BUMGT1501 - Case Study: Applying Management Theories to Abraham's

This case study solution examines the management failures within Abraham's Grocery, a company founded in 1967 that expanded to over 200 stores by 2007. The report highlights issues stemming from a poorly structured organization, leading to employee dissatisfaction and lack of coordination. ...Read More

Running head: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Business management
Case study: Abraham’s Grocery
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive summary
This report will provide better insights regarding the management failures that is present
within the grocery store. It will result in increasing the level of efficiency among the workers
with the help of effective managers. The company has been doing good business in the
market and has expanded to a great extent. The company was established in the year 1967 by
Bill and Doris Abraham and tried to increase the level of services among the customers by
providing better quality of products. By the end of 2007, the company was able to expand its
business by opening up more than 200 stores for which they need to take the help of efficient
managers. The organizational structure of the company was not done in a proper manner,
which had resulted in loss of the employees. The report has thrown light on the various
measures that needs to be taken up so that it can help in functioning of the store in an
efficient manner.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Answer 1................................................................................................................................3
Answer 2................................................................................................................................5
Answer 3................................................................................................................................6
Recommendation........................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
Reference List............................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
The management of the stores by the leaders is an important function that will help in
increasing the level of profit, as more customers can be attracted towards the company. The
employees need to be motivated in a proper manner so that it can result in providing better
services to the customers. The managers of the respective departments have to understand the
needs and preferences of the employees so that it can result in providing the services in a
efficient way.
Discussion
Answer 1
The important functions of management starts from planning, which helps the
organization in planning the course of action that needs to be taken up so that the
organization can work in an efficient manner. The challenges that are present in business
needs to be understood so that it can result in predicting the future of the economy for the
business. The objectives of the organization needs to be reassessed so that it can help in
formulating the strategies in a better way, which will lead to an increased sales in the
company (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2014). The planning has to be done efficiently, which will
help in reducing the wastage of resources as well. Referring to the case study, it can be seen
that the planning of the grocery store was not done in a proper manner. This was evident from
the case that the company was expanding due to the better quality of products, which led to
the appointment of managers in each department such as meat, grocery and produce
department. The manager of the grocery department also served as the store manager but had
no control over the other managers (Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015).
Another function is known as organizing where the resources with respect to financial
and humans are collaborated together so that the objectives of the company can be achieved.

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It can be done by delegating the activities in to various authorities so that the responsibilities
of the people can be shared within the organization. This will also result in sharing the work
pressure among the employees in an equal manner. The responsibilities of the people needs to
be coordinated so that it can help in achieving greater rate of turnover within the company
(Dumas et al., 2013).
Leading is yet another management function that helps the employees in being
motivated within the organization. A good leader will be able to communicate with the
employees in a proper way so that it can make them understand the objectives and goals of
the organization. They need to understand the personalities of the humans so that the best
employees can be put in-charge of the various functions within the organization (Chang,
2016).
Controlling is an important function, as it helps the organization in measuring the
achievements in a proper way. The managers need to identify the deviation sources so that
correct actions can be taken up in the organization. This helps the organization in meeting the
goals and objectives in a proper way and decrease the rate of complaints that are done by the
customers (Armstrong et al., 2015).
From the case study, it can be seen that the managers of the stories reported directly to
the district specialist for the raw materials that were sourced within the organization. This led
to rise in the level of dissatisfaction among the employees of the stores. This led to a problem
in the coordination among the employees, as the Coke products that were bought in the store
were not displayed by the meat and produce department managers, as it would lead to a
decrease in their floor space. This resulted in the loss of the company, as the managers lacked
the coordination among themselves.

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The business started to improve after the store manager was made responsible for
taking the reports from the managers of the three departments. This resulted in increasing the
level of coordination among the store employees, as the store manager was responsible in
communicating with the district specialist for the raw materials that were present in the
organization.
Answer 2
The organization needs to take up the administrative type of management approach,
as it will help them in distributing the products within the store in an efficient way. The work
needs to be divided in a proper way within the store by delegating the responsibilities on the
employees who can handle the pressure. This will help in increasing the output due to the
efficiency and the skills of the employees. The authority also needs to be strong so that they
can be able to command over the operations, which will result in increasing the level of
efficiency within the grocery store (Hill, Jones & Schilling, 2014). The managers of the
different departments in the store needs to have a better level of communication power so that
they can be able to work together and achieve the goals and objectives of the organization.
With reference to the case study, it can be seen that the store manager has the responsibility
in collecting the reports from the managers of the different departments so that the grievances
of the departments can be taken in to account and the plans within the organization can be
done with coordination (Osborne, Radnor & Nasi, 2013).
The remuneration of the managers is high within the grocery store, which needs to act
as a motivator for them so that they can perform their duties in a proper way. The store
manager needs to act as a centralized figure, as he will have to look after the grievances that
are being put forward the managers of the department (Edward, 2017). The store manager
also needs to give freedom to the employees in each department to carry out the activities so
that it can help them in using their necessary skills and knowledge in attracting more number

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of customers (Wisner, Tan & Leong, 2014). The manager will also be responsible for the
level of equity that is provided to the employees. The employees need to be approached with
kindness and in a humble manner so that they can be able to provide better feedbacks
regarding the changes that needs to be done within the organization. The manager will also be
responsible for increasing the level of spirit among the employees so that they can achieve
the goals in a united manner (Moran & Morner, 2017).
Answer 3
The efficiency and the effectiveness of the enterprise can be improved by providing
better access to the store manager and the district specialists. The store manager will be
responsible for communicating with them regarding the amount of raw materials that is
required within the organization. It will result in better coordination between the produce,
grocery and the meat departments, as the managers of these respective departments will have
to report to the store manager on a daily manner (Osborne, Radnor & Nasi, 2013). This will
result in increasing the level of efficiency of the enterprise, as the daily interactions with
these managers will help in understanding the needs and preferences of the organization. The
store manager will also be responsible in inviting the district specialists to the store so that it
can help in providing better advice to the respective departments so that it can ensure that the
quality of the products can be maintained within the store. This will result in serving the fresh
produce to the customers so that the satisfaction level among the customers can be increased
that will result in increasing the level of profit as well for the grocery store (Armstrong et al.,
2015).
Recommendation
Therefore it can be recommended that the grocery store needs to take up the
administrative approach of management so that it can increase the level of efficiency among
the employees. It will result in better operations of the company so that the company can earn

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a better rate of return. The store manager needs to identify the gaps that are present in the
department so that the manager of each department can report to him regarding the problems
that are faced by their employees. It will also result in having a transparent team of workers
who will work in a coordinated manner.
Conclusion
It can therefore be concluded that the grocery store has been able to take up the advice
that has been given by the consultant so that it can help in increasing the level of efficiency of
the store. The clear communication pattern of the managers of different departments with the
store manager will result in understanding the problems that are being faced by the
employees so that corrective actions can be taken up in improving the level of efficiency
among the employees. The store manager will also be responsible in inviting the district
specialists so that they can provide better insights regarding the quality of the products to be
maintained in a proper way within the store.

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Reference List
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M., & Brennan, R. (2015). Marketing: an introduction.
Pearson Education.
Carroll, A., & Buchholtz, A. (2014). Business and society: Ethics, sustainability, and
stakeholder management. Nelson Education.
Chang, J. F. (2016). Business process management systems: strategy and implementation.
CRC Press.
Dumas, M., La Rosa, M., Mendling, J., & Reijers, H. A. (2013). Fundamentals of business
process management (Vol. 1, p. 2). Heidelberg: Springer.
Edward, R. (2017). An Elaboration of the Administrative Theory of the 14 Principles of
Management by Henri Fayol.
Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., & Schilling, M. A. (2014). Strategic management: theory: an
integrated approach. Cengage Learning.
Moran, B. B., & Morner, C. J. (2017). Library and information center management. ABC-
CLIO.
Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H., & Zentes, J. (2015). Strategic international
management (pp. 978-3658078836). Springer.
Osborne, S. P., Radnor, Z., & Nasi, G. (2013). A new theory for public service management?
Toward a (public) service-dominant approach. The American Review of Public
Administration, 43(2), 135-158.
Wisner, J. D., Tan, K. C., & Leong, G. K. (2014). Principles of supply chain management: A
balanced approach. Cengage Learning.