IGNOU Study Notes | (First Year) ASSIGNMENT -3

COURSE TITLE - RETAIL MANAGEMENT PERSEPECTIVES & COMMUNICATION

(A) SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:-

Question 1. What are the principles of scientific management? Describe briefly its features.

Amswer. The scientific management approach propounded by F.W.Taylor is based upon the following four principles:
1. Science, Not Rule Of Thumb:-
- This principle says that we should not get stuck in a set routine with the old techniques of doing work, rather we should be constantly which make the work much simpler, easier, and quicker.
2. Harmony, Not Discord:-
- As per this principle, such an atmosphere should be created in the organization that labour (the major factor of production) and management consider each other indispensable.
- Taylor has referred to such a situation as a 'Mental Revolution'. Taylor firmly believed that the occurrence of a mental revolution would end all conflicts between the two parties and would be beneficial to both of them.
3. Cooperation, Not Individualism:-
According to this principle, all the activities done by different people must be carried on with a spirit of mutual cooperation. Taylor has suggested that the manager and the workers should jointly determined standards. This increases involvement and thus, in turn, increases responsibility. In this way we can expect miraculous results.
4. Development Of Each And Every Person To His/Her Greatest Efficiency And Prosperity:-
- According to this principle, the efficiency of each and every person should be taken are of right from his solection. A proper arrangement of everybody's training should be made.
- It should also be taken care that each individual should be allotted work according to his ability and interest. Such a caring attitude would create a sense of enthusiasm among the employees and a feeling of belongingness to.

Question 2. What are the qualities of a good management plan? List the benefits of retail planning process.

Answer. Features Of A Good Management Plan Are:-
1. It should define objectives,
2. It should be simple,
3. It should be clear,
4. It should be comprehensive,
5. It should be flexible,
6. It should be economical,
7. It should be standards,
8. It should be balanced,
9. It should be praticable.

1) It Should Define Objectives:-
- Objectives are the ultimate goods towards which all activities are directed.
- A statement which lays down objectives should be clear and definite and everyone in the organization should understand it in the same sense.
2) It Should Be Simple:-
- If a plan is expressed in a language which is not understandable by the personnel of the concern or it is complicated, it may create problems for those who are to actually put it into action.
3) It Should Be Clear:-
- A good plan must not contain anything that is ambiguous or indefinite.
4) It Should Be Comprehensive:-
- A good plan should contain all that is necessary for the attainment of the enterprise. If a master plan is prepared for the whole organization, it will be more useful as it can be seen that nothing is left from is.
5) It Should Be Flexible:-
- A flexible plan adjusts the changes in the plans without any delay. Hence a plan must not be rigid. A plan should be broad enough to meet the future challenges and uncertainties.
6) It Should Be Economical:-
- A plan should be made keeping in mind the resources avaiable with the concern and making optimum utilization of the available resources. In other words, a plan must recover its cost and should result in the least operating cost.
7) It Should Establish Standards:-
- A plan must lay down the standards to be achieved. The actual performance is compared with these standards and deviations if any are noted.
8) It Should Be Balanced:-
- It is necessary ensure that there is a proper co-ordination between different types of plans such as short-term and long-term plans, "plans of different departements etc." A business enterprise usually has a number of departement's viz, production, marketing, finance etc. Each departement frames its own plans. It is for the management to see that all these plans are well balanced.
9) It Should Be Practicable:-
- A plan is worth only if it is practically workable and realistic. It should be formulated keeping in view the limitations of planning. If a plan is good in theory but bad in practice, it is of no use. Similarly, if the desired results are not achieved by a plan, it leads to frustration at all levels in the organization.

Question 3. Discuss an ideal retail organization structure. How is a learning organization for retail business built?

Varying sizes of retail businesses utilize different organizational patterns and organizational charts. Each level of a business from executive to floor staff of a retail business need to have a job description, and clear outline of the duties.
From the smallest local store to national chains and diversified retailers, ensuring clear job descriptions and hireararchy are imperative to an effectively running busines.
* Organizational Structure And Employee Activities:-
- As with any business, the organizational structure of a retail chain will depend considerably on the type of store and its size. Retail stores generally have numerous types of employees who do a multitude of jobs. Starting at the top of a national chain's organizational structure a Chief Executive Officer(CEO), also sometimes clled the President of the company, makes the major decisions for the business such as what wholesalers to buy from and where new stores should be built.
- "The role of the Chief Executive Officer(CEO), consists of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting is arguably the most important and influencing in an organization."
- The next level of hierarchy in the organizational structure of retail, who report to the CEO, is management in the management sector general manager, assistant manager and regional manager are a few of the types of management titles held within the retail organizational structure.
- "The top managers of an organization will develop social capital through a variety of personal relationships with their suppliers, customers, competitors, trade associations, governments political institutions and community of organizations. This capital can then be used for the benefit of their organizations".
* Organizational Structure Determines Employees Activities:-
- The organizational structure of a retail store greatly determines what the daily activities and tasks that specific employees will perform. If the retail chain is for instances, a furniture store, then human resource personel would want to hire warehouse workers who are physically fit enough to lift and move heavy or large merchandise. Although warehouse personnel's jobs characteristically have no set educational requirements, they are an integral element of the structure of a retail business.
- "With the rise of e-commerce, while these "traditional" retail job numbers (cashiers, store clerks and stocking crews) are indeed shrinking, there is an accompanying rise in non-traditional retail jobs, like warehouse personnel and delivery drivers."
- While a warehouse employee would not be expected to file tax forms on behalf of the company or report on profit sharing, such as a CEO would, it is a vital sector of the organizational structure.
- Other general titles which are interchangeablu used within a retail setting are cashier and customer service representative. Cashier, merchandising and floor personnel would need to be personable and capable of dealing with the general public as their jobs consists of conducting point of sale transactions and assisting customers. Just as one would not expect a warehouse worker to perform the duties of a CEO, you would not expect a cashier to explain a personnel handbook to new employees as expected from the human resources division. A cashier's daily duties are to greet customers, operate cash registers, bag merchandise, use scanners/scales and handle the types of transactions one would experience at a checkout counter such as returns, the loading of gift curds, etc. This requires accuracy and some basic math skills, for that reason, when hiring for cashiers these are characteristics a retail manager should look for in a prospective employee. Thus, retail managers rely on the organizational structure of their company to determine which employees will fit cohesively into each particular job position.
* Retailer Structures:-
- As mentioned in the previous section, the organizational structure of a retil business will greatly depend on the type of store and its size, Generally, the logistics of a retail store are determined when a business plan is set into place. At the outset, retailers typically attempt to employ on organiational structure that is alluring to their consumers and the particular market they are attempting to sell to. The three types of retailers we will examine in this section are the single - store retailer, diversified retailer, and national chains.
* Single - Store:-
- A single-store retailer has a smaller scale of organizational structure in comparison to national chains and diversified retailers. The typical structure for a single-store retailer may consist of the owner performing CEO and manager duties or even a cashier stocking merchandise because the inventory as well as the profit margins are smaller so there is significantly less need for these types of individual employees.
- " A small specialty shop may have all of its employees under shop may have all of its employees under one category called Store Operation. Even if you only have a samll staff, everyone should be tasked with specific duties, so that things don't fall through the cracks."

Question 4. What is meant by decision making in a retail organization? Explain different stages in decision making.

Answer. No matter how similar consumer might appear to be, they are rarely the same. They do not move and act in uniform blocks, instead, their needs, motivations, assumptions, beliefs, and biases are unique, informed by identifying segments to target.
- There are a number of different models that describe the process or steps consumers engage in as they prepare to make a purchase, often depicted as a sales funnel.
In this section, We'll evaluate three:
1) AIDA
2) path-to-purchase
3) the consumer buying process.
* AIDA describes the buying process largely from the marketers perspective. It stands for:
- Attention
- Interest
- Describe
- Action
This is, an advertiser grabs a consumer's attention, making them aware of the product or service that can satisfy that individual's identifiable need. Then, through the description of features & benefits, the consumer's interest is developed to the point of desire. At this point, the consumer becomes the actor and takes action to purchase the item.
- The AIDA model is enduring having been developed in the earily nineteenth century. But it certainly has limitations. Most notably, it regards the consumer as passive throughout the majority of the process. By comparison, marketers are the actors, sending messages to stimulate consumer demand.
- In reality, consumers are driven by their individual wants and needs, not simply responding to the messages of advertisers. Advertisements can make consumers aware of offers or explain how products/services satisfy an unmet need. But they cannot create demand where a consumer want doesn't exist. More explicity, no marketer, regard-less of how insightful they are, can create an add so compelling that it ca force people to buy something they do not need.
Further, the AIDA model shows that the consumer experience ends at action, implying that on-going engagement either does not occur or is of minimal value for the consumer or firm. Of course, we understand this isn't true, given the value of service constracts, repeat purchases, and enduring customer loyality. Thus, any model that describes the buying process should accound for post-purchase activity.
- Another model, the path-to-purchase model defines the AIDA model to account for the influence of technology, specifically the rise of mobile access and e-commerce. The path-to-purchase model has come into use within the past decade, identifying four stages:
* Awareness
* Consideration
* Conversion
* Evaluation
- Unlike the AIDA model or the sales funnel concept, which often show the buying process as linear, with consumers moving forwards or backwards from one step to the next, the path-to-purchase model is reflected as a wheel or web to account for the customer journey (how consumer's access, review, revisit and process information across channels). As we learned in the previous module, consumers shop across multiple channels and across a host of sources for information. In, accessing, considering, and consuming this information, the buying process moves dynamically, not in a straight-line.
- Like the AIDA module, the path-to-purchase model describes the consumer as passive in the very first stage of awareness, where influencers can trigger interest or want. Again, advertisements, influencers, and other media can make consumers aware of offers or explain how products/services satisfy an unmet need, however, they cannot force interest or create demand where it does not exist. We need to understand consumers as seeking solutions to unmet needs, not as targets to be manipulated.
* Recognizing the limits of AIDA and the path-to-purchase model, it's worthwhile to consider another representation of the buying process a consumer follows, which is represented by these six stages:-
- Recognition of an issue or need
- Information Gathering
- Evaluation of options or alternatives
- Selection
- Purchase
- After-Purchase Evaluation

Question 5. Describe various leadership traits?

Answer. Leadership traits refer to personal qualities that define effective leaders. Leadership refers to the ability of an individual or an organization to guide individuals, teams, or organizations towards the fulfillment of goals and objectives. It plays an important function in management, as it helps miximize effeciency and achieve strategic and organizational goals. Leaders help motive others, provide guidance, build morale, improve the work environments, and initiate action.
1) Effective Communicators:-
- Leaders are excellent communicators, ale to explain problems and solutions clearly and concisely. Leaders know when to talk and when to listen. In addition, leaders are able to communicate on different levels: one-on-one, via phone, email, etc.
2) Accountable and Responsiable:-
- Leaders hold themselves accountable and take responsibility for any mistakes. Leaders support and encourage individuality while abiding by organizational structure, rules and policies that need to be followed.
3) Long-Tem Thinkers:-
- Leaders are visionaries. This is evidenced by the leadership trait of being able to plan for the future through concrete and quantifiable goals. they understand the need for continuous change and are open to trying new approaches to solve problems or improve processes.
4) Self - Motivated:-
- Leaders are self-motivated and are able to keep going and attain golls despite setbacks. In addition, good leaders try their best to exceed, not just meet, expectations.
5) Confident:-
- Virtually all good leaders share the leadership trait of confidence. They are able to make tough decisions and lead with authority. By being, confident, leaders are able to reassure and inspire others, establish open communications, and encourage teamwork.
6) People - Oriented:-
- Leaders are typically people-oriented and team players. They're able to faster a team culture, involve others in decision-making, and show concern for each team member. By being people-oriented. Leaders are able to energize and motivate others. By making each individual feel important and vital to the team's success, they secure the best efforts from each member of the team.
7) Emotionally Stable:-
- Leaders exercise good central and regulation over their own behaviour and are able to frustration and stress. Leaders are able to cope with changes in an environment without having an intense emotional reaction.

Question 6. Distinguish between:
a) Bureaucratic control and Budgetary control

Answer. Bureaucratic control is the use of formal systems of rules, roles, records, and rewards to influence, monitor, and assess employee performance.
* Rules set the requirements for behavior and define work methods.
* Roles assign responsibilities and establish levels of authority.
* Records document activities and verify outcomes.
- Rewards provide incentives for achievement and recognize performance relative to goals or standards.
- Organizations use these systems when their size and complexity make more informal practices based solely on interpersonal communication and relationships impractical, unrealiable and ineffective. Bureaucratic controls are intended to help an organization achieve its goals by shaping how employees perform, creating accountablility for outcomes, tracking actual performance, and correcting behaviour when necessary.
- The biggest advantage of bureaucratic control is that it creates a command and control cycle for the business leadership. Decision-making is streamlined. When fewer individuals are involved. Since standards and best practices are usually highlighted during decision-making, bureaucratic control makes an entire organization more efficient.
- Budgetary control is the process by which budgets are prepared for the future period end are compared with the actual performance for finding out budgeted figures with actual figures will help the management to find out variances and take corrective actions without any delay.
* The main objectives of budgetary control are given below:-
1. Define the objectives of the enterprise.
2. Providing lans for achieving the objectives so defined.
3. Coordinating the activities of various departments.
4. Operating various departements and cost centres economically and efficiently.
5. Increasing the profitability by eliminating waste.
6. Centralizing the control system.

b) Autocratic leadership style and Participate leadership style:-

Answer. Autocratic leadership is a management style wherein one person controls all the decisions and takes very little inputs from other group members. Autocratic leaders make choices or decisions based on their own beliefs and do not involve others for their suggestion or advice.
- Autocratic leadership is a form of management style in which one leader or member of the organization takes decisions on behalf of the company. This type of leadership style is seen mostly in businessess which are relatively small with fewer employees.
- This type of leadership style is only effective in organizations where the nature of work requires quick decision-making. The sole responsibility of the decision and the outcome is with the leader. It is considered to be a flexible leadership style, but some would argue that it is outdated now.
- However, there are certain characteristics of autocratic leadership such as - no inputs from other group members, are taken, group leader(s) dictate all the tasks or distribute responsibilities among other employees, and no reward or recognition is given to employees to boost morale.
- Some experts argue that this type of leadership style can be damaging rather than rewarding in the long run as it resembles that of a dictator. It leads to low employee morale, which in turn may lead to attribution in many cases.
- However, there are some advantages of autocratic leadership as well. It leads to quick decision-making, control over the processes and the operations of a company, etc.
- Autocratic leadership will be helpful in situations where a business faces constant change or a crisis. It will be able to react to the situation prompty compared to other leadership styles, because of streamlined organizational structure and quick deciion - making ability.
- Participative leadership is a style of leadership in which all members of the organization work together to make decisions. Participative leadership is also known as democratic leadership, as everyone is encouraged to participate.
* Participative leadership generally follows these steps:-
1) Discuss as a group:-
- There is usually a leader who oversees the process. This leader facilitates a discussion about the issue at hand or the decision that needs to be made.
2) Provide information:-
- The leader shares all pertinent information for deciding with the whole group.
3) Share ideas:-
- The group shares ideas about how to solve the problem.
4) Process ideas and information:-
- The leader summarizes the information and ideas for the group.
5) Make a decision:-
- The group makes the best decision based on the information and ideas presented.
6) Implement the decision:-
- ALl members of the organization implement the decision.

The five key trait of participative leadership were:-
* Giving, subordinates a share in decision making.
* Keeping subordinates informed of the true situation, good or bad, under all circumstances.
* Maintaining awareness of the state of the state of the organization's morale, with action taken to kep it as high as possible.
* The leader is approachable.
* Counselling, training, and development opportunities are offered to subordinates.
- In short, employees are involved much more heavily in the organizational activities than they would be in other leadership styles, with greater efforts taken to keep them informed, and greater priority placed on their development.

Question 7. Write short notes on the following:-

a) Types of communication flow:-

Answer. Communication is of the utmost importance when running a business. There are four main types of communication flow within a business: downward communication, upward communication, horizontal communication, and mulit-directional communication.
- Historically, companies communicated unilaterally, with one boss at the top giving the orders to all below. However, today most successful businesses use mulit-directional approach removes communications barriers and improves outcomes.
- Downward communication simply means that the orders come from the top and make their way down through the workforce. This form of communication is hierarchical in nature. However, downward communication is helpful and necessary in many instances. One example of downward communication is a superior setting a deadline and creating targets for subordinates. Another example is employee reviews. Ultimately, downward communication lays out work objectives and helps clarify the details of necessary tasks.
- Upward communication flows from a lower level of an organization's hierarchy to a higher level. In practise, workers use upward communication to make suggestions, offer input and file complaints. Allowing lower-level workers to have a say in operations is imperative to business success. One reason for this is that even the lowest-level workers to have a say in operations is imperative to business success. One reason for this is that even the lowest-level employees have unique perspectives on their work and what is needed to get the job done. For example, say a CEO sets a target that each member of the company's sales team must sell $10,000 of products each month. The sales team knows that this target isn't achivable within the current work expectations if even the most successful sellers are barely hitting $10,000 each month. The sales team can use upwards communication to inform the CEO that the target is out of reach.

b) Body language:-

Answer. Simply, body language is the unspoken element of communication that we use to reveal our true feelings and emotions. It's the relaxed facial expression that breaks out into a genuine smile - with mouth upturned and eyes wrinkled. It can be a tilt of the head that shows you're listening, sitting, or standing upright to convey interest, or directing attention with hand gestures. It can also be taking care to avoid a defensive, arms-crossed posture, or restlessely tapping your feet.
- When you can "read" signs like these, you can understand the complete message of what someone is telling you. You'll be more aware of people's reactions to what you say and do. And you'll be able to adjust your body language to appear more positive, engaging, and approachable.

(B) ESSAY TYPE QUESTIONS :-

Question 8. What is listening? Explain three basic steps in listening. How can one become a good listener?

Answer. One of the things we have to do is to be a great listener. This is a key leadership four steps to Effective Listening and communication skill for anyone. Sometimes effective listening can be a challenge because like most people. I can fall into the trap of thinking about my response and how I would like to help the individual with whom I am communicating. One of my pet peeves has always been that many people begin developing their response as soon as the other person starts speaking rather than truly listening to the message spoken to them. As I was going through some information this weekend, I came across a great one-page paper on four steps to effective listening, a key tenet of developing accountable leaders and teams. Permission was given to use the information as freely as possible and so I am sharing the main points with you.
* Four Strategies for Effective Listening:-
- First of all, listening is an activity; it is not something we do passively. The skill of active listening needs to be applied, be there and stay focused on the person talking, without any distractions. It requires us to ask questions and give feedback.
* So here are four basic goals of good listening to consider when entering a conversation:-
- To understand someone
- To enjoy someone
- To learn something
- To give help or solace
* Paraphrasing is a basic tool we often use to listen well. We might use phrases like these:
- In other words, did you mean....?
- So how you felt about it was....?
- Did you mean....?
- I think what I am hearing you say is....?
- Correct me if I am wrong....?
* Paraphrasing defines common ground, lets the other person know you understand what it is they are communicating, and it helps them feel understand and appreciated. Listening is a leadership skill that is often overlooked.
1) Listen with empathy:-
- This requires us to recognize,accept and understand that we are doing the best we can and so are others. Try to put yourself in the other individuals shoes and give him or her the benefit of the doubt. Try to understand where someone else is coming from and treat him or her with kindness as you take in the message. Ask what difficulties the other person is experiencing, and this will help you hear his or her message. Pay attention to their body language, keep an open mind and be careful not to jump to conclusions.
2) Be open as you listen:
- Be careful not to judge and put on your critical parent hat. Do not make your mind up too quickly as you take in the information. Give yourself some time to think and reflect. Try not to come to conclusions too quickly and develop a definitive position based on what you are hearing. Allows yourself to consider different perspectives. Whenever possible have the meeting face to face, or with video conferencing if in person isn't possible, so that you can better understand their thoughts and feeling being expressed nonverbally.
3) Listen with awareness:-
- There are two parts to this: compare what is said to your own knowledge, history, people, and the way the world operates; and secondly listen and observe for congruence. Watch for visual cues and try to determined if they match the information you were hearing. Effective communiction is a two-way street so make sure that you let them know that they were heard and understand before moving to a nw topic.
- The main goal of listening to someoneattentively is to 'put yourself in the other person's shoes' so that you 'understand' their viewpoint better.
- A good leader is a good listener first, a good speaker later, When a listens, he/she begins to comprehend what the problem is before proposing a solution for it. That is why a good leader will always get things done whereas good speaking skills will help him communicate better with his followers.
- Good listeners tend to do well when it comes to developing key social relationships like meeting new people. attracting partnerships, socializing with colleagues, but also in private life like marriage, dating etc.
- A peron with good listening skills is more likely to empathize with their partner and colleagues too, as compared to someone who is a shallow listener.
- Good listeners make good mentors because they are often perceived as good sounding boards for those who want to unload their experiences, thought, and frustrations to someone who is willing to listen.
- A person with fully developed listen skills is also equipped with good problem-solving skills because they get in the core of the problem before coming up with a solution.
- Good listening wkills and decision-making skills go hand in hand. Being a good listener helps you analyze the situation in the nest way possible because you focus properly on what is being said. This helps in developing strategies effectively and making the right decisions and plans accordingly.
- When you listen to what the other person is saying attentively, it shows that you respect them and their opinion for which they automatically begin to respect you. If you are in a managerial position, listening to the problems of your employees and subordinates with attention will inspire them to work harder for they will feel valued and respected.
- There are fewer chances of miscommunication when you listen to everything with attention before communicating the message to others.

Question 9. Discuss positive and negative impacts of technology enabled business communication. What are the criteria for selection of communication technology?

In today's global economy, getting on the technology bandwagon is unavoidable to a certain degree. Even so, you don't need to stop every traditional communications strategy that's valuable to your business just because email and texting are so cenvenient. Examine the positive and negative effects of technology on communication, as it pertains to your buiness goals.
* Advantage:-
1) Speed and Effeciency:-
- Being able to reach customers, co-workers and vendors quickly helps improve the efficiency of anybusiness operation mobile technology makes it easily to get or to keep contact information in a mobile dvice. You can reach out with questions or updates from anywhere. For example, a manager in the field trying to determine, why an orders hasn't arrived can quickly contact his office, supplier, and delivery courier within a few minutes from the effective location.
2) Communication Log:-
- Technology has made it easy to keep extended communication logs. Emails and texts are easily tracked to confirm what was discussed in previous correspondence. Even phone conversions can be recorder and logged in digital formats through customer retention management software. Whether to quickly review what was discussed or to keep a legal record of correspondence, technology has made logging communications much easier.
3) Mobile Workers:-
- Technology has transformed the workforce into a mobile workforce. This means that people can work from home or from anywhere in the world, and can collaborate with team members via cell phones, internet resources or video conferencing. This creates employees who are more productive and happier, and who have greater flexibility in work hours and their locations. Mobile workers can access all relevant forms, information, and company materials in exactly in the some way as in - office employees.
* Disadvantages:-
1) Lack of relationship building:-
- Technology has reduced the amount of face-to-face interaction or the number of actual telephone conversations that people have. It is much easier to send a quick text rather than to engage in a phone call.
- Although this efficiency is certainly a benefit, there is value to the chit-chat that's now becoming lost. Relationships are built when a business knows its customer and discovers opportunities to serve them more effectively through personal interactions.
2) Informal communication:-
Traditional written correspondence such as letters via postal mail is usually more professional in format and tone, while email and texting can show a lower standard of professionalism. This can become a problem if clients feel that the informal nature reflects actual capability. Professionalism suggests whether a company is capable of doing the job it was hired for. Informal communications may tarnish a company's reputation.
For example:-
- If an employee addresses a customer in an email. "Hey linda." this simple informal salutation may be perceived as too casual or perhaps even unprofessional by some. If the body of the email uses slang or improper grammar, the reader might delete the email before finishing it. It's important to know your clients or customers on a fairly casual basis before you jump right in with a first-name salutation, and to always keep your level of business communications professional.