Reference no: EM132267781

You manage the small specialty grocery store, Nature’s Crunch, in Houston, Texas, and are facing some new competition from a recently built Super Target that opened nearby. Your customers are telling you that they like shopping at the Super Target because food costs are less expensive, parking is easier, and a pharmacy is available within the Super Target. They do like the customer service at your grocery store better and say that the experience shopping at Nature’s Crunch is more personal.

You know that to stay competitive you need to make some changes, but you’re limited in how much you can do—you can’t add a pharmacy; it would be too expensive. What you’d like to do is to get ideas from your employees about changes that would improve the customers’ experiences with the store to the point where they wouldn’t go to Super Target. You think that if employees propose the changes they’ll be more likely to implement them, and you’re willing to pay for the ideas if you can use them.

Specifically, employees who suggest an idea that is good enough to be implemented will be recognized in the store’s newsletter and get one extra paid vacation day. You employ a lot of college students, and you think they are getting an idea implemented would look great on their resumes for future employment. To submit an idea, employees can simply send you an email that describes the idea.

Write an email to your employees explaining the situation and calling for their suggestions.