Macy's Department Stores - A Competency - Research Paper Example

MACYS Ethics Looking at Macy’s ethical s and guidelines is a good place to start when examining this core competency. “While a core competence is something a company does well internally, what makes it a core competence, as opposed to just a competence, is that it is central to a company’s competitiveness and profitability rather than peripheral” (Thompson and Strickland, 1997). Macy’s, like many other large organizations in the present business environment, has a complex code of ethics which it expects employees and managers to follow. Macy’s empowers employee choice based on individual ethics, and believes that a universal ethics is possible and also that it must be based on choice. This pattern of choice must start with the individual; there cannot be a group ethic that is in agreement without individual ethics. At Macy’s as in any organizational environment, the individual is a person who must make choices regarding how to behave. This behavior can be broken down into two categories: the choice as it affects the society around the person making the decision, and the decision as it affects the person making the choice. An individual who is making an ethical decision must think of how the behavior will effect others in terms of positive and negative repercussions, and they must also think how the decision will effect themselves in terms of conscience. Part of the ethics of Macy’s includes what the company sees as its duty, and its employees’ duty, to give back to the community. Individual ethics, after all, is just an extension of the ethics of the community and society. “Support for our communities comes through gifts from the company, the Macys Foundation, and our employees. Weve also made it possible for our customers to join us in "giving back" through our programs such as Thanks for Sharing, Shop for a Cause, and Go Red, the American Heart Associations womens heart health program” (Diversity, 2009). A company can install a program that benefits them personally; however, it might not benefit the rest of society, because it represents them cutting corners to get ahead, or seeking credentials in a way that is fraudulent, and will make them ultimately feel bad. Ethics can be a personal decision that can also be reflected by an external group or group philosophy, and although some would argue against absolutism in ethics, this absolutism is definitely strong in rational theory portrayals. Macy’s has a history of giving back to the community which shows in its ethical codes as well as its commitment to time honored traditions in New York (parades, etc.). Communication Communication is a watch-word at Macy’s, especially in today’s competitive industry of major department stores. There is a difference between positive and negative communication, and often this difference is that in positive communication, the leader focuses on listening instead of blindly pushing people towards the exits. Macy’s realizes that communication must be a two-way street in which both the sender and receiver of information benefit, and this is the overall mission and philosophy of Macy’s. The system at Macy’s is not without faults, because it does not show a lot of attention to establishing strong leadership and communication links, and acts more like a one-shot deal in which some lower-level employees are expected to bring their own continuity to the system or be lost. Despite how obviously transitory some training programs at Macy’s are, most employees find that they are their only outlets for development, and this may cause more conflict among team members as well as not improving the ways customers see them. Detailed responsibilities are likely to differ somewhat among individuals depending on the nature of the organization, but most instances of communication at Macy’s require leadership and teamwork. In more upper level areas of the company, “To ensure free and open discussion and communication among the non-management directors of the Board, the non-management directors will meet in executive sessions periodically, with no members of management present” (Macy’s, 2009). Macy’s seeks to improve communication between employees and managers, as a reflection of its history of policy. Focusing on communication, Macy’s leaders are able to motivate and provide vision while still subscribing to a basic pattern of teamwork and support that engenders an atmosphere of trust and mutual respect. Too often leaders are more interested in leading than in providing fundamental solutions to the problems at hand. In today’s dynamic society, leaders at Macy’s are also increasingly adhering to a pattern that accepts change, rather than stability, as the standard. This creates an environment in which communication is supported and can lead to new creative solutions. It is sometimes easy for a business or corporation to accept its position as the status quo without realizing that the world has a habit of changing very quickly, as today’s giants can become tomorrow’s vacant office blocks if they are not dynamic. "The final analytical task is to zero in on the strategic issues that management needs to address in forming an effective strategic action plan. Here, managers need to draw upon all prior analysis, put the companys overall situation into perspective, and get a lock on exactly where they need to focus their strategic attention" (Thompson and Strickland, 1997). Communication is vital at every step in this process. Diversity Macy’s internal literature and hiring processes reflect a respect for diversity that fits in well with today’s multicultural environment. Macy’s did not always hire diversely, but they have changed with times and legislation since the Civil Rights movement of the mid 20th century. In terms of cultural competency at all levels, it is important to focus on client-centered or humanistic approach in today’s modern world. This approach also seems to be more aligned with the tendency to moderate and treat individuals within the population of Macy’s consumers as unique human beings. There is also the problem of stereotypes that do not account for the almost endless sense of variance that one gets from the experience of humanity, in which choices regarding home and new country are made by individuals, not groups. There are those, however, who refuse to accept or respect this variance, and who see all members of a certain immigrant group as being the same. There is no tolerance for this kind of refusal in Macy’s management circles, and there is no tolerance for this type of stereotyping which leads to racism. This is something that a lot of people have experienced at one point or another. Racism is about seeing people as a homogenous group instead of diverse and empathetic individuals. It is a condition in society that refuses to accept assimilation as being positive, and represents the loss of innocence to many individuals who experience it. Many people come to this country with a vision of what it will be like in their heads, derived from movies and popular magazines, and America can be confusing and shocking, so these people need help and understanding from managers and mentors even more than anyone else. Although such a general view does not value individuation as importantly as it perhaps should, it is within the parameters of the assignment to focus on a general group. But it is also important for social policy to deal with how American society treats marginalized groups in terms of forming a culture that is made new and revitalized. “Overall, the results suggest that diversified firms are valued below single-segment firms in emerging markets, and that the difference in valuation is at least partially related to the ability of controlling managers to expropriate small shareholders” (Lin, 2002). Concentrating on the Macy’s worker places the customer in the context of their community, upbringing, culture, social class, etc. Cultural identity is determined by family, proximity, peers, community, media, and other factors. People like to put themselves and others into all the same and unassailable, inflexible groups along the lines of cultures. Macy’s realizes that many people would not want to be a part of an organizational system that singles them out and tells them that they are different from their peers because the boundary lines of culture, which are in most cases imaginary lines in the first place, state that they must behave or act differently. This is one aspect of diversity. Another aspect is that diversity can cause one to rebel against the organizational system that is telling them this (stressing differences through multiculturalism). Another aspect would foster the development of a sort of in-group mentality, despite the purveyors of the systems’ best intentions. Another aspect of diversity represents the freedom to think that everyone in a work unit setting needs to be on the same page regarding eliminating negative behaviors. Macy’s represents a very progressive stance on the issues of diversity, with modern and multicultural hiring and promotion practices. REFERENCE Macy’s Inc. corporate governance principles (2009). http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache%3Ar2UGzBWOzlQJ%3Awww.macysinc.com%2Finvestors%2Fgovernance%2Fdocuments%2Fcorporate_governance_principles.pdf+macys+ethics+diversity+communication&hl=en&gl=us Lin, K. (2002). Is corporate diversification beneficial? Financial Management. Thompson, A.A., and A.J. Strickland (1997). Strategic Management. New York: McGraw-Hill. Diversity management (2009). http://www.macysinc.com/diversitymanagement/ Read More