unit 8 research project

Task 1 Research proposal

Tesco decentralisation issues.
Tesco Hatch End branch

1. Introduction
Tesco leads the private sector of employment in England, it has above 360,000
employees. Tesco also expanded their business in other sectors like: Financial services
(Tesco Bank), Petrol stations, Telecom (Tesco mobile), Internet retailing, Film making
etc.
Tesco has a large variety of shops from local Tesco Express stores to Tesco Extras
superstores.

Tesco Hatch End is one of the Express branch that brings shopping experience closer
to customers doors and it also meets local needs and wants, by doing so it shatters
local competition and the other supermarkets competition as well.
Read more: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tesco/recruitment-andselection/introduction.html#ixzz3DhfCj7lW
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2. Background
This research project will analyse the problems that this small branch confronts with
including the lack of focus on customer service and will extrapolate identifying the
benefits and problems of applying a decentralised management at Tesco. It will find
the link between lack of focus in customer service and the current decentralised
structure.
3 and 4. The results of secondary research and the methodologies that I'm going to
use
It is impossible to analyse Tesco Hatch End branch issues without taking into account
the biggest picture of the company.
Tesco had to move from a centralised structure to a decentralised one thats no doubt
in that. Empowering managers had a positive effect on adapting to local customer
needs and wants, and also had a good effect on employees motivation.

http://www.retailwire.com/discussion/16083/tescos-sir-terry-rails-against-centralizedmanagement.
However the negative effects on moving to a decentralised structure havent been
study enough in Tesco case. Giving to much liberty to managers and not maintaining a
thigh control may result in a low output quality of work, when staff is not controlled
properly they could try to avoid work, resulting in bad quality customer service. See
the following example.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2281448/Tesco-voted-worst-supermarketUK-Stores-given-poor-marks-pricing-customer-service-fresh-produce-quality-annualpoll.html
ggxl53, York, United Kingdom, 1 year ago
"I worked for Tesco 20+ years ago when they started growing the Superstore
network. I worked in one of the new "flagship" Superstores. We were well dressed,
inspected, trained in how to speak to the customer pleasantly (eye contact and smile!),
conduct customers to locations in the store rather than just telling them where to find
things, apologise for keeping customers waiting at the checkout, arrange products on
the shelf with the labels facing uniformly forward etc. The only place you get that
effort and care now is at Waitrose. My local Tesco contains shabbily dressed and
disinterested staff, dismal service, untidy store layout, stuff piled high. But they are
cladding the outside with bits of unfinished wood to try to make it look better, oh
well."
Even if Tesco is rated as one of the worst supermarket it has the biggest market
share of all supermarkets in UK part of the cause being opening new local branches,
where people find easier to shop. http://www.retailwire.com/discussion/16083/tescossir-terry-rails-against-centralized-management
But investing so much money in one direction results in cutting cost in other sections
like stuff personal and product quality.
In the first instance we have the problem: Tesco voted the worst supermarket in the
UK but if we want to find appropriate primary data we have know exactly what we
are looking for. The secondary research must come up with some possible causes of
the problem because people may not have all the reasons of choosing Tesco as the
worst supermarket, so before starting primary data research like questioners we have
to know how to address the problem, what question to ask etc. Hence the first step
will be secondary data research on possible reasons of disliking so much the shopping
in other stores. Then the most important task will consist in finding the suitable
question to be asked. Other ways of finding rough data could be: interviews,
surveillance, face to face discussions, employing mystery shoppers etc. For a larger
view of the problem we must do a primary research on other Tesco express shops in
order to compare the results and see if the it is a problem with Tesco administrative
way in general or if the problem is at Tesco Hatch End branch only. The next step will
consist in interpreting the results. A secondary research of best ways of interpreting
the results must be done.
The second stage will consist in comparing the results with others organisations that
faced similar problems and applying fitting solutions to Tesco organisation.
5. Identifying the research question
The main theme of the research project will gravitate on how to maintain control in
Tesco decentralised structure while keeping the decentralised benefits of the

organisation. The research project will try to come with solutions to the problem
without compromising the current benefits of Tesco current system.
6. Implementation Plan
For secondary research I'll mainly use internet like sites that I've already presented,
Tesco own site, courses etc. For the primary research I'll use questioners, surveillance,
mystery shoppers, telephone interviews, face to face talks etc. The questioners will be
realized in front of Tesco Hatch end shop, harrow Tesco branch, Watford Branch. I
will also discuss face to face with managers, and retail workers of the mentioned
branches. Living across the Tesco Hatch End branch will help me to directly survey
them. I'll also do telephone random telephone and internet questioners. For finding
appropriate ways of interpreting data I will also do a secondary internet research
about best ways and methods to do it. For the last part I will do a power point
presentation and I will presented to a live audience.
Research timetable
Chapter
Topic

Introduction

35

Literature review, second

data research
Methodology

25

Data analysis

20

Present the results in an

appropriate form

15

Total

100

Words

6,000

Days

20

*****sa inteviorez localnicii interviu din casa in casa

*****idee ca un studiu poate iesi fals daca intervieatorul doreste sa obtina un anumit
rezultat, de ex tesco nu vrea sa investeasca in staf asa ca rezult arat ca mai bine nu ar
investi
The people that voted Tesco as the worst company they should have interfere with a
couple of times in order to form that opinion. It is more probably that those people
had constantly bad experiences with their Tesco supermarket from which they shop
regularly. So our research universe should consist of locals which shops at their
supermarket.
We should also know what nationalities are living in the area in order to obtain a
representative sample.
Age group