c&s wholesale grocers
Post on 24-Oct-2014
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C&S Wholesale Grocers: Self-Managed Teams
Group 10 Arin Chakrobarty
Karthik T Nikhil Mathur Pragya Madar
Sachin Pal Utkarsh Shah
Yojit Grover
Introduction
This case is about a 70 year old warehousing and distribution company by the name of C&S Wholesale Grocers.Rick Cohen, the President & CEO of the company is concerned that whether the company would be able to meet the needs of all its customers and maintain high level of customer satisfaction for which the company was known throughout New England.
Statement of Problem
Considering the precarious position at hand, Rick Cohen is trying to decide whether and how to implement the concept of Self Managed Teams in the company’s warehouse.
C&S: Company Background
• Founded by Israel Cohen and Abraham Siegel in 1918
• Innovation and attention to customer service- cornerstones of C&S’s success
• Professional in client dealings• Forged relationships with over 2 dozen
military bases by 1988
A&P
• Single large customer of C&S• Sales of C&S increased by 35%• Warehouse moved to a new location,
Brattleboro• C&S’s business got doubled in Northeast
Challenges faced by C&S
• Rising operational costs• Shrinking margins• Quality control• Customer relationship management
Problems galore at Brattleboro• Hired new employees- Who did not have much knowledge &
supervisors had to train them which meant lower efficiencies due to loss of time
• No coordination among the workforce.• Hired more supervisors to improve coordination• No accountability• Overcrowded workspace due to increase in workforce• Increased work hours led to physical exhaustion, hence morale of
employees dropped• High turnover rate- approaching 90%• Rise in soft costs• Increased paper work
Rick Cohen
• Raised in Worcester, Massachusetts• Completed undergraduate studies at the Wharton school• In 1987, became President & CEO of C&S when his father,
Lester retired• Proactive personality- is testified by his Action of moving the warehousing facility to Brattleboro Was aware of the need to win a large supermarket
location quickly immediately after relocation
• Big 5 personality traits
Extraversion- Convinced his father to move out the warehouse from Worcester to Brattleboro
Agreeableness- He was in agreement with Harris on the possibility of implementing self-managed teams concept in C&S
Conscientiousness- He was well-organized, responsible, careful in his approach for the progress of the organization
Emotional Stability- He was calm and composed even though the festive season was arriving which would test the warehouse to its limits
Openness To Experience- Unlike competitors he was ready to implement self- managed teams
• According to MBTI modelN-type- He intuitively believed that increased
employee involvement leads to improved performance
P-type- He was open minded in his approach to explore new options which other competitors did not do
• McGregor theory Y- He believedThe team should be self selecting rather than
assignedShould be paid bonuses for accuracy and
receive deductions for errorsHe believed in employee involvement which
would lead to higher satisfaction levels
• Implementation of Herzbrg’s two factor theory:
Hygiene factors- Since salary is not the only satisfier, he linked it with
performance He wanted to improve the working conditions as employee
turnover rate was very high
Motivators He wanted to empower the teams which would make them
more responsible and accountable He linked salary to performance, inculcating a growth oriented
approach in the employees
Culture At C&S As Envisioned• As per Hofstede’s theoryCollectivism- He wished to form teams which would
be handling a particular no of cases per shiftHigh Uncertainty Avoidance- Rick was aware of the
ground realities and wanted to transform operations to be profitable in the long run
Long-term orientation- He wanted the same legacy to continue which was developed by his grandfather
• As per the EVLN model Rick wants to turnaround the prevalent attitude adopted by employees, i.e., to exit, instead they should voice their opinions and the incentive system would ensure to a certain extent that they would remain loyal towards the organization
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