Case Study of C & C

1. In general, how did C&C’s first organizational structure contribute to the store managers’ dissatisfaction?

C & C Grocery’s initial organizational structure operated under a vertical linkage. Vertical linkage is utilized to “coordinate activities between the top and bottom of an organization and are designed primarily for control of the organization” (Daft,2013) Store managers were responsible for the grocery line, front-end department and general store operations but had little knowledge about merchandising, meat and produce. Instead, their duties included cleanliness of store, employee appearance, and sufficient checkout service and price accuracy. Store managers wanted to be trained in management skills to allow them opportunity for promotion to higher positions of district and regional management. With the original structure, store managers operation activities actually prevented them from learning these skills, such as merchandising. Frustration ran high with the store managers as the district store supervisors only focused store visits to assure that company operating standards were being practices, instead of training store managers to run their stores more efficiently. The decision to have a district specialist in grocery, meat and produce created an uneven hierarchy as the meat and produce managers reported to their specialist not the store manager. This created tension in the work environment as these departments acted independently and uninterested in the other departments. This structure in general contributed to poor communication, lack of priority for employee development and employee dissatisfaction which in turn lead to poor performance in the chain.

2. What structural problems contributed to the ...

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...nal supermarket retailers will reinvent themselves over a period of time, in order to attract and maintain a loyal customer base. New concepts, neighborhood marketing, and innovation will be the key to success over the next decade.” (Imlay, 2006) What is propose is that a smart mix of products, perhaps catering to demographic tastes and needs, may tempt the shopper not drive out to the big box store, but instead loyal to their local market.

Works Cited

Daft, R. (2013). Organization theory and design. Mason, OH: Cengage.

Fabac, R. (2010). Complexity in organizations. Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, 8(1), 34-48. Retrieved from http://www.indecs.eu/2010/indecs2010-pp34-48.pdf

Imlay, T. (2006). Challenges in today’s u.s. supermarket industry. Microsoft Retail and Hospitality, Retrieved from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa479076.aspx