Reference no: EM131059230

Assignment 1: NORDSTROM QUESTIONS

What was Nordstrom's biggest problem from an employee's perspective?

What was Nordstrom's biggest problem from a management perspective?

Is Nordstrom's management system a normal management system, or is it an eccentric individual system exclusive to this business only.

Answer all three questions using the following pattern:

Case Study Outline

Introduction - Give a very brief description of the situation outlined in the case study.

Problem - Outline what you see as the key problems the case study participants face. It's key here not to get distracted by trivia--focus on the main game. Clearly state what the problem is as you see it, and WHY you see it as key. This requires analysis of the situation, not just a repetition of it.

Possible Solutions - At this point you should outline what you see as possible solutions to the problem you've outlined above. Each should be accompanied by an analysis of their potential strengths and weaknesses. I would expect to see about three (3) possible strategies for solving the problem here.

Recommendation - Here is where you put your professional reputation on the line. Business does not hire consultants to give them a list of possible solutions, they want their best possible recommendation. You can't hedge here, you can't temporize. Clearly state what they need to do to implement your solution. You also need to consider here what is possible for the participants to do, and what they might be WILLING to do.

Fallout - This section is basically "what could go wrong?" That is, if management adopts your solution, what could happen? What might happen if they don't?

Assignment 2: You are a business consultant and you specialize in organizational behaviour.

The CEO of a large retail organization, ABC Shopping Group, a competitor of Nordstrom, wants you to help them to develop a better corporate culture for their organization. They are much smaller than Nordstrom with about half the number of stores and about half the number of staff. They sell a wide range of merchandise, mostly clothing and housewares, to a middle class clientele.

You agree to accept the challenge, but because you are very busy, you can only allocate about one week to write a plan for the CEO of ABC. Your work with Nordstrom is now finished but your knowledge of their organization is still very much in your mind.

You job is to use your experience from your work with Nordstrom to do the following:

1. To figure out the key issues ABC Shopping Group needs to work on as a matter of priority

2. To identify how ABC Shopping Group can keep their staff internally motivated, rather than externally motivated, so that they collectively stay focused on serving customers properly so as to create ongoing wealth for ABC's shareholders.

Attachment:- Assignment.rar