Case Study:

Formal Essay Format:

Typed, double-spaced, and written in 3rd person only (i.e., he, she, it, one, etc.) (no I, me, we, or you) utilizing APA or MLA format. If references are used, citations and bibliography are required. You should have paragraphs, not an outline. Papers are usually 5-7 pgs long. Remember - you do not want me to comment that your analysis is SUPERFICIAL.

Answer:

1. Synopsis of Case Study: The synopsis should be a brief summary of the case study. You are assuming that I, the reader, am unaware of the case’s contents. Include, however, only the important, key points.

2. Diagnosis of Case Study:

Describe the organizational problems. Include any theoretical support. For example: An organization has some problems with productivity. Apparently the company is using goal setting inaccurately. Now describe goal setting and how it is an integral part of this organization’s productivity problems.

3. Proposed Solutions to Case Study Problems:

Any proposed solutions should have theoretical support (see #3 above). Also discuss Pros and Cons of each solution.

4. Conclusion (Do not be superficial or weak in this section)

What is your preferred solution and why? Discuss Pros and Cons of the solution, and how you would address the Cons.

Case #1

Vetements Ltée is a chain of men’s retail clothing stores located throughout the province of Quebec, Canada. Two years ago, the company introduced new incentive systems for both store managers and sales employees. Store managers receive a salary with annual merit increases based on store sales above targeted goals, store appearance, store inventory management, customer complaints, and several other performance measures. Some of this information (e.g., store appearance) is gathered during visits by senior management, whereas other information is based on company records (e.g., sales volume).

Sales employees are paid a fixed salary plus a commission based on the percentage of sales credited to that employee over the pay period. The commission represents about 30 percent of a typical paycheck and is intended to encourage employees to actively serve customers and to increase sales volume. Returned merchandise is deducted from commissions, so sales employees are discouraged from selling products that customers do not really want.

Soon after the new incentive systems were introduced, senior management began to receive complaints from store managers regarding the performance of their sales staff. They observed that sales employees tended to stand near the store entrance waiting to “tag” customers as their own. Occasionally, sales staff would argue over “ownership” of the customer. Managers were concerned that this aggressive behavior intimidated some customers. It also tended to leave some parts of the store unattended by staff.

Many managers were also concerned about inventory duties. Previously, sales staff would share responsibility for restocking inventory and completing inventory reorder forms. Under the new compensation system, however, few employees were willing to do these essential tasks. On several occasions, stores have faced stock shortages because merchandise was not stocked or reorder forms were not completed in a timely manner. Potential sales have suffered from empty shelves when plenty of merchandise was available in the back storeroom or at the warehouse. The company’s new automatic inventory system could reduce some of these problems, but employees must still stock shelves and assist in other aspects of inventory management.

Store managers have tried to correct the inventory problem by assigning employees to inventory duty, but this has created resentment among the employees selected. Other managers have threatened sales staff with dismissals if they do not do their share of inventory management. This strategy has been somewhat effective when the manager is in the store, but staff members sneak back onto the floor when the manager is away. It has also hurt staff morale, particularly relations with the store manager.

To reduce the tendency of sales staff to hoard customers at the store entrance, some managers have assigned employees to specific areas of the store. This has also created some resentment among employees stationed in areas with less traffic or lower-priced merchandise. Some staff have openly complained of lower paychecks because they have been placed in a slow area of the store or have been given more than their share of inventory duties.