One experience that I have with
organizations is my time spent working at the department store Nordstrom. Nordstrom is a high end retailer with stores
across the country. I spent the summer
working in their Via-C luxury brand department in Skokie, Illinois and got to witness
first hand, how a nationally respected organization operates.
One thing that I noticed about the
operating style at Norstrom was, rather than supplying each store with the
exact same merchandise, they took a boots on the ground approach to buying
product at a store level. Each store has
its own buyer who works with department managers to see what brands are popular
versus what is not selling. For example,
the location I worked did not have as high a demand for formal wear as the
location at Michigan Avenue, so we did not have a gown department, whereas they
did. The buyers would even talk to the
sales associates to get a feel for what customers' comments and criticisms were
on different styles as well. This allowed for in store space and buffer stocks
to be used optimally. This style of
buying is better for both the sellers in the stores and the consumers. If each store was given the exact inventory
dictated by headquarters, many stores would not be able to operate to their
fullest. They would be forced to carry
excess product that would never be likely to sell. For example, Arizona and Alaskan customers
have very different needs, and by getting buyers on location to receive
feedback, the brand as a whole was much better off.
All in all, I really enjoyed my
time at Nordstrom. I got to learn so
much about not only how a successful store is run, but also how a multi-level
corporation is able to maintain its high level of success for over one hundred
years. The lessons I have learned here will carry on with me throughout my career.
Before commenting on the substance of your post, let me ask a practical question. For most shoppers at the Nordstrom, do they expect their entire purchase to be completed in one visit? Or might they order something that perhaps requires some tailoring or other customization and then pick that up on a subsequent visit?
ReplyDeleteI am going to spend the bulk of my comments on the paragraph about having a new manager, as you are the first student to talk about that issue. It is very important indeed.
The first question about this that comes to mind is about the turnover of the old manager. Do you know the cause of that? Typically we think of turnover as initiated by the employee or by the employer, one but not the other. Who initiates the turnover and why can matter a good deal. It is quite different, for example, to have someone leave a job because a significant other has found work in a different city and they need to move as a result, than for somebody to be dismissed for not doing a good job.
And in the case of retirement, it might be that the person grooms their successor. I gather it wasn't a retirement in this case, is that right?
The next question/issue is whether subordinates should like their boss in a well functioning organization or if that is not necessary. You indicated that the employees didn't like the changes put in place, at least initially. And you indicated it cause some turnover. Might that have been the efficient thing to happen? How would you know whether the turnover was good for the organization or not?
In any event, if employees are "comfortable" with the old way of doing thing and apprehensive about the new way, but the new way is clearly better for the organization, which should the manager do - go to the new way immediately and take the bumps from that or go to the new way only very slowly and let the employees dictate the pace?
Let me also briefly take on your comments about store inventory. You rightly contrasted the Skokie store with the store on Michigan Avenue, but you didn't consider other stores in the suburbs. (Are there other stores? It would be good to know that.) One might then ask whether the various suburban stores are more alike one another or if they too differentiate themselves?
One last thing you might consider, this entire retail clothing space is under considerable attack, both from online alternatives and because economic unease. I believe Macy's closed many of its stores nationally not too long ago. So you might ask whether you have any sense of how successful the store where you worked were and if you saw the following pattern from any customers. They'd go to the store to try something on, after which they'd buy it online from a different seller because they could get a better price that way. Perhaps it was hard to tell this from the work you did. But I believe it is an issue with this sort of retail that will be with us from here on out.
The original manager left for personal reasons, from what I heard, it was because her spouse took a job out of state. The change was somewhat sudden, which is what led to a short transition period. I believe that it is not necessary for employees to like their boss or all of their decisions, and in my opinion, some of the employees acted rashly. However, if the environment becomes too intolerable, the turnover is justified. There were some employees who did not match personality wise with the new manager, causing them to feel the need to leave. The change in employees might actually benefit the store in the long run. While there might be a low as adjustments are made, a new group of employees means new ideas and styles of working that could in fact be beneficial to the company.
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree with your comments on inventory and the change from in person to digital purchasing. I personally worked in the department with the highest price point in the store, all items ranging from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. So from my experience, most of the customers wanted to physically try on and see what they were buying. But for many other departments, a bulk of their sales were through online ordering. For right now, I believe that there is a generation that still abides by the mentality that store bought is better. I know my mom personally prefers physically going to a store rather than ordering online for a variety of reasons. However, as more and more kids are being raised in the technological age and becoming accustomed to online shopping, I think physical stores will face many challenges, with their own websites being their biggest competetor.