Introduction
Chen Stores is a discount retail chain that has grown over the years to become a significant player in the retail industry. Launched in 1998, the company has spread through five crucial towns. It has continuously focussed on improving its operations through technology, leadership, and forward-thinking strategies. Chen Stores has mainly managed to dominate the market through its price leadership model. This has made it be accused of employing predatory tactics; however, its management has continuously insisted that the brand has learned how best to be market-responsive. The company's success can be evaluated through the Baldridge Excellence Framework.
The Baldridge Excellence Framework
The Baldridge Excellence Framework enables an organization to answer three vital questions "is your organization doing as well as it could? How do you know? What and how should your organization improve or change?” (Evans, 2017). The framework is anchored on the need to encourage businesses to enhance their performance and competitiveness through an aligned organizational performance management approach. It comprises of seven elements which Chen Stores will be evaluated against.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Leadership
Leadership is the first element associated with the Baldridge Excellence Framework. The organization's mission and vision guide the leadership at Chen Stores. It has senior management comprising of five individuals that have varied portfolios but make collective decisions that affect the organization's operations. The management communicates to the various stores on the way forward on a regular basis. The senior management authorizes the introduction of new business units, corporate social responsibility activities of a financial period, and sustainability initiatives. The leadership further carries out quarterly meetings with the stakeholders to communicate the retailer's standing in the market and its objectives given the prevailing contextual environment. The Chen Stores managers have over the years steered the company through murky waters. It is through their counsel that an incident of food poisoning was handled professionally with the public applauding its quick and efficient response.
Additionally, the managers are accessible and all focus on cultivating an organizational culture founded on comradeship and mutual respect. The ethical leadership has seen Chen Stores cut ties with unscrupulous suppliers such as those who derive their products from Chinese Sweatshops. The moral standing has been critical in creating a safe and conducive working environment. The leadership, however, has some shortcomings which can be managed with a focus on changing on how it engages its employees. There is a need to have structured communication which has a bottom-up approach. The overreliance of the departmental heads for information without wholly factoring personnel at the bottom disenfranchises the management with valuable information in regards to the Chen Stores operations. There is a need to have at least four employee representatives at the top brass management meetings. It is only through such an initiative that the management can be in cognizance of the organizational challenges and possible opportunities. Additionally, there is need for more delegation of roles given that the company prides itself in having a functional structure. This means expanding middle and lower level management. As it stands, a number of the middle and lower-level managers are overwhelmed by responsibilities.
Strategy
The strategy at Chen Stores is a product of extensive consultations. The leadership from to time outsources professional help to evaluate the entity's prospects in cognizance of any emerging competition that may emerge within the market. As such, information is gathered and dissected elaborately for the management. Each possible alternative is looked at keenly with the intent of appreciating any underlying trends and challenges in the market. Each strategy presented must be justified to warrant its funding and incorporation in the organization's overall operations. The management must see to it that the strategy is in line with the organizational objectives and long-term plans concerning its industrial position.
In the past ten years, Chen Stores has applied low-cost strategy and price leadership that has seen it eat up its rivals markets. With low operational costs, the company has managed to pass on the benefits to the consumers who have continued flocking it. This strategy was implemented with the aid of a team of the supply chain, finance, and marketing personnel. It is through their insightful knowledge that the company established ways to institute a value chain as well as large economies of scale. All these elements were able to bring about favorable prices that the marketing team managed to gauge in the market and eventually communicate them to the target market. The shortcomings of this strategy are that Chen Stores has seen a compromise in the quality of some of the products stocked in its outlets. The low-cost endeavor has seen the compromise generate unfavorable criticism from consumer rights body. To remedy this, it is prudent that a balance is struck between quality and cost. This is integral if Chen Stores is to continue to retain a section of its loyal consumers or clients. It is through such fine-tuning that the Chen Stores strategy can meet the set objectives.
Customers
Customers are the next element in the Baldridge Excellence Framework. The clientele base acts as an essential cog in any business. They are the dominant sustaining force for any organization or corporation (Warrack & Sinha, 1999). As such, an entity must have an elaborate means of engaging with them. This means that an entity must be responsive to the concerns expressed by the customers. In many businesses, it is common to hear the cliché saying "the customer is king." This statement pinpoints the importance of the customer in any organizational structure and why any strategy or decision ought to have the customer in mind. At Chen Stores, there is an expanded customer engagement program. In the formative years, the company had a suggestion box that the clients would deposit their views and general feedback in regards to products and services rendered. As the organizational operations grew, the company employed customer service personnel and incorporated technology and social media in customer engagement endeavors . The company website has mainly been active in communicating with the public. The customer engagement, however, could be made more effective through more physical interactions by increasing store attendants tasked with collecting feedback from the clientele.
Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
It examines "the management and effective use of data and information to support key company processes and the company's performance management system" (Evans, 1997). This focuses on the elaborate information and technology infrastructure put in place to gather data for purposes of effective management (Warrack & Sinha, 1999). Chen Stores has focussed on adopting the best IT systems for various functions. Currently, the company has managed to assess its market through Big Data analytics through customer data availed on purchase and interactions on social media and company website. The data has been critical in pinpointing the successful product offerings and strategies. Additionally, to enhance cyber-security, the company has incorporated biometrics in most of its operational facets. The biometrics is effective in performance evaluation of individual employees.
Human Resource
Human resource is the fifth element in the Baldridge Excellence Framework. The human resource is an integral element in the management of any company's operations. The human capital enables an organization to realize its objectives (Warrack & Sinha, 1999). It also acts as the bridge between the organization and the end client. The recruitment and selection process is critical in acquiring the best talent. At Chen Stores, there is an elaborate procedure for recruiting potential employees. It is initiated through advertisement of vacancies where interested individuals apply. They are then shortlisted and interviewed. Once the recruiting panel is satisfied by the individuals, training is initiated with the new employees being briefed on their roles. To develop the full potential of the personnel, performance appraisals are carried out from time to time. The only shortcoming with the Chen Stores human resource management stems from the lack of an independent recruitment drive. Outsourced recruiters are best suited to bring in the best talents that may propel the entity to the next level.
Operations
This category evaluates how an entity manages, designs, and enhances its key products and work processes to deliver customer value and achieve organizational success, as well as, sustainability (Evans, 2017). At Chen Stores, the store design and display placement are some of the factors that are taken seriously by the management. All the outlets associated with the chain all have the free flow design. This design is simple with merchandises grouped on the sales floor in a free-flowing. The design is tailored to allow ease in movement within the store as the customer try to reach desired points and products. The display placement is prominent to allow customers to pick out desired products. The stores have shoplifting prevention measures which include security personnel and sophisticated CCTV cameras. Each store has 15 cashier desks equipped with barcode readers, and ATM swiping machines as well as Bitcoin payment machines.
Results
Under this category, the customers offer an assessment of an entity's performance and improvement in vital business areas. At Chen Stores the customer satisfaction is above average this is according to a Consumer Insight survey. The satisfaction is tied to the manner the company responds to queries made using the availed platforms. The workforce results are average with many employees believing that Chen Stores is a good employer. However, they believe that more could be done to ensure that the management is responsive to their welfare. The leadership system is integral to the realization of an organization's success. There must be a coherent leadership policy which can stem out any crisis that may arise. Chen Stores leadership is responsive and in sync with much of the stakeholder needs.
References
Evans, J. R. (1997). Performance Excellence: The Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Criteria. Quality , 36 (1), 413-425. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-1705-4_34
Evans, J. R. (2017). Quality & Performance Excellence . Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Warrack, B. J., & Sinha, M. N. (1999). Integrating safety and quality: Building to achieve excellence in the workplace. Total Quality Management , 10 (4-5), 779-785. doi:10.1080/0954412997802
