Man5425 - Denver Department Store Case Study
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Transcript of Man5425 - Denver Department Store Case Study
DENVER DEPARTMENT STORES
Business Administrative Consultation
Attorneys at Law & Business Administrative
Consultants
B.K.Roberts
SUMMARY
SUMMARY Jim Barton, Department Supervisor
Sporting goods, Hardware, House wares, and Toy
Noticed that his departments were experiencing a declining sales volume Due to national economic slowdown?
SUMMARY Mr. Cornwall, General Merchandiser
Disagrees because other departments are experiencing 15% gains in sales
Threatens Mr. Barton that sales must increase or else!
Institutes a tally-card sales tracking system
SUMMARY Head Sales Clerks
Report to Mr. Barton regarding merchandise storage and presentation, special orders, and general upkeep
All four get along and help out where needed
Note: Only house ware and sporting goods clerks actively sell
Told the purpose of the tally-card system was to cut ‘dead weight’
ASSUMPTIONS Organization
Anxiety about the future of the company Events
Declining sales-due to internal factors not economy
No new store(s) taking away sales Sales were strong & growing prior to the
situation Key Actors
Management wants to correct problem Employees want DDS to succeed
SYMPTOMS/CAUSES Symptom
Cut-Throat Environment Unhappy Employees Unfriendly Environment
Cause Tally Card System
Lack of Input by sales people Mr. Cornwall – no clear expectations or goals
SYMPTOMS/CAUSES Symptom
Customer Dissatisfaction Customers felt pressured/harassed Asked for help repeatedly by different sales
people Cause
Tally System Sales People felt they needed to fight for sales Inefficiencies associated with sales personnel
SYMPTOMS/CAUSES Symptom
Lack of Organization Poor inventory on store floor Store appeared “messy”
Cause Sales Personnel became very self-
interested Overwhelmed employees, needed to be on
floor at all times Symptom could lead to further
inefficiencies/problems
SYMPTOMS/CAUSES Symptom
Ethical Violations Sum of all sales reported greater than total
cash register receipts Causes
Pushed to be result/sale oriented Sales persons chose to take easy way out
SYMPTOMS/CAUSES Symptoms
Camaraderie between Sales Persons Not willing to help each other during slow times Sales clerks would attempt to steal sales from
other depts. Causes
Increased Pressure to makes sales Could lead to customer dissatisfaction in
future Sales Person attempts to give advise outside
of expertise
SYMPTOMS/CAUSES Symptom
Mr. Barton announced Tally System discontinued Sales Personnel didn’t talk as freely afterwards Felt management failed to represent their interest
Cause Poor Communication
Poor Communication by Management Lack of input requested from sales personnel Lack of analysis / implementation happened too
quickly
MAJOR PROBLEM Unpleasant Work Environment and no
increase in sales Poor communication with management Tally system incentivized individualistic
goals Competitive work environment Other tasks were being overlooked
Poor communication between management and employees
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS Goal Setting Approach Increase Marketing Effort Teambuilding Retreat Feedback Consider Employee Solutions Job Enrichment Training
COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS Goal Setting Approach
Costs Difficulty uncovering weak employees Expense of bonuses based on success Destroy morale
Benefits Team driven success Increase customer satisfaction Increase employee job satisfaction
COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS Increase Marketing Effort
Costs Offer discounts to friends & family Does not correct depressed employee morale
Benefits Increase in client traffic Increase sales volume
COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS Teambuilding Retreat
Costs Price of trip & associated activities Chance employees will refuse to cooperate Who will run the four departments while everyone
is gone? Benefits
Increase company morale Enable all employees to work towards a common
goal Restore team atmosphere & morale
COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS Feedback
Costs Time management will spend making analysis Management provides poor follow up on ways to
correct past behavior & mistakes Benefits
Employees will offer solutions Specific areas for improvement will be highlighted Increase in company morale and loyalty Increase in sales volume
COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS Consider Employee Solutions
Costs Time management must spend sorting through
ideas Negative employee reaction if their solution is not
chosen Benefits
Invaluable insight Increase in overall productivity and desire to excel Increase in employee satisfaction Increase in sales volume
COST/BENEFIT ANALYSIS Job Enrichment Training
Costs Train employees to complete unfamiliar tasks Abandonment of other tasks Sense of unfair distribution amongst employees
Benefits Improve employee feelings of worth and
autonomy More efficiently run departments
SOLUTION & RATIONALE Goal-setting approach
Team oriented goals Positive reinforcement
Rationale Trust needs Social/belongingness needs Esteem needs
PLAN OF ACTION Incentive system
Rewards and prizes Management creation of team goals Improve and maintain communication
between management and employees Generation of foot traffic in departments