TWO BUSINESSES ON OUR DOORSTEP

Two Businesses on Our Doorstep

Two Businesses on Our Doorstep

Introduction

This assignments aims to review the structure and behavior of Tesco Plc and The Cooperative which will help in determining different factors including their purpose, ownership, shareholders and market environment. In relation to this, the assignment will compare and contrast the two businesses and will discuss how they are coping with the current economic situation. In this connection, the assignment will illustrate some of the relevant factors to the stated companies such as differing ownership types, purpose, structure, etc. However, first of all the assignment will provide a brief overview of the organizations in order to provide greater understanding of the relevant factors, which will ultimately help in determining the behavior and structure of the organization.

Brief Introduction of the companies

Tesco Plc

A multinational British general merchandise and grocery retailer, Tesco Plc is the third largest retailer of the world in reference to its revenues and second largest in reference to profit. The company presently has operations in approximately 14 countries throughout Europe, North America and Asia. Tesco Plc presently employs approximately 552,004 people all over the world, and is the market leader of retail industry in United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Thailand and Malaysia (Tesco, 2013a).

The company maintains focus on UK retail market until early 1990s, when the company started to diversify geographically and into domains of retailing books, electronics, clothing, software, furniture, petrol, internet, telecom and financial services. A shift in business approach of Tesco Plc is evident since 1990s, when "pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap" approach was left to appeal a wide range of social groups. The approach has been proven successful for the growth and development of the company, as it grows its stores from 500 to 3,054 stores in United Kingdom alone (Tesco, 2013a).

The Cooperative

Operating wide range of retail business, The Co-operative Group Ltd is a leading consumer cooperative of United Kingdom. The firm is run co-operatively and its members own the company. The largest organization of its kind in Great Britain, The Co-operative Group has approximately 6 million members, and all of them have the right to share their opinion regarding the business operations and management; while members can also guide the way to achieve the organizational objectives. The Cooperative Group makes up a family of business includes: Travel, Funeralcare, Healthcare, Food, Motors, Legal Services, Online Electrical, Financial Services and Energy (The Co-operative Group, 2013a).

Everyone 16 years of age or over can become the member of the company, if they share the principles and values of the company, which was foundation philosophy of the company. On annual basis, members of the group receive share of the profit of its group on the basis of total profit made by the company. However, the amount of annual spending of the members is also being considered while determining the profit percentage distribution. In fact the slogans of the company reflect its business approach which is: 'Good for everyone', 'Good with food' and ...