Operations Management at John Lewis - Essay Example

Operations manager at John Lewis Introduction The purpose of this research is to explore the extent to which John Lewis meets the six criteria that characterises a highly effective and efficient work environment. The aspects that have been researched include training and development facilities provided to the employees by John Lewis, reward and recognition framework in the organization, opportunities provided by John Lewis to employees in order to help the latter achieve work life balance, the management style adopted by managers, pay benefits package offered to employees and lastly the working environment within the organization. The researcher resorted to the review of several management principles such as Kotter’s 8 step change management model, Mintzberg’s management theory and Black Mouton managerial grid. The theories served as a strong foundation thereby enabling the researcher to identify the extent to which the managers in John Lewis effectively emulated the management principles in order to establish a better work environment which enables them to focus on both the welfare of the employees and the productivity of the organization. Does John Lewis offer good opportunities for personal and career development, learning and training to its employees?  The management of John Lewis believes in a simple principle and that is any development within the employees will have a direct or indirect contribution to the development of the business. That is why the managers introduced a management development programme in order to ensure that the employees perform at their peak. The training program is designed to provide employees with ample scope for personal development. This will help the employees to identify their areas of strengths and work accordingly to achieve personal as well as organizational goals. The managers of John Lewis focus more on the development of personal and technical skills (John Lewis Partnership, 2015a). They follow a training and development plan based on three pillars depicted in figure 1. Figure 1: Training and development plan (John Lewis) (Source: John Lewis Partnership, 2015b) The managers emphasize on training the employees in three dimensions: experience (characterized by on the job training), exposure and exchange (characterised by knowledge, information and skill sharing between employees at workplace) and education (training based on theoretical learning). The training and development programme in John Lewis is designed to impart skills to employees belonging from all departments. The management framework in the company is identical to the Mintzbergs Management Roles theory. While conducting the training and development program the managers play an instrumental role in managing the new recruits. They have to change their roles constantly from being a leader to a liaison and then to a spokesperson depending upon the need of the hour (Mintzberg, et al., 2003). They have to resolve any conflicting issues as well as negotiate new contracts with the new recruits. Such an extensive role play imbibes a sense of responsibility among the new recruits which in turn enhances their work engagement level. This connectivity between the management style in John Lewis and Mintzberg’s management theory can be established through the fact that management is not only about ensuring conformity with established set of rules but it also involves directing the workflow within the organization in a way that enables the company to fetch the desired result. However, what the model lacks is an appropriate framework for imparting leadership skills. The model proves to be incomplete when it comes to training people who are due to fill in managerial roles. The managerial recruits are not taught much about adopting the right leadership styles. This is precisely because managers in John Lewis expect the new recruits to have a prior knowledge about their role play requirements within the organization (Senior, 2002). This incomplete framework might deteriorate the quality of training and development program introduced in the company. What does John Lewis offer in terms of rewards, praise and recognition to its employees and what impact does this have on employee motivation?  Managers at John Lewis have always been enthusiastic about acknowledging the efforts made by the employees. Superior quality performance delivered by employees is equivalently complimented by a promotional offer or a salary hike. The management team of John Lewis believes in placing efficient employee in more responsible situation in order to bring out the best performance in them. Their contribution to the overall organizational productivity of the organization is also recognized by acknowledging them as the employee of the month on the basis of their respective performance (Tammy and Kimberly, 2006). According to the managers such rewards and recognition enables them to motivate the employees to optimize their performance. This style is quite similar to the motivation theory proposed by Douglas McGregor who stated that an employee’s commitment or delivery of effort is equivalent to the reward given to the individual (McBain, 2007). Employees have been largely in favour of such reward and recognition plans and that is why they have strived hard to enhance their individual efficiency. This has helped John Lewis managers to realize greater profits in situations where competitor organizations have reported fall in profits (Tracey, 2013). What do the employees have to say about the work-life balance and well-being aspects of their employment at John Lewis? John Lewis has been regarded as a pioneer company when it comes to lending optimum flexibility to employees to help them attain work-life balance. Managers at John Lewis follow team leadership approach as stated in Blake Mouton managerial grid (Blake and Mouton, 1985). Adopting this leadership style encourages the managers to focus both on the productivity of the organization as well as the wellbeing of the employees (Liu and Chiu, 2007). The employees are appropriately compensated for their performance and they are provided with ample opportunities to achieve personal development (Galpin and Whittington, 2012). This is the mark of a premier company which believes in ensuring employee development and prosperity alongside organizational growth. Employees are provided with flexible shifts in order to help them maintain a balance between the work life requirements and personal life necessities. Attainable targets are set by the managers which can be achieved within the stipulated time frame. Moreover, managers also discourage employees from working over shifts in order to help them spend more time with their family (Dionne, et al., 2002). This is one of their corporation social responsibility strategies. Figure 2: Managerial Grid (Source: Zeidan, 2009) What is John Lewis’s management style and how does this impact on their employees working experience?   The management style adopted in John Lewis varies from managers to managers. While some emulate the team leadership style explained in managerial grid by Black Mouton, others emulate a more transformational leadership. Alongside that, managers have also been noticed to follow the Kotter’s 8 step change management model which involves bringing about necessary change within the company by enforcing urgency among the employees. Adopting a team leadership style enables managers to emphasize on the social well being of the employees and the productivity of the company. It also allows them to form a trust based manager-employee relationship (Zeidan, 2009). This enables managers to bring out the best performance from the employees. Transformation leadership encourages leaders to think out of the box and work towards developing innovative operational model in order to increase operational efficiency. Transformational leaders are visionary and they are always inclined to infuse this vision among the subordinates. This inspires employees to work their way towards creating innovation. This management style has been a major ingredient behind John Lewis’s success. Application of the change management process developed by John Kotter has proven to be largely beneficial for the company. However, this has added as an extra layer of pressure among the employees to enforce change (Kotter, 2007). This reduces the flexibility enjoyed by John Lewis employees to some extent which in turn may have an indirect impact on their work engagement and hence productivity. The researcher has also identified a relative degree of similarity between the management style in John Lewis and the four control levers theory stated by Robert Simons. The first level includes the diagnostic control system which is implemented in order to supervise and adjust the operating performance of the company (Simons, 1996). The same is done by the management team in John Lewis who resort to the use of budget plans, business plans as well as the cost accounting system in order to identify the requirement of a particular operation and to analyse the extent to which the requirements have been met by the employees. The underlying reason behind the implementation of this control system is to apply control strategies effectively and produce the desired outcome. The second lever of the four levers introduced by Robert Simon is the belief system which involves communicating core values of the company such as the credos, mission and vision statement to the employees (Simons, 1996). The management team in John Lewis believes strongly in conveying the purpose that the company is meant to serve which is why they emphasize a lot on educating their employee base regarding the core values that the company believes in. in doing so, the managers are able to ensure that the objectives of the employees are in complete alignment with the objectives set by the op tier management. In addition, conveying the mission and vision statement to the employees with absolute clarity to the employees enables the manager in John Lewis to make sure that each and every employee working for the organization has a clear understanding of the responsibility that they are supposed to assume. The third control lever introduced by Robert Simon is the boundary system which involves stipulating the limits of freedom thereby stating the ethical codes of conduct and statements (Simons, 1996). John Lewis has always been known for its integrity and transparency of business operations. Its reputation all over the world is defined by the accountability assumed by each and every employee working for the organization. The management team in John Lewis encourages their subordinates to adhere to the ethical codes of conduct strictly so as to make sure that unethical practices are avoided. This is precisely because for a company as reputed as John Lewis any allegation regarding unethical practices can tarnish the goodwill that the company has built up with its customers and other market participants. The fourth control lever explained by Robert Simon is the interactive control system which involves providing valuable strategic advice and tools such as competitor analysis and market research reports which enables organizational managers to modify their business strategies (Simons, 1996). John Lewis has always relied on credible market research reports in order to learn about the tastes and preferences of the customers. Market research reports have also been used by John Lewis managers in order to learn about new and innovative business models so that they can be incorporate in their own business framework. Competitor analysis also helps John Lewis managers to identify the substitute products that are available in the market which in turn enables them to identify their own areas of strength and weaknesses. Thereafter they are able to modulate and implement their business strategies effectively. How good are the pay and benefits package offered by John Lewis?  The organization John Lewis is a partnership set by John Lewis and the rest is co-owned by the employees, who receive an equivalent proportion of the annual profits as a percentage of their monthly earnings (John Lewis Partnership, 2015c). The organization offers various value benefits in addition to its monthly payment and equivalent annual bonus schemes. Lucrative pension plans, discount offers on product purchase, more paid leaves, societies/club memberships, and leisure facilities and so on and so forth. John Lewis offers such lucrative benefits in order to make sure that employees stay committed to their work as well as to the organization as a whole (Cameron and Caza, 2004). Their annual bonuses are equivalent to a month or two month salary depending on the percentage of ownership of a particular employee (John Lewis Partnership, 2015d). An article published by The Guardian (2015) also provides conclusive evidence regarding this pay and benefits model followed by managers in John Lewis. The article talks largely in favour of this pay and benefits model followed by the company which in turn enhances the motivation level of employees. The company offers much better financial packages to their employees in an effort to recognize their contribution towards the overall development of the organization. This enables the employees to meet their financial obligations with much inconvenience. As a consequence, their job satisfaction level increases gradually (Caldwell, 2003). Is there a positive "working environment" within John Lewis?  What is the difference between how the organization portrays itself publicly and how its employees perceive it? The work environment in John Lewis is extremely diverse and flexible. The partners (employees) are treated with fairness, reverence and integrity. The employment regulations formulated by the organization managers are justified and fair which provide equal scope and opportunities for all the partners regardless of their ethnicity, disability, social background, age and gender (John Lewis Partnership, 2015e). The work environment in John Lewis is based upon a robust cultural framework which facilities sharing of information, knowledge and skills (Kotter, 2008). This in turn enables managers to ensure that every partner gets equivalent opportunity to attain all round development (Slack, 2007). Consequences A thorough analysis of the internal aspects of John Lewis revealed that the company satisfy all the six criteria that define a world class organization. Given its current management principles, the company is sure to scale new heights of performance with every passing year. John Lewis has been regarded by many as an organization that strives for innovation and the same has been demonstrated by the managers in their question to provide the customers with world class shopping and service experience. The company’s success till date can be largely attributed to the untiring efforts made by their employees. That is why the mangers have always emphasized on fulfilling the needs and demands of the employees in the best way possible. Such has been the coordination between the managers and the employees that the company realized increased profits even in a period where many organizations reported a slump in their income. If the same level of coordination is maintained then the company will surely be a market leader by beating the competition presented by organizations such as Tesco, Sainsbury and Marks and Spencer’s. Recommendation The analysis has revealed a small drawback of the management model emulated by John Lewis mangers. The issue is concerning the rewards offered to employees for their performance. Given the fact that the rewards and benefits offered by John Lewis managers are very lucrative, employees might be tempted to adopt unethical means to boost their efficiency. This may tarnish the reputation of the organization. That is why managers are suggested to keep a control over their reward distribution mechanism so as to make sure that business activities are carried out in a justified manner. Reference List Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J. S., 1985. The managerial grid III: The key to leadership excellence. Houston: Gulf Publishing Co. Caldwell, R., 2003. Models of change agency: a fourfold classification. British Journal of Management, 14(2), pp. 131-142. Cameron, K. S. and Caza, A., 2004. Contribution to the discipline of positive organizational scholarship. American Behavioral Scientist, 47, pp. 731-739. Dionne, S. D., Yammarino, F. J., Atwater, L. E. and James, L. R., 2002. Neutralizing substitutes for leadership theory: leadership effects and common-source bias. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(3), pp. 454-464. Galpin, T. and Whittington, J., 2012. Sustainability leadership: from strategy to results. Journal of business strategy, 33(4), pp. 40-48, John Lewis Partnership, 2015a. John Lewis Branches. [online] Available at: http://jlpjobs.com/partnership-jobs/john-lewis/training-and-development/ [Accessed 18 February 2015]. John Lewis Partnership, 2015b. At every stage, we’ll help you be the best you can be. [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 February 2015]. John Lewis Partnership, 2015c. Customer service. [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 February 2015]. John Lewis Partnership, 2015d. Pay and benefits. [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 February 2015]. John Lewis Partnership, 2015e. Jobs in the Partnership. [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 February 2015]. Kotter, J. P., 2007. Leading change: why transformation fails. Harvard Business Review, 85(1), pp. 96-103. Kotter, J. P., 2008. Corporate culture and performance. New York: Simon and Schuster. Liu, A. M. M. and Chiu, W. M., 2007. Enhancing commitment through work empowerment. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 14(6), pp. 568-580. McBain, R., 2007. The practice of engagement: Research into current employee engagement practice. Strategic HR Review, 6(6), pp. 16-19. Mintzberg, H., Lampel, J., Quinn, J.B. and Ghoshal, S., 2003. The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context and Cases. Harlow: Pearson Senior, B., 2002. Organisational Change. 2nd ed. Harlow: Pearson Education. Simons, R., 1996. Levers of Control: How Managers Use Innovative Control Systems to Drive Strategic Renewal. Business Literature, 1996(2), pp. 1-217. Slack, N., 2007. Operational change at Heineken: Operations Management. 5th ed. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Tammy, A. D. and Kimberly, O. B., 2006. Formal mentoring programs and organizational attraction. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 17(1), pp. 43-58. The Guardian, 2015. The John Lewis model and what others could learn from it. [online] Available at: [Acccessed 25 February 2015]. Tracey, D., 2013. Engaged employees don’t work FOR a company. [online] Available at: [Accessed 18 February 2015]. Zeidan, H., 2009. The Blake Mouton Managerial Grid Identifying five different leadership styles. The Certified Accountant, 39, pp. 82-85. Read More