Business And Management At Asda Management Essay

Management is a dynamic process which can lead to advancement of a company below I will explain the process of how this advancement can be show and fragmented into certain areas.

P1

ASDA

Introduction.

Asda was founded in 1965. It was by a group of farmers from Yorkshire. Asda is well known supermarket for offering permanently low prices. Asda was an independent business until 1999 when Asda became part of the Wal-Mart family.

Asda currently operates 258 stores in the UK with a total sales area of 11.3million square feet.

Asda’s Mission Statement.

Asda wants to meet the needs and demands of their customers. In order to achieve this mission Asda will have to set out Aims and Objectives.

Aims and Objectives:

Aims of Asda:

Asda is to make sure that all of its customers receive “value for money”

To meet the needs and of the customers.

Expand.

Increase Sales.

Increase Market Share.

Increase Reputation.

When a business is considering its resources it will set SMART objectives.

SMART

S – Specific, significant, stretching

M – Measurable, meaningful, motivational

A – Agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R – Realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T – time-based, timely, tangible, traceable

Objectives of Asda:

One major objective of Asda is to make that all its customers receive value for money the way that they can achieve this objective is to import their products from aboard. By doing this Asda would be achieving the aim, of offering goods and products at affordable prices.

Another objective Asda could use to achieve this aim is to buy in bulk (bulk buying) the advantage of bulk buying is that the more you buy the cheaper it is. This is why Asda motto is more for you for less

On important aim that Asda have to follow is “to meet the needs of the customers” in order for Asda to achieve this aim they will have to set out a clear objective such as constantly get in touch with the customers to find out they needs and desires. One way Asda could achieve this aim is by asking their customers on weekly basis what they think of Asda service, prices etc. Asda values show that the business believes in respect for the individual, excellence and customer service.

Asda strategy

Asda is always coming up other ways to achieve its aims. One technique that Asda frequently use is constantly asking its employees and customers, in ways they can improve their service.

Asda looks closely on their performance. They will review how they are doing monthly. Asda makes sure that they are on track with their aims and objectives, if they are not getting what they aimed for, Asda will fix the problem by looking where they have gone wrong and resetting their aims and objectives.

I feel that Asda is meeting its business objectives and goals very well. For their objectives to be effective they must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time constrained.

Action Planning

Action planning is a technique supports the objectives of an organisation and it also is a part of focusing on the aims of the business in the long term effects. There are two parts of action planning. Strategically and Tactically.

Strategic planning:

There are four stages that strategic planning, these four are:

Where are we now?

Asda are one of the biggest supermarkets in Great Britain. It also wants to become the market leader by attracting its competitor’s customers.

Where we want to be?

As stated in the mission statement of Asda “we want to become Britain’s best value retailer. Asda would also like to become the market leader and become well know all around the world.

How are we going to get there?

Asda believe they will become the market leader by exceeding the needs of their customers (Customer satisfaction) another way that Asda could become the market leader is to attract the customer of its competitors (Tesco) there way Asda could do this is by

Offering services that competitors don’t.

Better customer service.

Offer the same or cheaper prices.

Expand the business.

Asda believe they will become the market leader by exceeding the needs of their customers (Customer satisfaction) another way that Asda could become the market leader is to attract the customer of its competitors (Tesco) there way Asda could do this is by

Offering services that competitors don’t.

Better customer service.

Offer the same or cheaper prices.

Expand the business.

Review of Performance:

Asda will also have to review the performance of itself and the performance of other businesses. If Asda want to become the market they will have to set out clear objectives such as

Tactical Planning

Tactical planning is similar to strategic planning in that the targets are set. Tactical planning is more detailed, for example tactical planning is more of a day-to-day basis and they have to often respond to events outside the business for example competitors.

Equipped to achieve the set aims/goals

Once a business has set out its aims and objectives, then the management team have to make sure that the right resources are in place to achieve all the objectives, the resources include:

Staff

Facilities

Equipment

Technology

The affects of planning

Sir John Harvey Jones leading business advisor- “more business fail than succeed, 5 out of 6 within 5 year of launching. Planning and monitoring would help to avoid this.

For any businesses to succeed effectively planning and monitoring of aims and objectives are essential. If the monitoring and planning are infective then any organisation will pay the ultimate price failure. The failure can be seen in the form of bankruptcy. To avoid this organisation adopt various planning and monitoring techniques.

Monitoring Techniques

There are all different Techniques of monitoring. All these different techniques below help to achieve Business Aims.

Critical path Analysis

Variance Analysis

Exception Analysis

Kaizen Analysis

Benchmarking

Critical Path Analysis:

Critical Path Analysis is an extremely effective method of analysing a complex project. It helps you to calculate the minimum length of time in which the project can be completed, and which activities should be prioritised to complete by that date.

Where a job has to be completed on time, critical path analysis helps you to focus on the essential activities to which attention and resources should be devoted. It gives an effective basis for the scheduling and monitoring of progress.

Critical Path analysis also shows how different activities can take place at the same time and which activities should follow others. The information is usually turned into diagrams. (This makes it easier to see which activities are running at the same time)

Asda marketing research forms a part of the critical path analysis is always using the critical path analysis; the reason for this is that the marketing team always has different projects going on at the same time.

The advantage of Asda using the critical path analysis is that it clearly sates where the objectives are at any particular time. Knowing where the organisation is in relation to the objectives will save Asda time and money. E.g. the marketing team discovers that the customer wants more value for money then the marketing.

Example of a Critical Analysis:

Carrying out the example critical path analysis above shows us:

That if all goes well the project can be completed in 10 weeks

That if we want to complete the task as rapidly as possible, we need:

1 analyst for the first 5 weeks

1 programmer for 6 weeks starting week 4

1 programmer for 3 weeks starting week 6

Quality assurance for weeks 7 and 9

Hardware to be installed by the end of week 7

That the critical path is the path for development and installation of supporting modules

That hardware installation is a low priority task as long as it is completed by the end of week 7

Gantt Charts

Businesses such as Asda use grant chart to help them achieve their Aims and Objectives, Gantt charts recognizes project and how long they last. Grant charts are very important to Asda the reason being grant chart shows when projects are to be carried out. It also allows business to get the resources that may be required in the project. It will also help businesses to work out the critical path analysis for projects where you must complete it by a particular deadline.

Variance Analysis

Variance analysis is all about budgeting and measuring against budgeted figures.

Higher cost or lower revenue = Negative variance

Lower cost and higher revenue = Positive variance

In order to calculate variance, up to date and accurate information is essential – providing a clear picture of the extent to which tasks are complete and the expense incurred to date.

Clearly variance can be calculated for those tasks that have been completed, but for tasks that are partially completed the calculations are more complicated. A positive variance indicates that a project is under-spending whereas a negative variance indicates that a project is suffering from over-spend.

Variance can be used to quantify the difference between the planned costs and the current planned costs, at whatever level is required – for example, for the project as a whole, for a sub-project, a group of related tasks or for individual tasks. Variance is usually expressed as a percentage, enabling the divergence to be quantified in proportional terms. A negative variance indicates that the project is suffering from overspend.

An example is a business has costs of £3000 and has a revenue of £8000 this business will have a positive variance.

One important objective of Asda is to stay within the budget that is set. Asda would like to make more profits as possible, in order to do this Asda would have to increase their revenue and lower their costs.

Exception Analysis

Exception analysis is where a business only concentrates at the problems arising; it is the responsibility of the management team to identify the problem. Once the problem is identified then it has to be sorted, an example is the punctuality of the workers. If Tesco realised that they staff were turning up late they would have to explain the importance of punctuality and if that did not work then the management team would have to take disciplinary action towards their staff.

Kaizen Analysis

Kaizen is a Japanese word which means “a change for the better”. Businesses often use the Kaizen analysis to improve their business.

The way that Kaizen analysis works is by stepping back and looking how the business works and then identifying ways of improving the areas that are not performing very well. Asda is the market leader today because they always improving the way that they run the business, the way that Tesco use the kaizen analysis is by asking their customers what could Asda do to improve their shopping experience with them. Another technique that Asda uses is by asking their employees how they could improve the business; the kaizen analysis is about the employee finding new ways of improving the business instead of the business dictating it to them. The advantage of this is that the employees feel more involved in the business and this will motivate them to work to their full potential.

External Influences

External influences are influences from outside the business, external influences are very important to any businesses this is because if your competitors start offering discounts to their customers then you should either offer similar discounts or offer better customer service. Most businesses use a term call benchmarking to plan their strategy and to increase their profits.

Benchmarking is about identifying opportunities for your business, Asda competitors are always trying to finding ways in how Asda run their business, however Asda and their competitors do meet up an discuss ideas as well as discussing the performance of their business. The figures of each business are averaged; the advantage of external influence is that it helps Asda set a target for there self’s. It also give gives them a change to see where they are in the market locally.

P2

The Role of Management

Management style

“The manager is the dynamic, life giving element in every business. Without his leadership ‘the resources of production’ remain resources and never become production…” (Drucker, p. 1955)

In the Role of Management there are three main theorists which were all men. They are called Henri Fayol, Peter Drucker and Charles Handy.

Henri Fayol (1841 – 1925)

Henri Fayol was a French business executive who was famous for making companies avoid being bankrupt when there of were of the brink of being so. These are a number of his ‘elements’ or functions of management:

Planning- this involves setting objectives and also the strategies, polices, programmes and procedures for achieving them.

Organising- Managers set tasks which need to be performed if the business is to achieve its objectives. Jobs need to be organised within a sections or departments and authority needs to be delegated so that jobs are carried out.

Commanding- this involved giving instructions to subordinates to carry out tasks. The manager has the authority to make decisions and the responsibility to see tasks are carried out.

Co-ordinating. This is the bringing together of the activities of people within the business. Individuals and groups will have their own goals, which may be different from those of the business and each other. Management must make sure that there is a common approach so that the organisation’s goals are achieved.

Controlling- Managers measure the correct the activities of individuals and groups, to make sure that their performance fits in with plans.

Peter Drucker (1909-2005)

Peter Drucker was the theorist that came up with the idea of MBO, MBO stands for management by objectives. He came up with this idea in 1954, he outlined this in his book that was published. This book was called ‘Practice of Management’.

MBO

MBO relies on the defining of objectives for each employee and then comparing them and directing their performance against the objectives which have been set.

The MBO also introduced SMART objectives: –

S – Specific, significant, stretching

M – Measurable, meaningful, motivational

A – Agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R – Realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T – time-based, timely, tangible, traceable

Charles Handy.

In contrast with Fayol or Drucker, Charles Handy argued that any definition of a manager is likely to be so broad it will have little or no meaning. Instead he outlined what is likely to be involved in “being the manager”.

The manager as a general practitioner. Handy made an analogy between managing and staying “healthy”. If there are health problems in a business, the manager needs to identify the symptoms and then find the cause.

Systems can be improved such as communication systems, reward systems, information and reporting systems and other decision making systems such as stock control.

Managerial dilemmas. Handy argued that managers face dilemmas and this was one of the reasons why managers are paid more than workers.

Dilemmas of cultures. When managers are promoted or move to other parts of the business, they behave in ways which are suitable for the new position. Eg. At the senior management levels managers may deal more with long term strategy and delegate lower level tasks to middle management. If a promoted manager maintains a “culture” that they are used to, they may not be effective in their new positions.

The trust control dilemma. Manager may want to control the work for which they are responsible. However they may have to delegate work to subordinates trusting them to do the work properly. The greater the trust a manager has in subordinates, the less control she retains for herself. Retaining control could be mean a lack of trust.

The commando leader’s dilemmas. In many firms junior managers often want to work in project teams, with clear task or objectives. This can mean working “outside” the normal bureaucratic structure of an organisation. Unfortunately there can be too many project (or “commando groups’) for the good of the business. The manager must decide how many of the project groups she should create to satisfy the needs of the subordinates and how much more bureaucratic structure to retain.

The manager as a person. Management has to developed into a profession and managers expect to be rewarded for their professional skills. Managers must, therefore, continue to develop these skills and sell them into the highest bidder.

Without a manager, a business is mostly likely to fail, the reason for this is that all businesses needs a manager to Make sure that targets are met, workers always have tasks to do etc

In order for any business to succeed they must a good management team, if the management team is not able to control the business then the businesses is more than likely to close the reason for this is that a manager manages the business and they key to the businesses success.

A manager’s may differ depending on the company he/she belongs to and what level of management he/she is. It mainly depends on the size and type of the organisation and the position in the hierarchy which the manager fits.

A manager can make decisions without consulting anyone else, manager also have to make sure that they inspire their workers to work harder, one technique that can be used is to offer rewards to their employees, and it may be valuable in business such as Asda where decisions need to be made quickly and decisively.

A manager has many tasks, however here are some key roles that a manger has on a day too basis:

The functions of a manager:

Making decisions on behalf of others.

Setting and communicating objectives.

Administering rewards and punishments to employees.

Establish a working culture.

Financial reporting – managers also have to make sure that the business is doing well financially. The management team at Asda would have to make sure that all the money is safe and secure. If some money went missing the management team would have to investigate.

Managing risk – a manager also has to make sure that all the employees are working in a safe environment. The manager will also have to make sure that all the employees have some training on health and safely

Strategic and operational planning and implementation – the management team at Asda would also have to make sure that the employees are achieving the aims and objectives of the business. The management team at Asda also have to make sure that the business as a whole is achieving its Aims and Objectives.

Organising management – the managing director has to make sure that when he employs a manager he must make sure he/she has the following skills, being able to manage, being able to motive others

Managers Job Include

A manager can make decisions without consulting anyone else, manager also have to make sure that they inspire their workers to work harder, one technique that can be used is to offer rewards to their employees and it may be valuable in business such as Asda where decisions need to be made quickly and decisively.

I am now going to explain the different management styles.

Styles of leadership

Autocratic

Some managers have a use autocratic style towards their workers, managers who use this style of leadership come to a decision without consulting their employees, the advantage of this is that the employees know what they have to do and they will get on with it. The disadvantage of this leadership style is that workers do not feel involved in the business this de-motivates workers.

Democratic

Managers who use a democratic style of leadership make their employees feel more involved in the business, the reason for this is that managers consult their employees before making any major decision; the advantage of this is that managers can get some useful ideas out of their workers. The disadvantage of this style of leadership is that decisions can be delayed.

Laissez Faire

‘Let it be’ this type of leadership is used by manager who are more laid back, the advantage of this is that if a business wanted creative ideas they could use this style of leadership towards their employees. The advantage of this is that employees feel more involved in the business and will feel motivated; this will make employees work to their full potential another advantage is that it improves the bond between employers and employees. The disadvantage of this is that decisions take longer.

Paternalistic

This leader acts like a ‘father figure’ and the leader makes decision but may consult and believes in the need to support staff.

Span of Control

All managers and supervisors have span of control over their employees. The managing director has span of control over the managers and the chair-person has span of control on the managing director. If a machine operative had a problem he/she would report to his supervisor who would then have to sort out his their problem.

Structures of an Organisation.

Businesses such as Asda are structured in variant different ways this depends on their objectives and culture. The structure of Asda will determine the manner in which it operates and they way the business performs. The wrong organisational structure will show the success of the business. Organisational structures should be looking to aim to maximize the efficiency and success for the organisation.

There are three different types of structures an organisation can use and these are:-

A Hierarchical structure.

A Flat structure.

A Matrix structure.

A Hierarchical Structure

A Hierarchical structure is very in common in large organisations, businesses such as Asda would use this structure. This is the most common structure around. There are fewer people at the top of the structure, and these people at the top manage people below them. The lower levels do not have as many managers but has more employees than those at the top of the structure. All the departments are split up, this is so that it is easier for the people at the bottom of the chart to communicate to those at the top of the chart. Each department will have to deal with their own finances and their taxes and budgets. It is vertical communication which management is led by in this structure. The senior management will be at the top and they will send the aims and objectives downwards.

Advantages of a Hierarchical structure

employees job roles are clearly stated

employees know ho to report to

managers/ supervisors know who they have span of control over

Disadvantage of a Hierarchical structure

communications within the business are very slow

Information can get altered.

employees do not feel a part of the businesses

take a long time to responds to customer needs

Flat Structures

A flat structure is very common in small business, for example Sole traders usually have a flat structure within their business.

Advantages of Flat structures.

Employees interact with each other.

Employees know who to report to.

Managers/ supervisors know who they have span of control over.

Communication is very quick.

Employees feel more involved in the business.

Disadvantage of a Flat structure.

Employee’s job roles are not clearly defined.

Employees have a lot more pressure on themselves.

Conflicts are more likely to occur.

Limits the businesses growth.

A Matrix Structure

Advantages of a matrix structure

All employees are involved in the business.

Employees are not doing the same thing on a day to day basis.

Employees gain more experience and skills.

Improves team work and motivation within the business.

Disadvantages of a matrix structure

More conflicts are likely.

It limits the businesses growth.

Employee will not be a specialist in a particular area.

Employees may not be able to interact with one another.

Asda will use the structure of the hierarchical structure, the structure will have many different levels, at the very top there will a BOD (Board of Directors) and at the bottom there will be regular staff, such as trolley pushers and assistants. There will be many different departments in this structure such as bakery, shop floor etc.

The theory that they will go with will be Fayols function theory.

Management of resources

It is a manager job to correctly manage the resources by the team so that they can be more efficient. There are four main types of resources that need to be controlled and monitored by the management team these are:

Physical resources

Human resources

Financial resources

Technological resources

Physical Resources.

This research is the one that focuses on what the business needs to carry out its activities. This will include such things as buildings and facilities. To manage this includes insurance of the organisation, security, refurbishment of the buildings and the maintenance. All the machinery that is in a business is called Physical Resources, this also includes computers (IT) for their online ordering.

Looking after their Physical Resources the manager will need to take the responsibility for an emergency situation, these include fire extinguishers and sprinkles in case of a fire. They will also need a plan for major incidents like a bomb or serious fire. This plan is called a contingency plan. This planning is about the judging of what could and should take place in an emergency situation. This will not take place for every situation.

Human Resources

Human Resources are the staff of the organisation, unlike the Physical and Financial Resources of a business these need to be taken with sensitivity as they are humans and they need to be. Humans are unable to be thrown away like a piece of broken machinery, this is because they are protected by legislation – the laws of the UK and the EU. They deal with Recruitment and Retention of their staff and they will be looking for the most highly skilled men or women and be looking to release their weaker employees. They will also need to staff to meet business demands.

Financial Resources

It is essential to every business when involving financial resources. There are three key areas of resourcing, these three main areas are: –

Bidding for the future

Keeping appropriate reserves

Making sure the business is financially sound.

All businesses will need financial support or the business will not be able to exist as it will constantly have fixed and running costs to take care of.

For a business to have money when they are struggling, they could have loans or grants. Looking after the finances of a business means looking at what is happening in the business today as well as planning for the future. 2 ways of making sure that the business can prosper are by ensuring it has good liquidity and providing enough work capital. Liquidity means having access to cash, which means they are able to pay off their debts quickly.

Technological resources

Most people would think that computers, hardware etc would come under technological resources, but this is not true, they are not true because they would be under physical resources. Software, text, designs and music come under technological resources. These resources are known as intellectual property. Intellectual property laws allow people to own ideas and have rights over them.

Protecting technological resources can be very difficult, there are laws, which help to protect them, but it is sometimes difficult to prove that someone has taken your idea and used it for profit. Copyright is an intellectual property that is often in the news and its enforcement is costly to business worldwide.

Effective and Ineffective Management

Consequences of effective management

Managers’ aim to for to be successful, the way that managers become successful is by using the right management style at right time, for example if a businesses had a deadline of making 300 pairs of jeans each hour then the manager should use a more autocratic style towards their employees. A good example of effective management is when a manager can motivate its employees; managers should also care about their employee’s personal live as well as their work life. Managers should also reward their employees when their do something that helps the businesses performance.

Ineffective management

No manger wants their business to fail, however sometimes managers are too busy, to take a step back and look on their performance of their employees, for example a manager may be busy trying to improve the profits of the business and might not be able to see workers who not performing or even employees that are working extremely hard. Mangers should also make sure that they give an appraisal to their employees at least once every three months. Mangers can discuss any problems that their employee might be having within the business. If managers fail to see employees failing it could lead to a decrease in productivity.

P4

Having explored the roles of management, it is important to look at the type of individual who are capable of fulfilling these roles and meeting and challenges they bring at different levels and in different areas. The skills involved can be divided into three parts:

Interpersonal skills

Communication

Task related skills

Interpersonal skills is about working and dealing with others to make a business succeed.

Managers should be able to motivate their employees and also negotiate with their employees.

Employees will work better if they feel that they have been consulted about their targets so managers should set targets.

Employees will also work more efficiently if they know that they can communicate with their manager.

Manager should make sure that they have good interviews skills when interviewing staff, whether for recruitment or appraisal purposes. A manager should use the technique mirroring to relax the interviewee. Mirroring is when the manager follows the body language of the employees and adapts his or her tone of voice and posture to suit the interviewees. This is more likely to make the employees more relaxed, accepted and willing to take on board the targets given to him or her.

Appraisals

Appraisals are usually done on a one two one basis or it can also be done in teams. At an appraisal interview, is asked to look at the work he or she has done since the last appraisal and whether the targets set have been achieved.

The manager will also set out some new targets for employees, as well as reviewing old targets. If an employee has worked well and achieved all targets their might be a pay rise. But if an employee has not achieved the target set, a manger may have o persuade him or her to improve performance levels or even discipline him or her if this has been a continuing problem.

Appraisals are usually done every three months but it usually depends on the managers to motivate and tell employees about any pay rises, or promotions in the business.

Communication

There are two different types of communications that businesses have which are formal and informal. These are also be used in writing.

Formal:

Business letters

Solicitors

Letters to customers and suppliers

Informal:

Telephone

Emails

Texts

Notes

The important thing with communication is to use the right form for the right purpose.

Non-Verbal communication

This is just as important as the way you write and speak. This is communication that comes about through your body language and your actions

Sub conscious body language and actions.

Defensive

Crossing arms.

Frowning.

Leaning back in your chair.

Not looking someone in the eyes can be a sign that you are being dishonestly.

Not interested

Yawning.

Looking at your watch.

Frequency tapping your hands or pencil on the table.

Managers need to be aware of these things because they need to make sure that they communicate as effectively as possible. Management is about presenting yourself in the most appropriate way and giving those around your confidence in what you do and in shared goals. There are plenty of examples of famous business such as the Body Shop, who lead other using positive verbal and non-verbal skills and made a real success of their business. They each also have their own styles but use their communication skill to great effect.

Task related skills

Task related skills are when managers learn when they work in a particular part of industry or business. Mangers would have learn various different skills in the working life, so if something does happen in the business the manger could have experience this problem before and will know how to solve the problem. The manger may also have previous practical experience may help out if a crisis acurs.

Improving effectiveness

Service charter

Public

Police

Local councils

NHS

Private

Airlines

Railways

Supermarkets

Banks

There are some very simple rules that all managers use to become successful and theses are:

Smile: managers should keep a smile on even when they are angry, this makes employees feel more comfortable and makes the employees feel more motivated.

Be appreciative: managers should appreciate every job an employee does, this will show the employees that the managers do care about them.

Pay attention to others: managers should pay attention to their workers; the reason for this is that employees could be doing their job wrong.

Practice active listening: managers should always listen to their employees even if the manger is getting late for another job.

Bring people together: managers should make sure that they bring workers together and make them work as a team rather than individuals; this will increase the motivation within the workers.

Resolve conflicts: managers should make sure that when they are resolving conflicts they do not take sides, managers should make sure that conflicts are dealt with immediately.

Communicate clearly: managers should lean how to communicate with their employees, managers should also make sure that they speak clearly when talking to their employees.

Humour them: mangers should also make sure that they keep their employees happy, once technique that manager’s use is to humour their employees.