THE IMPACTS OF BUSINESS STRATEGIES ON UK RETAIL

( A Case Study Of Tesco Plc.)

Submitted By : MUHAMMAD AHSAN RIAZ Supervisor : Hector Dela Victoria University Student Number : 1092187396468 College Student Number : 130479 Submitted In Partial Fulfilment of the MBA Finance University Of Wales (London College of Business) January 2012
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In the name of Allah (God) who is the most Beneficent and Merciful. All praise to Allah, the Almighty, on whom ultimately we depend for sustenance and guidance. I will like to offer my sincerest gratitude to my research supervisor Mr. Hector Dela Victoria for his support & guidance throughout the preparation of this dissertation. Without which I would not have been able to complete my dissertation. I will also like to thank all those who helped me throughout my life in the development of knowledge and in facing the hardships of life. I will like to mention the love and devotion of my uncle Mr.Aamir Hafeez Butt & I will like to use this opportunity to mention the affection and prayers of my brother, Muhammad Mohsin Riaz & my friends, Abdul Majid, Imran Faisal, Khurram Adeel,Malik Waqar Ali,Mudasir Husnain ,Aqeel Ahmad,Muhammd Shahbaz, A T Gr8 & last but not the least my one & only sweet Fv8 Sis Zaib.All of these people have gave me motivation and helped me pursue my goals. I sincerely wish them all best of luck for the rest of their lives. May Almighty Allah help them all in pursuing their goals and may Allah bless them with happiness and joys (Amen).

DEDICATIONS
I dedicate this thesis to my late grandfather, Haji Fazal Elahi, who was always a source of inspiration for me throughout my life. I will also like to appreciate the sacrifices, love and devotion of my mother, Tayyaba Tahira, without these two people in my life; I would not have been able to achieve this milestone.

ABSTRACT
The business strategies play a very crucial and vital role in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Organisations overall revenue, profits and image could be enhanced by adopting the business strategies which attract more and more customers and which help to retain current customers and build customer loyalty. Different strategists have come up with different definition for strategy and different organisations chose different strategies in order to achieve competitive strength and long term competitive advantage over the business rivals.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER -1 Introduction 1.1) Introduction 1.2) Aims of the Research Study 1.3) Objectives of the Research Study 1.4) Research Questions 1.5) Rational of the Study 1.6) Back ground of the Study 1.7) Scope of the Study 1.8) Overview of the Dissertation 1.9) Summery CHAPTER-2 Literature Review 2.1) INTRODUCTION 2.1.2) Definition 2.1.3) Strategy defined by Michael Porter 2.1.4) Strategy & Henry Mintzberg 2.2) Strategy at Different Organisational Levels of Business 2.2.1) Corporate Strategy 2.2.2) Business Unit Strategy 2.2.3) Operational Strategy 2.3) Strategic decisions 2.3.1) Setting Long-term direction of an organization 2.3.2) Securing advantage 2.3.3) Scope of an organizations Activities 2.3.4) Using the links between the organization & the Environment 2.3.5) Major resource Change 2.3.6) Values & Expectations 2.3.7) Strategic decision affects operational decisions 2.3.8) the long-term Plan 2.3.9) Big Challenges 2.3.10) Interdependency 2.3.11) Tests of good strategy 2.3.11.1) Value added 2.3.11.2) Consistency 2.3.11.3) Competitive advantage 2.4) Mintzberg 5P Model 2.4.1) Strategy as a Plan 2.4.2) Strategy as Ploy 2.4.3) Strategy as Pattern 2.4.4) Strategy as Position 2.4.5) Strategy as Perspective 2.5) Introduction to Business Strategy 2.6) INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS 2.7) PESTLIED 3

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2.7.1) Principle 2.7.2) Elements A) Political B)Economic C) Social D) Technological 2.7.3) Legal 2.7.4) Environmental 2.7.5) Demographic CHALLENGES 2.7.6) Impacts on Organisation 2.7.7) Applications 2.8) Geo Business Model 2.8.1) Principle 2.8.2) Assumptions 2.8.3) Elements 2.8.3.1) Conditioning variables: 2.8.3.2) Inter-nation variables: 2.8.3.3) Motivational variables: 2.8.3.4) Control variables CHALLENGES 2.8.4) International relevance 2.8.5) Interdependence 2.8.6) Effect on organizations 2.8.7) Influence of variables 2.8.8) Applications Growth Strategies 2.9) PORTERS DIAMOND 2.9.1) Principle 2.9.2) Elements 2.9.2.1) Factor conditions 2.9.2.2) Demand conditions 2.9.2.3) Related & supporting industries 2.9.2.4) Strategy, structure, rivalry 2.9.3) Challenges 2.9.3.1) Competitive environment 2.9.3.2) Relationships between attributes 2.9.3.3) Prosperity 2.9.3.4) Reasons for failure 2.9.3.5) further attributes 2.9.3.6) Industry clusters 2.9.4) Applications 2.9.4.1) Audit 2.9.4.2) Strategy review 2.9.4.3) Strategic alliances 2.10) Value Chain Analysis 2.10.1) Introduction: 2.10.2) Primary Activities 4

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2.10.3) Support Activities 2.10.4) Primary value chain activities include: 2.10.4.1) Inbound logistics 2.10.4.2) Operations 2.10.4.3) outbound logistics 2.10.4.3) Service 2.10.5) Support Activities 2.10.5.1) Procurement 2.10.5.2) Human Resource Management 2.10.5.3) Technology Development 2.10.5.4) Infrastructure 2.10.6) Three Steps In Value Chain Analysis 2.11) SWOT ANALYSIS 2.11.1) Strengths 2.11.2) Weaknesses 2.11.3) Opportunities 2.11.4) Threats CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES USED 3.1) Research Process 3.2) Research Philosophy 3.2.1) Positivism 3.2.2) Realism 3.2.3) Interpretivism 3.3) Justification for Adopting this particular Research Philosophy 3.4) Research Approach 3.4.1) Qualitative/quantitative analysis: 3.4.2) Qualitative Data 3.4.3) Quantitative Data 3.5) Research Design 3.5.1) Exploratory 3.5.2) Explanatory 3.5.3) Descriptive 3.5.4) Justification for Adoptings Research Design 3.5.5) Survey Questionnaire 3.5.5.1) Advantages: 3.5.5.2) Drawbacks: 3.6) Case Study 3.6.1) Advantages: 3.6.2) Disadvantages: 3.7) Data Collection 3.7.1) Primary Data 3.7.2) Secondary Data 3.7.2.1) Types of Secondary Data 3.7.2.1.1) internal sources 3.7.2.1.2) External sources 3.7.3) Justification for using Secondary Data 3.7.4) Questionnaires 3.8) Sample Size 3.7) Sampling 3.8) Treatment of data / Data Analysis 5

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3.8.1) Multiple-Case Study Design 3.9) ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 3.10) PILOT TEST 3.11) SUMMARY CHAPTER 4 Research Findings and Data Analysis 4.1) Introduction 4.2) Findings and analysis 4.3) The Data Analysis Methods 4.3.1) Thematic Analysis and the Reasons for its Selection 4.3.2) Draw Backs Of Using Thematic Analysis 4.3.3) Why Other Data Analysis Methods Were Not Deemed Appropriate Survey Questionnaires CHAPTER-5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION 5.1) Introduction 5.2) Summary of Findings 5.3) Conclusions 5.4) Recommendations 5.5) Research Limitations 5.6) Areas for Future Research 5.7) Summary Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Refrences

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CHAPTER 1 Introduction
1.1) Introduction The main aim of this research study is to investigate and analyse the impacts of business strategies on success of UK retail sector by using Tesco plc. As a case study. The world is changing every moment, every second and there are lot of new organisations registering and coming in to the existence and at the same time lot more diminishing during each financial year. More over due to better communication, better infrastructure, improvements in transportation systems, availability of financial and other resources and globalisation the business organisations are expanding by leaps and bounds and at the same time facing stiff competition from other organisations and at the same time they have to compete at global level with other organisations. Due to access to latest technology and information almost all the organisations are capable of producing and manufacturing the same products and services which are of same quality at almost the same cost. Almost all organisations are capable to make products to fulfil customer needs, so its very tough to gain market share and to win customers loyalty in todays world. In response to that organisations are coming up with different Business Strategies to win market share, make progress in their respective field, and to compete with its rivals and to gain competitive advantage over its rivals. Tesco Plc. is currently the worlds third largest retailer in terms of revenues generation and worlds second largest retailer in terms of profits which are over 3 billion pounds. It was the first UK based organisation to pass 2 billion pounds profit landmark. If we talk about UK, Tesco Plc. is the largest UK, retailor both in terms of Revenue and Profits. Now, if we come to business strategy, according to Johnson and Scholes, A business strategy is the direction and scope of an organization over the long-term, which helps an organisation to achieve long term competitive advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources with the aim of fulfilling its stakeholder expectations. (Johnson et al., 2005).In other words, a Business strategy is a long term action plan of an organisation to attain success, to capture market share and to survive in todays competitive market. The researcher has adopted a qualitative research approach by using thematic analysis to investigate and analyse the data collected about the organisation with the help of survey questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Which is further reinforced with the help of secondary data written by business strategists and which is already available on theoretical framework and the practises on business strategies? Tesco Plc. has adopted different business 7

strategies over the years to win more and more market share and gain customers loyalty over its counterparts. Its ever increasing revenues, its ever increasing profits and its ever increasing market share proves that it has successfully implemented better business strategies than its counterparts. The aim of this study is basically to evaluate and analysis the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. And to draw conclusions and to make suggestions and recommendations for further improvements with the help of data collected during the research.

1.2) Aims of the Research Study The main aim of the research study is to explore current business strategies adopted by UK retailors and recommendations for future business strategies in order to successfully compete with rivals. This research study will be helpful for the UK retail market. The top level management of UK retail giants may benefits from the research study in the evaluation of business strategies currently implemented .They may implement new business strategies according to the recommendations made in this research study. This research study is dedicated to the current business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. and its rivals and the recommendations for the development of future business strategies. This research will help management of UK retail businesses to make timely and effective strategic decisions to compete successfully with their counterparts and take long term competitive advantage over their counterparts. 1.3) Objectives Of The Research Study

The main objective of the research is to highlight the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc., their impacts on its performance, business strategy failures, areas that need further improvement and alternative action plans. These retailors have very well developed infrastructure, they are financially sound and vialble,have enough resources to invest according to their strategies, they have a sound and tough supervisory boards, team of well trained, highly experienced ,highly qualified professionals and very competitive professionals to devise and implement the business strategies adopted by the organisation. This research is aimed at analysing the positive impacts of business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. This research will highlight the business strategies adopted and the possible outcomes or impacts upon the business. It would have been better to compare the business strategies adopted by three or four key players in retail sector and their impacts on their performances but due to time limitations, and financial constraints this study is only focusing Tesco Plc. The business strategies and their impacts on Tesco Plc. performance. The main objectives of research study are as follows: a) To analyse and investigate the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. b) To determine the business strategies adopted by some main rivals in the industry.

c) To critically evaluate the business strategies which can be adopted in the future to enhance the profitability and long term competitive advantage over the rivals. d) To identify the barrier in the implementation of those recommended business strategies. e) To critically evaluate the benefits which could be drawn by adopting those business strategies to achieve long term competitive advantage?

1.4) Research Questions

According to Andrews(2003), The research questions are not at all baseless and formed themselves from the air, they are basically extracted from the data collected, research questions normally take quite a lot of time to develop in the mind of researcher, sometimes the research questions arise at the beginning of the research or it may take weeks to develop. The aim and purpose of this research study is to investigate the positive impacts of business strategies adopted by UK retail and their relative success, by using Tesco Plc. as a case study. Following are the research questions which develop gradually during the research study. a) What are the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. b) Which business strategies could be adopted in the future to achieve long term competitive advantage over the rivals? c) What are the barriers for the implementation of these recommendations? d) What are the benefits Tesco Plc. may enjoy by successfully implementing the recommended business strategies in the future? e) How can business strategies are used to achieve long term competitive advantage, enhanced revenues and profitability. 1.5) Rational Of the Study I have selected this topic after careful thinking and lot of brain storming which I done since I started my MBA (Finance) degree. As writing a dissertation was supposed to be an essential part to complete MBA degree. I have recently completed my ACCA and have an obvious interest in financial and operational performance of different business entities and have always fascinated UK retail market and how Tesco has outplayed its rivals in last few years. Tesco has successfully launched its operations in foreign countries in last few years. In the recent past, worlds largest retailer, both in terms of revenue and profits, Wal-Mart have took over Asda in UK.There are very few player, Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Morisons which have more than 70% market share in UK retail market. Tesco has outperformed its business rivals and currently holds 28% market share, which makes Tesco the largest shareholder of UK food retail market. Moreover, during my stay in UK in the last four years most of the times I have worked for Marks & Spencers and Then for Tesco as a customer assistant. This has given me insight and the first-hand knowledge about how these organisations operate and which business strategies they have adopted over the years to outplay their rivals and successful compete in the business market. These factors helped me in deciding to take Tesco Plc. as a case study for my research and last but not the least reason for selecting Tesco Plc. as a preferred organisation was the huge 9

amount of data available from Tescos own website, financial times, observers, the economist & other business newspaper websites and from those of its rivals. 1.6) Background of the Study Retail is one of the oldest and largest industries in the world. Retail industry is constantly changing with ever changing world and ever increasing customer perceptions, recent developments in science and technology,communication,transportation,internet .Retailors are more closer to the customers than manufacturing organisations(Reynolds,2004).According to Mulhern (1997),initially the retailors actions were focused towards product variety, which now has moved towards customer care by means of personal contacts, gathering information about customer needs and to exploit the customer behaviour, their buying habits and their prefrences.According to Zentes el al(2007),the dynamics of retail sector are rapidly changing, the large retailers are taking over from small retailers and corner shops. Planet Retail, a small research entity conducted a research in UK retail market and found that big retailors own more than 55% of UK retail market. Tesco Plc. is currently the worlds third largest retailer in terms of revenue behind American based Wal-Mart and French Carrefour Group but in terms of profits its ahead of Carrefour Group, while in UK its the largest retailers both in terms of revenue and profits. Tesco Plc. has its headquarters in Cheshunt; UK.It has its presence in 14 countries across the globe including Asia, Europe and North America. Its a market leader in UK and has almost 30 % market share. It is a market leader in Thailand, Ireland and Malaysia as well. Tesco Plc. was originally formed by Sir Jack Cohen initially as a group of small market stalls. He used name Tesco for the first time in 1924 when he bought a shipment of tea from T.E Stockwell and combined those initials with first two letters of his own surname. The first Tesco store was launched in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Middlesex. This was a great success and his business expanded so rapidly that by 1939 he had more than 100 Tesco stores in UK.Tesco was originally only focusing on UK food retail business, but since early 1990s Tesco has diversified in to different geographical locations and in to different products. Now Tesco is selling, books, Electronics, petrol, clothing, software, financial services, insurance, telecom, internet services, used cars, house mortgages, DVD rentals and music download. Tesco is listed and its shares are being traded on London Stock Market. It is part of FTSE100 index and market capitalisation of Tesco Plc. is approximately 24.4 billion as of 15th Jan 2012, which makes Tesco Plc. the 15th largest organisation on London Stock Exchange. According to Chen (2008),The business organisations in todays world are facing very strong rivalry from all around. To sustain this load, business organisations must have to have a closer look at every single feature of their business in order to achieve the competitive advantage over their rivals, to sustain its market share and to increase its market share in upcoming future. In each and every industry there is an ever increasing demand of cutting down costs and to improve quality of its products and services it is providing to its customers. 1.7) Scope of the Study The outcomes of this research study will help UK retail industries to critically appraise their business strategies. To help them develop new business strategies which will eventually help 10

them to survive in the highly competitive UK retail market in the future. This research study will provide Tesco Plc. and other members of UK retail industry with fresh ideas which they can easily apply without incurring heavy extra costs to develop and sustain long term competitive advantage over their business rivals. It will help Tesco Plc. to critically evaluate its current business strategies. The relative success or failure of business strategies of Tesco Plc. The insight in to the business strategies of other key UK retail players. Recommendations and suggestions about the business strategies which should be adopted in future to gain more market share and gain relative competitive advantage over its rivals. Tesco has developed and applied seven step business strategies which has paid lots of dividends and resulted in huge increase in its revenue and profits over the years. The ever increasing year on year revenues, profits and relative market share shows that the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. were far more superior than its rivals and in that regard Tesco has outplayed its counterparts. 1.8) Overview of the Dissertation The aim of this research study was to investigate the impacts of business strategies by using Tesco Plc. as a cast study. The case study was carried out as a qualitative research and has uncovered different facts which could be used in the development of business strategies in the future. The case study is organised in such a way that it started by describing the scope of the studies and concluded with recommendations and suggestions for the development of future business studies and providing direction for future research projects on same area. The first chapter is dedicated to describing what we want to achieve from this case studies and how we going to do that. The case studies have started by providing introduction and then carries own and provided aims and objectives of the case study under investigation. It has provided research questions and the background of the research study which were vital and important to pursue with the case study, the possible constraints and limitations. The literature review is discussed in the Second chapter, the theoretical foundation was laid down which has provided the base for the framework in data analysis process. This chapter also covers the important theories of business strategies provided by different strategists over the years by well renowned scholars and experts of this field. This chapter discusses the origin of the subject under consideration, its developments over the years and different viewpoints of different strategists over the years in the past. In third chapter, the researcher has explained the research methodology adopted for this case study and the reason of adopting that particular methodology. In the next chapter aims and objectives are again discussed in the start and then their relevance to the literature already discussed in previous chapters. This will provide the readers with an overall view of the work carried out in this particular field. This will also help them understand why such a particular research method was adopted to investigate the impacts of business strategies of Tesco Plc. the research paradigm, the tools which were used to carry out the research, data collection methods, sampling methods and ethical considerations are also discussed in this chapter. In the next chapter, the data collection process is discussed along with different data analysis techniques available and the justification for not adopting any other possible available method. The researcher has used inductive thematic data analysis technique for conducting this case study. The last chapter provides suggestions and recommendations on the basis of 11

collected data and its analysis. The limitations, further research directions and conclusions are also discussed in this chapter. 1.9) Summery The preview of the research study is provided in this final chapter, it started by discussing the research aims and objectives. Which describes what the researcher wants to achieve through this case study research? What are the limitations, what are the research study questions, the answers to those questions which have been found with the help of this case study, the backgrounds of these case studies and the reason and importance of current case study? The reason for selecting this particular topic.

Its very hard to survive and compete in todays highly competitive market, and organisations are facing stiff competitions from their rivals and its quite hard to gain and maintain comparative competitive advantage. Retailors all over the world and particularly in UK are developing and adopting new business strategies to gain more and more market share and to outplay their rivals.

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CH 2 Literature Review
STRATEGY
2.1) INTRODUCTION: Strategy is a word being widely and excessively used in business world now days. Yet there is no clear definition or meanings of this term. This word has so many meanings, which are all useful and relevant for those who are responsible for setting up strategy for their own business, organisation or entity and for academics and strategists. 2.1.2) Definition: Different strategist has come up with different ideas and definitions for strategy. One commonly used is, Strategy is the way we pursue over aims and objectives over a long period of time. The word Strategy is derived from a Greek word stratcgos; which is the combination of two words: "stratos" Which means Army. "ago" which is ancient Greek term which was used for leading/guiding/moving. Another definition for strategy is The process of developing long term goal and objectives for an organisation and adoption of a particular plan of action and allocation of resources to carry out those goals. 2.1.3) Strategy defined by Michael Porter In his 1996, two publications, first his Harvard Business Review article, and second in his book published earlier. Porter states that competitive strategy is "about being different. In addition to that he says that, "By Strategy we mean to adopt a different plan of action in order to bring exclusive set of values. In other words Porter says that strategy is something to do with competitive position, about being different, being unique, about adopting different policies than its rivals. While defining competitive strategy, Porter said that "a combination of the ends (goals) for which the firm is striving and the means (policies) by which it is seeking to get there." This means that Porter accepted strategy as a plan of action and position at the same time. But it should be kept in mind that majority of his work was about competitive strategy not about strategy in general. 13

In 1980, Bejamin B.Trego publishes Management Strategy and John W.Zimmerman defined strategy as it is a guideline that determines the choices the nature and the direction of the organisation .

2.1.4) Strategy & Henry Mintzberg In 1994, in his famous book The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, Henry Mintzberg a Management professor at McGill University acknowledged the fact that the word Strategy has different meanings for different strategists and has been used for different meanings over the years. He defined strategy as A plan, a pattern, a position, a prospective and a ploy 2.2) Strategy at Different Organisational Levels of Business Business Strategies exist at all levels of an organisation, including overall business strategy to separate business strategies for each separate individual business unit. 2.2.1) Corporate Strategy: This is the highest level of strategy, which is concerned with overall goals and scope of the business. This helps to guide the strategic decision making throughout the business organisation. It is often stated explicitly in a "mission statement" of a business entity. 2.2.2) Business Unit Strategy: This strategy deals with how to successfully compete in a chosen field of business. It also deals with strategic level decisions about what products we should do business in, fulfilling customer needs and expectations, striving to gain competitive advantage over business rival, creating and exploiting new business opportunities etc. 2.2.3) Operational Strategy: This is concerned with the organisation at operational level and with day to day activities of the organisation; it also deals with each separate individual small business unit and it facilitates to achieve corporate and business unit strategical goals. It focuses mainly on resources, processes involved, people etc. 2.3) Strategic decisions What are strategic decisions? According to Johnson & Scholes (2002), strategy has three essential elements. 2.3.1) Setting Long-term direction of an organization: 14

The strategic decisions are most likely to dictate the long term direction for the business which is essential for the long-term survival of an organization in todays competitive business environment. 2.3.2) Securing advantage: The strategic decisions are also concerned with effective Placing of your business organisation with regard to the competitors in the business field in order to achieve long term competitive advantage over the business rivals in the chosen market. 2.3.3) Scope of an organizations Activities: The strategies decisions are likely to highlight the chosen business field, selected market in which to operate, the product mix and different products the organisation will trade in. It also tries to set out the scope of organisational activities. 2.3.4) Using the links between the organization & the Environment: It could also include matching the organisational activities with those of the environment it does business in.The business organisation depends upon the environment it operates in and the environment can benefit from the activities of the business organisation. 2.3.5) Major resource Change: Strategy may also be devised to set out the major resources changes in accordance with major changes in the chosen business field. 2.3.6) Values & Expectations: Those individuals and groups which have power inside and around the organisation also dictate the strategy of an organisation along with the environmental forces and the availability of resources. So the business strategy is affected by environment it operates in, the availability of resources and the stakeholders and stakeholder groups. 2.3.7) Strategic decision affects operational decisions: As the strategical level is the highest level in an organisational structure, the decisions taken at strategical level will also effect on tactical and operational level decisions. When an organisation devises its strategy, it should consider three important factors: 2.3.8) the long-term Plan: Setting out strategy of an organisation means to look at the broader picture, looking at the higher level, looking and planning ahead of time. Instead of thinking about the day-to-day operational activities, its something to do with how the relationships between an organisation and its external environment, in which it operates, will take shape in future. 2.3.9) Big Challenges:

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The main aim is to develop awareness of trends in to an overall picture of an environment and how our organisation can relate to it in the long run. 2.3.10) Interdependency: This deals with how decisions taken regarding one factor may affect favourably or adversely on other factors. How different challenges relating to different factors enables the strategist to see the broader spectrum and to keep update with latest changes taking place.

2.3.11) Tests of good strategy A god strategy should have the following traits: 2.3.11.1) Value added: A good strategy will result in value addition for the organisation in the market field. A good strategy should result in increased revenues, increased profits and may become visible by organisation taking control of highly valued scare resources, enhanced market share, innovative ability, enhanced consumer confidence, enhanced brand image and satisfaction for employees. 2.3.11.2) Consistency: One of the most important traits of an organisational strategy is its consistency; it should be consistent with the circumstances surrounding the business at any point in time. It should also consider the ability of an organisation to use resources efficiently, taking care of environment. The ability of a business organisation to adopt with the pace of changing environment and the ability of the organisation to adjust with the circumstances of that time. 2.3.11.3) Competitive advantage: Another of the good trait of a good strategy is that it should bring long term competitive strength and competitive advantage for a business organisation over its business rivals. This helps business organisation to survive and flourish. 2.4) Mintzberg 5P Model Mintzberg 5P model is one of the important models to understand strategy. Mintzberg (1992), states that the strategic thinking should involve something more than only Copying rivals strategy. Which is called industry recipe? It enables the business organisation in carrying on with what we were used to do best in the past, unless these have been decided upon deliberately. He recommends that the term strategy could be used in five different ways,

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Strategy has different meanings for different strategists and they have looked at it in many different ways and defined it in many different ways. Even how the business strategy is to be implemented is different and the way it is implemented depends on the organisational needs, competitors response and the way market behaves to a particular strategy. Mintzberg initially gave his famous 5Ps of strategy in 1987; these 5Ps are five different approaches towards strategy. These are as follows a) b) c) d) e) Plan. Ploy. Pattern. Position. Perspective.

When a business manager or the one authorised to devise a business strategy, understands each of these 5 Ps, one may develop a vigorous business strategy by exploiting the strengths of your organisation. 2.4.1) Strategy as a Plan Most of the managers are happy with doing planning and its something that comes naturally to them. Planning is always considered as the vital part of strategy formulation. Brainstorming exercises and how to deliver that particular strategy. For this purpose, different tools could be used, for example, PEST analysis, SWOT analysis and brain storming, scenario building exercises .The main draw back with planning is that, even the best of the best plannings is a total failure if it could not be converted and implemented in to a meaningful strategy. Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living. (Anais Nin) 2.4.2) Strategy as Ploy 17

Mintzberg said that getting in to superior position than your competitors, by means of plotting a disrupt, discourage, dissuade, or to influence them, can also be a part of a strategy. This is a position where strategy can be seen as ploy instead of plan. For example, if a competitor opens a store in your area, you reduce your prices even below the buying price to throw them out of the market. This may be in the form of aggressive marketing and exploiting the weaknesses of your competitor, or buying exclusive patents of a medicine so that no one else can make this same product. The tools that could be used are, Future wheel, Impact analysis, scenario analysis, and these all can help the organisation to understand the future position of the competitor. 2.4.3) Strategy as Pattern Both plan and ploy are forward looking; sometimes strategy is developed on the basis of past performance and behaviour of an organisation. Instead of developing an intentional strategy, a successful and consistent way of doing things may also become a future strategy for the business. For example, if an organisation has developed in the past organically and continue to deploy the same strategy. Or an organisation which is already quite famous for its customer service deploys further resources to enhance its customer services. Although, they are both not specifically meant to create a long term competitive advantage but will automatically create it. In order to use strategy as a pattern, a manager should clearly observe the pattern of doing things in his/her organisation. Then, ponder whether these routine patterns have become an essential part of the strategy over the years. Then they will have to decide what these routine patterns can contribute to the development of future business strategy. Different tools which may help in this are USP analysis and Core competence analysis.VRIO analysis can also help to explore resources and assets available that should be considered when devising strategy in the future. 2.4.4) Strategy as Position Strategy could also be defined as a Position. This is to do with how an organisation wants to position itself in the business field. In this way strategy helps to explore the fit between the organisation and environment this will eventually help to devise a long term competitive advantage over the business rivals. For example, an organisation may decide to adopt a strategy to develop a product to target a specific business market or specific consumer group in order to safeguard itself against the competation.Or trying to gain market share by adoption of product differentiation strategy against the rivals. Thinking about the strategy as a position, helps to look at the broader spectrum in relation to the external factors. The tools which may be used for this purpose include PEST analysis, Porters diamond and Porters five forces. Any of these tools may be used to analyse the environment in which the organisation operates. SWOT analysis could also be used to understand the strengths, weaknesses, internal and external forces affecting an organisational performance. 2.4.5) Strategy as Perspective Selection of a strategy for an organisation relies mainly on organisational culture. 18

As a particular pattern of doing things can become a successful future strategy for an organisation likewise a pattern of thinking can also shape in to an organisations perspective, and the things organisation will be able to do well in the future. For example, if there is an organisation which encourages its employees for risk-taking and innovation may come up with a strategy to develop innovative products and high risk takings in future. Another example could be, if an organisation is famous for its customer care, it may come up with making customer care as the core of their future strategy. Different tools that could be used for cultural analysis may include Cultural web, Deal and Kennedys cultural model and congruence model. 2.5) Introduction to Business Strategy There are three main factors which effect an organisation and its operations, The Environment in which it operates, The Industry in which it competes and the Products, Services it produces or offers. A business level strategy is the one that is specific to the organisation and that helps the organisation to attain competitive advantage over its rivals. The business level strategy outlines the processes, systems, procedures and methodologies an organisation adopts in order to compete with the rival organisations in the business field. The basic idea behind the formulation of business strategy is to attain long term competitive advantage over the rival organisations, exploiting on opportunities available in the environment by taking advantage of its competitive strengths. A business strategy therefore defines how an organisation aims to thrive in its chosen market place against its business rivals. It shows the managements best effort to define and protect the future of an organisation. There are few questions which a business organisation should try to answer: a) What is the scope? b) What are the preferences, needs and demands of current and future customers of the organisation? c) What are the characteristic abilities and exclusive capability that may provide competitive advantage in meeting current and future customer needs and demands? d) What are the needs of the organisation to prosper in future and to secure long term competitive advantage over its rivals? These are the main points which should be considered during strategy formulation process. Good business strategy should include following six points: a) A strategy should be correctly scoped. b) Properly document and explained to all employees and those who are concerned. c) It should address the customers perceptions, needs and demands. d) It should exploit genuine competencies and stress on opportunities. e) It will contribute to achieve long term competitive advantage. f) It is easy to implement. 2.6) Introduction to Environment Analysis 19

In the broader since an environment is external to the organisation and an organisation operates within an environment. We take a single organisation as a reference point; the boundaries of the firm define the internal and external environment. Internal is the one in which its employee work and its resources are organised and external is the one which is outside the firms boundries.The external environment is concerned with relevant strategic conditions surrounding the environment in other words a strategic environment.

Source: http://irc.queensu.ca/articles/demystifying-organizational-strategy

Following are the models which are used to understand the environment in which business organisation operates, the industry and business sector in which it operates and the product mix it sells.

2.7) PESTLIED
2.7.1) Principle PESTLIED is a mnemonic which signifies various environmental elements that are addressed when an environment of an organisation is analysed & scanned. These are political, economic, social, technological, legal, industrial, environmental & demographical.

Assumption There are various elements and factors within an environment in which a business organisation operates, that may have significance impacts on the operations and performance of an organisation

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2.7.2) Elements A) Political These involve the government of the country in which the organisation operates, regulatory authorities, laws, formal and informal rules under which an organisation operates. a. The type of the Government and stability of political system in the country in which the business organisation operates. b. The rule of law, freedom of press, role of bureaucracy and corruption level in the country in which the business organisation operates. c. The past trends of regulation and de-regulation in the country. d. The Laws relating to employment and social issues, in the country in which the business organisation operates. e. The laws regarding tax and quota systems, tariff rules etc. in the country in which the business organisation operates. f. Laws regarding environment protection and consumer protection. g. The likely changes in political system taking place in near future which may affect favourably or unfavourably the operations of the business organisation. B) Economic: a. The inflation rate and interest rates applicable in the country where the organisation operates, current and future economic growth projections. b. The stage of business cycle and product life cycle for all the main products organisations deals in. c. The unemployment rate and shortage or excess of labour in country of operations. d. The costs of labour are there any laws applicable regarding minimum wages like those applicable in UK and other European countries. e. General income level of customers, disposable income percentage and income distribution within the economy in which organisation operates. f. The impacts of globalisation on local market. Like emergence of new suppliers, competitors, different choices available to the customers. g. The impacts of technological development on economy as a general and on the business organisation in particular. h. The possible changes in the economy and its relative impacts on business as a whole and on our organisation in particular. C) Social : a. The growth rate of the population and the age profile of the customers. b. The health,education,social mobility and preferences of the general public c. The employment pattern, the freedom to relocate and to change organisation and general mode towards work. d. The technical abilities of the labour and their general attitude towards work. e. Public awareness, social attitudes of general public, the attitude of press and social taboos. f. The life styles,prefrences,choices and attitudes of general public

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g. The social trends over the period of time and general attitude towards business organisation in particular and its products in general. D) Technological : a. The impacts the latest technologies will have on business organisations in general & on our organisation its operations and its profitability in particular. b. The impacts of advancements in technology, developments in internet technology, fast communication at reduced costs and increase in general trend of working from remote locations. c. The positive or negative impacts of the latest research and developments in the business field. d. The favourable or adverse impacts, transfer of technology has on general public, like car manufacturing companys transferring their technology to the countries they start their operations in. 2.7.3) Legal: These are the factors related to the legal issues surrounding the operations of the organisation, like employment laws, environmental laws, tax laws etc. In order to successfully operate, a business organisation should comply with all the relevant laws and doing this, will also enhance the corporate image of the business organisation. 2.7.4) Environmental: These factors include the environmental issues and with the whole of the environment the business entity operates in, for example certain permissible emission levels of harmful substances, reducing carbon emission, green Challenges, carbon quota etc. 2.7.5) Demographic: The factors like the ease of availability of employees. Different age groups, whether majority is aging population or young population. Percentage of people of both gender .The density of population. The trends, like whether majority of the population is living in cities or in rural areas.

Challenges
2.7.6) Impacts on Organisation These PESTLIED factors may affect favourably or unfavourably on the business organisation and its operations. These PESTLIED factors have different level of importance in accordance with the nature of the organisation and the nature of its business. There are several other factors apart from the ones mentioned above, which may affect the organisation favourably or adversely, but these are not discusses here due to shortage of time but the researcher appreciate that there are several other important factors which may affect the operations of a business organisation in one way or another and it will largely depend on the nature of the organisation, its chosen business field and the country in which it operates.

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2.7.7) Applications PESTLIED could be used in order to analyse and audit the organization. These could also be used when developing the future business strategy for an organisation to make sure that these factors were also taken in to account while developing the future direction and future business strategy for an organisation.

2.8) Geo Business Model

2.8.1) Principle This is a detailed model which helps to understand, explain and predict the business strategies adopted by the international business organisations. 2.8.2) Assumptions There exist three main forces, that are interdependent and which affect the business plans and actions of an organisation. 2.8.3) Elements 2.8.3.1) Conditioning variables: a. These are the variables which are Specific to any particular product. b. Attaining competitive advantage through research and development, Product processing, product development, the experience and expertise of management, Know-how, Economies of scale. c. Characteristics which are Country Specific, like trade policies adopted by the Govt, tax laws, employment laes, environmental laws etc. d. Condition of economy, interest rates, inflation rate, economic stability, size of home market, type of domestic competition, availability of resources, availability of workforce etc. 2.8.3.2) Inter-nation variables: These include international tariffs, international finance, currency exchange rates, strategic alliances etc. 2.8.3.3) Motivational variables: This is concerned with competitive strategy an organisation develops and implements in its chosen business field. Market-seeking measures: These include horizontal/forward integration, this means integration with customers. Resource-seeking measures: vertical/backward integration, this means integration with suppliers. Production efficiency-seeking measures: This means buying products at cheaper prices, from cheaper sources and gaining production efficiency. Technology-seeking measures: This means getting access to the latest technology available and successfully adopting latest technology in order to gain competitive 23

a. b. c. d.

advantage over the business rivals. e. Risk avoidance measures: These include, securing supplies, minimizing possibilities of production interruption, securing supplies of resources, securing supplies of skilled labour, improving control over market. f. Exchange-of-threat measures: Countering the strategies adopted by the business. Developing the business strategies in response to the business strategies adopted by business rivals. 2.8.3.4) Control variables These include the laws and regulations of central and provincial Governments in which it the organisation operates, which directly or indirectly effect the operations of the business entity either in a positive or negative way. Challenges 2.8.4) International relevance This business model is applicable on all business firms whether they are national or multinational firms, small or big. This business model could be applied to any organisation of any type in any country. 2.8.5) Interdependence These variables are interdependent and interlinked. These elements depend on each other, like minimum wage rates, labour costs, tax laws, interest rates etc. may be considered as a country specific variable or motivational variable or control variable. 2.8.6) Effect on organizations These all variables will have varying impacts on an organisation which depend upon the operations and the activities of the organisation. Some may have greater affects than the effects of other variables. 2.8.7) Influence of variables The business organisation observes the conditioning variables, responds in proper way to motivational variables and has no control over control variables. 2.8.8) Applications This model is used to analyse the current situation of the business entity, its rival positions and the environment in which the business entity operate.

Growth strategies
This business model may be used to assess the position of an organisation and to develop international business strategies. Apart from that, this business model could also be used to evaluate national and international markets and also in the evaluation of competitors and markets. 24

2.9) Porters Diamond Model

Source: http://www.businessmate.org/Article.php?ArtikelId=49 Michel Porter (1990) proposed his business model in his famous book The Competitive Advantage of Nation. Porter published this book after doing lot of research in ten leading trading nations of the world. This was the first attempt to achieve comparative competitive advantage on the basis of causes of production rather than natural resources and pools of labour. 2.9.1) Principle This business model highlights how four specific attributes contribute towards nations success in any particular field of business to achieve competitive advantage. Traditional economic theory states there are five factors which contribute towards comparative competitive advantage, namely: a. b. c. d. e. f. g. Land. Location. Natural resources (minerals, energy). Labour. Local population size. Assumption. The individual factors of the diamond and the diamond as a whole affect four elements that may lead to comparative competitive advantage. These are as follows. h. The ease of availability of skills and resources.

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Information regarding firms decision to which opportunities they want to pursue, with the resources and skills available. j. The aims, objectives and goals of an organisation. k. The onus is on the organisations to innovate and invest. i.

2.9.2) Elements 2.9.2.1) Factor conditions The factors are the conditions that states of the nations factors of production like land, labour, natural resources, capital and infrastructure. Factors conditions are the state of the nations factors of production, such as labour, land, capital, natural resources & infrastructure. 2.9.2.2) Demand conditions The demand for any particular product, if there is a larger demand for a specific product in local market than in foreign market, the local firms will start producing that product in larger proportions and will achieve competitive advantage through economies of scale and expertise developed in due process. Especially when these local firms start exporting these products to foreign markets. When local market is more demanding, it leads to high degree of competence on production side and manufacturing organisations and this ultimately brings national advantage of local market is strong, demanding and trend setter, it may lead the local firms to predict international trends.

2.9.2.3) Related & supporting industries When there are lots of supporting organisations working within the country, manufacturing highly competitive products, this leads to high quality inputs, cost savings and innovative inputs. This particular effect is further enhanced when the local supplier have international presence as well. 2.9.2.4) Strategy, structure, rivalry The strategy of the firm, the organisational structure of an organisation and the rivalry within the market describes how organisations are created, managed and how can they compete within their field of business. 2.9.3) Challenges 2.9.3.1) Competitive environment

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The four attributes are interdependent and they interact with each other to create the competitive environment in the business field in which the organisations operate. 2.9.3.2) Relationships between attributes If there is an increase in one attribute, most of the times it stimulates other attributes.

2.9.3.3) Prosperity Organisations Excel when they have access to specialized assets and skills, when they have experienced and effective management, when they have financial resources and innovative ideas & when they have access to the latest technology and developments across the world. 2.9.3.4) Reasons for failure Even the organisations competing in the countries where all of these four attributes are strong, sometimes fail to take advantage of the opportunities available or due to unavailability of financial or other resources, skills etc. 2.9.3.5) further attributes There are two more attributes which may affect the national competitive advantage; Chance or events which are within control of an organisation like technological innovations etc. and events which are beyond the control of an organisation, like Governments actions, inflation rates, interest rates tax rates etc. 2.9.3.6) Industry clusters The nations who have succeeded in the past have not succeeded on the basis of one particular industry; in fact they have succeeded on the basis of cluster of industries whose performance reflects the overall performance of the economy of the country.

2.9.4) Applications 2.9.4.1) Audit We can apply this model to particular industries, organisations or small business units for auditing the strengths of the four attributes. This helps to assess the competitive advantage they may or may not have over their rivals. 2.9.4.2) Strategy review This model could also be used to review the strategy in order to improve the utilization of production and in this way it adds to improve the competitive advantage of the organisation under review. 2.9.4.3) Strategic alliances

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Another application of this model could be the formation of alliance between small industries to improve the state of related and supporting industries. Like take overs, mergers, joint venture etc.

2.10) Value Chain Analysis

2.10.1) Introduction: Michael Porter (1985), in his famous book, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance gave the idea of Value Chain Analysis. This defines the activities that a business organisation does and tries to relate to the idea of relative competitive strength and long term competitive advantage over the rivals. Porter suggested that the organisational activities could be divided in to two broad categories.

Source: http://www.projectperfect.com.au/white-paper-process-driven-ppm.php 2.10.2) Primary Activities These are the business activities which are relevant to creating and delivering the products or services. (e.g., Component Assembly).These are the basic activities which relates to the environment and external to the organisation. 2.10.3) Support Activities The activities which are not directly relevant with production or services but adds value to them. (e.g., Human Resource Management, Finance Department).He argued that normally an organisation does not perform the entire primary and support activities by itself; in fact it outsources some of the activities to another organisation. Value chain analysis helps organisation to decide which activities it should take by itself and which ones it can outsource in order to achieve a long term competitive advantage over its rivals. For example, if a business organisation believes that it can achieve a competitive edge over 28

its rivals through product differentiation and higher quality products will have to execute its value chain analysis better than its rivals.While,if an organisation focuses on a business strategy on cost leadership basis, it would try to reduce its costs in all its activities and in doing that the total amount of resources used for the production will reduce and will give an organisation a competitive edge over its business rivals. Primary and support activities are as under. 2.10.4) Primary value chain activities include: 2.10.4.1) Inbound logistics The activities like receiving goods and their storage from external resources are called inbound logistics. 2.10.4.2) Operations The activities like the manufacturing of goods and providing services to the customers are called operations; basically these are the means through which inputs are converted in to outputs. 2.10.4.3) outbound logistics The activities of delivering finished goods or inventory to the customers.Marketing and sales. The activities of providing information about the products and services to the customers and buyers, these include telling them about different futures of the products, prices, benefits and usage. 2.10.4.3) Service The activities like providing after sale services to the customers, like warranty etc. are called service activities. 2.10.5) Support Activities 2.10.5.1) Procurement These are the activities of acquiring resources and raw materials for the business which will be used in the manufacture of goods and providing services e.g. selection of suppliers, negating prices with suppliers etc. This is also called buying department. 2.10.5.2) Human Resource Management These are the business activities of hiring, firing, appraisal, motivation of the employees. Like giving add in national newspapers or head hunting etc. 2.10.5.3) Technology Development These are the business activities that are relevant to management of information, data collection and data processing and the development and protection of business knowledge.

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2.10.5.4) Infrastructure These are the activities like financial, planning, quality control, other resources etc. Wide range of activities could be included in to this category. 2.10.6) Three Steps in Value Chain Analysis The Value Chain Analysis could be broadly divided in to three steps. a. The breakdown of organisational activities according to Porters Value Chain Analysis. b. Making assessment and recommendations for the value action through product differentiation or cost leadership. This also includes identifying the business activities in which the organisation currently holds competitive advantage over its business rivals. c. Developing business strategies focusing on competitive strength so that long term competitive advantage could be achieved over the business rivals.

2.11) SWOT ANALYSIS

Albert S Humphrey (1960S) gave initial ideas of SWOT Analysis. Which is another powerful business planning method which is used to assess the Strengths & Weaknesses of a business organisation and also the Threats business might face & Opportunities available? It helps to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage over the business rivals.

Source: http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/SWOT.html This business analysis tools is very useful one as it allows the business organisation to uncover the opportunities available to it and to minimize the negative effects of threats it might face. When a business organisation compares its SWOT matrix against its business rivals SWOT matrix, it can bring a business strategy to outperform its business rival and to achieve long term competitive advantage. By using a market leaders SWOT analysis as a benchmark, a business organisation can improve its operational performance. SWOT analysis is further divided in to two categories.

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1) Internal to the organisation a) Strengths b) Weaknesses 2) External to the organisation a) Threats b) Opportunities This is the reason why SWOT analysis is also called Internal-External Analysis or IE Matrix. The relative features of SWOT are as follows, 2.11.1) Strengths: a. b. c. d. e. f. The relative advantages your organisation has over its business rivals. What specific things your business does better than its business rivals? Do you have any patents or exclusive rights which your business rivals cant access What are your business rivals perceptions about your business organisation? Do you have any specific or exclusive rights or access to resources? A business organisation has to consider its strengths from both internal and external prospective, keeping in mind that these are the things that you might improve upon internally. g. Strengths are normally considered in comparison with the business rivals. Like if other business rivals have access to financial resources, and then access to financial resources cant be success. So these are the traits specifically exclusive to your own organisation and other business rivals dont have access to. 2.11.2) Weaknesses: a. What are the things you might improve, and can help improve revenue and profits for your organisation? b. What specific things your business organisation should avoid in order to get competitive strength and a competitive advantage in a long run. c. What your business rivals and analysis perceive as your weaknesses? d. What are the specific elements which are causing fall in your sales revenue? e. Once again a business organisation will have to consider its weaknesses both from internal and external prospective. Are there any weaknesses that you dont treat as a weakness but your business rivals and research analyses perceive as a weakness? f. Is there any business rivals outperforming your organisation in any specific area of the business. Or your rival organisation might have patents or Govt licences that you dont have. 2.11.3) Opportunities: a. What are the business opportunities available for the business organisation? Like foreign markets, diversifying product mix etc. b. Are there any new ideas in the business or trends that your organisation might exploit for its advantage? c. Are there any specific Govt policies or legislations that might bring benefits in future 31

for your organisation in the form of Govt grants, like tax discounts for being environment friendly corporate entity. Or Rebates for less emission of carbon & other harmful chemicals etc. d. The changing customers preferences, habits, population profile, demographics, live styles, that might open new doors for your business organisation. e. A point to note here is that business strengths might bring new opportunities and threats are normally the weaknesses your organisation might have and eliminating or minimizing the effects of these threats might bring benefits for your business organisation in future. f. 2.11.4) Threats: a. What hurdles your organisation currently facing? b. What successful business strategies your competitive organisations have adopted? c. Any new legislations or rules coming in to force in near future which might jeopardise your organisations going concern status? d. Emergence of new technology which will make your products worthless. e. Emergence of highly successful business rival. f. Scare financial resources, constraints, legally binding agreement like convents which set either gearing ratio in a specific range or limit your organisation access to financial resources. g. Are any of your weaknesses so strong that it may affect the going concern status of your business organisation?

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CHAPTER 3 Research Methodologies

3.1) Research Process According to Saunders et al (2003), the research philosophy is the perception which is directly relevant to the advancement of information, knowledge and the nature of this knowledge. The research philosophy normally involves some valuable assumptions made by the researcher during his research. There are three main approaches of research philosophy, namely positivism, interpretivism and realism. All of these three approaches have distinctive futures and different ways through which knowledge is developed. The researcher has to clearly establish the research philosophy as it will have a significant impact and influence on the methodical framework applied. The research methodology used in this research study is greatly influenced and structured with the help of research process onion, established and presented By Saunders et al. (2003).

Source : http://www.ivoryresearch.com/sample25.php According to Saunders et al, (2003), Knowledge is Complex phenomenon which is influenced and established by different contextual variables. In this regard, a research philosophy basically shows researchers observation of the way knowledge is constructed. 33

3.2) Research Philosophy In the previous chapter, the relevant literature previously written by different authors and strategists was discussed. The aim was to clarify the subject matter. We will discuss the research methodology used during this research in this chapter. In this chapter we will discuss the different research methods available and different data collection methods available for the researcher, the research method selected and the reason of choosing that particular research method. Kumar (2005), states that there are different research methods developed over the years by the research methodologists, they are used by the professionals in order to understand their research in their particular field, the research methods which are developed over the years are copied by the researchers and whether the outcomes are Correct and valid, depends upon the correct selection and application of the research method and its reliability. 3.2.1) Positivism For this case study, the researcher has used Positivist case research approach as a preferred approach.Cavaye(1996), states that positivists epistemology is the research methods that helps to understand the social issues by identifying each individual component of a phenomenon and it helps to understand the phenomenon in terms of constructs and the relationships that exists between these constructs. Theoretical constructs that describe the phenomenon are different from the pragmatic reality which means that we may use observation in order to test the theory. There are four main elements in positivism research method. a. b. c. d. Controlled observation is necessary for good research. It should be replicable. It should be generalized. It should use a formal logic.

According to positivism technique, the case study under consideration is not considered as the representative of whole population, so the findings of the study are specific and not generaliseable.But it can be aimed to achieve theoretical generalization. This may include,comparing,contrasting,critical evaluation of past data available on subject under consideration.Relevent articles,journals,questionnaire and different theories proposed by different writers in the past and which are well established. It is a philosophical approach that is based on the idea that reality is both social and observable and is relevant to the view of natural science. According to Sunders et al,(2009),it is a useful method of creating new ideas and it considers science as a way of getting knowledge and anything else which comes outside the scientific scope is not significant. According to Blaxter et al (2006), this approach considers law as social and that it can influence the customers preferences and behaviour. The main theme is to establish an explanation which is both predictable and controllable. According to Newman and Newman (2009), positivism is a scientific process that initiates 34

with the hypothesis established by the researcher. The researcher tries to Test his hypothesis throughout the research process. On the basis of his/her findings the researcher either rejects or accepts the hypothesis. If the hypothesis is proved to be correct and its accepted by wide majority, then its beneficial in appraising observations concerned with reality.

3.2.2) Realism This research approach is very much closed to the positivism approach, it is classified as epistemological research study approach and it is based on the assuming the scientific approach for the development of knowledge. According to this research study approach the main assumption is on collection of data and then analysing it. This technique considers that each and every thing that we see with the help of our senses as reality is actually the real truth. It takes two different approaches; the first is the one that is based on believing what an individual sees is what actually he gets. While second approach is called critical realism, which is based on the idea that there is no reality in this world. According to Sauncers et al (2009), the experiences people have are just the feeling and images of the things in the real world and not the things directly. 3.2.3) Interpretivism According to Wimmer and Dominick, (2006), Interpretivism is a research technique in which a researcher focuses on developing the reality during his/her research process. It means that there are more than one realities and revealing new reality depends completely on the researcher. During this research technique the researcher takes an approach as vital section of the data, and then he formulates the research design and evaluates it throughout the research. According to Oates, (2006) this research does not attempt to prove any hypothesis unlike positivism as true or untrue rather it mainly tries to explain, investigate and identify the interrelevenace and interdependence that exist amongst all the elements in a particular social setting. According to Patton (2010), this approach could be considered as differentiating between the people in accordance to their roles as socialist actors. 3.3) Justification for Adopting this particular Research Philosophy The researcher has preferred Positivism technique over the other techniques available. As it was deemed more relevant to the aims and objectives of the research which is to investigate and analysis the impacts of business strategies on UK retail taking Tesco as a case study. The reason why this tool was selected is that the responses received from the customers are at random, free of bias and any prejudice. Moreover, the researcher cant influence the responses of the customers and it is one of the most powerful methods to develop new ideas. 3.4) Research Approach 3.4.1) Qualitative/quantitative analysis: According to Gordon and Lang maid (1988), most excellent researches always have the trait 35

that it is always confirmed by means of different approaches. In order to conduct the research successfully, the researcher needs to get information from all possible ways. The methods used may include Questionnaires, Journals Articles, Internet websites and the newspapers etc. The importance of qualitative data cannot be denied as this is the only way to get proper information from people from different groups and categories, which will eventually be the finest possible way to get the correct and proper information. According to Jick (1983), in order to carry out most reliable and up to date research both qualitative and quantitative research methods should be measured. If this technique is adopted then the researcher will be in a better position to understand the main subject and ideology of the research. But Jarrat (1996), said that it is always not feasible to carry out both qualitative and quantitative techniques at the same time as it will be quite costly and time taking and also the data may not be acceable.Even if the data will become available, it will be hard to analyse such a huge amount of data in limited time available 3.4.2) Qualitative Data According to Cavaye (1996), qualitative examination deals with distilling meaning and considerate from an observable fact and it is not mainly concerned with gauging and quantification of the phenomenon. In order to have a contextual understanding one should have a direct and in-depth knowledge of a research method. According to Van Mannen (1989), Qualitative methods deals with face to face interaction with the individuals concerned with research settings with verbal data collection. For this research, I have collected data from number of resources, including interviews and questionnaires from management and customers. These were recorder and transcribed afterward. According to Miles (1979), the qualitative data is full, rich, real time and its validity is unquestionable, it contains chronological flow of data which is a determinable fact to come to conclusion. But According to Miles and Huberman (1984), apart from the above mentioned positive points, qualitative data does have some drawbacks and weaknesses. Data collection and analysis of data takes quite a lot of time and its quite costly as well. As there are no hard and fast rules for qualitative data analysis, its quite hard to analyse data by using this method. We may use familiar logic rules to the verbal data collected so that it help to make sense of the data collected and to analyse that data. According to Rubin and Rubin (1995), it is essential to mention both the case study under consideration and the individuals interviewed. It will help the reader or analyst to help previous knowledge they may hold as a result of any previous research carried out on the same subject matter Or any information they may hold as in reading, interpreting and concluding this case study. It will also help to understand whole case study easily, and to check footnotes and citations as well. If they wish, they can criticize on the findings and give their recommendations as well. But few individuals may request for keeping their names secret and secrecy is also has quite important role to play. The most debatable will be in a situation when the case study is on a controversial subject matter. Sometimes, anonymity is essential to defend the real case and the real individuals. Another consequence may be that the individuals interviewed and the participants in the case study will have to face sanctions, demotions etc as a result of the publication of this case study.

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3.4.3) Quantitative Data This is something to do with quantitatively measuring different feature of the retail market and the consumers which make up this market. This will include hard approaches like size of the market and relative market share, how often consumers buy etc. and the soft ones like attitudes of consumers. The sources that could be used to collect data may be census and collecting data directly from different rivals and consumers. In real life the research method used on the basis of census is very unusual. The main reason being its too much expensive to get data from every single individual concerned, including customers and the rivals. Even the Governments carry out general census after every 10 years. If we have lots of financial resources available, the problem arises that its a time consuming. Its not commercially viable to meet the deadlines. According to Hague, (2002) research based on qualitative research methods is almost always based on the sample taken from the whole population and it is assumed that the sample taken is the true representative of whole population or universe from where it is drawn & it should fall within acceptable level of accuracy. Face-to-face interviews are considered as the most appropriate and feasible data collection technique in qualitative research. But if we have customers in hundreds or thousands, instead of face-to-face interview a telephonic interview may be more appropriate due to the huge cost involved. I have used questionnaire method mostly for the collection of data. Mostly questions are based on pre-coded or closed questions so that to help to arrange responses in a logical manner and to reduce the probability of misleading answers. More tricky and challenging issue is to record the open-ended questions , like why you have preferred to buy at Tesco rather than anywhere else ?Which normally can lead to multiple responses from the individuals like, it was a good bargain,Teasco is close to where I Live (Due to large number of Tescos all around UK). The researcher has tried to summarize or abbreviate and by no way I can say that the responses I have received are reasonably reproduce the responses given. Due to time limitations and cost involved I have mostly used interview technique which is one of the primary data collection methods from some customers to investigate the quality and impacts of the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. in London area. I have based this research on qualitative analysis which is based on the aims and objectives of the research. In qualitative research analysis, sometimes it is possible to predict and to make judgments about the future and the outcomes but its normally not possible to compute and quantify customers responses and behaviour in numeric terms. The flexibility and manoeuvrability of inclination and judgment making procedure are also main reasons for adopting this particular research method. 3.5) Research Design There is large number of research techniques available for research purpose. Like Case studies, surveys, face-to-face interviews etc. which are equally important and reliable data collection techniques for research purposes. According to Marczyk et al (2010), the selection of reasonable design is very important and plays a vital role to come to the conclusions desired for the research. The researcher has to 37

understand all the types of research designs available and must use the suitable one, so that he may answer all the research questions accordingly. These research designs are designed in accordance to the nature and objective of the research. According to Lamb (2010), the research design should help the researcher to sequence the survey questionnaires, and how the researcher can collect and analyse the data. According to Saunders et al (2009), the research design is of three different types which are exploratory, descriptive and explanatory.

3.5.1) Exploratory According to Saunders et al (2009), exploratory research method helps researcher to explore and research in new area and in new field to keep up to date with current developments in the field and can make changes to his research accordingly. His canvas is quite broad at the start of the research but with the passage of time, it narrows down. Exploratory research could be conducted in three ways, literature, interviews and focus group interviews. According to Mitchell and Jolley (2010), exploratory research involves few important and vital variables which are still unidentified and unknown in research field. Normally this kind of research is carried out with the help of interviews, but researcher can influence the responses and organising interviews could be quite costly. 3.5.2) Explanatory According to Blanche et al (2006), explanatory study is the one that sets up the casual relation between the variables. The main aim and objective of this research is to establish the explanations of research process and the study of the concerned problems will be conducted by the researcher to obtain some details of the relation that exists between the variables. The researcher can use the statistical test for that purpose to know the correlation amongst the variables. According to Bynner and Stribley, (2010), the explanatory research focuses on the development of explanations that are basic and required for the phenomena. The empirical variables are measured in accordance with the main objectives of the research. 3.5.3) Descriptive According to Grunewalder (2009), in descriptive study we try to know, who, much, how, when, how many, where and what type of research question. This type of study is very vital in order to obtain information, developing the hypothesis and discussing the associations. A simple example of this kind of research study may be co-relational research. According to Saunders et al (2009), Descriptive research is carried out to events, personal profiles and situations precisely. Certain situations are considered in this kind of research but the main aim is not limited to explaining the situation. According to Blanche et al (2006), the descriptive study attempts to explain the phenomena in detail with the help of classification, narrative description or with the help of relationship measurement. Brief observations are looked at in descriptive research and it is designed to focus on observations and dependable and effective samples.

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3.5.4) Justification for Adoptings Research Design The researcher has used the descriptive design as it was deemed more appropriate and suitable for this research study. This research will be conducted with the help of questionnaires and the data collected on the basis of this will be used to better understand the case study. The statistical tests will be conducted to advance the relationship between the variables involved in the research questions. The basic aim of this research study is to investigate and analyses the impacts of business strategies adopted by UK retailors, by using a case study of Tesco Plc.

3.5.5) Survey Questionnaire This research is based on qualitative research method and researcher mostly relied on survey questionnaire to collect the data which is relevant for conducting the research. Henry Assael and John Keon (1982), stated that survey questionnaires are play a very vital role in research. They play a very crucial role in overall data collection and research. Further they suggested that researcher must try to reduce errors, both sampling and nonsampling errors this will eventually enhance the reliability and legitimacy of the data collected. According to Marvin B. Lieberman and David B. Montgomery (1998), data collection by using survey technique has lots of advantages and disadvantages; it is the main qualitative data collection technique. Some of the Advantages and Disadvantages are listed below: 3.5.5.1) Advantages: 1. They are comparatively cheaper technique to collect data (Especially when selfadmistrative). 2. Surveys are a good technique of sampling and data collected on this bases is supposed to be the true representative of whole population. There is no other method available which gives this overall competence. 3. They are easily conducted electronically by means of emails etc. 4. As a result of this, large amount of data could be collected and analysed, investigated in short time. Consequently data collected is more reliable and statistically more significant when multiple variables or responses are analysed. 5. Large number of questions may be asked which provides considerable flexibility for analysis. 6. Standardised and closed ended questions make measurement and analysis more relevant and precise by only giving limited answering options to the partakers. 7. Flexibility exists at the starting stage, in deciding how questions will be admistrated, either by means of telephonic interviews, face-to-face interviews, printed surveys and surveys conducted by electronic means. 8. Standardization of questions makes sure that alike data can be collected from group of representatives and then could be interpreted comparatively. 9. By giving all participants unvarying inducement, normally high reliability is easy to obtain. By using this technique, prejudice of the participant is easily eradicated. 3.5.5.2) Drawbacks:

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1. If research technique is based on standardization, the researcher prepares questions which are general to minimise the bias from participants, due to this possibly the respondents may not say what ideally they should say. 2. The surveys are inflexible which means the early study design to remain unchanged throughout data collection process. 3. The researcher must design their question in a way to get maximum response from the participants. 4. Participants may be reluctant to provide information about sensitive or controversial issues or they may feel difficulty in recalling the information. 5. It is normally considered that survey techniques apart from some interview techniques normally dont deal with environment, or context as opposite to the direct observation. 3.6) Case Study As mentioned above, there are lots of research techniques available for the researcher; Case study is one of the techniques available. Kathleen M. Eisenhardt (1989), state that case study is an important and vital research technique. Mostly it is used in qualitative research. Normally in research areas like business, marketing, planning etc. Some of the theorists are of the view that as case studies are based on realism and depending upon the nature of case studies as well, researchers throughout the world are of different point of view. According to (Merriam1998, Wine Gardner 1998, cited in Grunbaum (2007). It appears like researcher take it for granted and anything goes approach is used unless they are bound not to do that according to the nature of the case studies. As long as we cannot characterise it as test or a survey or historic study. The advantages and disadvantages of using case study techniques are listed below: 3.6.1) Advantages: 1. Case studies help to develop problem solving and analytical skills. 2. They allow discovering the solutions of complex problems. 3. Help researcher apply latest techniques and skill. 3.6.2) Disadvantages: 1. May not be considered relevant to the subject being researched or in other words may not be relevant to own situation. 2. If sufficient information is not gathered, this may lead to unsuitable results. 3. They are not deemed suitable for fundamental level. 4. Participants may not respond naturally, when under observation. 3.7) Data Collection The data collection is basically divided in to two types i.e. secondary data and primary data .These will be further discussed in detail below: 3.7.1) Primary Data According to Lamb (2010), Primary data is the knowledge and information which is collected 40

at first and is used to solve any particular problem which is under consideration. Saunders et al (2009) said that, primary data is used to solve the research questions when the researcher is unable to find the answers by other means. The data collected during this research study is particularly for the purpose to be used in this research study. The main data collection tools available are Observations, Interviews and survey. According to Cowther and Lancaster (2008), the main types of primary research are interviews, questionnaires and group research. 3.7.2) Secondary Data According to Lamb (2010), secondary data is a vital instrument that we use during research process, it is particularly vital at problem solving stage. It is basically the data collected by other researchers previously. According to Mcgivern (2006), it is the research data which is previously collected by some previous researcher in order to be used for another research. The technique used is to gather information about researches previously conducted in this particular field which are relevant to the research questions under consideration now. It is also called desk research as the researcher can collect and use this data without leaving his/her desk. These include the data collection from published sources and the data available online. According to Hamersveld (2007), the researcher should confirm that the data collected by using secondary data is relevant, valid, dependable and reliable.

Source : http://cfed.org/programs/toolkits/savings_credit/internal_and_external_data/ Excerpted from MicroSave's Market Research and Client- Responsive Product Development, 2004 by Graham A. N. Wright

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3.7.2.1) Types of Secondary Data Secondary data is further divided in to two categories, namely internal and external. These two types are detailed in detail below:

3.7.2.1.1) internal sources This is the data which is collected from the internal sources of an organisation. This can be particularly helpful in the research and could provide the knowledge and the information relevant to the internal business activities. These may include annual financial reports, audit reports, staff appraisals, customer feedbacks, sales projections, variance analysis etc. 3.7.2.1.2) External sources The external data means the data already published or written in the form of books, journals articles, case studies, material available online, Government publications, material available through business competitive web sites etc. According to Lamb (2010), the secondary data could be used to save time and money and proves quite helpful for the researcher to find out the answers to the research questions. It is quite helpful method for the researcher to get all the knowledge available regarding the issue under consideration. According to Wrenn et al (2007), the knowledge collected by using secondary data is sufficient to grow a research design and then the researcher may plan for gathering the primary data and finally can analyse whole the data collected by using either primary or secondary data collection techniques. 3.7.3) Justification for using Secondary Data The researcher has collected data from different sources like books, journals, articles, magazines, online resources, newspapers etc. The data collected from books and journals is given priority as data collected from these sources is considered more authentic and reliable by the academics. 3.7.4) Questionnaires Different procedures and tools are used to achieve the aims and objectives of the research. In order to conduct a reasonable, reliable and valid research, the primary data plays a very important role. During this particular research, the researcher has used a tool called questionnaires for data collection for primary research. The questions that are included in the questionnaire are designed to achieve the research objective. They were designed to consume minimum time as participants often dont like lengthy questionnaires and this is one of the main reasons of low response rate from the participants during research studies.

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Most of the questions included in the questionnaire were straight forward and in simple English, most of them requested the participants just to tick the option they feel most suitable. Researcher circulated 50 questionnaires to the general public at random and 39 of them given the filled forms back to the researcher. This is about 78%, which shows the interest, healthy and positive response from the general public.

3.8) Sample Size The data for this research is collected from different customers at random in London Area. The data collected is assumed to be the true representative of whole population. The participants were part of general public who shop from Tesco Plc. or its rivals. Before asking the participants to fill up the questionnaires the participants were requested to fill the small questionnaires, which are listed below: a. b. c. d. Can they spare some time? Whether they agree to take part in a small research? Do they shop at Tesco or any of its main rivals? Are they willing to fill up a small questionnaire and give it back to the researcher?

The research questionnaires were handed over to 50 customers at random. There were total 18 questions, out of those 18, 13 were very easy to answer and participants were only asked to tick the appropriate option out of the four options given already. Remaining five questions were about participants recommendations, suggestions and needs. These were combined together to get combination of data which will eventually help researcher to get maximum output from the participants and to analyse data later on and to achieve the overall objectives of the research. 3.7) Sampling The questions were distributed among the customers randomly. So that there is every chance to receive either positive or negative response and in order to avoid the conception that research study was targeting any specific gender or any particular age group etc. In other words, customers were selected at random to avoid cherry picking and in order to remain objective and to avoid any prejudice. Questions were very simple and straightforward and they were written in simple and plain English. So that participants can understand the questions easily and to encourage them to respond to most of the questions. 3.8) Treatment of data / Data Analysis 3.8.1) Multiple-Case Study Design The researcher has used multiple case study technique in order to analyse the data collected and to relate it to theoretical perspectives according to the literature available on business 43

strategires.According to Miles and Huberman (1984), this will help researcher to say with certainty that the findings are not just a straight result of idiosyncrasies of research settings. In (2002), says that if such a method is chosen, then researcher must use multiple sources of evidence. Now the question is, how many cases should be considered, the According to Eisenhrdt(1991),the answer lies in how much knowledge researcher has acquired after going through this research and secondly , it will depend on how much new information can become available after studying more cases. This research is mainly focused on the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. And to analyse and investigate the impacts of those business strategies on the success of Tesco Plc.

3.9) ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS There were some ethical issues involved during the research study, like data collected from the general public should solely be used for research purpose, it should not bring any harm to any individuale,their privacy should be respected and their individuality should also be respected. The identities of the individuals involved should be kept secret in order to safe them against any physical or mental harm which they may have to face when this research made available to general public. According to Goddard and Melville (2011), The individuals involved in the research study should be treated like human beings and should be respected in all regards. The feedback received should also be kept undisclosed. The respondents were requested to take part in research study at their free will and were assured that their identity will be kept confidential and will not be disclosed to anybody. The purpose for the research study was explained to the participants and they have participated at their own will after understanding the objectives of research study. The questionnaires were not distributed to the minors, teenagers or youngsters and only the customers of appropriate age were approached to take part in research study. According to Collis and Hussey (2003), the participants in research study should be consulted and their permission should be taken before advancing to each next step of research study. 3.10) PILOT TEST Pilot testing is essential and vital for the individual researcher in order to make sure that the data collection and data analysis techniques used during the research study namely questionnaire and interviews will help to get the desired results. Saunders et al. (2007), States that, the pilot test is aimed to facilitate the researcher to identify that the research questionnaire will be easy to understand for the participants and they will willingly participate in the case study which will eventually help researcher to get desired results from the research. The pilot test was conducted with two customers and one management staff at Tesco Plc. Their feedback was considered and the relative amendments were made in the questionnaire after consulting with respected supervisor (Mr. Hector) of the case study to make sure that questions are relevant, to the point and in the right direction. Bell (2005), said that there is a proper arrangement of drafting the research questionnaire, which take in to account the time 44

required to complete research questionnaire; the instructions should be made clear at the start. If any of the questions are ambiguous, hard or not clear and respondent does not want to answer that particular question, what should a researcher do in such circumstances? The research questionnaire was prepared by taking all of these factors in to account. The research questions were easy, straight forward and simple, free of ambiguity and customers were left on their free will to respond and gave the back to the researcher.39 out of 50 gave the completed research questionnaire back to the researcher, a 78% response which clearly indicates an interest of customers in the research questionnaire and that research questionnaire was easy to understand and easy to respond.

3.11) SUMMARY In this chapter the data collection and analysis techniques available and the ones adopted for this particular case study are discussed. It starts with discussing the aims and objectives of the research study, and then the importance of selecting a particular approach was discussed.Afterwords the justification of using case study for this particular research was discussed. Other analysis techniques available were also discussed, relevant merits and demerits of research approaches available were discussed and the importance of selecting case study as a method of research to investigate the impacts of business strategies on Tesco overall success was discussed. Different data collection methods available, data analysis methods available were also dicussed.Finally the limitations of techniques adopted for data collection and analysis were discussed, the next chapter will be focused towards research analysis and conclusions.

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Chapter 4 Research Findings and Data Analysis

4.1) Introduction: The primary data which was collected by survey questionnaires is analysed in this chapter. Primary data collection holds a very significant and important role for any research to fulfil its objectives. But the analysis of the information gathered and the data collected in a methodical and well organised manner which provides desired results, reliable and understandable is even more significant and vital for a research to achieve its objectives than data collection. The research was carried out by using open ended questions, questions of varying quality and of varying interest for the participants; this is further discussed in detail below. 4.2) Findings and analysis: Graphs and tables are used to present the analysis of data collected by using questionnaires. 50 members of general public were selected at random to participate in this survey, 39 out of those 50 participants were kind enough to fill and return the questionnaire to the researcher. The participants, who returned the filled survey questionnaire, actually answer all the questions asked to them which was amazing and shows their great interest in survey questionnaire and the response rate of 78%. 4.3) The Data Analysis Methods: 4.3.1) Thematic Analysis and the Reasons for its Selection The data collected during the research was analysed by using thematic framework. Several interlinked steps are involved with several different numbers of analyses. Bryman and Burgess (2004), state that the thematic analytical method is quite methodical and wellorganized and it deals with uncovering, defining, clarification and discovering different issues which are the main philosophies on which we base our qualitative research. According to Tuckett (2005), thematic analysis helps the researcher to analyse all data and to evade any partial or selective selection. Pope and Mayes (2006) said that thematic analysis is actually based on the themes which are predicted by studying the literature or the ones which arose as a result of direct fieldwork. The data is divided in to different groups in the form of themes and it is considered as one of the simplest forms of data analysis. The appearances of these themes are wholly accounted 46

and matched. This kind of analysis is also used for the development of the taxonomies and arrangements, diagrams and the models for explaining the connections between different themes. According to Tuckett (2005), the researcher is not going to develop a new theory or hypothesis for conducting this research. So, it was essential to adopt an analytical approach to explain and scrutinize the data which is relevant to the vital issues and themes which are discussed be accepted. According to Pope et al (2007), the thematic analysis helps in the organisation and summarising of the findings from large and varied research data. So researchers adopt thematic analytical framework not only to achieve above competence but it also highlight the vital issues which arose during questionnaires and interviews regarding the topic. According to Bryman and Burgess (2004), the thematic analysis approach is divided in to five steps which are to learn about the literature, thematic framework identification, its following, mapping and its interpretation. 4.3.2) DRAWBACKS OF USING THEMATIC ANALYSIS According to Pope et al. (2007), thematic analysis is flexible and we can relate the flexibility with deteriorating transparency. Whether the conclusions drawn on the basis of thematic analysis could signify the frequency with each theme is presented or in accordance to its explanatory importance is not clear. According to Antaki et al. (2002), vast majority of strategists have recommended that thematic analysis is quite flexible, as a result majority of the researchers take this approach without any proper instructions and guidelines and any relevance to their research. It shows that lake of clear cut guidelines and instructions can produce inappropriate results. In order to minimise these negative impacts, the researcher has tried to do all research by himself and to be involved in each and every step of the research. 4.3.3) Why Other Data Analysis Methods Were Not Deemed Appropriate There is lots of data analysis methods available for the researcher for analysing the data collected during the research. Some other methods which could have been used are grounded theory and narrative analysis. An account of knowledge which is articulated in a sequenced manner and with the flow of proceedings which are important for the reporter and the significance is conveyed to the researcher is known as Narrative analysis. It is mostly used as the prime method for the analysis of qualitative data. Socially constructed explanations could be used to explore the connection and association. The researcher does not need to categorise the data collected in to themes for data analysis, if this method is used. According to Saunders et al (2007), the organizational element helps to analyse each and every narrative account and its comparison. According to Murray (2003), we are not searching of any particular themes or patterns in data collected during the research study like an individual interview, if we use this particular data analysis method. According to Bryman and Bell (2007), the researchers normally dont have enough experience required for the research and there are time constrains for scripting the story for an interview. The central idea that emerges from the data collected during the research study is analysed in grounded theory. This method is a data analysis method for the description or generation of 47

the theory. According to Saunders et al (2007), grounded theory is an organized, structured and systematic method used for qualitative analysis process. According to Bryman and Burgess (2004),the grounded theory has both deductive and inductive data analysis elements in it.If this method is used for data analysis, it may prove to be complex and the data analysis by using this method may prove to be more time consuming and costly. As inductive method was used during this research study and also there were some time limitations and financial constraints as well. In short, both of the above discussed methods were not deemed suitable for the current research study. Another vital issue was whether these methods could be used with excellent results on the data collected and would it produce reasonable answers for the research questions. Therefore, the thematic analysis method was selected and given preference over the other research methods available for the current research study.

Followings are the questions and the responses received from the customers
Question no 1) in which of the following Age Group You Fall? The main purpose of asking this simple and straight forward question was to identify. The age groups of the customers. Though retailors like Tesco Plc. Sell products which are of the interest of all age groups and there is no specific target market or specific age group which is considered as a target market and the business strategies developed to fulfil the needs of that specific age group. But this question was made part of the survey questionnaire in order to facilitate the participant and to ask basic, simple and straight forward questions at start to develop their interest. Participants were requested to choose from any of the five categories provided. It was of a great surprise for the researcher that customers between age groups of 20 to 30 and then 30 to 40 were keener towards participating in the research than customers from younger age group or older age groups. Age Group: No. of Customers: Less than 20 4 20-30 13 30-40 40-50 More than 50 15 5 2 Source: From Survey Conducted

This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.

16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 Series1

Further it was a general observation that two particular age groups 20-30 and 30-40 make up the majority of the customers coming to the Tesco stores visited by the researcher in London. 48

Question no 2) Gender The reason behind asking this question to the participants was to check the buying preferences of participants of both sex towards retailors and supermarkets. This will also facilitate to establish the fact that whether products available in supermarkets are targeting any specific sex group. Females have more actively participated in the research than males. Gender of Participants: Male Female Unspecified No. of Respondents: 18 21 0 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.
25 20 15 Series1 10 5 0 Male Female Unspecified

The above graph shows that out of 39 participants, 21 were females and 18 were males. This shows that both males and females are almost in same numbers and there is not any specific difference in buying habits and pattern between the people of different gender. Question no 3) Education Education is the most important question of the survey questionnaire. UK is considered as one of the highest educated nations across the globe. Education level is quite high in UK and majority of UK customers are very educated and sophisticated. This shows the validity of the survey answers; because those who are educated have broad view of analysis and thinking as compare to those who are uneducated. In this question, because of plenty of educational fields, researcher doesnt provide the options for the customers to choose from. An empty blank is provided to the customers to specify their education. After getting information from the customers about their education, researcher put them in a category of 5 different options in a table with all their details. Most of the graduate customers lead the table with more survey questionnaire answers. Following is a full detailed table with the number of answers. Education: Masters Others: No. of Respondents: 4 Graduate 12 Under Graduate 10 Diploma Holder

1 Source: From Survey Conducted

This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.

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14 12 10 8 Series1 6 4 2 0 Masters Graduate Under Graduate Dipolma Holders

In above graph, graduate customers lead the rest with 12 out of 32 customers, 10 customers are those who are under graduate, one customer is diploma holder in computer sciences and 4 of them are Master degree holders. All of these details are then further classified with the help of bar graph chart. It shows that majority of the participants were educated and were well aware of the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. and its counterparts. They are able to analyse the policies adopted by Tesco Plc. and its counterparts and chose according to their own choice. Question no 4) which retailor you prefer to shop with? The main reason for asking this question was to establish the fact whether Tesco Plc. Is a preferred retailor for customers taking part in the survey or they prefer some other retailor over Tesco Plc. This question was of utmost importance for this research. We have come to know with the help of this research, that Tesco Plc. Is a preferred retailor for most of the participants and they believe that bargain offers given by Tesco Plc. Or the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. were better than its rivals over the years. The research was also conducted in those areas where there were other retail stores nearby Tesco Plc. Like Sainsburys, Morrisons, Asda, Costcutter,Lidl,ALdi, Marks & Spencers, Waitrose etc. & it was found that most of the participants still preferred Tesco Plc. Although they had lots of options and opportunities available. Which retail store do you prefer to shop with? Store : No. of Respondents: TESCO 31 any other store 8

Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.
35 30 25 20 Series1 15 10 5 0 Tesco Any other Retailor

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Total 39 participants responded to the survey questionnaire, out of those 39, 31 were of the view that they prefer to buy with Tesco plc. And only 8 have answered that they will prefer to buy with some other retailor. The number of participants preferring to shop with Tesco Plc. was about 79 per cent and about 21 per cent customers replied that they will prefer to shop with other any retailor. The following bar chart helps to understand this fact. Question no 5) how often do you shop at Tesco or any other retailor during a week? The purpose of this question was to know the frequency of the visits of customers to buy at Tesco or its rivals. This will help to understand how many times normally they come to shop at Tesco or its rivals. Majority of the respondents replied that they normally shop once every week. A part from that a general observation was that normally a customer doesnt go to shop every day due to time constraints, proximity of the store and their own needs as well. Frequency: More than Once every Others once a week two weeks 6 5 2 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.
25 20 15 Series1 10 5 0 Daily Once a Week More than Once a Once Every Two Week Weeks 4

Daily Once a Week 4 22

There were 39 respondents all together out of those 39, 22 answered that they shop once a week which is about 56% of the total. This is further illustrated with the help of a bar graph. It gives a mix impression, more than half of the customers, who participated in the survey, replied that they normally shop once a week, few answered that they shop daily and few twice a week. Question 6) Do you possess a Tesco Club card or any other loyalty card from any other retailor? The purpose of asking this question was to know the loyalty and allegiance of the customers towards their preferred retailor. It was a general observation that the participants possessing a loyalty card were more depended towards their preferred retailor. The probable reason is that they know if they will buy more, they will get more points, more rewards and more benefits 51

in return from their retailor. This also proves the effectiveness of the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. and its rivals, due to the pricing strategies and discounting strategies customers are happier to shop with their preferred retailor. The data collected is denoted with the help of a bar graph. Do You Hold Any Loyalty Card: Responses: Yes No 30 9 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.
35 30 25 20 Series1 15 10 5 0 Yes No 4

On the basis of the data collected, 30 out of total 39 respondents possess Tesco Club card or other loyalty cards, issued by other retailers. It shows customers buying habits and buying preferences. 30 participants out of total 39 participants possessing Club card is about 77% of the total participants and remaining 23% of the participants currently dont have any loyalty card and they dont find it useful or worth having a loyalty card.This is further illustrated with the help of bar graph. Formal Questions: These initial, personal and formal questions were made part of the questionnaire to facilitate the customers/participants and to make them feel at ease.Afterwords, researcher asked some more simple questions to the customers to investigate their response towards the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. over the last few years, the business strategies adopted by its rivals and their relative success or failure. In order to save participants time and to facilitate them further, they were asked a closed end question with four options provided. The participants were required to tick any one of those four options. Options were quite similar like Very much satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied, and very much dissatisfied, all of the following questions were asked to fulfil the objectives of the research. Q 7) What is your view about the quality of products Tesco Offers? The customers were asked this particular question to know whether they perceive that the products they buy from Tesco are of the higher quality. It is third of seven part Tescos wheel strategy, i.e. to be as strong in everything we sell as we are in food. Tesco was famous for its food in the past but now Tesco aims to be as good as in food in everything it does. 25 out of 39 participants replied that they are satisfied with the products quality. 52

This is about 64% of the total participants which is a healthy sign. And 12 said that they are not satisfied, this is about 30% and is a worrying sign. Tesco should make sure that vast majority of its customers are happy with the quality of products, they receive.2 out of 39 participants said that they dont know and cant say anything. Dissatisfied Dont know 12 2 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph. Quality of Products:
30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Satisfied Not Satisfied Dont Know Series1

Satisfied 25

Q8) is the staffs have relevant product knowledge, deemed as properly trained and helpful towards its customers? The behaviour of staff towards customers is very vital in todays competitive market. Customers appreciate excellent customer service and it is one of the main sources to win customers loyalty towards the organisation. Staff appraisal and hiring of staff with relevant knowledge, experience is the seventh part of seven steps strategy wheel adopted by Tesco Plc. Good customer services can play a very crucial part in an organisations overall success and sometimes a customer may only come to shop with a specific retailor due to his/her own personal experience of the excellent customer service they have personally received in the past. When a customer enters a superstore, He/She expects to be treated with dignity and respect. The staff must have full product knowledge in order to better guide the customers when asked any query. The purpose of asking this question was to analyse whether Tesco Plc. was successful in this particular business strategy that it had adopted over the years to recruit and promote staff with relative knowledge and experience. The responses collected are outlined with the help of following graph. Options Available: No. of Participants Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied 5 1 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph. Very Satisfied 8 Satisfied 25

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30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Series1

Out of total 39 participants in the survey, 33 were either satisfied or very much satisfied with the policies and business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. this represents more than 84% of the total responses received during the research.5 Out of 39 participants were dissatisfied and only 1 was extremely unhappy with the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc.

The results are quite healthy and gives an overall expression that the public in general is satisfied and the customer in general happy with the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. & They perceive that Tesco Plc. has adopted business strategies which are much better and more inclined towards fulfilling customer needs than its counterparts. Q9) Do you think Tesco has adopted better business policies than other retailors? This question was asked to the customers to know what customers think about the business policies adopted by Tesco Plc. and its rivals. Customers perception is very important and if the customers are happy, they will come back again and again and the researches have shown that instead of targeting new markets, and new customers it is better to work on existing customer base and adopt policies to make sure that customers spend more and more in every visit and leave the store satisfied. 18 Out of 39 participants replied that they believe that the business policies adopted by Tesco Plc. were better than other retailers. This is more than 46%.12 answered that other retailers like Sainsburys and Asda are now outperforming Tesco, which is 30% of the total participants and remaining 9 said that they either dont care or cant differentiate. This shows mix results and Tesco should look again on its business strategies and its rivals have performed better than Tesco in the recent past. If Tesco will not come up with new ideas, its business rivals will continue to grow and Tesco will be losing its market share in near future to its rivals. This is further illustrated with the help of following table. Not Better I Dont Know 12 9 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph. Comparison of Policies Adopted By Tesco: No of Responses: Better 18

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20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Better Not Better I Dont Know Series1

Q10) Do you think Tesco, fulfils its responsibilities towards the communities it serves? This question was asked to the customers to know what is Tescos corporate image amongst the communities it serves and whether the local customers are satisfied with the work Tesco does for local communities. The majority of the customers who shop at Tesco were local and their perception about Tesco and acknowledgment of the work Tesco does for the environment and for the local community is very important. 28 out of total 39 participants replied that they were very satisfied that Tesco has fulfilled its responsibilities towards the local community it serves. This is more than 71% of the respondents.6 of the 39 participants replied that they were satisfied with Tescos policies towards its local communities were good. This is about 15%.This shows that more than 85% of the respondents were either satisfied or very much satisfied with Tescos business policies towards its local communities.4 out of 39 participants said that they were dissatisfied with the policies adopted by Tesco to serve the local communities and remaining 1 said he was extremely dissatisfied. Options Given: Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Responses: 28 6 4 1 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.
30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Very Satisfied Satisfied Distaisfied Very Dissatisfied Series1

The image of an organisation in its customers and the local communities is very important and the organisations do quite a lot now days to improve their corporate image in the local communities. It is fifth of Tescos seven part business strategy, to put our responsibilities to the communities we serve at the heart of what we do. Business organisations do lot of work like working along with the local charities, helping in building schools, leisure centres, roads, 55

parks for the local community. Q11) Is Tesco successful in creating high quality Brands? This question was asked to the customers to know whether they perceive that Tesco was able to create new valued brands and whether its brands were popular amongst its customers. Tesco has opened new stores by names like Tesco Metro, Tesco Extra, Tesco Express, Tesco Home plus, Tesco Superstores, and Dobbies etc. Tesco has created its brands like Tesco Value, Tesco Standard, Tesco Finest, Tesco Organic, Brand Discounts, Tesco Light Choices, Tesco Free Choices, Tesco Disney Kids, Tesco Whole foods etc. Options Given: Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Responses: 25 5 6 3 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.
30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Very Satisfied Satisfied Not Satisfied Very Disatiefied Series1

The responses received from the participants shows that 25 of the respondents were very satisfied and 5 were satisfied that Tesco has created world renowned famous brands in the past. This is almost 77% of the responses and shows that Tesco was very successful in creating new brands and remaining 23% were disagreeing with this fact. This is further illustrated with the help of following table. Q 12) is Tesco Successful to grow retail services? The aim of this question was to know what customers believe about the retail growth Tesco has done in recent part. It is another part of Tesco seven part wheel business strategy. Which was to grow retail services in all our markets? Options Given: Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Responses: 22 8 6 3 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.

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25 20 15 Series1 10 5 0 Very Satisfied Satisfied Not Satisfied Very Disatiefied

22 of the respondents replied that they were very much satisfied with this statement, another 8 replied that they are satisfied that Tesco has grown in its retail services. This constitutes almost 77% of the respondents. It shows that majority of UK customers were satisfied or very much satisfied that Tesco has grown in retail services in recent past and has outperformed its counter parts in this field.6 of the respondents were dissatisfied and remaining 3 were very dissatisfied. This shows that 23% either disagreed or believed that other rival organisations have come up with better business strategies. This fact is further illustrated with the help of following table.

Q13) Do you think that Tesco needs to rethink about its business strategies? This question was asked to fulfil third objective of this research study and customers were asked whether they believe that Tesco needs to adopt more aggressive strategies in future. Needs To Adopt New Business strategies: Yes No I Dont Know Responses: 18 12 9 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.
20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Needs New Strategis Dont Need New Strategies Dont Know Series1

18 of the respondents replied that they believe Tesco should rethink about its current business Strategies and should adopt new business strategies in the future. This is 60% of the total responses received and 12 of the respondents replied that they dont believe Tesco should adopt new business strategies in the future and its current business strategies and policies are satisfactory. 57

Remaining 9 respondents were not sure about this. This shows a mix result and no clear conclusion could be drawn on the basis of these findings although majority of respondents were in favour of the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. but at the same time, significant number of respondents were not satisfied with the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. This fact is further illustrated with the help of following table. Q14) Do you believe that other retailers have come up with better business strategies than Tesco? This question relates to the second objective of the research study. This question was asked to the customers to judge how customers compare the business strategies adopted by Tesco and its counterparts.16 out of 39 customers replied that the business strategies adopted by the rivals, especially in the recent past were comparatively better than the business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. This is 41% of the responses received. Another 18 customers answered that they perceive that other retailers were not able to come up with better ideas than Tesco Plc. This is almost 50% of the responses received.Remining 5 of the customers replied that they dont have any idea about this and cant say anything with certainty.

Yes No I dont know 16 18 5 Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph. Business Strategies Of Other Retailors Were Better: Responses
20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Yes No I Dont Know Series1

This again gives mix results but as 41% of the customers was more inclined towards the business policies and business strategies adopted by Tesco Plc. This is a worrying factor and management at Tesco needs to think about this. In future when Tesco devise new business strategies, it needs to have a closer look at the business strategies adopted by its rivals and should try to make better strategies to achieve long term comparative advantage over the rivals or at least come closer to equate with rivals business strategies. Q15) Do you believe that Tesco has invested enough in to its UK operation? This question relates to the first of Tesco seven part business strategies, to grow the UK 58

core. This also relates to first objective of this research studies.20 of the respondents replied that they agree that Tesco has invested enough in to its UK core business,12 disagreed with this and remaining 7 were unsure. This shows that 51% of the customers were of the view that Tesco has invested enough in its core UK operations.30% of the customers disagreed with this and replied that Tesco has not invested in to its UK core operations and have shown more interest in growing its foreign operations and in doing so, is losing its focus on its UK operations which is the main source of its earnings and profits. In light of these findings, Tesco is suggested to take remedial actions and should focus more & more on its UK core operations and should devise new business strategies to survive in this highly competitive UK retail market and to outperform its business rivals. If Tesco will not take these remedial actions in near future, it will lose its market share to Sainsbury, Morrison & Asda as they are always coming up new business strategies and ideas to capture more & more market share. Has Tesco Invested Enough In UK Operations? Yes 20 No 12 I dont Know 7

Source: From Survey Conducted This is further illustrated with the help of following graph.
25 20 15 Series1 10 5 0 Yes No I dont know

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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 INTRODUCTION The conclusions drawn in this chapter and the suggestions, recommendations are made after the data analysis made in previous chapter. The researcher has tried to evaluate and summarise the findings of the research and to relate the findings with the research objectives. The researcher has made recommendations on the basis of his data analysis and findings of the research. The recommendations and suggestions provided in this chapter by the researcher are for the top management of Tesco Plc. and other major retailers in UK retail market. These recommendations are regarding how to develop and implement business strategies in the future and which business strategies could be adopted to gain competitive advantage over its rivals and to gain maximum possible market share. The limitations of this research study are discussed in the last part of this chapter along with setting directions for future studies in this field. 5.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS On the basis of research study conducted, data collected, analysis of data collected and the findings of this case study it was proved the top management of Tesco Plc. Understands its responsibility to develop the business strategies to achieve long term competitive advantage over its rivals in the long run. Johnson and Scholes (2002) p10 define strategy as the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage for the organisation through its 60

configuration of resources within a changing environment and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. Philip Clarke CEO of Tesco Plc. devised a seven step business strategy wheel for Tesco Plc. which is as follows: 1) To grow the UK core 2) To be an outstanding international retailer in stores and online 3) To be as strong in everything we sell as we are in food 4) To grow retail services in all our markets 5) To put our responsibilities to the communities we serve at the heart of what we do 6) To be a creator of highly valued brands 7) To build our team so that we create more value This seven part strategy can be further illustratrated with the help of strategy wheel as under,

Tesco Plc. is the leading UK retailer both in terms of revenue and profits and has outperformed its counterparts.Tescos first part of business strategy is To grow the UK core, as UK business is its core business and main stream of its cash flows are coming from its UK operations, Tesco aims to grow its UK business and its financial performance over last five years and beyond shows that Tesco Plc. has achieved its objective and have outperformed its rivals. Although not as much revenues were generated as projected. Its market share is growing as ever and it is UK market leader in terms of market share and is adopting policies and strategies which are helping it to fulfil this objective. The following little table illustrates Tesco Plc. revenues and profits from Feb 2007 till Feb 2010.

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Period Ending Total Revenue Cost of Revenue Gross Profit

27 Feb 2010 56,910,000 52,303,000 4,607,000

28 Feb 2009 53,898,000 49,713,000 4,185,000

23 Feb 2008 47,298,000 43,668,000 3,630,000

24 Feb 2007 42,641,000 39,401,000 3,240,000

Source:http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=TSCO.L&annual According to this table,Tescos Profits grew by 10.9 % during 2007-8,grew by another 13.95 during 2008-9, and another 5.5 % during 2009-2010 time period, its gross profits grew by 12% in 2007-8,another 15.3% during 2008-9 and another 10 % during 2009-2010 time period. This clearly indicates that Tesco has been able to achieve its first part of business strategy by growing its UK core business. Currently Tesco Plc. has more than 1500 stores Across UK and its store number in UK is ever increasing. But in the recent past Tesco was not able to maintain the pace of its Tesco growth, during 2011 Christmas season the pricing policy adopted by Tesco Plc. was not welcomed by the majority of its customers.

Sainsbury adopted a business strategy of brand match and Asda adopted a strategy of being 10% cheaper than its counterparts. So this shows that Tesco must now consider to re think about its policy and to understand that there is something wrong with its UK business strategy. It must adapt to the changing customer preferences due to price war between big retail giants and must come up with a business strategy that can outplay its counterparts. The second part of Tesco Plc. business strategy is To be an outstanding international retailer in stores and online. The second part of the business strategy was to be an outstanding international retailor both in stores and online. In 1997, Tesco Plc.s international business generated about 1.8% of the total profits. Now, profits generated from international business constitute 25% of total profits. Tesco Plc. is working in 13 foreign markets and in 8 of these 13 markets Tesco Plc. is either market leader or at number two spot which highlights Tesco Plc.s outstanding success in foreign markets. Third part of Tesco plc. Seven step business strategies were To be as strong in everything we sell as we are in food. In the past years Tesco Plc. was known for its main stream food retail business but Tesco now aims to be as strong in everything it does like it is in food retail. Tesco currently enjoys 30% share in UK food retail market and is a market leader. Initially Tesco was focusing on its food retail, business only but since 1990 Tesco has diversified in to other products and services, like clothing,books,furniture,electronics,petrol,financialservices,insurance,used cars,telecoms,softwares,internet services ,DVD rentals and music downloads. Tesco aims to be a market leader in all its activities, all the products it sells and all the services it provides.Tescos ever increasing revenues and profits shows that up to some extant Tesco has achieved its goal to be the best ,to be market leader and trend setter in everything it does. When Tesco Plc. was initially established its main focus was on food retail and Tesco.Plc was very successful over the years in that market segment. 62

Tesco Plc.s business strategy is to diversify in to new products and market segments and to be as strong in to other fields as it was in food retail. Tesco was largely considered as a food retailer in the past and was never known for its non-food products. In 1997, Tesco set itself a target of becoming as strong in non-food as in food. Tesco Plc.s business has grown in large proportions in the recent past. Now it is offering large variety of products to its ever increasing customer base. Even the term nonfood items have become meaningless due to large number of products and services Tesco Plc. is currently offering to its customers. Now Tesco Plc. aims to be as strong in everything it sells as it is in food where it enjoys the largest market share and main player of food retail market. The fourth part of Tesco seven step business strategies was To grow retail services in all our markets, Tesco Plc.s retail service business has grown quite rapidly during last decade. One of the Tesco Plc. business strategies described in 1997 was to develop retailing services. Today Tesco Plc.s retail services constitute 583 million of total profits which constitutes 16% of the groups total profits. Currently the retail business is largely UK focused but as Tescos foreign segments have established locally and have established well-known brand names in local markets in the recent past, Tesco now aims to expand its retail services to its foreign markets. The fifth part of Tesco seven step strategy was To put our responsibilities to the communities we serve at the heart of what we do. To put our responsibilities to the communities we serve at the heart of what we do. In 2007, Tesco plc. Added fifth element to its business strategy to strengthen its commitment to the local communities and the environment. To serve the local communities in the best way as we can. In the recent past Tesco Plc. has updated this objective slightly by emphasising more and more on its responsibilities towards local communities and environments. The main aim of the strategy is to put responsibilities towards local communities in which Tesco Plc. operates at the heart of everything Tesco Plc. do. Tescos all operations should be carried out in a way to minimise their harmful effects to the environment and local community and to work for the local communities and fulfil the responsibilities towards local general public. This will enhance its public image of Tesco Plc. As a result, Tesco will be seen as more environment friendly organisation by its customers which will eventually attract environment friendly customers. Tescos efforts towards serving its communities were recognised when Tesco Plc. was named as the best UK organisation for its efforts towards environment by industry-renowned FTSE 350 Carbon Disclosure Project. One month prior to that, Tesco was awarded the top retailor globally for second consecutive year. Tesco is trying to project its image of an environment friendly business organisation by reducing its carbon emission since 2007, and aims to be zero emission carbon business by the year 2050. The report issued by CDPs FTSE 350 report is based on the assessment of business strategy as well as on reducing carbon emission, along with its carbon emission disclosure and carbon management style. Tesco has scored 97, the highest ever disclosure score of all FTSE 350 companies and Tesco is the only organisation to be ranked top performer for two consecutive years. This is a clear recognition of Tesco Plc.s strategy towards climate change. Tesco is the first world retailor to open a Zero emission carbon store. Tesco has printed carbon footprint 63

on over 1000 of its products since 2008 which is the largest effort by any retailor; this strategy is part of Tesco promise to reduce supply chain greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by the year 2020. David North, UK Corporate Affairs Director said: Im delighted that the CDP recognises Tesco as the best UK business and a global leader on tackling climate change. We are on track to become a zero-carbon business and our low-carbon investment is already saving us 150 million a year. But our strategy is about more than that. We want to help lead the revolution in green consumption that we need if we are to succeed in tackling climate change. Sixth part of Tescos seven part business strategy wheel was: To be a creator of highly valued brands. This is One of the core strategies of Tesco Plc. is to create highly valuable and well-known brands. Tesco brands are a house hold name in UK and very well renowned its local brands in foreign markets are getting popularity as well. In the past decade Tesco Plc. brand has evolved from a simple logo above few UK stores to lot number of stores across the world, products and services in UK. One of the key benefits of building a strong brand is to create a brand loyalty amongst its customers.Tescos brand constitutes not only of Tesco own brand, those of F& F, Technika but also those of Pillar brands namely Finest and Value. Last but not the least, the seventh and final part of seven part Tesco Plc.s strategy wheel is To build our team so that we create more value. The last but not the least goal of Tesco Plc. strategy is to build a strong team of highly experienced and well qualified professionals which will help to create more value. As the business is rapidly growing and Tesco is diversifying in to new product lines and new market segments, it needs more leaders to run important small business units and to support functions within a group. The leaders not only have a vital role to play in current circumstances but also have a responsibility to build a team of highly capable, experienced and talented individuals which will take Tesco Plc. to new heights. By creating a strong core of experienced, knowledgeable workforce over the years Tesco has achieved its goal. Tescos strong tear board with experienced and well renowned names in the business field shows how Tesco is making efforts towards fulfilling this objective.

5.3 CONCLUSIONS Organisations develop and implement business strategies to enhance their revenue generation, profitability, to survive in highly competitive market, to compete successfully with rival organisations and to increase their relative market share. It was revealed by the research that if Tesco focuses on its current customer base, adjust according to their preferences and try to make sure that customers spend more during each of their visit; this Could be done with the help of latest computer technology. This technology is easily available and Tesco can use the data collected with the help of Club Cards. Tesco will have to develop and adopt new business strategies which take in to account of customer needs and their demands.

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Business environment is quite stiff now days. Organisations find it difficult to develop business strategies which they can adopt for a long period of time. As the world is constantly changing, so is the buying habits and preferences of general public and customers in particular. Due to the recent recession, customers have less dispensable income and now look for the bargains when they go out for shopping. Tesco has adopted a seven part business wheel strategy in order to flourish as a business organisation, to compete with its rivals and to get long term competitive advantage over its rivals. The increased revenue and profits during last decade clearly indicate that this seven part business strategy, adopted by Tesco Plc. is proved to be a success. Tesco should invest more in its Brand and should pay more attention on Brand image and its advertisement campaigns etc. Tesco should create more awareness about its Brand in its foreign operations. Tesco is a house hold name in UK but obviously it is not popular in the same way abroad, Tesco should advertise more and more in local newspapers and TV in local languages. While in UK, in large cities like London, which is a highly diversified society and people from all over the world come to London for studying, vocations etc. Tesco should take care of different buying preferences and different needs of its diversified customer base, like Tesco may offer HALALmeat in areas with majority Muslim population, Tesco may offer Kosher food in areas with majority Jew population and it may offer more variety of vegetables and lentils in areas where majority of the population is vegetarian. 5.4 Recommendations This section is a very important one and aims to provide suggestion and recommendations about the business strategies Tesco Plc. should adopt in order to continue with its market leader role in retail industry. These recommendations are researchers own point of view and derived from the data analysis done in previous sections and readers or top management of Tesco Plc. are free either to agree and or disagree with one or all of the recommendations. 1) First of all, Tesco should think again about its pricing strategy. Its current pricing strategy is not paying the desired dividends. As Sainsburys brand match and Asdas being 10% cheaper pricing strategies have received more fame and have attracted more customers, Tesco should revisit its pricing strategy and should adopt a strategy which provides its customers cheaper products than its rivals, like Tesco can offer an Invoice match, or Quotation match strategy that may offer cheapest prices on total shopping bill. The pricing strategies adopted by retailors are very complex and very hard to understand For a layman. He may end up paying more even by getting benefits from the offers like Buy One, Get One Free, Buy One, and Get second half price. The customers will probably end up spending more money and even buying something, they actually dont need. 2) In todays world, due to widespread information and better communications, customers are becoming more and more conscious about environment issues, issues relating to carbon emission etc.

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Tesco should highlight its policies towards climate and the local communities. It should highlight its achievements so far in this regard and in this way it can attract the sophisticated customers who have more environment friendly attitude and who are more conscious about the environment. 3) Instead of investing more and more in to its foreign business, Tesco should focus on its core UK business from where it drives most of its revenues and profits. Different countries have different political system, different economic policies, and different laws about transferring money or profits, different accounting laws which may not allow a foreign business entity to establish its operations independently. Tesco may be forced to have joint ventures or make partnerships which will result in lower profits. Moreover the local Banks may not offer loans to the foreign companies. Apart from that focusing more on its foreign operations has resulted in its poor performance in UK market and if this will continue in near future, Tesco may lose its market leader position to one of its rivals who are always chasing Tesco and always coming up new ideas to excel. 4) Tesco should focus more towards online shopping and should offer cheap prices for online shoppers. Tesco should develop its website, to make it secure for payments etc. Due to the advancement of computer technology, internet technology, educated population and the busy life style, customers prefer to shop online and get their shopping delivered at their door step at their desired date and time. Tesco should offer free delivery for online shopping above certain level, say Free delivery for 20 or more shopping, In this way Tesco can cover the population it is not currently covering with its stores although there will be some limitations, like a store may not be able to deliver beyond certain limits like 20 miles, and some areas are difficult to reach. 5) Tesco should look at the ways it can reduce its cost at the same time not compromising at quality of its products. There is lots of way through which cost could be reduced, like buying from cheap sources, outsourcing some of its services off shore. Services like customer care could easily be outsourced to countries which have competitive cheap labour like India, China etc. This will improve overall profits for Tesco Plc. but it may damage its corporate image of being an environment friendly organisation and caring organisation for local communities, as some observers may say that in the recession time and during a time when unemployment level is highest ever in history in UK, Tesco is outsourcing its operations and in a way not caring for local public who are major stakeholders for Tescos UK operations.

5.5 Research Limitations This research study has several limitations. The respondents were members of general public and customers of Tesco Plc. which were selected at random in different areas of London. So, the responses from customers in other cities or even in other areas within London may vary. Taking large samples was not possible due to time limitations and cost restrains. When we adopt qualitative research technique, it is considered as adequate to select a critical sample and then to generalise it. 66

The theories which emerged were considered as quite saturated as no new hypothesis was drawn as a result of this case study. The samples are collected at random and were deemed to be the true representatives of the population from where the data was drawn. It is possible that larger samples may generate slightly different results. But at the same time, collecting large data, its analysis will also be a difficult task. Its like a trade-off. And researcher will have to be very careful in selecting sample size. Taking in to account the time limitations and financial constraints. Therefore it was hard to gather data from larger population and conduct qualitative research.

5.6 AREAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH This research has highlighted different areas which may become subject of future research, and further research may be carried on those areas. Firstly, the impacts of business strategies adopted by an organisation on its customers buying habit, their preferences, whether these business strategies help to enhance customer loyalty and customer retention. Secondly,the retaliation by the opponents. The business strategies adopted by the rival business organisations in response to those adopted by the organisation under study. Thirdly, whether further investments in property, in foreign operations yielded the desired results and whether this excess money should be paid back to the shareholders in the form of extra dividends or be invested in new projects. Fourthly, the impacts of online shopping on increased revenues and profits and whether in future, separate business strategies should be devised to accommodate increased number of customers who shop online. Fifthly, the business strategies adopted by different retailors during recession times which helped them to survive and to make enough profits. 5.7 SUMMARY This research was based to investigate the impacts of business strategies adopted by UK retail by using Tesco Plc. as a case study. The summery of the findings along with the evaluation was given at the start of the chapter on the basis of data collected during the case study. It was followed by the suggestion and recommendation for the future business strategies which UK retailors may adopt, in order to achieve overall business success and competitive advantage over the rivals. The customers should be the central figure and all the business strategies should be devised to pamper their needs. This chapter went on to discuss the limitations of the case studies, the scope for further study for future research which were highlighted as the result of current study and may become a subject of interest for any future researcher for future research and finally the conclusions drawn on the basis of data collected and the analysis of that data.

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APPENDIX 1
Department of Management Faculty of Business Administration University of Wales United Kingdom Dear Sir/Madam, RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRES FOR STAFF OF TESCO PLC. I am a post graduate student at University of Wales, doing MBA Finance. For the partial fulfilment of the requirement of my Masters of Business Administration Award, I am carrying out a case study research on your esteemed organisation. The topic of my research is The impacts of business strategies on UK retail, case studies of Tesco Plc. For the data collection purpose for my research, I will be very grateful to you if you can please allow few of your staff members to take part in the survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews. I will also distribute these survey questionnaires to your customers and they will be free either to take part in the case study or refuse to take part. I will like to give you the assurance that information collected through these survey questionnaires and the in depth interviews will be exclusively used for this case study and will not be used for any other purpose. Yours Sincerely,

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Muhammad Ahsan Riaz

APPENDIX 2

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
Impacts of Business Strategies on UK retail, A Case Study Of Tesco Plc. I am a MBA Finance Student of University of Wales and as a part of partial fulfilling the requirement of my MBA Award, I am working on my dissertation on the above mentioned topic. Can you please spare some time and fill out this short survey questionnaire? Your help will be highly appreciated and I will like to mention here that the data collected from this research study will be exclusively used for this research study and all information will be kept confidential. The researcher will be highly thankful & grateful to you for your cooperation. Question no 1) in which of the following Age Group You Fall? Age Group: Less than 20 20-30 30-40 40-50 More than 50 No. of Customers: 4 13 15 5 2 Question no 2) Gender Gender of Participants: Male Female Unspecified No. of Respondents: 18 21 0 Question no 3) Education Education: Masters Graduate Under Graduate Diploma Holder Others: No. of Respondents: 4 12 10 1 Question no 4) which retailor you prefer to shop with? Store : TESCO any other store No. of Respondents: 31 8 Question no 5) how often do you shop at Tesco or any other retailor during a week? Frequency: Daily Once a Week 4 22 More than Once every Others once a week two weeks 6 5 2

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Question 6) Do you possess a Tesco Club card or any other loyalty card from any other retailor? Do You Hold Any Loyalty Card: Yes No Responses: 30 9 Q 7) What is your view about the quality of products Tesco Offers? Quality of Products: Satisfied Dissatisfied Dont know 25 12 2 Q8) is the staffs have relevant product knowledge, deemed as properly trained and helpful towards its customers? Options Available: Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied No. of Participants 8 25 5 1 Q9) Do you think Tesco has adopted better business policies than other retailors? Comparison of Policies Adopted By Tesco: Better Not Better I Dont Know No of Responses: 18 12 9 Q10) Do you think Tesco, fulfils its responsibilities towards the communities it serves? Options Given: Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Responses: 28 6 4 1 Q11) Is Tesco successful in creating high quality Brands? Options Given: Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Responses: 25 5 6 3 Q 12) is Tesco Successful to grow retail services? Options Given: Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very Dissatisfied Responses: 22 8 6 3 Q13) Do you think that Tesco needs to rethink about its business strategies? Needs To Adopt New Business strategies: Yes No I Dont Know Responses: 18 12 9 Q14) Do you believe that other retailers have come up with better business strategies than Tesco? Business Strategies Of Other Retailors Were Better: Yes No I dont know Responses 16 18 5 Q15) Do you believe that Tesco has invested enough in to its UK operation? Has Tesco Invested Enough In UK Operations? Yes No I dont Know 20 12 7

Many Thanks for taking out your time, taking part in this survey and for your cooperation.

Muhammad Ahsan Riaz MBA (Finance) University Of Wales

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