might be to say that it is the ‘way that things are done in a business’.

The corporate culture of a business can influence decision-making. It also

encourages low level managers to behave like entrepreneurs. Business

leaders are able to create a corporate culture to achieve a corporate

objectives and strategy of the company. It is important that the corporate

culture of a business is understood by all the people that work in the

organisation. It is usually transmitted to new members and reinforced

informally, by stores, symbols and socialisation, and more formally through

training.

Advantages of a strong corporate culture.

. It provides a sense of identity for employees. They feel part of the

business. This may allow workers to be flexible when the company

needs to change or is having difficulties.

. Workers identify with other employees. This may help with aspects of

the business such as team work.

. It increases the commitment of employees to the company. This may

prevent problems such as high labour turnover or industrial relations

problems .

. It motivates workers in their jobs. This may lead to increased

productivity.

. It allows employees to understand what is going on around them. This

can prevent misunderstanding in operations or instructions passed to

them.

. It helps to reinforce the values of the organisation and senior

management.

. It acts as a control device for management. This can help when

setting company strategy.

Figure 1.8: Types of business culture.

Culture, presented within Tesco plc.

Tesco has achieved its position as Britain’s leading food retailer by

offering excellent value and service to its customers. Underlying its

business success is a commitment to upholding certain values, working

principles and culture within the organisation, and to seek continuous

improvement in its ethical performance. As a measure of its achievement to

date, in 1997 the company came top in the Christian Aid league table for

ethical commitment.

Customers.

Tesco must serve its customers by providing the goods they want and the

service they expect. By meeting customer needs better than its competitors

do, Tesco earns profits and creates value for its shareholders.

Customer service is at the heart of Tesco business culture. The base line

is quality and value, but customers also look for a shopping environment

which is attractive, well planned, and enjoyable. They also expect staff to

be helpful, responsive to their needs, and sympathetic to their problems.

Tesco is constantly seeking new ways of meeting customer needs. These

include introducing Customer Assistants dedicated to helping customers at

every point during their shopping, establishing a Customer Service Centre

to deal with customer enquiries, providing facilities for customers with

disabilities, and organising customer question times when Tesco can hear

customers views.

Staff.

Tesco employs 154,000 people in the UK and 27,000 in Ireland and Europe. It

is constantly told by customers that its staff are the company’s best

asset. This means that the company must motivate and train its employees to

give the best possible customer service, and provide opportunities for all

members of staff to develop their talents to the full.

The company believes that the welfare and safety of its employees is of

paramount importance, and applies high ethical standards to protect

workers’ rights and reward employees fairly for their work. Full and part-

time staff have had their benefits harmonised, including salaries, purchase

discounts, pensions and profit-sharing. The company has a national

agreement with USDAW, the shop workers’ trade union.

The approach of Tesco to worker welfare goes beyond its own employees. The

company insists that its suppliers meet certain employment standards in

matters such as fair pay or minimum working ages. Tesco believes it can

play a positive role in influencing working practices around the world.

Like other large companies, however, Tesco recognises that its wider

reputation depends on other things, such as its staff relations, its

attitude to the environment, its support to the community, and its

relationships with its suppliers. Also, as a leading food retailer, the

company must ensure that it provides products, which are safe to eat or

use, as well as giving customers advice on matters such as healthy diets.

Health and safety

Tesco customers rightly expect that their purchases will be safe to eat or

use. The company applies the highest standards in meeting these

expectations and makes special provision for those with special dietary

needs. Following government recommendations on the nation’s diet, Tesco was

the first retailer to promote healthy eating.

Environmental policies

Tesco is committed to protecting the environment and to using its

commercial strength to put its principles into practice. In many cases, the

company’s standards far exceed legal requirements. Its environmental

policies cover matters such as recycling of packaging, working with

suppliers to minimise the use of pesticides, energy conservation, and the

siting and design of its stores. Tesco also works closely with

environmental organisations in areas relevant to its business.

Animal welfare

The company aims to set the highest standards of animal welfare in the

industry, and has introduced a code of practice on the treatment of animals

to which all its suppliers must adhere. The company is also funding

research to improve understanding of animal welfare, and will continue to

promote and implement high standards in order to improve animal husbandry

still further.

Relationships with suppliers

Tesco has relationships with thousands of suppliers in the UK and overseas,

and works closely with these suppliers in order to ensure that products are

of the highest quality and delivered in the best possible condition. By

working in close partnership with its suppliers, Tesco is helping them to

meet its own high standards, not just in efficiency and product quality,

but also in environmental protection, animal welfare and employment

practices.

The community

Tesco is very much part of local communities throughout the UK and is

committed to playing a positive role by working with community

organisations. The company’s community contribution covers support for

education, groups dedicated to helping people with disabilities, and a wide

variety of other organisations. The company has introduced schemes which

enable its own staff and customers to help raise money for good causes.

Each large supermarket retailer in Britain has its own corporate identity

and culture. Often these are very similar, yet each organisation seeks to

present its own individual image. Of the types of cultures that I have

discussed above, I think that Tesco displays many of these differing forms,

especially customer driven or customer orientated, task culture,

competitive culture, innovative culture and positive culture. It is often

said that in business “the customer is King” and this is very true of

Tesco, which operates in a very competitive market. It must be very heavily

customer orientated as satisfied customers will usually regularly return,

but dissatisfied customers may not …. and go elsewhere! It is also very

innovative, always encouraging new ideas and products, e.g. the possible

introduction of car sales. Tesco used to be a food retailer, but now it

also sells clothing, electrical goods, books and stationary, computers,

mobile phones, etc. It has a very positive culture as it is always

searching for new opportunities for its staff and also its retail products.

Its success is now a good indicator of how this blend of business cultures

has led to market growth and market leadership.

E5

Communications

The efficient communication of information is particularly important for

organisation that operates in competitive markets. Relevant and accurate

information is needed to plan and manage efficient production, marketing,

distribution and cost control. Information – whatever it is nature and

purpose – must be communicated as efficiently as possible.

All people in an organisation are part of an information flow – they are

involved to varying degrees in providing and receiving information.

However, there are three main levels at which information is required:

. operational level

. middle management

. senior management.

Operational level

At the operational level – on the factory floor, in the office or at

premises where consumer services are provided – there are charge hands and

supervisors who must ensure that work is planned and carried out as

efficiently as possible. In a factory, for example, a supervisor giving the

task of overseeing the production of a particular item needs to know:

. the quantity to be handle

. the completion date

. the availability of plans and machine capacity

. the operations to be performed

. the kinds of labour needed and its availability

. the materials and components required to produce the order.

The kind of information assists the supervisor in planning and controlling

he work and it is essential for decision making at an operational level.

Activities at the operational of an organisation produce data that will be

processed to provide much of the information required by middle management.

Middle management

Middle management needs to know how efficiently work at operational level

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