Critical Problem in the Nordstrom Company - Case Study Example

Organizational Behavior Organizational Behavior Introduction The Nordstrom Company is one of the stores that have registered growth from a small retailer to a renowned one with branches in different states. The company places emphasis on the need for quality customer service. It recognizes that exemplary customer service leads to customer satisfaction hence customer loyalty. Customer loyalty can propel a company to remarkable growth in the market. In order to ensure that the company offers exemplary customer service, the company has given its employees unnecessary pressure to perform. Many employees opine that the company had rewarding compensation schemes before they joined the company. The employees became aware that the company paid low salary, overworked employees, and fired them without valid reason. This paper will present a case analysis of the situation facing the Nordstrom Company. Problem Evidently, there is a critical problem in the Nordstrom Company. Over the years, the Nordstrom Company has exhibited a poor organizational culture. More specifically, the company does not have rewarding compensation schemes for the employees who have ensured that the company is successful. According to the case study, the employees face the compulsion of putting more hours without any overtime. In other cases, employees work for many days without having an opportunity to rest. The pay they receive does not match with the number of hours they put in as well as the increasing demands of their jobs. Many of the employees feel that their job is continually in jeopardy. They are constantly in fear of being laid off (Aquinas, 2006). For example, Ms. Lucas highlights that working at Nordstrom Company translated into working for free. The increasing demands of the ability to produce thank-you letters and other customer service books took so much time, but the pay was minimal. As a result, she developed ulcers because of the continued stress from her job. Her case is not unique because many other employees described in the case study have highlighted that the company did not reward them as expected. Therefore, the poor organizational culture has contributed to limited levels of employee satisfaction and increased employee turnover (Fox, 2006). Although the company is highly committed to delivering exemplary customer service, it does not promote employee satisfaction and loyalty because many workers operate under stress. The accusations filed against the company indicate that it has poor labor practices. Potential Solutions One of the potential solutions for the company is to hire a consultant who can investigate all the accusations filed against the company. The company has been relying on approaches that seek to promote exemplary customer service, but that have led to exploitation or the harassment of the employees. Evidently, the company needs to understand the exact claims posed by the employees. A consultant is a third party and, therefore, can critically analyze the situation. In addition, consultants are well vast with the labor practices that conform to the employment law. Human resource consultants can also help the company in empowering employees to register increased productivity. The company also needs to adopt an organizational culture change and human resource consultants can help the company by providing guidelines for adopting the organizational culture change (French, 2011). After hiring a consultant, the company will be able to understand the perspectives of the employees. In addition, the consultant will help the company to restore its public image, which has been tainted by the numerous claims of unfair labor practices. The human resource consultant can help the company renegotiate with the employees on fairer compensation rates in an effort to promote employee satisfaction. The company has registered high levels of customer satisfaction, but faces the challenge of handling employee dissatisfaction. The increasing rates of employee dissatisfaction can cost the company a lot financially. Therefore, a human resource consultant can help the Nordstrom Company to develop strategies that are more effective in motivating employees without pressurizing them (King & Lawley, 2012). A second potential solution for the Nordstrom Company would be to review the Fair Labor Associations Standards and begin to uphold them. The Nike Company initiated the Fair Labor Association after the Sweatshop scandal of its labor practices. Being a member of the association, Nordstrom Company can review the standards and make the relevant adjustments in the promotion of Fair Labor Practices. The human resource manager at Nordstrom Company recognizes that workers work for more hours without any compensation. Over the years, managers have compelled the workers to indulge in unhealthy completion of the number of sales one can achieve. The human resource manager can design new wage systems that will compensate the workers effectively. Using this approach means that the company will handle the issue internally without involving external parties (Knights & Willmott, 2007). The third potential solution would be adopting high levels of transparency and public disclosure. Before taking this course of action, the company should compensate employees appropriately and publish public reports disclosing how it treats and pays workers as well as giving emphasis to its high levels of accountability. The approach will help the company rebuild its public image because accusations from the dissatisfied employees were published in the Wall Street Journal. Therefore, the company has no choice but to communicate to the public that it has recognized its mistakes and made the appropriate changes (Mullins, 2009). Recommendations The Nordstrom Company needs to implement several recommendations in order to improve its situation. The company should hire a human resource consultant who will be able to provide the relevant guidelines for initiating and implementing an organizational culture change. The company should pay workers appropriately in accordance with the number of hours they have put in. In addition, the company should design employee motivation programs that will help reduce turnover and motivate the remaining employees. The company should also begin to publish reports on how it compensates workers. The company should uphold fair labor practices (Ranganayakulu, 2005). Fallout If the company adopts the approach described above, there is the risk that the human resource consultant may expose more of its unfair labor practices to the public. For this reason, the company should ensure that the human resource consultant maintains high levels of discretion in order to protect the company’s image (Singh, 2010). References Aquinas, P. G. (2006). Organizational behaviour: Concepts realities applications and challenges. New Delhi: Excel Books. Fox, W. (2006). Managing organisational behaviour. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta. French, R. (2011). Organizational behaviour. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. King, D., & Lawley, S. (2012). Organizational behaviour. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Knights, D., & Willmott, H. (2007). Introducing organizational behaviour and management. London: Thomson Learning. Mullins, L. J. (2009). Management and organisational behaviour. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Ranganayakulu, K. C. S. (2005). Organisational behaviour. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers. Singh, K. (2010). Organizational behaviour: Text and cases. Chandigarh: Pearson. Read More