Micro-Organizational Analysis Assignment - Essay Example

Ann Taylor Labor Allocation System or ATLAS was introduced in 2007. It was designed to schedule people when they are needed based on the number of people that comes into the stores (O’Connell 2). It was observed that workers, who come in early for their shift to do small things which are not work-related, started coming to work at least just an hour only after ATLAS was introduced. With limited time to make a sale, workers tend to be more aggressive on achieving their sale target for the day or for the week.

With workers having that drive to convert a sale, instead of just browsers, people who enter the store are converted into buyers which translate to profit for the company and income for the worker (O’Connell 3). The ATLAS program is often referred to as the simple control in an organization. The company awards the workers incentives if they do reach a certain sale. ATLAS on the other hand schedules the top performers on the store’s peak hours where more people comes into the stores and gives those workers more opportunity to hit a sale (Edwards 19).

This kind of environment creates a competitive atmosphere to workers that aims to reach the desired number of conversion. This is done not just for them to earn more money but to earn a spot in the store’s peak hours. It may result into a competition between co-workers however this will make a positive effect towards the store’s productivity. From the simple control, Ann Taylor Stores Corp. shifted to what is described as a technical control when they introduced ATLAS. It is said that technical control starts to materialize when employers attempt to manage a company’s production (Edwards 20).

Before ATLAS was introduced to their stores, workers can spend as much time with a particular customer. After the installation of the system, just like in the example that was given on the Wall Street Journal (Sept. 10, 2008), Nyla Houser, 59, even as a part-time employee was able to work for almost 30