Business at work - Tesco

REFRESH MY SUPERSTORE

• To understand your clientele ie dislikes and problems in these stores and fix them
• To make the environment of these stores more attractive to customers
• To add something extra to each store without compromising the customer.

This means that Tesco will redecorate their stores so that it attracts more customers. They want to give customers more space in order to shop and make sure that they give their customers the best facilities such as toilets as they can.

MAKING MY CLUBCARD BETTER

• Over the next year we will make the club card scheme simpler, more appealing and more involving for our customers.

This means that some customers are finding their club card scheme to complicated, especially in the deals area. So Tesco are going to make sure that each customer with a club card know in a simple way about the new deals on food products. They are also going to extend all their deals so that more customers go to the club card scheme.

HEALTHY LIVING

• Attract more customers interested in healthy living
• Build customer loyalty to reduce switching and increase spend in the heath-related areas of our offer
• Establish Tesco as the No. 1 supermarket for food & healthy living information
• Provide a clear and consistent positioning for healthy living across our entire offer

This means that Tesco want to attract more customers that believe in healthy life styles to their stores. Also by attracting more customers, they want to give their healthy living customers a wide variety of products, from organic fruit and vegetables to organic ready meals.

NO 1 FOR HOME SHOPPING

• Develop a sizeable non food business on the Internet

This means that Tesco want to provide more than just food products over the Internet. They want to do this so that they can get ahead of the competition. Also they want to improve the home shopping experience, so in order for that to happen they want more people to go on their home shopping scheme.

PUT THE ‘X’ IN EXTRA

• To provide customers with more reasons to shop at Extra stores, in order to drive volume.

This means that Tesco want to sell more different products so that they give customers a good reason to come and shop at Tesco.

MOBILE PHONES FOR EVERYONE

• Increase top up card sales to 138 million, at 6.9% market share
• Increase mobile phone handset sales to 46 million at 5.7% share

This means that Tesco want to make sure that they get more customers buying pre-pay phones from their stores. This is because they estimate that the mobile phone ownership will increase to 80% from 60% by 2003. So they want a big percentage of people buying from them.

As you can see that Tesco have a lot of objectives that they want to achieve. Also you can see that nearly all the objectives are aimed at the customers, simply because without the customers Tesco wouldn’t be at the position it is at now. Now all the objectives that they have set above are all long-term objectives and if they are met they will do even more good then in previous years.

The main objectives for all business are to make a profit Tesco are trying to do this by cutting the prices of their products to attract more customers. They have just slashed 60 million off the prices of everyday products.

Providing information

Tesco try to keep their staff and customers as up to date as possible. They use a policy called values. This is where they install values in their staff that filters down and ensures that they keep their customers happy. Some of these values that they install on there staff are

• Tesco is a growth business
• Tesco will have loyal committed staff
• Tesco will be as committed to non food products as they will be to food products

Competition

The stucture of the business

There are five main types of organisational structures that can be found in business today. They are tall structures, flat structures, matrix structures, hierarchical structures and centralised and decentralised structures. I will start by explaining each type of structure so that you as the readers get idea of what each structure is about.

TALL OR FLAT STRUCTURES

A tall organisation has a lot of levels of management and supervision relative to the amount of employees. This would mean that as there are a lot of managers/supervisors the span of control would be narrow. Span of control simply means the number of employees over whom a manager or supervisor has authority. So by that a narrow span of control would mean that a supervisor would have authority over a lot of employees at one time, he/she would have only a few employees, which he/she would have authority over. In a tall structure there would normally be about seven or eight levels of management, and also a tall structure would tend to be a formal organisation.

ADVANTAGES OF A TALL STRUCTURE

• There is a narrow span of control

This is an advantage because as there is a narrow span of control all the employees can be supervised closely, as there would be more than enough managers/supervisors.

• Clear management structure

This is an advantage simply because as there are a lot of management staff, each manager would be able to responsible for a small group of employees this means that the each employee wouldn’t have to go in such of one manager, as they would have their own group manager if they have any problems.

• Clear lines of responsibility and control

This means that each employee is aware of what their responsibilities are in the company, also each employee would have a different responsibility so that each employee doesn’t get mixed up with what they have to do. Also as a result of the narrow span of control they would know exactly who has got authority over them.

• Clear progression and promotion ladder

This means that as there are a lot of levels in a tall structure there would be, lots of promotional chances for the employees. So this is an advantage as more employees will be willing to stay at the company, because they know that they will have a better chance of getting a promotion and more money.

DISADVANTAGES OF A TALL STRUCTURE

• Many layers of communication

This is a big disadvantage simply because as there are a lot of levels communication becomes distorted because it has to travel up and down a lot of levels. So for example if an order has been given by someone in management in the top level, by the time it gets to the first level the when in which the order was given is changed so it will not be carried out properly like the way it should be.

• Many layers of authority can slow decision making

This means that if a decision has to be made about something, which is affecting the company, the decision will not be made quickly as all the management staff will have to discuss it which will take a long time at the end.

• High level of overheads because managers and supervisors are expensive.

This means that the company will be paying a lot of money to the managers simply because there will be a lot of managers and supervisors in the company. This in the end will be expensive and cost the company a lot of money. This amount of expense won’t help the company with regards to profit.

• Subordinates have little freedom or responsibility.

This means that as there are a lot of managers in the company, the main responsibilities will go on them, so it will leave the subordinates with no responsibilities, which at the end will make them feel demotivated. Also as there are a lot of managers and supervisors the freedom of the other employees will be cut down as the will be continuously made to work hard.

FLAT STRUCTURES

A flat organisation has a structure that has relatively less levels of management than the tall structure. This sort of structure can be found in the service sector. As there are fewer levels of management the span of control is wider, this means that there could be one or two managers who are responsible for the employees in the organisation. Examples of flat organisations would be partnerships, co – operatives and some private limited companies.

ADVANTAGES OF FLAT STRUCTURES

• Few levels of management

This is an advantage because as there are fewer it becomes less expensive because the organisation would only have to pay for one or two managers. Also the employees would be able to speak to the manager on a one to one basis because there would be fewer managers.

• Greater communication between management and workforce.

This means that, as there is fewer levels communication wouldn’t be distorted in the organisation, as it would have to go through a lot of levels of management. Also employees are able to communicate with management on a one to one level as I have send above.

• Better team spirit.

This is an advantage because as there are fewer levels of management each employee would have a responsibility, which would make them feel motivated. So as a result of this each employee would be able work together and give the organisation excellent results with regards to making profit.

• Decision-making can be easier.

This means that in a tall structure where there are more levels of management, decision making would be slowly simply because it would have to go through all the managers before the decision is made, but with a flat structure this wouldn’t be the case simply because there would only be one or two management staff so it would make it quick as it would only be them two that would need to discuss.

DISADVANTAGES OF A FLAT STRUCTURE

• People may have more than one boss.

This is a disadvantage simply because if an employee has a problem they wouldn’t know which manager is the person that deals with employee problems.

• Only useful for small organisations

This is a disadvantage because this structure is cheaper and better in terms of communication but it has been limited to just small organisation, simply because in a large organisation there would be a lot more responsibility that the management staff would have. So in this case the large organisation would need more management to deal with the responsibilities.

• Can be difficult for the organisation to grow

This means that as it is a flat organisation there wouldn’t be any promotional prospects so employees may leave the company, which will restrict it from growing into a larger company.

HIERARCHICAL ORGANISATIONS

A hierarchical organisation has a whole structure that goes up in a triangle shape, and the higher you go up the level of importance grows. In this organisation there is a clear line of authority. This type of structure would be for large organisations such as Tesco. In this type of structure you would have different departments in which employees work, these departments would be for example finance, marketing and human resources. As there would be a lot of layers of authority there would be a narrow span of control.

ADVANTAGES OF A HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURE

• Clear management structure

This means that with this structure the employees would know straight who the people of authority are.

• Functions are clear and distinct

This means that with a hierarchical organisation the different functional areas are clear in the structure, so it would be easy to tell which employee works for which functional area.

• Clear lines of responsibility and control

This means that there would be a clear understanding of who is responsible for whom in the organisation, and also the employees would know who are the men and women of authority.

DISADVANTAGES OF A HIERARCHICAL ORGANISATION

• Many layers of communication

This means that as there are a lot of levels communication will be distorted, so that would mean that if there is an important decision made by the managing director, and the managers have to carry it out then before the order gets to the managers it will be distorted because other people won’t be precise in telling the order properly.

• Many layers of authority and decision making

This means that as there are many layers of authority it will make it expensive, as the company will be paying a lot of managers. Also with regards to decision making; it will be made slower because there will be a lot of layers of authority that it have to go through.

MATRIX ORGANISATION

A matrix organisation is a team, which brings together people from different skills or functional areas to handle a specific project. This type of structure would be found in organisations that make a certain product, for example nokia would have a matrix structure as they make mobile phones. A matrix would have a wide span of control simply because there would be one manager that would be responsible for the employees.

ADVANTAGES OF A MATRIX STRUCTURE

• Communication within the team is easier

This means that as there would be different teams, there would be excellent cross communication between each functional area.

• Specialist staff can be used.

This means that if they need someone who specialises in a certain area then they would be able to do that, simply because they would need to build a product with a whole team effort. So if they need a production specialist then they would be able to put him/her into a team to get a good product out of it.

• Working in a team would motivate staff.

This means that if people are working in a team then all the people in that team would be motivated to work simply because they would be able to put their ideas forward, and also they would be working with people that they know so it would make then motivated to work harder.

• Individuals can be chosen according to the needs of the project.

This means that the company can choose people who are specialists in different areas, to make sure that they get the best possible product out of it.

DISADVANTAGES OF A MATRIX STRUCTURE.

• There maybe conflicts between the team.

This is a disadvantage because if there are conflicts between the team then they won’t be working as a team as they will be demotivated to work with a member of the team.

• It can be difficult to control and monitor if team gets a lot of independence.

This means that if the team gets independence then they won’t be telling the boss, so it will be hard for him/her to control the team in there everyday tasks, also if the boss doesn’t know what is going on within the team then if will make it even more harder to monitor the team progress.

CENTRALISED AND DECENTRALISED STRUCTURES.

A centralised organisation is one, which the majority of power, authority, responsibility and decision-making go towards the senior managers. These people help in decision making especially when the business conditions are changing quickly. This type of structure works better in small to medium size organisations.

A decentralised organisation is one where the authority and responsibility for specific decision-making has been delegated to people in the lower levels of management. This type of structure is frequently found in large retail companies such as Tesco.

ADVANTAGES OF CENTRALISED ORGANISATIONS

• Decisions can be taken quickly and easily.

This means that because the senior management makes the decisions, there wouldn’t be any time taken in discussing with other lower management levels.

• Better stock control and monitoring

This means that as stock control is down at one area, it is easy to control how much stock comes in the company and how much is needed. This is because the same person will be working on it and will know how stock is needed; they will also be able to monitor it as the same person is working in the stock control area at all times.

• Less duplication and wasted effort

This one links in with the top advantage, simply because as stock control is down at one area, there won’t be any stock being ordered twice, so this means that there will be less wasted of money and stock.

DISADVANTAGES OF CENTRALISED ORGANISATION

• Little opportunities for local decision-making.

This means that employees in the lower levels wouldn’t get a say in any of decision within the company. This is a disadvantage because the employees may be demotivated because the decision that the organisation makes may affect the employees in the end.

ADVANTAGES OF A DECENTRALISED ORGANISATION

• Local decisions can be made by local managers who know the customers.

This means that as local managers can make decision, they are able to make decisions that would affect the customers in a good way. This is good because the customers will realise that the company is responding to customer needs and expectation.

• More people gain experience of management.

This means that as Tesco have different store each store would have a different manager so this would be good because a lot of different people would get experience in leadership and making decisions.

DISADVANTAGES OF A DECENTRALISED ORGANISATION

• Can be more difficult to supervise and control all the units.

This means that as there is a decentralised organisation all the departments will be everywhere and so the management staff will not be able to look after all the different areas in the business.

• Conflicts can occur between the separate parts.

This means that as the management cannot look after all the areas, there could be conflicts between the different areas because they may say that they aren’t getting as much help as other departments.

The company that I am basing my assignments around is Tesco; they have taken up a tall organisation, which is decentralised. This is because there are different stores but have one main head office, which controls all operations. It is decentralised simply because each store has a manager, and decision that have been taken by head office are delegated to each manager of the different stores. These managers not only follow decision of head office but also are authorized to make there own without the senior management staff saying anything. This is good because they are able to make decision that will help them in terms of customers coming to shop at their stores. The decisions that are made by the separate store managers can be made based on the customer needs. This would be an advantage to Tesco because at the end the customers would think that Tesco are responding to the customers, and giving the customers what they need. That is why Tesco is the UK’s leading retail supermarket.

By being a tall-decentralised organisation, the managers would only have to answer to one person and that would be the regional manager. The regional manager would be in control of all the stores that are in his/her region. As a result of being a decentralised there would be a narrow span of control because in the separate stores there would be other assistant managers that would be responsible for the employees. This would be good because if any employee has a problem then there would be more than one manager that would help sort the problem out. The regional manager would at the end have to answer to the head office to make sure that all the stores in his/her region are doing well and are on the right tracks.

When we talk about the separate stores that Tesco plc have we also can say that even though Tesco is decentralised because they have separate stores, each store has a tall structure within them. This is because there would be different levels of authority, for example there would be managers, supervisors, till workers, shop floor staff and cleaners. So as you can that there would be a hierarchical outline just by reading those different employees. Below is a picture of the organisation structure that the Tesco in Hounslow have, it outlines everyone that is in the company and from this it will prove my point that each separate store has a hierarchical structure.

STRUCTURE OF TESCO PLC IN HOUNSLOW

As you can from the structure above that there is a hierarchical structure in each store, going from the store manager to the cleaners. This organisational structure shows all the job roles within in the business and also it shows the lines of management within the store.

The functional areas of my business are

• The Finance Function
• The Administration Function
• The Human Resources Function
• The Production Function
• The Marketing Function
• The Research & Development Function.

The administration of each function is based around the offices. In every organisation some sort of administration office supports them all. For example in a small organisation the administration office may be in one room with a small number of employees. However in a large organisation there may be one department dedicated to the administration of the organisation. Generally when we look at large organisation we can see that there are more specialised office workers. If we look at these six functions, I can see that Tesco the company I am writing my assignments on would have all of them except the research & development department simply because the marketing department does everything. Also all these departments are an essential part of Tesco’s success as they are the basis at which all the planning and ideas come from. From the information above I am going to point out what the different functions do in an organisation.

FINANCE FUNCTION

The main activities of the finance department is:

• To record all business transactions

This means that they record in their logbooks all the expenses that have been paid and all the incomings.

• Measure the financial performance of the business

This means that businesses look at how well or badly the business is doing financially.

• Control the finances and cash flow so the business stays solvent

This means that they make sure that there is enough money in the business to pay off debts. Also make sure that there is enough money so stay afloat.

• Take timely financial decisions by comparing the predicted performance with actual performance.

This means that if the company wants to invest more money in the business, then it would be up to the finance department to make the decision on whether there are enough funds to do so. They would do this by looking and comparing the financial situation in previous years with the financial situation of the present year. By this they can see whether the expense will leave them with enough at the end.

The finance department in an organisation is there to make sure that the company stay’s afloat. They do this by checking the financial status of the company; when I say checking the financial status I mean that they record all the money coming into the business and all the money that is going out. Upon looking at this information they are able to monitor and act accordingly. The finance department is probably the most important department in the organisation, simply because everything costs money and it is the job of the finance department to ensure that the necessary funds are available when they are needed.

This is really important when the organisation has to pay their running costs such as loans. This is because if they don’t pay their debts then they risk losing their investment. The finance department also has a system, which is called the Management Accounting Information system. This system is used for planning, decision-making and control. This system involves looking at the future financial events, and with this system they will be able to answer future question such as when will the money be available to renew the roof at the Sandfield site? The Management Accounting function also prepares budgets and monitors financial progress. If we look at the information above and then look at Tesco I can say that Tesco’s finance department have a similar sort of system, which looks at the future financial events. They way in which the finance department look at the future is to look at the financial status in past years, and by that they are able to see how much they will have in the future and they are able to look a ways in which to improve the amount of money they will have in the future.

In the finance department there would normally be five different positions, which you will see below.

HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTION

The human resources in an organisation is the second most important department, simply because this is where all the new employees are chosen from. The main purpose of the Human Resource department is to recruit, select, train and develop staff. This means that they have to find the right people at the right place at the right time. Once the new employees have been found it is the Human Resources responsibility to train and develop them to make sure that they reach their full ability. This recruitment process starts right with the application form, with this they have to judge whether the employee is going to make a good new recruit. If we have an example I would say that with Tesco’s human resources department, they make sure that they read what the applicants have written in the application form. The application form is very important to Tesco and that is why they ask a lot of questions about personal qualities and communication skills, because they want the right employee who will do a good job.

The Human Resources department also has a legal obligation, and that is to keep all records that they have in their possession confidential. This means that they have an obligation to abide by the data protection act. Also the records that are kept by the Human Resources department must have information on the needs and activities of the business. So as you can see that the Human Resources department, have got a lot of responsibility in terms of getting the best new employees, and making them reach their full potential and also by abiding by the laws that there are on keeping records in their possession.

MARKETING FUNCTION

The Marketing department would be responsible for:

• Marketing Research

This means when an organisation collects data by doing a questionnaire, and also they do presentations to tell everyone what new ideas they have come up with to make money.

• Customer care and services

This means that the marketing department deals with any customer complaints and problems that they have.

• Sales promotion and advertising

This means that they are responsible for making sure that all the sale promotions are out so that customers can see them, and also they are responsible for making sure that advertisements are done for the organisation and their products or services.

These are the main responsibilities that the Marketing department has. In order to fulfill them, the marketing department would need to work closely with the finance, purchasing, production and transport departments. This is because if there is a breakdown anywhere in the line, whereby the marketing department has less materials than they need then the other departments are there to correct the breakdown. Nearly all the information that the marketing department uses is all the computer databases; this information would be for example price lists, customer details and retail outlets. They would put the information on computer so that it is easy access for them when they need it, and also they are able to change and correct any wrong information without the database getting messy. However the information that is on the computers still paperwork, simply because for example if there is sales document about buying products on computer, then the company will have to send some sort of paperwork to the suppliers about the transaction and that would be done by hand. The marketing department is a very important to Tesco simply because each of the promotional advertisements come from that department, so without them none of the customers would know what promotions are on.

ADMINISTRATION FUNCTION

Every business would need to have an administration system, in order to be organised. If the organisation is organised then they are able to achieve their objectives that they have set themselves. The purpose of the administration system in the organisation is to create an ordered way of working which enables the business to function smoothly. The administration system does the job of bringing together the various parts of the business so that they can all work towards achieving the same goals. The ideal administration system would be to have good communication between the management and workers, and a system, which enables the objectives to be met. For example once an order has been placed, the order has to be delivered within 48 hours of the receipt.

The other thing that would make an ideal administrative system is that all the methods and procedures should be written down. This is because everyone are able to see the way in which things should be done in order to achieve their objectives. It should be written down simply because the administration system incur problems because staff are always being changed so they wouldn’t be aware of the methods and procedures. The third aspect that would make an ideal administration system would be to have proper procedures for controlling and monitoring work. This means that there would have to be a high level of supervision and well – motivated staff. This aspect would be important when the business is changing, simple because it would be important to keep workers under constant review.

The forth aspect would be to make sure that the administration department would be properly resourced to make sure that they reach the objectives. This is important because if the administration department isn’t given proper resources then they won’t be able to reach their deadlines, so it important that the administration department has the right amount of staff, materials and equipment to do their jobs properly. The fifth and final aspect that would create an ideal administration system would be to provide the proper controls and methods of supporting the people within the organisation. This is because another name for the administration department is the support staff; this is because the majority responsibility of administration is to support the staff within the company. So as you can see that the administration system is a very important department as well as they are the backbone of the organisation, and without them the business wouldn’t be organised enough reach their objectives. If we look at Tesco again we can say that the administration department is also a very valid member of the team because they make sure that all the paperwork is in order and that whatever the other departments need they get. I think that without this department none of the other departments would be able to function properly and efficiently like they are now.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

The main purpose of the research & development department is make sure that an organisation can compete successfully and achieve a permanently sustainable competitive edge over their competitors by becoming more efficient and giving customers added value. Research & development are there to change an organisation from an old type of company to a modern and well-sophisticated company. The jobs of the research & development department can range from little simple design changes to large high-risk projects worth millions of pounds. Although most of the research for a company takes place in a large research organisation, some organisation would have a department devoted to research & development.

With research & development investments, they all involve high risks as there are no guarantees of commercial success and also most research & development expenditures end in failure which costs the company lots of money. With a research & development department the structure would normally be flat and informally, this is because everyone is working together trying to make sure that they get the best results that they can possibly get. This is the department that Tesco don’t have simply because the marketing department at Tesco head office do all of the market research and advertisements and promotional advertisements

The management styles of the business

Management in an organisation is concerned with planning, controlling and co – ordinating the acquisition and use of the resources, which are used to settle the demand of a service or good. There are levels in management and each level has a specific responsibility, the level above will delegate these responsibilities. The top level of management would be the directors and every other level above the operatives would perform management duties of some sort.

There are many books that try to identify exactly what the responsibilities of a manager should be. A Frenchman by the name of Henri Fayol wrote about the ideas he had on management responsibilities in 1916. The book, which was published in English in 1949, told you five basic functions that management should do. The five things were as followed:

• Forecasting

This meant that the managers would need to look and predict what will happen in the future. This was a vital piece to the success of an organisation, because the manager should be prepared to make the right decisions when he/she is responding to change.

• Organising

This was a process of arranging and being responsible for the work done by the other employees under you. This was important because by this process the organisation would be able to achieve its goals and objectives

• Commanding

This was a process whereby the manager would have to lead and give orders expecting them to be carried out to the best of the employees’ ability.

• Co – ordinating

This meant bringing together different jobs or tasks, this was done to that there was an even flow of work without any disruptions occurring.

• Controlling

This meant directing, inspecting and regulating work so that the organisation gets all the jobs that are required to be done.

Those five responsibilities are the functions that Henri Fayol set out in 1916, but nowadays there are a lot more responsibilities that management has within an organisation. This responsibilities that are required do be done by management would be:

• Communicating

This means that a manager has to be a good communicator, if he/she wants to negotiate with other employees within the business. Also they will need to have good communication skills if they are to understand and be understood by many other groups.

• Planning

This is a detailed scheme which outlines the methods and procedures to achieve an organizations goals or objectives.

• Decision making

This means that managers should be able to make the right decision in any circumstances, and those decisions that are made should affect the company in a good way. But the decision making process is limited to where the manager is in the management ladder.

• Motivating

This means that the management staff have to make their employees do a job or task that they set because they want to rather than making them feel like they there only doing it because they have do.

• Innovating

This means bringing in new ideas, routines, methods of work, products and materials into the business.

• Creating

This means that managers would need to be imaginative and original. They must be able to sort out a problem from a different prospective so that they can reach solutions.

• Developing

This means that managers should take on the responsibility of making sure that the employees are trained up so that they can reach their full potential.

• Delegating

This means that managers should be able to give orders to people in a lower level to them, and expect the employees do carry it out without any problems.

So as you can see that a manager would have a lot of responsibilities in order to make sure that the company runs properly and also to make sure that it flows without any problems. From looking at this information, we can go onto the types of managers that there can be in any organisation. When we look at managers there are three main ways of looking at what makes a good leader and they are:

• Trait theories

This theory points out or suggests a list of qualities that a manager should have in order to be an effective leader. The main qualities that a manager should have are integrity; enthusiasm, warmth, calmness and finally they must be tough but fair.

• Style theories

This points out a list of management styles that can be taken up by any manager. These styles would be:

1. Autocratic style – in this the manager takes all the decisions without discussing it with anyone else
2. Democratic style – this is when the manager involves everyone in the decision-making this is good and bad. It is good because it makes the employees more motivated, but it is bad because it can fail if the group cannot make a decision or can’t agree on one.
3. Consultative style – this style is similar to democratic but instead of allowing the group to make the decisions, the managers do it themselves.
4. Laissez – faire style – in this style the managers don’t take any part of the decision-making but lets others make the decisions for him/her.

• Contingency theories

This theory involves something, which is called the best fit, which is a different approach that managers would need to take in order to perform different tasks within the organisation.

As you can see that these three theories point out with detail what would make a good manager. I think that these theories are very effective simply because it would help get a manager which is capable to be an effective leader. One who is fair but tough.

If we now look at the Tesco store in Hounslow, I would say there are three managers one store manager and two assistant managers. These managers are all responsible for making sure that all the shelves are stocked properly and that all the employees that they need to do it are there on time and doing a good job. When it comes to decision making the store manager doesn’t discuss his ideas with the subordinates but he does discuss it with the assistant managers, so by going with this information I would thing that the management style that has been taken up in the Hounslow store is more consultative because he doesn’t get all the employees involved in the decision making.

But he does get the other managers involved, so by that I think that consultative is the right management style to use. If we also look at the qualities of the store manager at Hounslow, we would be able to see that he is a strong leader and able to make decision with ease. Not only that but he is able to give out orders without problems, and all the orders that he gives out to the employees they are done without interruptions. Also another important feature that the managers has is that he is respected in the store, so no one has a problem with the orders or instructions that he gives to other employees.

I think that because he is respected and also all the other managers are respected, the Hounslow store is doing very well, because all the products that need to be out are put out. Also the management staff makes sure that everyone works in a team because they know that this would be the only way in which the job will get done properly and quickly, and to the best of the employee’s ability. Finally I would say that the store manager is very tough but on the other hand he is very fair to his employees, and that is why there are a lot of motivated staff at the store.

Ict in the business

ICT is a very important part of an organisation it helps the company in various areas and allows the company to run smoothly by helping the organisation out in their communication areas and there working areas. What communication areas means is it gives the company quick and simple ways in which to communicate with each other. ICT plays a very important part in the communication of the business. It makes the lives of the people working in an organisation much easier and simple because ICT makes communication much quicker and efficient. The types of ICT communication channels that can be found would be:

• Intranet
• Internal mail
• Telephone
• Fax

I will explain each method of communication so that you as the reader will get an idea of what roles each method would play within the organisation.

• Intranet

Intranet is a form of ICT internal communication because it allows the employees to put information onto the system. This information that would be put onto these systems would be notices or other important messages for employees to read. As Tesco don’t have an intranet system another example would be the Heathland school. In the school they have an intranet system in which teachers can put important notices such as meeting dates and other information so that all the teachers are able to read it.

• Internal mail

This method of communication is a very quick method, simply because messages sent through the internal mail which would be located on the intranet would travel at 3000 miles per second. Also this form of communication is very reliable simply because only the employees would use it so they wouldn’t abuse the system in any way or form. An example of where this type of communication method would be used would be at Tesco headoffice everyone would be working on different levels or floors, so in order to communicate they would have internal mail options where they can send and receive messages from their fellow employees without having to get up from their seats.

• Telephone

This form of communication would come under the internal mail category in terms of speed. This is the most common form of communication that is used in businesses today. This form of communication is very quick and very easy, it lets you communicate with people nationally and internationally as every country in the world would have telephone systems. An example would be that at the Tesco store in Hounslow, if a member of management is needed on the shop floor and they are in the warehouse, then the front end staff wouldn’t have to go all the upstairs to get them they would have an internal extension that they can use to call the manager in his office.

• Fax

This form of communication is similar to telephone communication but the only difference is that you would send a piece of paper through a fax machine. This method of communication is again very simple and quick to use. When I say quick I mean that as soon as you send the piece of paper through it has reached the other end. This method is a very effective way of communicating if you are working in a place, which have a lot of floors, because you can communicate with people on the other side of the buildings without leaving your seat. An example would be that at Tesco headoffice as the management staff would be busy most of the time, people wouldn’t be able to talk to them on a 121 basis so whatever they have to say or any important information that they have they would send it through to the management staff’s extension via a fax machine.

So as you can see all the internal communication methods that have been listed and explained above are all very quick and effective ways of communicating with people who don’t work in the same area, which you work at. Below will be an explanation of how ICT helps or aids the external communication channels.

When we look at large sized firms, we can tell that communication is a key feature, and the communication would have to be equally strong in both internal and external environments. When we look at public limited companies we can automatically know that their external communication has to be very effective and efficient because they would be dealing with people who would be making a profit for the company. The external communication in an organisation is very important because this is again the basis in which they make their profits because they would have to communicate with their customers, and also to makes profits they would have to have stock to sell in which case they would need to have good clear channels of communication with their suppliers.

In communication there are different channels that employees and management communicate through, they are:

• Upward and Downward communication
• Informal channels of communication
• Face – to Face and Verbal communication
• Open and Restricted communication

These are the main communication channels that would exist in both internal and external communication. I will example each one and give examples of how these channels relate to external communication.

• Upward and Downward communication

This type of communication has two parts to it the first being upwards communication, which means where the employees give formal views and ideas to the management staff. The second being downward communication which means where the management staff in an organisation give orders or direct the workforce. An example would be at Tesco’s store in Hounslow, the store duty manager would tell the shop floor staff what needs to be put out on the shelves. This is an example of downward communication, an example of upwards communication would be subordinates telling management staff at Tesco what needs to be improved with regards to the working conditions.

• Informal channels of communication

This type of communication channel would be in an organisation, when group of workers get together and go out. As they go out the communication channel will be informal and unofficial which that this type of communication will be gossip and rumours. Another name for this channel would be the grapevine. An example of this type of channel would be when Tesco staff at the Hounslow store go out there would be informal and unofficial conversations going on and most of these conversations will be gossip and rumours.

• Face – to – Face and verbal communication

This type of communication is direct and immediate simply because the communicators can see each other. This type of communication would involve both verbal and non – verbal communication, and in this type there would be discussions, questions and answers. An example would be when the management staff at Tesco’s store in Hounslow hold annual meetings for all members of staff at Tesco, they discuss and the staff have opportunities to ask question and have them answered by management personnel.

• Open and Restricted communication

This final type of communication there are again two parts to it. The first being open channels, this type of communication is open to all people and there are no restrictions to who can hear or see this information. The second type being restricted channels, this type of communication would have restrictions and would be information, which is confidential and private. It would be on a need to know basis only. An example these types of communication would be at Tesco in Hounslow, in an interview only the managers and the interviewee would be in the room, this would be an example of a restricted channel of communication. The example of an open channel of communication would be when the manager is telling one of the staff members what to do next.

As you can see from the information above that ICT would aid in all the channels above. These channels wouldn’t only be for internal communication, it would also be for external communication as well. The way in which ICT would help in the external communication channels would be that it would make it quicker so for example if the Tesco manager had to discuss problems in the supplying of the food products, ICT would aid the manager buy letting them talk by phone. This way is quick and is clear because with this method there are no breakdowns. ICT helps and aids the external communication channels a lot, and the main ways I which it helps it is by making it much more quicker, by making it easier in terms of communicating with people in another country from your computer.

Also it makes the channels clear so that any type of messages or communication goes through without any breakdowns. ICT is the way of the future and it helps organisation a lot in their communication, it lets the company run smoothly because it gives the company a quick and simple method of communicating to each other.

Now using this information I will explain using my company how the ICT in their company helps aid communication internally.

The company that I am writing about is Tesco, and in this example I will use Tesco’s headoffice because it would make a very good basis to base my explanation on. ICT is essential to the running of a modern store. It is used for planning, monitoring, auditing and communicating, and if ICT weren’t at Tesco the running of a major store would be hampered. ICT is a very valid resource that is used to let employees communicate internally. ICT makes communicating a lot faster and makes it simpler because the communicating can be done right from where the employees are sitting.

It makes the lives of Tesco staff a lot easier because they don’t waste time in looking for particular staff in which they want to communicate with. With ICT they are able to make their lives easier and let them communicate in an efficient and effective way. Every staff at Tesco head office are trained on computers simply because most of the time they are going to be communicating and doing their work on computers. As Tesco is No. 1 it is important that tasks that have been set for the different functional areas in the head office are done quickly, so there would have to be good quick communication between everyone. So in this case the ICT technology at Tesco is enabling them to communicate properly without any breakdowns and also as quickly as possible. ICT at Tesco is the most important resource that they have and without that facility communication in the organisation would have a lot of breakdowns.

Tesco don’t only communicate internally they also have to communicate externally. With external communication, ICT helps Tesco a lot because it makes communication channels clear as I have said in the above explanation and also as Tesco want things done quickly they need a quick method of communicating and ICT helps them because using ICT is the quickest method of communicating with people outside of the business. ICT gives Tesco a more variety of communication methods that will benefit them in the long-term process.

ICT aids Tesco in there communication, and lets the company run smoothly because of the strong communication channels that ICT provides.

Tesco is a very large organisation and they are constantly trying to think of new ways to improve their business, and stay ahead of the competition. They value there customers opinions and try to give their customers a good effective service at a price this is value for their money.