The Working Environment in Tesco - Research Proposal Example

 The Working Environment in Tesco Research Proposal Table of contents Research Questions 1 Research Design 4 Sampling Plan 4 Data Collection 4 Secondary Data 5 Primary Data 5 Data Analysis 6 Ethical Considerations 7 Research Schedule 7 Introduction This research proposal is to find out how the working environment of Tesco the supermarket giant is. Tesco is a $33-billion, British retail grocer giant based in the UK. The aim of this study is to throw light upon the working environment and the internal capabilities of the company and how the same have combined to influence the different departments of the chain stores. Tesco has adopted all strategic measures to safeguard their interests in the UK retail market with the provision of increased efficiency and cost savings through excellent supply chain with the help of latest technologies and improvised administrative skills. Research Questions The research would help in identifying a solution for the following: 1. The role of management in the working environment of Tesco. 2. The major difference between the working environment in Tesco compared with other corporate. 3. What are the primary sources of information that management need to make the work environment at Tesco as smooth as possible. Background of the Company Tesco deals mainly with grocery items and general merchandising retail chain. If the global sales and domestic market share of the company are taken into account the company is found to be the largest British retailer by far. The profit of the company exceeded £2 billion for the year 2008 and it is believed that the profit will be much higher in the year 2009. The company mainly focuses upon food and drink but it has also started dealing in clothes, financial services, internet services etc. “Tesco started life in 1919 when Jack Cohen started selling surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. Mr. Cohen made a profit of £1 from sales of £4 on his first day.” (A History of Tesco, http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/about_us/ tesco_story/#, viewed on 1st February 2009) Tesco made its debut in the year 1924 when Jack Cohen emerged as tea suppliers introducing Tesco Tea in the UK market. It was the first own-brand of Jack Cohen-TE Stockwell partnership. The year 1929 marked the opening of a store in North London and the company rapidly developed from there. The head quarters of the company was established in North London in 1930s. In 1932 it became a private limited company. Scope of the Research Study Tesco has grown to be really big so it is very difficult and complex to study its operations in a comprehensive way. So this research study will be limited in its quantitative dimension. The questionnaires and interviews will be conducted on a very limited number of Tesco stores in the U.K. Due to limitations of the resources it is not possible to conduct a comprehensive quantitative study. On the other hand, the qualitative dimension of this research project will be much more comprehensive since it is easier to find secondary data for the Literature Review. So the strength of this research study will be focused on its qualitative dimension. Methodologies Information for the conduct of this study has been retrieved chiefly from books, newspapers, trade journals, industry portals, governmental agencies and survey reports. PESTEL analysis is used to assess the overall performance of Tesco supermarket chain. The global economic and industrial slowdown and its impact especially in UK retail market are thoroughly examined, in this study. Recommendations are made to improve the customer service level of Tesco supermarket. Research Design A comparative and cross-sectional design will be used to enable a collection and comparison of data. Quantitative data related to a few variables to detect patterns which can hopefully answer the research questions will be gathered. Sampling Plan Non-probability sampling will be applied for both primary data collection methods. For the questionnaire, quota sampling will be used for the type of company to achieve comparative results Within each company, the researcher will try to initiate snowball sampling to get as many results as possible. Overall, 450 questionnaires will be send to individuals within companies, additionally some independent marketing professionals will be chosen. A response rate of 15% will be targeted, which is relatively low due to the sector. Generally companies keep their marketing strategies in secret to a certain extent. The researcher will try to overcome this problem with personal contacts. The semi-structured interviews will be chosen via purposive sampling from the respondents who ticked the question of availability for an interview in the questionnaire. Data Collection A range of techniques for carrying on an explorative research has been proposed which will be used for the purpose of the research. These include searching a relevant literature, discussing with the experts in the subject and conducting interviews of an appropriate sample. Secondary data collected by reviewing literature of international marketing. A short review of both primary and secondary data collection is as follows: Secondary Data Written materials like textbooks, journals, newspapers and reports will be used to explain the circumstances of the proposed research. Other methods of survey will be carried out to study and discover the similarities if any and to research further facts. Hofstede (2001) will be used to get a detailed insight in different characteristics of cultures impact on the international marketing practices. Primarily, electronic databases like Emerald, Business Source Premier and Lexis-Nexis will be used, and newspapers like the Financial Times and other imminent journals like Harvard Business Review would be used for gaining better understanding of the underlying theories. Primary Data Questionnaire will be used to gain information about the working environment at Tesco. Around 450 questionnaires will be mailed to different employees. The questionnaire will be of two parts. The information derived from the questionnaire will be mostly quantitative. A pilot test would be conducted before the actual questionnaire is sent to different professionals. Interviews Interviews will deepen the understanding of the working environment and the strategies followed by Tesco. In the case, the researcher would conduct 5-6 semi-structured interviews on a one-to-one basis. This will enable researcher to prepare questions to some key topics, with the flexibility to extend the projects framework. Each interview will be 30-45 minutes long and recorded with the permission of the interviewee so that the research team would be able to make notes concerning body language and expressions. A disadvantage of this procedure is that it could “make respondents anxious and less likely to reveal confidential information” (Blaxter et al. 2001). Data Analysis Using Microsoft’s Excel and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), the research team will use descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse the data of the questionnaire. The results will be examined in three ways: Univariate: investigating country or company type at a time Bivariate: analysing two variables together, performance and country or company type and country Multivariate: examining three variables together to ascertain patterns. This will never exceed the extent given in the example with two parameters for three variables to avoid too high complexity. Using these analyses, the research team will present in different kinds of charts and tables separated according to the objectives of the research, and will also make comparisons where ever possible to give an indication on how to proceed in these research problems. Furthermore, the research team would make a comparison of strategies in different market stages if appropriate. Interviews will be analysed by category and also within their context. A mixture of an inductive and deductive approach will be used, and hence some proposition derived. To achieve a reasonable amount of useful data, the data will be reduced and simplified so that they can be displayed in matrices. Ethical Considerations As the research team is planning to ask investment managers for their gender, it would have to tick the first question on the Ethics checklist. Other than that, there will not be any as vulnerable considered people contacted. Additionally, the research team has to ensure that all respondents understand what research’s purpose is, and that they have the opportunity to refuse answers to any questions. If respondents are prepared to give an interview, they chose by themselves to be identified. Any confidential material will be kept secure, and the interviews will just be recorded with the permission of the interviewee. Furthermore, the interviewer has to promise that their behaviour will be ethical and the respondent’s as well as interviewees’ safety are ensured. Finally, the research team would act according to the data protection principles, the Data Protection Act and data security measures. Additionally, the research will quote every piece of text taken from another document and cite every idea taken from somebody else. It will accurately relay all information used for the citation. Research Schedule The research team believes that the proposed research would require duration of about 3 months approximately by taking into consideration the procedures involved in the data collection and report writing involved in the research project. The research team has come to the conclusion on this duration based on the previous researches being conducted and a rough guess from the literature on the timing of the research. References: 1. http://makingtimemarketing.com/knowledge/highlight3recession.html, viewed on 12th August, 2009. 2. A History of Tesco. In The Telegraph. Retrieved on 12th August 2009 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2788089/A-history-of-Tesco-The-rise-of-Britain's-biggest-supermarket.html. 3. A History of Tesco, http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/about_us/ tesco_story/#, viewed on 12th August 2009. 4. How Tesco became Britain's top supermarket, 9th May 2007, Money Week, http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/how-tesco-became-britains-top supermarket.aspx, viewed on 12th August, 2009 5. Regoverning Markets, Tesco to increase direct sourcing, April 20th 2009, http://www.regoverningmarkets.org/en/news/global/tesco_to_increase_direct_sourcing. html, viewed on 12th August, 2009 6. Tanya Thomson, ‘Every little helps as Tesco rings up £1bn in sales every week’, http://news.scotsman.com/uk/ Every-little-helps-as-Tesco.5191760.jp, viewed on 12th August, 2009. 7. PESTEL Analysis-Tesco supermarket”, http://www.ivoryresearch.com/ sample5.php, viewed on, 12th August, 2009 8. Tesco BASIS Customer Success Story, http://www.basis.com/company/success_ stories/tesco.html, viewed on 12th August, 2009. 9. British shoppers shun single-use carriers - 2BN bags saved, 13 August 2008, http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/corporate_ responsibility/news/press_releases/pr2008/2008 08-13/, viewed on 12th August, 2009. 10. Lorraine Blaxter et al, How to Research, Buckingham: Open University Press, (third edition) 2001, pp.336, ISBN 033521746X 11. Hofstede, Geert. “Culture's Consequences, Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations Thousand Oaks” CA, Sage Publications, 2001. 12. Tesco, 2008, Tesco At A Glance, (online), available from http://www.tescocorporate.com/page.aspx?pointerid=A8E0E60508F94A8DBA909E2ABB5F2CC7 (accessed August 12, 2009). 13. Tesco, 2008, Inside Tesco, (online), available from http://www.tescocorporate.com/insidetesco.htm (accessed August 12, 2009). 14. Tesco, 2008, Corporate Responsibility, (online), available from http://www.tescocorporate.com/cr.htm (accessed August 12, 2009). 15. Tesco, 2008, Our Core Purpose, (online), available from http://www.tescocorporate.com/ourcorepurpose.htm (accessed August 12, 2009). Read More