Store Opening - Assignment Example

Assignment What were Debbi and Randys "resumes" when they met? Based on this- what would seem to have been a reasonable future for each? Debbi andRandy Fields met while Debbie was a teenager. Their union and marriage was however more than just an ordinary marriage. Their resumes that might have had little influence in their union tell all about them. Debbi was an established cook who had perfected her art in the making of cookies and chocolate chips. According to the case study, Debbie had established and perfected her cookie recipes while she was still a teenager. This implies that in addition to being a professional cook Debbie considered cooking as a hobby. Unlike her wife Debbie, Randy was an economist from Stanford University. This indicates that he had essential knowledge in the theoretical operation of businesses. Their meeting and marriage meant a lot to their future careers and prospects. This implies that without the marriage the couple would have ended in completely different fields. According to Randy’s qualifications, it is obvious that he could have found a well paying job as an economist in the cooperate sector. On the other hand, Debbie is likely to have gone into small-scale cooking business. 2. What do you think led to the opening of the first store? What do you suppose Debbis goals were? Randys According to the case study, Randy and Debbie had completely different objectives and attitudes towards business. Their differences in attitude and objectives towards business must have had a negative effect towards the realization of their common goal of establishing a cookies business. Although their different backgrounds discouraged them from establishing a common business, the difference had some trace of positive influence. According to the case study Debbie, seem to have been active in convincing her husband of the financial benefits they would realize from the cookie business. Her husband seems to have been adamant and this led the couple into the making of bets on how much they are likely to receive from the business. Debbie realized $50 and $75 worth of sales in hers first and second day in business respectively that favored her in their friendly bet. This statement implies that curiosity on the potential of the cookie business was her driving force towards the establishment of the business. The case study also indicates that Debbie wanted to have something to do since her husband was busy in his career. Debbie is a realist while Randy is a theoretician and this stands out as their main difference. Being a realist implies that Debbie looked forward to starting a small business dealing with what she did best. On the other hand, Randy did not have the idea or the mind of setting up a business. 3. The opening of the second store presented Debbi with a real dilemma. What was it? Discuss Debbis management style in this context and in the context of the rapid growth that follows Debbie opened the first and the second store based on her immediate needs to have something to do. She also never believed that her business could develop into a massive business within a short span of time. Although Debbie loved making cookies, she did not have an entrepreneurial mentality. This indicates that she did not expect her business to develop beyond the second store. After establishing the second store, Debbie was faced with the reality of the inevitable expansion in her business. She realized this reality after receiving a call from Pier 39 shopping mall requesting her to open a cookie store at their mall. To her the call was more of a dilemma than a reality since she did not have an immediate response to the call. During this period, Debbie managed her business as a sole proprietorship whereby she assumed all the benefits and risks arising from the business. Due to the rapid growth, her business developed from being a simple business into a complex business empire implying the need for advanced method of management. Due to the expansion experienced in the business, there was need for division of duties and decentralization of decision-making process. This requirement indicates that the process approach became the most applicable management style. 4. What is Randys role in the org.? Randy was an economist and therefore he had formal knowledge and information in the running of businesses. Randy served as a strategic manager and the organization’s consultant based on his qualifications and knowledge. 5. Examine the exhibit on the Fields information systems. The in-store systems are essentially unique for a business of this type at this time. Discuss them. What do you think of them? How does Fields use them? After the advancement of the cookie business, the business required advanced management system. An information system therefore became an important part of running the business. The information system consisted of the business’s financial information that enabled Debbie to track down the performance of each store. Randy initiated the idea of having an information system in their business. The need to achieve growth without increasing the number of employees was the main reason behind the establishment of the information system. For the business to achieve the benefits from the information system, Randy perceived the need of establishing an in-store system. The in-store system was unique to the business since it had specialized features that could only fit in that particular business. The information system had been designed in such a way that it accommodated the management of each store. Management of different stores involved planning and scheduling of different activities within the stores. The information system contained financial, management and employee information that helped Mrs. Fields manage the business effectively. 6. Classify the in-store and corporate systems with respect to the classifications of business systems that we discussed in class A business system is a systematic procedure that enhances the delivery of goods and services produced by a business to the customers. The Fields’ in-store and cooperate systems were created based on business processes and applications such as transaction records. This implies that the business information system depended on data and primary information obtained from these business records. 7. Outline the resume of an ideal Fields store manager. How does this compare with the resume of a typical manager at, say, McDonalds? To qualify for a management position in Fields’ store a person requires the basic management qualification in addition to special requirements. Firstly, the ideal candidate should have the minimum experience in management of chain store and international business. In addition, the ideal candidate should have strategic management skills required in the management of a diversified business similar to the Fields’ store. This implies that the ideal candidate should have advanced qualifications in business management such as MBA qualifications or their equivalent. In addition to these academic qualifications, the ideal candidate should be conversant with large-scale operations procedure and diversified employees. An ideal manager should therefore be a self-motivated person who is focused on expansion and strategic growth of the business. Managers at the Fields store therefore have the basic qualifications that compares to the qualification of a typical manager. However due to the dynamic characteristic of the business, mangers at Field’s store are expected to have some additional qualification that make them unique. This implies that managers in the Field’s store have a resume that is slightly above that of a typical manager. 8. We are supposed to note the statistic on store manager turnover- we are also supposed to see this as a bad thing. Why? Can you make an argument that this is not a bad thing for Fields or the store managers Taking notes and statistics on the business turnover is not a bad thing for the managers. In fact taking this statistics is their basic duty as store managers. Field’s store managers were expected to view the taking of stock as a bad thing despite it being their main duty. Turnover records are important in store management since they give an overview of activities taking place in the business. Turnover stock records are also the only tool at the disposal of the store managers and hence taking of turnover records is not a bad thing for them. 9. How do Debbi & Randy view franchising? Is this consistent with their "style"? Why do most organizations of this type embrace franchising? Franchising is the process of managing a business using an ideal business model that has been developed by another business. Debbi and Randy consider franchising as an easy method towards a successful management. Although Debbie and Randy consider an original business management model as the most appropriate in running their business, they are concerned with the benefits resulting from franchising. Franchising is not consistent with their management style due to the dynamic factor of their business. This implies that most models ideal models applicable to their business are inappropriate. The nature of their business and management style is the main cause of inconsistence. The constant changes experienced in their business resulting from their expansion needs contributed to the inconsistence between franchising and their management style. This however does not imply that franchising is a bad idea since it had been applied successfully in other similar businesses. Most organization embraces franchising to avoid risks that might result from applying or trying new management models. 10. What are the two most common ways that organizations finance themselves? What are the tradeoffs of each? Organizations require finance to conduct their day-to-day production activities. This implies the necessity for a source of the necessary funds. Borrowing from lending institutions such as banks and raising capital from sale of share are the two basic methods of financing an organization. Choosing either of the method has implications to the business that require considerations. This indicates that an organization’s management needs to consider the consequences and benefits from each choice before making a decision. Obtaining finances from financial institutions is a speedy method of acquiring the necessary finance for the business however the finance are subject to interest rates. On the other hand raising capital through sale of shares is a slow method of obtaining finance due to the procedures require. This method introduces the shareholders to the organization as additional stakeholder thereby complicating the organization’s management. 11. Explain the Fields approach to financing in the context of their management style. Explain the London thing! Debbie and Randy had limited finance at the time they decided to start their business, this is normal for any new business. They raised the initial capital though borrowing from banks in addition to their limited savings. The pressing needs for expansion required extra capital and this forced them to go public. This implies that they were required to sell shares of their business to the public through an IPO. Debbie’s cookies became the most popular cookies in the UK due to their quality and rapid expansion of the business. This popularity made people to identify the business with its products. People also associated themselves with these excellent commodities since they characterized London and hence the cookies became a London thing. 12. The Fields say that their org. is too "warm & fuzzy" to require a formal org. chart. Based on info from the case, what type of structure do you think they actually have? Fields and Debbie tried as much as possible to conduct the operations of their business formally; however, they were forced to adopt informal management procedures. This was due to the warm relationship that existed between their employees. Due to the warm and fuzzy state of the organization, an informal chart system and social network charts could be sufficient for the organization’s internal communication. Read More