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