Case Study: Business Operations, Ethics, and Management at ALDI

This case study delves into the business operations and management strategies of ALDI, a prominent player in the retail sector. It analyzes ALDI's business model, focusing on its customer experience, supply chain challenges, and competitive advantages against major players like Tesco. The study also explores the application of ALDI's model in other industries, such as consumer electronics and video gaming, while considering the sacrifices customers make to access ALDI's shopping experience. Furthermore, it emphasizes the importance of business ethics, highlighting Tesco's ethical practices and approaches, including sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. The case study also touches upon the significance of human resource management within a business context, emphasizing its role in achieving organizational goals and maintaining a productive workforce. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar solved assignments and past papers for academic assistance.

Introduction to
Business Operations
and management

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Task 1 – Temporary Research............................................................................................3
Task 2 – ALDI case study....................................................................................................4
Task 3 Business Ethics.........................................................................................................6
Task 4 Class Discussion........................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
There are many complex business procedures which are at play today which have to be
carefully considered by firms looking to remain profitable and afloat over a long period of time.
Operations management is one of the most important aspects of business administration
nowadays as it refers to the optimizing of the entire process of a firm which involve uses of
labour and production tools to convert raw materials into finished goods for catering to the needs
of final consumers (Grabner, 2019). The main aim behind this process is to increase the
productivity and efficiency of the company and making sure important and critical areas of the
business such as production line and the work floor are properly managed and regulated for
quality control. This report will include real life examples and scenarios to highlight major
operational issues in current business landscape and the importance of business ethics in modern
business industries.
MAIN BODY
Task 1 – Temporary Research
The UK's economy has been hit really hard by multiple major issues such as Brexit which
has resulted in UK cutting off from rest of the EU while the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in
multiple lock-downs which have created a slow depression among many important industries and
even after the restrictions are easing, many companies are still reeling from the losses and are
expected to have a long road to recovery. There are many operational issues plaguing the country
lately, some of which are highlighted below.
 Tesco to cut hundreds of jobs as it announces big change to 317 stores – This is a
major operational issue that has come unannounced as a major blow to the economy

along with thousands of unexpected workers which are all about to lose their jobs and
sources of livelihood (Lohmer and Lasch, 2020). Tesco is the current market leader of
UK's retail and grocery sector and despite having a strong and widespread supply chain
network and abundance of stores and supermarkets across the country, it has suffered
devastating disruptions due to Brexit and the coronavirus which has made the company
streamline and filter their operational costs by shutting down it's stores and departments
of supermarkets which sell meat, fish and deli as the revenue being generated from these
sales generate low demand and do not appeal to modern consumer tastes according to the
company. This move can backfire quickly as shutting down operations can lead to mass
job cuts and Tesco which boats itself as an ethical and equal opportunity job provider
must provide job security. This shutdown should happen only after compensation is
provided and employees are shifted to other departments within the company.
 ALDI still suffering from product shortages – Being in the top 4 major players in UK's
retail sector alongside Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrison's, ALDI is a discounter and has
gained major retail market share in recent years and due to the low cost products it make
available readily to consumers, a large part of UK's population depend on the company
for their daily and special needs (Lee and Tang, 2018). Unfortunately the company
continues to have important goods out of stock due to a variety of reasons including
Brexit, inclement weather slowing down transport lines and the pandemic shutting down
suppliers with which the company has close relations with. ALDI should solve this
problem as it has also shut down ice gear sales which has lead to public outrage, it should
sort out supply chain networks and expand the number of suppliers.
Task 2 – ALDI case study
Question 1: ALDI and similar stores offer different customer experience. Do you think a
similar business model would work in other industries?
The business model employed by ALDI has been very effective as it has made the
company go from being just a newcomer in retail to a major presence which extends in multiple
countries and is pioneering the new trend of needs based shopping which is undercutting
traditional supermarkets which have dominated the industry for long (Van Wassenhove, 2019).

This same approach of focusing on personal branding, speciality goods and smart inventory
management can be applied to other industries which are given herein.
 Consumer Electronics – This industry can benefit massively from ALDI's business
model as during the last few years, there has been a massive growth in consumer
electronics and there is a lot of competition for each price segment and the quality, build
and features of most things includes speakers, mobiles and desktops as well as laptops
change with minute price differentiation of a few pounds. Retailers in this industry can
benefit from small scale speciality shops which focuses on specialized selling such as
gaming laptops, franchises of specific brands which will increase profit and inventory
handling. There is also a huge market to corner is there is a clear divide now between
android and IOS devices along with stock android and company specific operating
systems. By narrowing the focus on certain systems and brands that are trending, a firm
can increase their revenue by a lot.
 Video Gaming Industry – Often times underrated, gaming is one of the largest
entertainment mediums currently and it is on the verge of being a billion dollar industry
full of massive investments and large margins involved due to there being small number
of sellers. The retailers in this segment have a huge opportunity to earn massive amounts
of profit as the price of games have skyrocketed over the years but the sellers in this
segment fumble this opportunity as they are not specialized and do not focus on customer
trends and convenience (Chapman and Ellinger, 2019). Small scale shops which either
provide games relating to PC, Xbox and PlayStation is the way to go as people are very
specific when it comes their choice of gaming consoles.
Questions 2: What are the sacrifices customers have to make in order to have access to this
shopping experiences?
Even though ALDI business model is popular, customers are facing tough choices and
making the following sacrifices.
 Customers are unable to spend a lot of time in shopping which is a massive hit to the
window shopping culture as many people like to indulge in shopping
 Large variety of goods give people the element of choice and better chance of getting
quality products which ALDI does not facilitate ( Atieh, 2021).

 Customers do not find many facilities and utilities compared to those found in big
supermarkets.
 Shopping at discounters like ALDI prevents customers from purchasing expensive and
luxury items as the stores do not keep such product lines.
Task 3 Business Ethics
It is very important for an business organisation to adopt the various business ethics in
order to prevent the organisation from any kind of legal actions. There are certain policies and
principles which need to be followed by the organisation. The business ethics is applied in all the
aspects which also concentrates on the behaviour of the employees within the workplace. Every
business organisation has a code of conduct of ethics in which they need to accomplish their task
and activities in order to be productive and achieve the goals and objectives of the business
enterprise. It is very important for the organisation to conduct ethical practices in order to build
the brand image in the market. The ethical behaviour of the employees ensure about the work
and the honestly of the task an individual performs. The Tesco has practices and implement the
ethical code of conduct and various ethical approaches in the form of various policies of the
company and also contributes to the society.
The various ethical approaches which is adopted by Tesco helps the employees in
working in a better environment and have various opportunities which is provided bt the
management. The Tesco ensures about the compensation paid to the workers should be in such a
manner that they are satisfied. The company also focus on the mission which is to create value to
its customers by maintaining loyalty in offering the best quality of products and services. The
Tesco concentrate on the ethical decision by combining the agency theory and stakeholder theory
towards the society. the company practices various corporate social responsibility in order to
attract customers and its stakeholders. It is very essential for the company in attaining the
objectives and contributing towards the society. It is very essential for the Tesco to perform the
various task in order to be competitive in market and as well as gain the attention of its
stakeholders. There are various approaches and ethical practices taken into consideration by the
manageable which are discussed below:

 There are several methods which are practices in consideration of sustainable
development. The company practice in controlling the carbon footprint which is been
produced by the organisation. Also the company focus on not issuing the plastic poly
bags.
 The company adopts the Deontology approach which states that the employees of the
organisation are treated the way a person wants to be treated. This means that the
company focus on treating people in an ethical manner and respect to their ideas and
suggestions.
 Also, the company makes the financial contribution towards the Fund for Animal
replacement in Medical Trials. The organisation is contributing in finding ways and
eliminate animal testing.
Task 4 Class Discussion
The business area which is been selected is human resource resource department. This is
the most important area where the human resource is important for the organisation in order to
conduct the activities and this makes to the workforce of the organisation. It is very important
for the company to manage its human resource in order to make them effective and achieve the
objectives of the business enterprise. The activities conducted in this business area contributes in
screening, recruiting, selection, job analysis. It is been identified that the various factors help in
managing the various aspect in this business area. The company need to analyse the department
of the human resource which is important for the company in achieving the objectives and goals.
The business organisation need to manage the human resource area in an effective and efficient
manner in order to achieve the objectives. As the people who are working plays the major role.
The human resource is considered the capital of the organisation without that the company
cannot conduct the business operations. This is the area where the managers need to train the
employees and motivate them to increase their productive and enhance their work in different
aspects.
I have learn the various aspect from this business area which is been discussed such as
human resource. This is very important capital for the business organisation. I have learn the

various aspect that are required in the human resource management. The human resource is
considered the most important factor in the organisation in order to achieve the goals and
objectives,. The HR department can also some challenges in implementing the various strategies
in order to attract the employees. While I was studying the HR business area I got to know that
the company lacking in the human resource can face challenges and it is very important for the to
manage the human resource and train them in order to develop the business organisation
Therefore, it can be said that HR department is an important part for organisation which leads to
company success as it helps in recruiting top talent, employee engagement, building corporate
culture etc.
CONCLUSION
From the above discussion it can be concluded that the case study which is been
discussed of Aldi and the business model which is used in applicable in the electronic businesses.
The various model which is been applied in the grocery stores is not convenient. It is very

important for the organisation to manage its operations and consider the aspect of the motivation
of the employees. The company has affected in its supply chain management which need to be
considered in order to be competitive. The business operations helps in performing the several
functions in an organisation. There are various ethical practices which need to be conducted by
the company in order to create brand image. This is an important aspect for the progress of the
business enterprise.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Atieh, A.T., 2021. Establishing Efficient IT Operations Management through Efficient
Monitoring, Process Optimization, and Effective IT Policies. Empirical Quests for Management
Essences, 1(1), pp.1-12.
Chapman, K. and Ellinger, A.E., 2019. An evaluation of Web of Science, Scopus and Google
Scholar citations in operations management. The International Journal of Logistics Management.

Grabner, T., 2019. Operations management. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.
Lee, H.L. and Tang, C.S., 2018. Socially and environmentally responsible value chain
innovations: New operations management research opportunities. Management Science, 64(3),
pp.983-996.
Lohmer, J. and Lasch, R., 2020. Blockchain in operations management and manufacturing:
Potential and barriers. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 149, p.106789.
Metters, R., 2017. Gender and operations management. Cross Cultural & Strategic Management.
Van Wassenhove, L.N., 2019. Sustainable innovation: Pushing the boundaries of traditional
operations management. Production and Operations Management, 28(12), pp.2930-2945.