Paper Example on Countdown Company Leadership Style

Introduction

Countdown is a New Zealand based company that runs a chain of supermarkets in 183 regions. The company has expanded in the last few years and has established a wide market for its clients. The company employees more than 18,000 employees in various capacities. The company, the size of Countdown, must establish an organizational culture that offers direction and communicates the intentions of the business. The leadership of the company works to ensure that goals are achieved and appropriate culture is developed to drive the company forward. Despite the existence of an ethical culture, there are business situations that demand an improvement of workplace culture to ensure that the organization remains committed to achieving success. Unclear communication systems, business development, and employee motivation and three business situations including team engagement that presents a case for workplace culture improvement for Countdown company.

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Business Situations

Workplace culture refers to the norms that have been developed in an organization that influences how employees conduct themselves in their places of work. Organizational culture has a strong influence on how the employees express themselves in the organization. It influences on motivation and the attitude towards work. Countdown has established a good culture that can be linked to its success in the recent past. However, Countdown needs to improve its workplace culture to address unclear communication systems within the business. The size of this company means that it has numerous communicational channels which could pose challenges to business operations (Countdown, 2016). The company needs to establish clear channels that facilitate easy communication and enhances decision making. The existing communication channels within this organization need to be improved, and these improvements can be achieved by enhancing workplace culture.

Countdown company must innovate and come up with new strategize to sustain success in the competitive business environment. The business development presents a situation in the company that needs to be improved. Countdown has not been able to improve its operations by developing new business solutions. The issue can be blamed on a poor workplace culture that does not support innovation. The improvement of workplace culture to support innovative ideas and also support the desire to enhance the competitiveness of the company (Countdown, 2016). There is also the situation of employee motivation which affects the reputation of the company. The company needs to work on workplace culture to develop systems that improve the morale of the staff. The operations of the business rely entirely on customer service, and the company can work to improve how it attends to all employees. The improvement of workplace culture can also extend to team engagement. There is a need for the employees to work as a team and a change of culture can be achieved through leadership.

Leadership and Motivational Strategies

The three business situations can be addressed with the help of leadership and motivational strategies. The leadership strategies of speaking from the heart and delegating and empowering staff can help in addressing the communication problems. Empowered employees will work to address existing issues in the organization and support the leadership in finding lasting solutions. The management can further appeal to employees to support the changes being brought forward to address the problem (Barker, 2018). These leadership strategies will further the spirit of teamwork and support wide consultations while dealing with problems. The motivation strategy of trusting employees can help to break the communication barriers in the organization. Besides appreciating and recognizing employees for their input provides motivation that can be used to improve the culture of communication in the organization.

Business development supports sustainability, and proper leadership and motivational strategies can help accomplish the desire to enhance development. Communicating the vision of the company and delegating duties can improve the culture of business development. When the management provides clear direction by communicating the goals and plans of the organization, it will become easier to gain the support of the employees. Delegating responsibilities can spur creativity and innovation which can be beneficial for the organization (Barker, 2018). Rewarding employees and providing opportunities for growth will encourage innovation. When employees are aware that their input in improving the business is recognized, they will put much effort towards achieving this feat. Opportunities for growth can improve business development as it will provide an incentive for employees to better the development of the business.

Employee motivation is an issue that cannot be completely exhausted. Countdown company can improve employee motivation by supporting employees to further their education and recognize achievement (Barker, 2018). The two are leadership strategies which can motivate employees when they see the commitment of the management. Education opportunities and recognition makes employees feel valued and will develop that loyalty to the organization. The motivation reward of enhanced reward and promotions can further boost motivation by raising the spirits and attitudes towards work. Leadership and motivational strategies accompany one another, and the management should strike the right balance to ensure that employees work towards improving workplace culture.

The company has a strategic plan for enhancing the significance of its retail operations. The company plans to exploit available opportunities in the market with the help of its employees. The market in which the company operates is static, and appropriate adjustments must be made to meet the changes in the market. The company has identified the suppliers and the customers as the key stakeholders in its operations. As such, the company is working to satisfy these stakeholders to ensure that there is a steady supply of goods and that customers pay for what is worth the price (McNicol, 2014). The strength of the company is on its ability to carry out operations in a large number of outlets. It is through these outlets that the company accesses a wider market. The weaknesses can be linked to customer complaints from the checkout systems used by the business.

The company needs to work on its checkout systems to protect customer data and reduce cases of liability when there is a breach of customer privacy. The company introduced EFTPOS machines that were used at the point of sale terminals. However, these machines proved to be inefficient leading to complaints (Supermarket News, 2015). Besides, the company needs to work on its communication systems to prevent situations of miscommunication. Clear systems ease the work of employees and reduce conflicts between the management and the staff. It is through sound leadership that the company will be able to improve workplace culture that is driven by open communication.|

Conclusion

In conclusion, Countdown company must work on its workplace culture to promote innovation. The company has had a static culture which can be blamed on its business model and nature of operations. Innovation is required in the retail industry to match competition and also improve the value enjoyed by consumers.

References

Barker, E. (2018). Using Leadership and Motivational Theory to Support the Development of Leadership Competencies of the Ontario Leadership Framework.

Countdown. (2016). Our History. [Online] Available at: https://www.countdown.co.nz/about-us/our-history [Accessed 03 April 2019].

McNicol, H. (2014). Countdown Cleared of Anti-Competitive Behavior. [Online] Available at: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/63369023/Countdown-cleared-of-anti-competitive-behaviour [Accessed 03 April 2019].

Supermarket News. (2015). EFTPOS Problems for Countdown. [Online] Available at: https://supermarketnews.co.nz/eftpos-problems-for-countdown/ [Accessed 03 April 2019].