Retail
Retail
Retail
Organization structure
It is the formal system of task and reporting
relationships that controls, coordinates, and motivates employees so that they cooperate to achieve an organization's goals. Encourage employees to work hard and to develop supportive work attitudes Allow people and groups to cooperate and work together effectively A retailer cannot survive unless its organization structure satisfies the need of the target market, regardless of how well employee and management needs are met.
Most of the retailers do similar tasks such as buying,
pricing etc. but there are many ways of organizing a retail firm.
Process of organizing
Buying merchandise Setting price Inventory storage Customer research Customer contact Facilitate shopping Customer follow up and handling complaints. Personnel management Billing customers Handling receipts Delivery to customer Handling Returns Sales forecasting and budgeting
step does not needs to be done by a retailer only. It can be divided among the retailer, manufacturer or wholesaler, specialist etc.
- Displaying merchandise and customer dealings can be the job of sales personnel. - Entering data and managing cash can be the job of the cashier.
Classifying jobs
Here jobs are classified by categorizing them into
designed in a coordinated and integrated way. With these things in mind , a retailer devises an organization chart which graphically displays the hierarchal relationships.
Organizational design
is the process by which managers select and manage various dimensions and components of organizational structure and culture so that an organization can achieve its goals.
2)
3) 4)
Focus on Specialization Matching Authority and responsibility Work out the reporting relationships Matching organizational structure to the retail strategy
Focus on Specialization
The tasks should be assigned and allocated to the employees on the basis of the expertise that they possess. This will help in improving the quality of the work as well as increase the job satisfaction amongst the employees.
For eg. An employee who is an expert in promotions and marketing should be assigned with the responsibility of promoting the retail store.
But many times providing the authority and responsibility may also lead to serious conflicts between the employees. For eg. Conflict between the store manager and the merchandise department regarding the purchase of stock.
Department Stores
1) 2) 3) 4)
It divides the entire organization into four main parts:Merchandising Publicity Store Management Accounting and Control.
Chain Retailers
Many functional divisions
Benefits of Centralization
1)
2)
3)
Reduction in cost Overhead costs are reduced because lesser managers are required to make decisions. Improves efficiency With the help of standard policies and guidelines. Allows experts to take decision The best people makes decision.
Limitations
The major limitation is that the person sitting in the corporate office does not know about the conditions in the local market and hence he can not take any relevant steps to fight the local competitors.
On the other hand, a large retail firm having a lot of retail chains faces this problem as both the store and the merchandise department are dependent on each other for fulfilling the customer demands and requirement.
Approaches to coordinate
1)
2)
3)
Increasing the contact with the customer. Regular visits to the store. Involving the manager in coordinating the buying and selling process.
Supervision is the manner of providing a job environment that encourages the employee accomplishment. The goals are to oversee personnel, achieve good performance, maintain employee morale and motivation, control expenses, and communicate policies.
Proper supervision is needed to sustain a superior performance of the employees. Supervision is provided by personal contact, meetings and reports.
motivate employees.
Motivation is the drive that moves people to act.
How to evaluate
Formal evavluation in which emplooyees receive
a detailed account of their job performance tell exactly what their status is. Factors to evaluate are performance and personal attributes.
Customer relations
Analytic abilities
Honesty
Initiative
Informal
1)
3 basic styles of supervision Management assumes that the employees must be closely supervised and controlled.
2)
Management believes that the employees can be self managers and assigned authority.
3) Management applies a self management approach and also advocates more employee involvement in decision making.