Business Development Plan for Debenhams - Case Study Example

GNVQ - Business Studies Unit How Business Work By 30th April, 2007 Contents Introduction 2. Aims and Objective 3. Departments in Debenhams Plc 4 departments that exist in Debenhams Plc Organisational chart - span of control and chain of command Jobs in each department Comparison of Debenhams Plc's organizational chart and a grocery shop Differences in communication methods used in each business 4. Laws affecting Debenhams Plc Employment Law Commercial Law 5. Communication Methods Methods of communication in an organisation Internal communication in Debenhams Plc External communication in Debenhams Plc 6. Customer Service - a Presentation 7. Bibliography Introduction Starting a business is not easy. However, to sustain a business is even tougher. Many entrepreneurs started a business because they have a good products or services which they feel that could bring benefits to the society and themselves. But, after some time the business turned sour because they do not understand how business work. Is running a business as easy as we have seen in the market where a grocer sells his onions and vegetables to us The answer is definitely "No" after I spent some time to study about business in Debenhams Plc. To succeed in the business world, one needs to have clear aims and objectives. Besides that there are a lot of management and financial skills involved. A good businessman should continuously seek improvement in his work as in Debenhams Plc. Aims and Objectives The aims for Debenhams Plc are: Provide high quality goods including womenswear, menswear, homewares, health and beauty, accessories, lingerie and childrenswear. Provide high standard of customer service to achieve high satisfaction among customers. Generate profit or surplus for the organizational growth. Departments in Debenhams Plc 4 Departments in Debenhams Plc 1. Human Resource 2. Finance 3. Sales and Marketing 4. Logistic and Warehouse Organisational Chart - Span of Control and Command Chain Figure 1: Organisational chart in a Debenhams Plc's branch. Jobs in each Department The organizational chart for Debenhams Plc was shown in figure 1. In each branch, the management is lead by a branch manager. He overlooks the operation of the whole branch. All the departmental manager in the branch will report directly to him and he will be assisted by a secretary. Followings are description of two jobs from each department respectively. Finance Manager He/She takes care of all financial issues. His department will collect money from the cashiers and put them into bank. Besides, they will have to document all the financial transaction including prepare the costing, balance sheet and estimate the profit and lost of the business. Costing Executive He/She will do the calculation of the costing of the operation of the whole business. Her work coordinates all aspect related to cost example the electricity and water usage, man power usage, compensation to customer, cost of goods and etc. Human Resource Manager He/She is in-charged of the human energy. The main role is to do workforce planning, recruit and select suitable employee and to provide training and motivate them. Payroll Assistant He/She calculates the salary of all employees, checking attendance and performance of the people in the organization. The work is very confidential in the company. Logistic and Warehouse Manager He/She will be responsible of the goods lodging and receiving, taking care of the warehouse and inventory in the branch. General Wokers He/She will help to load or unload goods, help to arrange them in warehouse and deliver it to departments that need the goods. Sales and Marketing Manager He/She is managing the sales in the branch. He needs to achieve the sales target preset by the group marketing manager, help to organize events and promotions to increase sales. Cashiers He/She collects money from customer for purchasing goods. Comparison of Debenhams Plc's organizational chart and a grocery shop In comparison to Debenhams Plc, a grocery has a very simple organizational chart. The leader in the chart is the owner himself. He will be assisted by one or two general workers. The owner will be the HR, finance, sales, marketing and cashier himself. His workers will help him to load and unload goods. Occasionally they can be the salesman and cashier. Differences in communication methods used in each business For Debenhams Plc, it acquires the pyramid style. The decision making process flows through formal channel from managers to staff. Important decision will need to be referred to a upper layer of management. Meantime, in the grocery shop, the communication is of entrepreneur style. This method usually occurs in small businesses where the decision could be made in short time. There is usually one or two decision maker, which is the owner of the business. The decision might be quick, but centralizes pressure on the decision maker. Laws Affecting Debenhams Plc. Employment Act Debenhams Plc is bound to the employment act. The act states the minimum wages and maximum working hours for the employee. Besides, the act too encompass other benefits or protection to the employee and employer such as the termination of work, working over time, holidays and leaves, insurance, income tax, right to privacy, off-work activities, OSHA, trade union and so forth issues related to the employer and employee relationship. Other Laws that Affect the Business Range of laws that protects the consumers against illegal business practice (OCR, 2007) : Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994 The Third Party Rule Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (amended) Trade Descriptions Act 1968 Consumer Protection Act 1987 Consumer Credit Act 1974 Weights and Measures Act 1985 Data Protection Act 1998 Communication Methods Methods of Communication in an Organization Communication is an important part in the daily operation of a business. There are several ways of communication. The main categories are two-ways and one-way communication. Two-way communication means communication flows in two directions. Examples are like the face-to-face meeting, telephone conversation. Meantime, one-way communication means a memo or notice where a reply is not necessary. The communication channels could be: telephones, fax, emails, notice, memo, letters, webpage or a sign and poster. In the context of an organization, the communication method can be also categorized as lateral or vertical (Figure 2). Lateral communication means to communicate at the same level, usually between two departments. Meanwhile, vertical communication is the interaction within a department. Figure 2: Lateral and vertical communication in Debenhams Plc. Internal Communication in Debenhams Plc "Internal communication deals with the exchange of information, creating understanding, and behaviors within an organization. In addition it can help improve the culture of an organization through active participation of all employees, as opposed to one-way, authoritative communication. It may involve strategy, policy, and an integrated use of communication channels." (Wikipedia, 2007) In Debenhams Plc, the communication is of both lateral and vertical flow. In finance department so example, the costing executive will report to the finance manager, while finance manager will report to the branch manager. This is a form of vertical communication. Important decisions will be made by the higher management and pass it down for execution at the bottom level. Meantime, for the inter-departmental communication, it will be in a lateral direction. For example, sales and marketing manager needs more manpower for certain sales event, he will contact HR manager so that they can work out a plan to recruit suitable people for the work. External Communication in Debenhams Plc Bankers/Financiers Regulatory bodies Suppliers Outsource Service Public/Customers Figure 3: External Communication of Debenhams Plc Externally, Debenhams Plc is like any other business. It needs to deal with several parties like the bankers which provide loans for expansions; regulatory bodies which are related to the legal issues; suppliers that supply goods or services to the departmental stores; the public, which could be the customers or other stakeholders. A popular chain departmental store like Debenhams Plc faces a lot of pressure. Its image will directly influence the preference of the customers. Whether or not the customers come in to buy something rely a lot on their feeling or trust towards the company. Flows of customers mean sales to the business. Without sales, there will be no revenue for sustention. Customer Service - A Presentation Customer service in like what it is stated means the services provided to the customers. A retail business success depends a lot on the customer satisfaction, and this does not rely on the quality of goods and price solely. It is in fact more complicated than that. Customer services are made up of many elements: Friendliness Helpfulness Effective use of body language Good product Listening skill Knowledge Effective complain Courtesy Handling skill Success Figure 4: Elements of Customer Service (Bized, 2007) As could be seen from figure 4, there are seven elements of customer service. The customers would expect the employees in Debenhams to be friendly, helpful and courteous. Beside, they will have to be willing to listen to the customers regarding their needs and provide solution to the need. This involves having good product knowledge and effective complain handling skills in the employee himself. As a consequence to that, the HR will need to plan for training and motivation for all the employees in the company. They will be trained on how to deal with the customer with all of the above elements. In addition, they should be motivated to do so. Motivation could be a form of appreciation such as awarding "The Most Courteous Promoter" or continuously training the employees so that they can always seek improvement in their job. Of all, the management will need to give full support. Bibliography Bized (2007) Customer Service Skills. Obtained on 29th April, 2007. http://www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/tourism/custservice/presentation/skills1.ppt#2 OCR (2007) Unit 20 Business Law (7249). Obtained on 29th April, 2007. http://www.ocr.org.uk/Data/publications/specifications_syllabuses_and_tutors_handbooks/cquartetOCRTempFilem2O75ymN04.pdf Wikipedia (2007) Internal Communcition. Obtained on 29th April, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_communications Read More