Posted: April 2nd, 2015

Recommendations for Implementation

Recommendations for Implementation

The sudden change in corporate culture is one of the reasons as to why the business failed. The change was so sudden that it did not prepare the usual clients psychologically. Continuous change should be introduced progressively so that no gap is left between the old and the new practice (Sadri & Lees, 2001). We would recommend that JC Penny reintroduces the former culture of offering the weekly sales coupons to bring back the former customers. The new culture would then be introduced bit by bit; alternating the old strategy with the new one would make the change go unnoticed by the customers. Once the old customers realize that there is a new offer, they would get used to it and slowly adapt to it, this way, the old customers would be psychologically prepared. The new targeted group of customers would be captured while the new culture progresses to become popular. In the future, management should always consider the aspect of continuous change to make business an evolving process that matches with the current needs of the society (Probst & Raisch, 2005).

To revive employee morale, it is advisable for management to change its leadership style to an interactive one. The employees felt that they were not informed of the changes that were taking place. The management should organize teams that would work together with a common goal. For instance, JC Penny would have informed the employees of the new goal to integrate the new generation in their clientele. This way the employees would work towards ensuring that the younger generation is introduced without interfering with the needs of the current client base. This makes the employees feel that they are part of decision making. This would give them the morale to give their best despite the decline in sales. Communication is enhanced through team work. The management should actively involve these teams in the company’s operations, planning and decision making (Gitman & McDaniel, 2009).

Establishing a monitoring system is extremely important for an organization to identify the non performing areas of the organization. JC Penny only decided to do away with the nonperforming catalog business and call centers when the crisis began. It is recommended that a business should be success-oriented. Units from which results are not forthcoming should be identified before it is too late. This would provide a chance to change them or discard them. In the case of JC Penny, the management should monitor the sales of the various units and identify the stagnant ones. Once these are identified, research should be done to come up with an action plan that would boost sales. Some of the non performing catalog business could be recovered and maintained to continue giving the clients the services that they are using. Scraping off the business may earn the organization a negative attitude from the loyal customers. Putting a monitoring system gives a warning so that in place ensures that changes are made in good time before they affect business. It gives a warning before a catastrophe can strike (Probst & Raisch, 2005).

Finally, the management should organize extensive market research to establish the customer needs and how they can be met. For instance, the needs of the young generation customers were not met as anticipated. Research would establish what exactly the customers want from the organization. It would also identify the things which put off the previous customers. Once customer needs are established, the next step would be to provide public awareness to improve product knowledge among the customers. This would also attract new customers (Gitman & McDaniel, 2009).

The mission statement is limited to the consumers normal expectations, it does not appeal to attract them. “Treating other people as you would like to be treated” is something that happens in any other organization. It should offer a clear specific vision which focusses on customer needs and has measurable outcomes. For instance, other than simply stating that customers will love shopping again, the statement could be replaced with, “Focused on offering the highest level of customer service that will make shopping a whole new experience.” This promises customers excellent sevices, not just different (Gitman & McDaniel, 2009).