Take our 20 best people away, and I will tell you that Microsoft would become an unimportant company” – Bill Gates, in a 1996 Fortune interview.
In today’s rapidly changing and tumultuous business environment, having the right people in place is a critical aspect of any organization’s business strategy. Unfortunately, many organizations fail to view their employees as assets and instead they develop a myopic view of employees as only costs, not assets. This outlook on employees is detrimental to a firm’s long term success, because much of a retailer’s operations and processes can be easily replicated. But, an organization whose employees are highly motivated, engaged and providing excellent customer service provides the organization with a competitive advantage and differentiates them from the competition. Therefore an organization’s people must be viewed as assets in the same way a firm’s tangible assets such as property, fixtures and merchandise are (Dunne, Lusch, & Carver, 2011). Given the importance of a firm’s employees to the overall success of the organization, it is critical that all retail operations develop a comprehensive human resource management strategy.
Over the last several decades, retailers have been laser focused on minimizing labor costs through processes and technology driven optimization (Fox, 2015). One example of how technology has been used to optimize labor costs has been through the utilization of labor waste elimination systems (O’Connell, 2008). These systems utilize time-motion concepts developed in the industrial sector and apply them to common tasks within the retail sector such as cashiering and stocking (O’Connell, 2008). Organizations then utilize the software to monitor the performance...
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...). By being visible parts of the orientation process, not only do they help convey culture, they also increase their level of approachability and availability amongst their associates.
In conclusion, a retailer’s employees represent one of their largest assets and provide the foundation for a successful operation. Engaged and motivated employees have a positive impact on an organizations ability to increase sales and profits. The opposite is also true, with unhappy, disengaged employees resulting in an increased level of customer dissatisfaction and lower sales volume. Furthermore, employee dissatisfaction also increases labor costs through the high dollar amount associated with replacing employees. Given this, it is critical that retailers invest in people focused initiatives that are focused on improving the employee experience and their engagement levels.
For nearly half a century, Target has ran as a successful company dedicated to their unique business model. To stay competitive in the market, Target Corporation faces a constant challenge to be innovative, intelligent, and resourceful to provide the best shopping experience. Target’s culture is one of its main contributing factors to becoming the second largest retailer in the United States. As executives, HR structure is a major component to a company's success and has many key aspects that must be met. Businesses are kept in operation through their Recruitment and Selection process, Performance Management and Employee Development, and Compensation and Benefits. We will analyze these aspects of Targets HR structure and provide recommendations
Microsoft is currently the largest company in the computer industry. With a market capitalization of $291 billion, Microsoft has built an empire by dominating software sales for personal computers. Stock growth over the past 25 years has increased by more than 30,000%. However, Microsoft’s growth has substantially decreased since the market collapse of 2001(Niemond 25 April 2007).
Bill Gates has had a mammoth effect not only in America, but also the world. Bill Gates is the man people credited for creating the success of Microsoft, and the Xbox gaming console. However, Forbes magazine says, “The world will remember Bill Gates”(Forbes). Yes, the world will remember Bill Gates not because he was the richest man in the world for 14 years straight (Forbes), but because of all his efforts overseas and how he encourages other wealthy people to share their money with the less fortunate. If we look just in our own houses we see the effects of Bill Gates, almost every computer has Microsoft word and PowerPoint. In this paper, we will talk about all the impact Bill Gates has had not only in America but also the world.
In fact, it is the culture of motivated and empowered entrepreneurial employees that makes Nordstrom’s culture unique (Spector & McCarthy, 2012). There are less rules and procedures for Nordstrom’s sales personnel than in other retail organizations. Their sales clerks also operate with a certain level of autonomy, running their departments almost as if they are private stores (Mello, 2015). This overall strategic approach to HR keeps training costs low, and consequently the cost of turnover is also minimized. This is important, as Nordstrom’s turnover, due to the level of internal competition and entrepreneurialism this type of retail strategy requires, is one of the highest in its market (Mello, 2015). The high turnover rate makes HR planning an important factor in ensuring a stable workforce that can create and maintain ongoing customer relationships (Spector & McCarthy, 2012).
Employee motivation is one of the keys to success in any business, especially in a retail sales environment. It is particularly important to understand how employee motivation can be impacted by the strengths and weaknesses of AT&T’s retail sales consultant position (RSC). A series of interviews and surveys were conducted over a two-week period with employees of AT&T in the RSC position as well as retail management positions to determine how the employees really feel about this position as well as internal strengths and weaknesses that contribute to employee motivation. Although there are a lot of positive factors that keep the employees motivated within AT&T, there are some weaknesses that can cause employees to become demotivated.
How well a business manages its assets and resources predicates its overall success. Companies that spend financial resources foolishly are apt to find themselves in bankruptcy. Companies that work capital equipment resources beyond the machine’s capabilities or for other than intended purposes are apt to experience downtime and/or lose the equipment to failure. The same premise holds true for a company’s human assets. However, unlike other company assets, which depreciate over time, human assets appreciate over time when managed properly. The article, Importance of Human Resource Investment for Organizations and Economy: A critical Analysis, explains the importance of managing human assets as follows:
Microsoft, one of the largest corporations in the world today, employs over 93,000 people and is a public, multinational company that manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computers and is most widely known for its Microsoft Windows operating system. Microsoft not only markets computer hardware products such as the Microsoft mouse and the Microsoft Natural keyboard, but it also manufactures and sells home entertainment products including, the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Zune. It also holds assets in other markets including the MSNBC cable television network, the MSN Internet portal, and the Microsoft Encarta multimedia encyclopedia.
"Microsoft Corporation, is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44.28 billion and 71,553 employees in 102 countries as of July 2006. It develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices. Headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA, its best selling products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software, each of which has achieved near-ubiquity in the desktop computer market. Microsoft possesses footholds in other markets, with assets such as the MSNBC cable television network, the MSN Internet portal, and the Microsoft Encarta multimedia encyclopedia. The company also markets both computer hardware products such as the Microsoft mouse as well as home entertainment products such as the Xbox, Xbox 360 and MSN TV" ("Microsoft").
When one hears the name Bill Gates they proximately think of a Billionaire and Philanthropist, one who has thrived in every challenge life has thrown at him. Gates left a university like Harvard and a set future to chase a pipe dream, which at the time would seem to any man as futile. What 'history' tells the world is that Gates persevered through trials time and again, to single-handedly build an empire known throughout the world as Microsoft. What many don’t know is that Bill Gates had advantages over all his peers (i.e. Steve Jobs) during the course of his ‘odyssey.’ Those recompenses have influenced Gates progress and his eventual triumph as a technology-mogul.
Bill Gates teaches us this important lesson throughout his life. He was an innovator from the start and in his later life, he made a very successful company known as Microsoft. He was important because he changed computers by creating Microsoft. Bill Gates was a catalyst for change who contributed to help make America and the world great.
...ncome and increase in demand. Microsoft met another challenge from the rapid rate of new technology. Specially coming from competitor such as Apple, Google, IBM, AT&T corporation, and cable giant media ONE. The Internet also allowed for new growth, because companies can get their message out in second anywhere in the world. However, the management of Microsoft was able to fully utilize the skills, expertise, and wisdom of its employees to remain successful. Microsoft continues to be successful with its creativity and innovation by producing new product such as windows and Xbox. Management has shown diversity by employing 91000 people worldwide in over two-hundred countries. This cultural success has propelled Microsoft to the front of the technology world. This can be attributed to the efficiency and effectiveness.
Microsoft is a computing software company. Microsoft was made and founded on April 4th 1975 by two young men who were captivated by computers. Their names were Bill Gates and Paul Allen. The homebase was in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft became one of the most famous and successful companies in the world. “Microsoft was one of the pioneers responsible for bringing the personal computer into the lives of millions of people.” (Musolf). The company has had such a great impact that now the name “Microsoft” is now virtually synonymous with computer software.
Microsoft is the leading and the largest Software Company in the world. Found by William Gates and Paul Allen in 1975 Microsoft has grown and become a multibillion company in only ten years. It all started with a great vision – “a computer on every desk and every home” - that seemed almost impossible at the time. Now Microsoft has over 44,000 employees in 60 countries, net income of $3.45 billion and revenue of 11.36 billion. Company dramatic growth and success was driven by development and marketing of operational systems and personal productivity applications software.
And then there's Microsoft themselves. After Bill Gates handed over CEO to Steve Ballmer, all hell broke loose as humans raged about him. During the first twenty years of Microsoft, they were considered an evil monopolistic empire, destroying all competitors that came their way. Back then, if you wanted word processing software, you used Office. Want a computer o...
Joel Dinerstein, a professor at Tulane University, along with Frank Goodyear, a photographer scholar, shaped the “American Cool” exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in the nation’s capital. They selected 100 coolest Americans based on original artistic vision, cultural rebellion, iconic power, and a recognized cultural legacy. However, they seem to have forgotten the founder of Microsoft. William Henry Gates III is widely known not only for his influence in the modern world as one of the founders of Microsoft, but also for his iconic contributions towards philanthropic causes, and for his legacy on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.