Toys R Us Management Audit - Essay Example

Toys "R" Us show cases some of the best toys across the world; so much so, that the Times Square store is a major tourist attraction for all visitors. The following paper presents a management audit of the chain store. The company is owned by a group of investors. There is a managing committee set up by the group which looks into the operations of the company. The company has interests in four major brands, viz., Toys "R" Us, Babies "R" Us, toysrus.com and Toys "R" Us International. Each one of them is headed by a President.

Within the operations of every unit, there is a Executive Vice President heading the operation of every department. The structure below indicates the overall responsibilities in the company. There are also geographical heads for important regions in the organization, typically, North America. However, there are also heads for HR, product development, Sourcing, Finance and so on. This mixed structure helps the company in focusing on its major activity in any region or place. The same is also valid for splitting the businesses vertically in terms of baby products and toys.

Isolation is also done on business plan basis. The internet business has been spun off into a separate entity, toysrus.com. Toys "R" Us is one of the leading toy stores. But for its baby products, it faces tough competition from the other major stores, viz., Wal-Mart, Target and others. But with the war intensifying, there is always a talk that Toys R Us might consider getting out of the toys business too. But then, with a wide network of retail stores across the United States and the major part of the world, Toys R Us is competitively positioned.

However, they had to withdraw from more than one hundred stores in the year 2004. As of date, the strategic locations that are profitable to the chain stores are operated. The rest are either closed or let out for other retailers. And when it is the holiday season, they certainly cash in on it by ensuring there is something different in the store. This year it is the Big Toy book!Decision Making, Learning and InnovationDecision making in the company has been swift in coming through. Whether it is to close the stores in 2004 or open new ones this season in South Korea and Japan, the decisions have been made with clear knowledge of the market place and the future growth in mind.

There has also been lessons learnt that is spread across to the decision making levels. The company itself is a learning organization and ensures that information about various products percolates down to the operating staff. Every one of the staff in the company can help a customer if there is need to in any of the toys being sold in the store. The importance for innovation in the products could be seen in a separate division that exists for the purpose.Planning & StrategyFor planning and strategy, a SWOT analysis is done and the details are given in the table below:Strengths: The company is a major special retailer for toys and baby products.

Knowledge of the business, strong retail chain of over 500 stores in the US and over 600 abroad ensure that the company could offer some of the best products. It also has a large asset base exceeding $2.9 bn.Weaknesses: Competition could eat into the profits of the company by underselling them. Typically, large departmental stores like Wal-mart and Target could do that. Inability to