into a share scheme. The share save plan available to ASDA employees includes an excellent savings plan for workers. This savings plan is well established, with over 200,000 employees participating. Shares plans reward employees for their solid work, dedication and loyalty by gratifying them with free ASDA shares. It’s free and the dividends are given to the employee twice a year in cash or can be given in more shares depending on what the employee prefers. This is a tax efficient way of rewarding the employees which enables them to become a shareholder with ASDA at no cost; therefore it is more than likely that they will agree to the share scheme. If they employees are simply given extra cash for hard work, they will have to pay tax, in turn this means that employees end up with less of a bonus and will be de motivated as they will not receives a substantial reward. However with the share plans the worker will pay less tax than if the incentive cash is added to the employees pay slip. This way of motivating is more cash efficient and the staff will feel as though their needs are being considered as the business will be going out of their way to ensure that the employees are getting the most out of their job as possible. To apply for the shares policy at ASDA has made the process easier than ever. ASDA invites its new employee once a year and once the employee have registered, they don’t have to register again while they work for ASDA. This business also motivates people by using shares like save as you earn and buy as you earn. Save as you earn allows employees to buy shares with up to 20% discount while buy as you earn allows the employee to buy shares from gross salary hence saving tax. The save as you earn policy is available to all staff with one year’s service or more at their invitation date , it is danger free saving, this automatically makes the employee motivated as they will be generating an extra income without hassle or worry. At the end of the saving contract an employee can have their saving and bonus back in cash. There is also a chance to benefit from any increase in the ASDA share price. In addition to this the employee is also provided the option to transfer their share into an individual saving account (ISA) and benefit from a tax-free gain if the employee sells them. ASDA also give as much option as they can such as the member of staff can choose the amount they want to save between £5.00 and £50.00 every four weeks. They can also choose the length that they wish they wish to save for either 3 or 5 years. The share amount is directly taken from employee pay after every 4 weeks and held as a savings account on employee behalf. Once the saving contract has ended a guaranteed tax free bonus is added to the employees saving and then can be used to buy ASDA shares at up to 20% discount. This is a highly effective way to motivate staff as it allows them to gain extra cash whilst working at ASDA which will not require any effort from the individual’s behalf.
The buy as you earn scheme allows employees to buy ASDA shares and save tax at the same time, it will allow the employee to buy shares from gross salary and save tax. This is a tax efficient share buying scheme that ASDA provides to its entire staff. ASDA employees buy shares at the market price from their gross pay each period before income tax and national insurance is deducted. The benefit that the employee can have is the value of share they buy is more than the net pay they give up to buy them. ASDA gives it employee a choice on how much they wish to pay, the shares are held in a trust for the employee while they are employed by ASDA until they decided to sell them.
This is one of the motivational strategies as it is like buying shares at a discount price. Since you can save income tax and national insurance on the pay and use it to buy shares. Employees can also gain extra money when ASDA share prices grow. Someone who has brought a share can receive dividends twice a year, either in cash or more shares. There will be no income tax or national insurance to pay on the gross salary employee use to buy the shares at any time, they also provide their employee extreme options to transfer shares into an ISA and benefit from a tax free gain if they decided to sell them. This is one major motivational strategy used by ASDA as it enables staff to join in the overall success of ASDA, the share save plan it offers permits both full-time and part-time employees to buy only shares, as I mentioned earlier by Taylor it is sought that we are only motivated by money, therefore this is one of the most effortless ways for the staff to generate extra money, this therefore should appeal to mainly all the staff. Also is it is available to both full and part time allows it to motivate everybody. If the employee buys shares within the business, they are not only workers, but they will feel that they are also a part of the family and history of the business. This in itself is a motivating element as it fulfils Elton Mayo’s theory that staff are all largely motivated by having their social needs met, as the share plan makes them feel accepted and gives them a feeling of togetherness their social demands are met, in addiotn to this is also accommodates Taylors belief that money is the key motivator, for this reason ASDA include this share scheme within their business as it will hugely motivate staff. One negative about this strategy is that again, it may not cater for all of the staffs needs. For instance employees who are 18-24 may have different priorities to older members of ASDA. They may prefer to have cash in hand rather than a share of ASDA as they may not truly understand the reimbursement from the scheme, therefore it could be beneficial for ASDA to educate all the staff on how the share scheme could benefit them and this would then motivate all staff. However, not all who are 18-24 would be unresponsive there will be only certain people who may not find it motivating as there can be issues and risks in buying shares.
Another reason for the share strategy to be potentially de-motivating is because of the various terms and conditions it requires. Employees who have long term plans to be an ASDA share holder can only enjoy the benefit of now income tax or national insurance to pay but those who don’t plan to be long term share holder do have a lot of drawbacks. If somebody wished to draw shares less than 3 years after buying them they will have to pay income tax and national insurance based on the current market value of the share on the date of withdrawal. For example is the market price of ASDA shares was £5.30 and I sold 10 shares I would receive 10*£5.30 but I would have to pay income and national insurance on that £53. If I decided to withdraw shares between 3 and 5 years after buying them I am still required to pay tax and national insurance. The amount I will have to pay is based on lowers of: the pay I used to buy them or the market values of my share on the date I decided to withdraw them. For example if the market price of ASDA shares is now £6.00 and I sold 10 shares would receive 10*£6=£60 but I will have to pay income tax and national insurance on the lower of the pay I used to buy them: £40 and the market price £60, so I would pay income tax and national insurance on £50. If I decided to withdraw my share after more than 5 years after buying them I will have no tax or national insurance pay. For example 10*£6.50=£65 and I would pay no income tax or national insurance at all. Originally this strategy seems to be very motivational. As it clearly shows an employee would be able to save various payments but if you go deeper into the depth of the terms and conditions it doesn’t seem to be extremely motivational. It is clearly a strategy to only those employees who have very long terms plans to stay employee for ASDA. Students who are working part time in contrast might not take this strategy as a motivational factor that will make them work harder. ASDA has very initially clarified that if a person is in career break, resignation, dismissal, retired for made redundant the scheme will come to an end. The share must be taken out from the plan and transferred in the employee’s name. The employee will have to pay income tax and insurance. For a short term worker this strategy is clearly not motivational at all and therefore an employee may feel that this hare scheme is not beneficial for them, therefore they will not find it as appealing as those staff members who are planning on working at ASDA long term.
However along with all of this there is a crucial motivating factor of employees buying shares with ASDA, many people forget the point that ASDA is now a part of the US giant supermarket Walk-Mart. ASDA employees has found themselves pitched into the American stock market after the British chain’s take over by US Wal-Mart, the deal has meant that workers exercise their rights under the company’s employee share ownership scheme, the will no longer be given UK-listed ASDA shares. Instead they will get Wal-Mart shares, which are listed in America. ASDA’s move across to the US has meant that the share value has massively increased, as the employee will now receive a larger amount for their contribution of shares. This will motivate staff as they are part of such a big organisation and they will be able to generate a larger amount of money through their shares. This is one of the factors that makes ASDA different from all other supermarkets in Britain and it is also one of the major competitive advantages, the fact that they have stores in the US also.
On the other hand one reason for the share stargery not being very motivating is the risk of entitlement to state benefit tax and work related payments. It may be affected if the gross pay falls below £90 a week, or national insurance falls below qualifying levels as a result of buying shares via this scheme. Staff want to think twice either to risk money in shares which can go down as well as up or make 100% that employee is qualified for state benefits or tax credit. All these factors again make the share strategy a little less motivating for the staff.
One alternative strategy would be to get rid of ‘buy as you earn scheme and only provide employees with ‘share success’ and ‘save as you earn scheme. Though there are certain levels of risk always involved when purchasing share the 3years withdraw 3 to 5 years withdraw condition doesn’t imply. The employee can choose between the amounts of money they want to save
between £5-£250 every four weeks. The amount that an employee has to choose will be taken away from the pay after tax every 4 weeks and held in a share save account on the employees behalf. At the end of the saving contact the employee can use the savings and bonus to buy ASDA shares at the option price. This is the market price, less a discount and is at the start of the scheme. Towards the end of the saving contact the employee will also receive a guaranteed tax free bonus. This scheme seems to be very easy and straight forward which can be ideal for an employee and this can be a major motivational factor. Overall the saving scheme gives employees a sense of belonging and will encourage motivation and retention. A share scheme means that staff will be rewarded for staying at the company, enabling them to feel a part of the company's success, and not like someone that can be easily replaced. As employees must remain in a scheme for at least three or five years to receive the benefits, they can also be an effective retention tool.
Another motivating factor of this is that with this plan , you get share options worth 25% of your basic pay. After three years, half of these become available, and you get any gain the share option has made in the form of Wal-Mart shares at no cost to yourself. After six years, the other half of your allowance becomes available in the same way. This again motivates staff as they will be gaining extra money within the business without doing any extra cost, ASDA are therefore fulfilling Taylors theory as they are giving staff extra cash in order to motivate them, also as they are going out of their way to produce perks for the staff it makes the employees reach a higher level or Maslow’s hierarchy of needs as they have the feeling of belonging and in turn highly motivating staff,
Pension:
Mainly all business offer its employees a pension scheme, however ASDA have produced a strategy which is different from the rest and also highly motivates their staff. The ASDA pension scheme offers a defined benefit pensions scheme which means that benefits are based on pay and how long you’re in the scheme. The pension scheme allows the workers to plan their future and ensure that once they leave work they have enough money even once they have retired and left work to support themselves. The ASDA pension package includes a lifetime pension from the age of 65 with the choice of cash. Furthermore the pension money is not taxed so the amount that gets generated is higher than if money was to be taken off. This is a particular motivating factor as once an employee is 65 they will have a large amount of savings which is tax free also ASDA pay all of the admin costs too. Employees who want to participate pay around 4.75% of their salary everyday. Employees build up a pension based on their pay and benefit reports will show how pensions build up every year. All the payments made by the employee and the ASDA payments go into one account and when it’s time to pay benefit, it all comes from the one big fund. This is a major motivational factor that motivated employees as they have the thought in the back of their mind that once they retire, they will be able to relax and have a settled down retirement.
Providing the perfect amount of pension is a high motivation strategy that ASDA employees are motivated by.
Health and safety:
ASDA implements the use of staff who are qualified in basic first aid. These individuals can also be sent on courses as it is mandatory that a certain number of workers are qualified for first aid in case of any emergency. These people can also be paid a higher wage rate for being a skilled or core worker. ASDA have created a system of paperwork where any incidences within the store are logged. This is due to any incidents that could cause ASDA to be liable for workers accidents to be minimised as the factors, causes and actions taken (plaster/antiseptic used) of the accident are logged as to avoid negligence of basic care. This is a positive factor for both staff and employers as it avoids injury to workers and employers akin. This method of motivation links with the theorist Maslow as it suggests that in order for an employee to reach higher levels within a business the first ‘basic needs’ must be accommodated for. Here you can see that ASDA give all their employees health and safety to ensure that the can reach highest levels of Maslow’s hierarchy and they will then be motivated to their highest potential.
Career progression:
Companies like Asda often employ tactics such as career progression to act as a motivational tool. The rewards of career progression obviously brings a greater rate of pay. Such as progressing from check outs to team leader or to store manager would bring a increased salary and therefore responsibilities. Team leaders and managers have to delegate roles to those lower down and are responsible for the motivating and 'output' from staff. Thus any improvements in the store are reflected in their work and can bring appraisal or another opportunity for career progression. Although the main aspect of progression is usually financial benefit. This is a very large aspect of most workers lives and can work very efficiently as a motivational factor, as everyone would be happier and much more motivated if they were rewarded with a higher rate of pay. As Mayo suggested, a person social needs also need to be met at their workplace, it is not only concerned with money, therefore by ASDA giving their employees career progression, they will feel that they are able to not only have their social needs met but they will also be able to gain extra money the higher they go within the workplace, this is a successful way in which ASDA motivate their staff.
Praise:
Praise, motivation and career progression are closely working factors. Praise is used as a tool to boost morale of workers and therefore hopefully to increase their work rate, thus productivity. This in turn can be seen responsible for the growth of the store and company. Praise can be in the form of 'employee of the month.' Although Asda implements ideas such as staff notice boards that display notes of appraisal from customers whom have written in, lists of scan rates that employees are currently working at. General appraisal in the form of thanking in morning briefings can increase morale for being actively praised in front of other staff and can motivate them to do the same. This is an impressive tool for increasing general morale of the store and it is of no major cost to the company and causes a positive impact on workers too. This again fulfils Elton Mayo’s theory, he believed that in order for an employee to be motivated they must have social needs accommodated for in their workplace, if a member of staff is praised whenever necessary they will feel a sense of being and social acceptance which will in turn highly motivate them to carry out work which will get them praise from the manager, this is again a highly motivating technique.
Benefits:
Benefits again are an important contribution to the issue of motivation to work. Benefits can take place in many forms such as company share schemes. This is where the workers are able to contribute to buying shares at a discounted rate or for free and have the ease of not having to go through a broker which may incur additional costs. This way dividends can be paid to the workers. A major role of benefits is such as a staff discount that allows workers to receive a discount as well as companies to generate additional revenue even though it may be slightly discounted. This is an ideal situation for both parties as both incur a form of saving or profit. The usual rate is around 10% for companies like ASDA. Other benefits can be in the form of healthcare. Managerial positions can be eligible for free private health care or even company cars. Other forms are company pension schemes whereby money can be saved to form a pension which is available upon retirement. Being a part of trade unions can also be perceived as a benefit as it allows workers to receive competitive rates of pay and other factors which can be bargained for to reach a viable solution. All of these benefits in a way meet Taylor’s theory, as instead of making money, the employees of ASDA will be able to save money, this will allow them to save extra money and spend it on other things which they wish to buy. Therefore staff will be motivated by the fact that they are saving money
Gift award:
Gift award schemes are used to praise workers loyalty at a company. When particular milestones have been reached by a member of staff, they are rewarded in the form of share bonuses. This way they are able to boost the amount of shares that they hold and as a shareholder receive a greater percentage of dividends from these shares. Gift awards can also be free gifts from a catalogue which is posted to the address of the worker, which are usually for much longer periods worked. These milestones represented by the rewards can be a form of praise and motivation. Especially visual factors which can be seen as a direct incentive for example receiving more money or possessing a free gift. These would provide a positive incentive to work. ASDA often give the workers who have the fastest checkout rate a voucher of around £10.00, this can be an extremely motivating cash incentive and often makes workers feel more wanted within the workplace and fulfils Mayo’s social demand theory, this also highly motivates them as they can spend the money within the shop where a variety of products are sold. Many rewards like this are issued to the employees and are used to successfully and highly motivate them
Canteen:
The canteen in ASDA is used to display progressions of workers. For example displaying letters of praise, notices for exceptional work or rates of work (scan rate). Visual motivation such as posters and awareness can be used to raise motivation. Around festive seasons there is also free food available in order again to motivate workers further. As workers who are fed will be more awake and ready for action than others who have not ate. Also having a canteen can dissuade workers from being on break for longer periods than allotted as they will be visible to senior members of staff. ASDA’s canteen serves free food and also drinks, along with this they provide staff with TV systems and also playstations, not only will this allow them to unwind during their break, but they will also feel as though ASDA are considering them as individuals which will then fulfil Maslow hierarchy of self esteem and self actualisation, they will feel as though they are wanted and can then be highly motivated.
Responsibilities:
All staff within ASDA have immediate responsibilities once taken on as a member with a company. The basics are usually to treat all members of staff with respect and therefore swearing or insubordination of any kind is not tolerable. Discrimination of any form is not allowed and should be reported to senior members of staff. All members of staff are required to treat the customers with respect and should never resort to violence verbally or physically although should not have to take it either from a customer. They are required to arrive at work before the shift is to begin and should be prepared for their role before time. The correct uniform must be worn at all times and at no time should anything else be worn with or instead of the appropriate attire necessary. Working with care and due diligence to ensure best results. ASDA try to ensure that each member of staff holds as much responsibility as possible, for example those working on the check out will also be responsible to help out on the self checkout when needed and can also switch over to customer care (if they have been trained), due to this high demand and enhanced responsibility, the staff members will feel as though they are of importance within the business and will feel motivated to continue their hard work, they will thrive to gain extra responsibilities in the workplace and will be stimulated to work harder. This also supports Herzberg’s theory as he suggested that when given extra responsibility employees feel that they are wanted and will work harder and be motivated.
Working environment:
Working environment is a very important sector and can help to make staff feel happy about their jobs. If workers are happy then they are more likely to work harder as it will not seem like a chore. Therefore morale must be kept high. This is done in many different ways in such large corporations as ASDA. Firstly managing a clean immediate working environment is key. By employing cleaners to clean the store and the separate staff toilets gives a clean working environment. Communication is integral in managing a happy working environment. Delegating in a pleasant manner can be the difference between a happy efficient worker and an unhappy inefficient worker as moods directly affect the way individuals work. ASDA has some of the best working conditions with regards to a retail superstore, they ensure that the shop is externally cleaned which prevents any de-motivating factors as suggested by Herzberg, also the staff canteen, toilets and staff room is checked every year by an external body to ensure that the conditions are excellent to work in.
Leadership styles
ASDA is a limited company which has around 500 stored in the UK alone. As it is such a popular store there is a great demand on ASDA to provide towns and cities with essential goods such as food and clothing, the hierarchical structure in this business has many levels and instructions are passed down to the bottom of the structure. If there was a problem in the hierarchy it would move up through the structure again from one person to another until it gets where it’s suppose to be. The orders, guidelines and any information is produced with the executive director and deputy where they make all of the major decisions for the ASDA this is then processed through to the rest of the employees and to the shop floor where the store can have increased success.
It is essential that when considering motivating staff, the correct leadership style is employed upon the staff, as this could determine whether everybody within the workplace feels motivated enough to make ASDA a thriving and booming business with a well created all round reputation. Within ASDA there is a wide range of departments, as there is such a variety of products sold, it simplifies the process if every sector is broken down into a branch and subdivided. For this reason, each leadership technique is protégé upon the type of department. As any business, each department holds its own weight and has different responsibilities due to the difference in job title and pay etc, all of these factors determine what type of leadership style works best and tailors the employee’s requirements. There are four main types of styles which can be used these are: autocratic, democratic, consultative and laissez faire. The autocratic style is used when leaders tell their employees what they want done and how they want it accomplished, without getting the advice of their followers. Democratic on the other hand involves the leader including one or more employees in the decision making process. The laissez faire leadership style is also known as the "hands-off¨ style. It is one in which the manager provides little or no direction and gives employees as much freedom as possible. All authority or power is given to the employees and they must determine goals, make decisions, and resolve problems on their own. Finally the consultative approach to leading seeks the counsel of the whole team before making a decision on what the team should do. They are also task oriented, but seek opinions of followers as well.
For ASDA to motivate their staff effectively they will have to take on an approach which is suited for all employees. One of the largest and most demanding areas in the supermarket is the checkout. This department holds more of an autocratic leadership. As shown above autocratic is where leaders delegate roles to employers. The management within this department is very strict about the events of work, staff handling the customers and decision making. Managers and directors will expect all of the employees on the checkout to carry out transactions exactly the way in which they have be taught and trained. The managers are not expecting the workers to input their own creativity within the job however they want them to abide by the rules that have been set. The worker is required to solve any issues that which are easily fixed and they must include their own initiative, if there is any problems however the senior sales managements are told to overtake the situation as soon as possible to avoid further issues, this can however de-motivate staff as they can become reliant upon the management team whenever an issue occurs therefore they might take their job more laid back. This can also affect whether ASDA accomplish Maslow’s level of self esteem and recognition status as not only will them not being able to handle a situation lower their self esteem, but they will also feel that they do not have a well recognised status within the job, all of these combined will highly de motivate staff. However ASDA prefer this method as it minimises any chances of unprofessional acts to take place which could potentially lead to confrontational situations. Losing the customers and having bad publicity can majorly affect ASDA’s profit so in order to ensure such dilemmas do not occur, ASDA therefore accommodate an autocratic style in the checkout department.
In contrast to this there are other departments which take more of a democratic approach to leadership. The democratic approach involves everybody within the team having more of an equal role as opposed to autocratic. Departments such as diary, frozen, produce, fruit and veg and non-foods are not directly dealing with the customers and have a democratic leadership style. The staff working for these various departments do not have strict requirements and instruction on how to carry out their work. The workers are given full chance to use their own creativity in order to finish the job to the best of their abilities. The workers are also allowed to go on their break whatever time they prefer. As the workers seem to have full control of their job and in a way are their own boss, this then increases their motivation to succeed in the job. However, the reason they are allowed to this flexibility is the position that they have chosen to apply for within ASDA, therefore this shows that the various roles and positions a employees applies for can determine the way that they are motivated. If a rule has to be set, the manager takes the view of all employees working in the department and on the best interest of the workers, the manager makes the final decision. This democratic way of leadership may motivate staff higher than any others as the employees have a major say in the way that they work, this therefore allows them to take control and they will therefore feel dominating and secure in ASDA which will then fulfil Herzberg’s theory of social demand within a workplace.
As you can see the check out department has a autocratic style of leading whilst the fruit and veg and dairy adopt more of a democratic approach, however departments such as finance and stock have a mixture of both kinds of leaderships. Managers want the employee to take part in the decision making process however at the same time there are also running instructions and objectives that must be achieved, if a task has been set there is a specific conclusion and procedure that it must be completed by. Stock department staff are issued with very expensive stock control equipment such as PDA’s and iPAD systems. They have strict rules when using these types of machinery. Personally, I feel that this is the most effective way of leading as this motivates the staff as not only do they have a set objective to work towards, but they also have the flexibility to work how they wish and improve their own hours. The store manager and senior staff members in the store follow more of a proactive leadership style. Here they are extremely well organised and planned whilst anticipating the problems that might be confronted. They are continuously working secure with the other departments and ensure that all the operations are going as planned. The management teams ensure that if there is any issue cropping up in the business it is sorted out as soon as possible, whether it is a problem with stock or customer service. This then reflects a positive image for ASDA as a business and will attract a positive image which will ensure that the business remain one of the top supermarkets in Britain.
Overall these leadership styles are all employed differently within each department to ensure that the staff attain high motivation and therefore work hard to make ASDA successful, it is crucial that all leadership styles are different as this is what makes each sector thrive and also determined.
Conflict
Although ASDA have some of the best motivational techniques in the retail industry, there are various aspect where they could improve in order to be even more successful than they currently are. So far, I have discussed the needs of an individual but an organisation also has needs. ASDA also need to meet their key aims and objectives to be the market leader and to make a profit and so on. Often the needs of ASDA and employees may clash; this is when conflict between the store and employees can crop up. One of the aims of this organisation is that is within the Delhi Food Counter is that the employees are required to rush to meet demands from customers and also ASDA order that all of the food made gets sold as if it doesn’t it causes wastage (which is another major aim in ASDA; to reduce waste and recycle), this may need to be met when the employees are already working flat out. It is important for human resource managers to work out compromises which help the organisation to meet all or most of its needs while employee’s needs are met at the same time. However if the customers are not meeting the various demands that are set this could disappoint customers if they are coming to get food especially on their lunch break and there is nothing produced. This will then create a bad image for ASDA as a company and likely or current customers will shop at competing stores such as Tesco, this can then majorly affect the overall income and boom of ASDA as a leading supermarket. In affect the mission statement proposed by ASDA 'To be the world’s leading supermarket' will not be achievable if the staff doesn’t meet the heavy demands of customers and if they decided to instead, shop at competitors.
In order to come to a compromise with this issue, ASDA could reconsider the amount of employees it has in each department and whether there is any chance of recruiting extra staff to ensure that if the workload does increase significantly there will always be enough staff to take control and the employees will not get drained from the heavy amount of pressure and work they are being made to do. Along with this, the customers will be happy as they will receive the food that they want and also at a fast pace; ASDA will then fulfil their objective of meeting the customers need and creating great customer service.
Another incompatible issue which could take place within ASDA is that one of the aims of ASDA is to increase profit. Increasing the profit involved getting cheaper supplier, decrease payments, cutting the cost of providing the service or simply raising the price. Cutting the cost of pricing service includes paying minimum amount of wages and not increasing the wages of employees. An increase in wages will conflict with the aim of ASDA to reduce the cost of providing service.
One way to settle the issue is that ASDA should keep minimum standard or no increase in wages solution as its last resort and use other sorts of strategy such as getting cheaper suppliers, extending trade creditors’ day period or raise the prices of their products. If they finance department come to the conclusion that there other method of decreasing costs and they must lower the wage of employees, then it would be beneficial if ASDA stores had other various incentives which do not require money. These can be used to outweigh and reconcile the decrease of wages. For instance, an increase in free break the time of break or lunch and employee is allowed could drastically make up for their loss of money as they may enjoy having a longer time for a break. Another method is giving all employees a free lunch and breakfast, the staff will then feel that ASDA are taking steps to keep everybody happy within the company and even if the wage has been increased the money that they once spent on food will now be all paid for, food for lunch and dinners is one of the major aspects which many employees end up spending their money on, along with transport however if the cost of food is reduced the decrease within ones wage packet may not even be noticed. This will also be certain that all employees, part-time, full-time, young, parent or student are all catered for. Another way to ease the conflict would be to offer increased flexibility with working hours, if the wage has decreased then the change in working hours could make staff feel as though they have high control of their job, it will be extremely reconsolidating for those members of staff that have a family and often need to flexibility in their workplace for their children and partners, however part-time and young workers are usually happy to work whenever, this therefore may not be very beneficial in balancing the costs for younger workers. This will also highly motivate them as it will compensate for their wage reduction. Better discount could exceedingly remove the conflict between ASDA and employees, this however does not reimburse the decrease of wage for younger staff as mentioned above they are not highly motivated by the privilege card which allows them to get 10% discount, also if the discount is increase to, let’s say, 20% this will mean that ASDA could lose out on a large section of profit which will not fulfil their aim to be a highly profitable business. This method however, will be effective on older members of staff and therefore could be considered as a method of reducing conflict within the workplace, although it would be beneficial if they found a strategy that could cater for almost all the workers costs. Providing a free breakfast and lunch for all staff will be one of the best ways to make up for the decrease in wage as not only will the staff enjoy the food but this will also cater for everybody’s needs and therefore keep all employees satisfied within the job.
‘To provide as much relevant information about products and services throughout the store, in a manner that is understandable to the customer.’ This is one of the aims of ASDA which they hope to achieve, however if all staff are excepted to provide relevant and appropriate information on all products, this could mean that everybody will demand better training to ensure they are meeting the full aims. If an employee does not know how the full details on a product they will feel worthless within their job and also will not be meeting the company’s demands. In order to ASDA to provide this training they will have to set aside money to pay for the staff to go to various training centres. This is automatically going to conflict with ASDA’s plan to make a profit. One way in which ASDA could overcome this is by including more on-the-job-training. Here the production and work is still carried out, however so is the work. For example is an employee requires training in the department, they will be taught whilst they are working, not only will this save time it will also save money and still allow the staff to generate profit whilst learning in sync. One issue with this however could be that staff may prefer getting out of the establishment as this will give them a sense of responsibility and authority, also if they are doing the work slowly whilst dealing with real customers, it could lower the reputation and provide poor customer service which will affect ASDA’s aims and objectives to provide good customer service. When off-the-job training is carried out, not only will there be no production but it will also be costly for ASDA to pay for the training. For this reason the conflicting issue could be resolved by carrying out more on-the-job-training.
Another predicament that could occur is that during festive seasons such as Easter and Christmas, the stores are always busier, in order to accommodate all of the customers, the recruitment teams suggest that extra staff ‘temporary staff’ are hired only during the short boom. However, this could affect ASDA’s aims of both providing excellent customer service and also increasing their profit. Because of the short period that the temporary staff work, the do not have in depth training on all of the products and how to deal with customers and provide a service, they are only given a simple health and safety training to ensure they are protected from harm. Since the staff are not trained correctly, they will not be able to provide customer service to the standard required by all other ASDA staff and this will portray a negative image upon ASDA as a store. Also they will not be able to gain product knowledge into great depth which means that they will have a low quality of work and service. Hiring them can also lead then to forking out wages and increasing their outgoing costs and also increasing training, these are all factors which will conflict with ASDA reaching their aim to increase profit. However, in order to resolve this conflict could be for ASDA by hiring on necessary staff that already have the qualification, also they could hire staff who have decided to go to university as they will defiantly come back for Christmas and half term holidays, also they will be charged less as they will be a young member of staff. As they will already have the relevant training, they ill also not require any training as they will have already been trained and always return back whenever they have holidays.
One major aim of ASDA is to improve their customer service; lately the self service checkout system has been introduced and is used to reduce waiting for customers as it would prevent jams and long queues forming ; making customers frustrated. By carrying this out, ASDA will be able to improve customer service; however it may also cause conflict as employees will need to learn extra aspects to their job. They will also have to alter the way that they perform their current tasks, staff may feel that they are being asked to carry out a large amount of tasks and have a high workload. One way to sort out this conflicting issue would be to allow the employee to make decisions for themselves. They should have the choice of whether to operate the manual of self service check out if the employee decided to use the new system they can then gain training. Also often if there is not enough checkout members working, ASDA have to call other department worker to take over, this can put stress under certain workers and cause a great deal of conflict, however by recruiting extra staff this conflicting issue can be easily overcome.
At the same time individuals working for ASDA will also have their own needs, while some simply go to work to earn a living and buy things which they wish and satisfy lower level needs, others may accept work to be fulfilling. Individuals therefore take to their job a range of expectations- a desire for promotion, to learn new skills and capabilities, or opportunities to innovate, to take risks and make decisions.
In the above picture you can see that for individuals to enjoy work and to be motivated their needs and the needs of the organisation will have to be matched up. For example within the customer service department, younger workers in the checkout sector may feel the need to learn more area of the job such as how to carry out returns or exchanges in order to broaden their learning. However this is a extremely delicate area of work and only senior sales members and are able to carry out the certain procedures, majority of the part-time younger workers do not feel the necessity to learn these extra areas, however those who would enjoy could cause conflict within the workplace. This could be overcome however, by giving the workers a different area of responsibility where they can channel all of their energy and determination.
Managers play an important mediating role in managing potential conflicts between the needs of the individual and the needs of the organisation. It is important to be able to design work in such a way that it can incorporate the needs of the individual and the organisation. For example when working in the photo development section in ASDA all of the managers and employees work together to achieve the same goal, this then eliminates any hierarchical approaches. This way any complaints can then be told straight to the manager where he/she can resolve it; all elements of conflict can be controlled in this way.
Key management reasonability is in creating two way channels of communication. This can resolve any conflict as improved communication. To keep conflict to minimum, managers could carry out progress reviews and appraisals. The employees could sit down with their line managers and discuss work related progress. At the review the individual is able to communicate their aspirations and worries about work and explain how they would like to pursue their job; whilst this is taking place their reviewer is able to communicate organisational requirements and objectives. This will then reduce conflict on both organisational and individuals factors.
ASDA managers could take a number of actions to ensure that conflict is kept low, these include:
Designing jobs and organisational objectives with the needs of people managing in mind
Consulting those that ASDA manage regularly to gauge their views, and to identify their development needs
Creating channels of communication such as suggestion boxes enabling the people to communicate
Keeping employees aware of targets and changes within ASDA, macro and micro changes.
Give the staff more decision making powers
Give a heavy amount of praise where it is due and recognise efforts and achievements.
Not only could these reduce conflict, but they could also be considered for extra motivation between the employees.
Conclusion
ASDA has managed to become one of the most popular supermarkets in the UK; it employs over 300 staff and has become extremely successful over the years despite the macro issues such as the recession. Even through the difficult times, ASDA has improved and implemented different strategies to motivate employees successfully. From day one the aim for ASDA has been to ensure that all staff are happy within their working environment, the main priority for ASDA is how high the staff motivation levels are, they always have believed that that employees are the most crucial part and most powerful factor of a business.
There are various types of people and age groups working for ASDA, around 30% of the work force are young and students, therefore they have implanted the Taylor theory which proves that money is one of the key motivational factors for an employee. They evidently understand that for young people money is a motivational factor. They have been very careful and haven’t ignored 20% of employees who’s age is between 25-25, 33% of employees who are 36-49, 16% who are 50-64 and 1% whose age is 65+. Tesco ensure that each person’s motivator is accommodated for. An example is for those who go to work for social needs such as Elton Mayo suggests, they are given more praise and other factors to enable them to enjoy their job rather than financial incentives; whilst those who are Theory X or Y people as McGregor suggests have different motivational rewards.
ASDA has satisfied Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and has followed the hierarchy structure and realized than in order to reach the highest level, the bottom levels but initially be fulfilled. By offering its employees an extremely competitive salary well equipped canteen with high quality food and drink shows that ASDA are automatically matching the first levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At work an employee is unlikely to be concerned about acceptance of colleges if h/she has not eaten for hours. Providing a high amount of wages means that the employees are able to pay all of their necessary bills. They will for this reason be content with the job as it will allow them to pay for their house and also their family if they have one. Also by having good working conditions ensures that the employee’s psychology needs are met. Being paid also provides financial security for the employees and also the levels of pay shows recognition. Whilst at work and actually doing the job, lay is less important because that has already been dealt with. ASDA provide job security through a contract, appeal and USDAW membership and a safe working environment, they therefore fulfil the second level of the hierarch needs. By allowing team work, with other colleges, communicating and recognizing achievements both love and belonging and esteem needs are fulfilled. Now Maslow’s higher levels come into effect, with esteem being met by giving a chance of promotion as A-level scheme, graduate scheme and given more responsibilities such as access to expensive equipment and producing opportunity to introduce better working idea and give a challenged of a new job assignment ASDA has fulfilled the top and final level of the hierarchy of needs. ASDA has understood that the needs at the bottom must be met in order for all others to be followed on. Each need is dependent on the level below and ASDA have successful recognized this and took Maslow’s hearircy into account whilst acvitley motivating staff.
ASDA further increase motivation successfully within their business by applying Elton Mayo’s theory that workers are not just concerned with money but could be better motivated by having their social needs met whilst at work. By having various group work tasks and targets to meet, this encourages goal setting and playful behaviour within the various departments, by doing this they are all working as a team to an aim which will enable them to get social satisfaction. ASDA ensure that all employees are always working towards a goal with other team members, for example, whoever hits target gets put up in the canteen and everybody attempts to beat each other’s score, this in turn increases the levels of motivation. Theory X and Y have also been used within the correct departments; all of the motivation techniques are open up to everybody dependent upon their gender, sex and ability. ASDA include everybody when they motivate staff suggesting how they have become such a successful business.
As well as Elton Mayo and Herzberg’s theory, Herzberg’s two factor theory has also been taken into account.
Herzberg suggests that hygiene factors must be met in order for staff to be motivated to do any type of work. Not only have ASDA provided staff with clean toilets, they also have a kitchen and washing area where they should maintain cleanliness. However they also employee external workers to ensure that once a week everything is cleaned in order for the staff to feel clean and highly motivated whilst they are working. Also they provide a competitive salary, social conditions, target meeting and acknowledgement of achievements. All of these factors are included and Herzberg’s theory is taken into great detail to ensure that every member of staff benefits and is highly motivated to work to their highest potential.
Overall, I personally feel that ASDA is evidently one of the most effective and successful business to motivate their staff and encourage them to work hard. Not only do they take feedback from the staff but they also produce new and innovative ideas from themselves. Each employee is taken into great detail and considered on how they will individually and collectively be motivated. ASDA truly feel that their employs are their best assets and they try to make them flourish as much as possible. From providing them with a share of the business, to include money into their pension scheme and giving them a hot breakfast in the morning shows that they are doing everything in their power to provide their staff with everything they will need. All of the factors I have suggested throughout his assignment are incredibly motivating and encouraging things which ASDA carry out, although certain things are not effective on everyone, they have an impact on a majority of the employees. The biggest influences on ASDA as a company have been the two motivational theorist Maslow and Elton Mayo’s hygiene theories as they provide cleanliness within the workplace and also ensure that every hierarchy need is accommodated for. Along with the various areas where I have suggested they could improve on such as conflict, ASDA are extremely successful in motivating employees.
Sources:
[4] – applied business A2
by
daveprince (student)
