An Analysis of Management Principles and Practices: Grocery Store Case

This report analyzes the management principles employed by First Abraham's Grocery Store, a chain with a hierarchical structure, focusing on its organizational challenges and potential improvements. The study examines the core functions of management – planning, organizing, leading, and controlling – and how they are applied within the grocery store's operations, from regional management down to individual store units. It explores the suitability of Weber's bureaucratic approach for the organization, highlighting the importance of specialization, formalization, and clear lines of authority. The report then delves into the concepts of efficiency and effectiveness, proposing strategies to enhance both, such as employee training, quality management, and improved coordination between departments. The conclusion emphasizes the need for better coordination at the store level to increase customer satisfaction, service quality, and profitability. The report also provides relevant references to support the analysis.

Running head: MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
1
Management Principles
Student’s Name
University

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
2
Executive summary
Management strategies used in organizations determine how the business meets its needs
by aligning the processes with the needs of the organization. The First Abraham Grocery store
has a chain of stores that are managed under four regions that are further split into districts of
twelve to thirteen stores each. The stores have three unit managers who report to the district
manager. The stores are facing management challenges due to the structure of leadership and
poor coordination. This report analyses the case by looking at functions of management, the
management approach and how effectiveness or efficiency in the organization can be improved.

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
3
Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................2
1.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................4
1.2 Functions of management..........................................................................................................4
1.3 Management approach...............................................................................................................6
1.4 Effectiveness/effectiveness........................................................................................................7
1.5 Conclusion.................................................................................................................................8
References......................................................................................................................................10

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
4
Management Principles
1.1 Introduction
Management is the processes of setting strategies for the organization through
coordination of employee efforts and resources to achieve the desired goals. Every organization
exists on a set of objectives that have to be fulfilled to achieve sustainability of the organization.
This is thus the process through which management gets activities done by linking the efforts of
different departments within the organization. From the case study, the First Abraham’s Grocery
Store has several stores that need to be managed to achieve the best results from each store
(Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & Cardy, 2008). This essay analyses the case of the grocery store by
focusing functions of management, a management approach that meets the needs of the store and
how effectiveness and efficiency can be achieved in the grocery.
1.2 Functions of management
The process of management requires strategic thinking to align the organization in the
desired direction. In management of the First Abraham’s Grocery Store grocery store, the
following functions of management are used, planning, organizing, leading and controlling.
Planning entails mapping out the steps that will be used to achieve grocery stores. Since the
grocery has several outlets that work together and have to be organized then it means that
management has to plan for all the stores and align them to the main office (Yukl, 2010). The
activities that take place in the grocery store need to be executed in a way that focusses on
achieving organizational goals. This process focusses on identifying the tasks required to achieve
the desired goals and outlining how the tasks are performed and who needs to perform them. For
example, in the case study, the role of planning to achieve the effectiveness of the grocery store

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
5
and ensure customer satisfaction. This means that planning entails developing steps on how the
activities in the organization will be achieved for business effectiveness (Bass, 2008). For
example, since the grocery is known for quality meat and vegetables, plans that are put in place
must address quality and future effectiveness of the grocery.
Schoemaker, Krupp, & Howland (2013) suggests that the organizing function is
structuring, integrating and coordination of tasks within the organization to achieve the desired
objectives. Through harmonizing the individual goals of employees towards organizational
goals, organizing ensures that plans are executed to yield the expected results. This means that
individuals are grouped together in different groups that are identified with the tasks assigned to
these employees. For example, the grocery runs stores in four regions with 12 to 13 stores in
each regions. Then the stores are managed by managers who ensure that employees carry out the
tasks as expected. In each objective set, there are activities that fall within that line which require
the input of employees. Such employees will be organized into such groups to ensure that the
planned goals are achieved. Therefore, this function defines the role positions, jobs and
coordination between different individuals in the organization. This is thus ways through which
plans are achieved. To achieve plans well in the grocery store, there must be identification and
grouping of work to be performed, defining the responsibility of each position, establishing of
relationships positions and developing rules and regulations for employees to follow.
Leading
Leading is the process of influencing others to attain organizational goals. This means
that the manager must make decisions that regard the issues that the organization is facing and at
the same time communicate the decisions effectively for other to implement (Fairholm, 2009).
The Grocery store has several stores that are managed by regional managers and stores

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
6
managers. Each of the managers has the role of ensuring that the intended objectives of the store
are achieved. This means that the leader has to coordinate the efforts of the area of command and
ensure that teams achieve the desired goals. By leading, the different managers organize
employees and ensure that organizational plans are achieved in the desired way. The role of the
leader therefore is to identify organizational requirements and put proper strategies to ensure that
employees are coordinated to achieve the desired plans.
The controlling function of management is used to check errors and take corrective action
to ensure that the business processes stay on course to achieve the desired goals. This is the
ability of managers to foresee problems in the organization and put mechanisms in place for
controlling. This entails setting standards, measuring performance and correcting any deviations
to achieve the intended goals (McNamara, 2009). For example, when plans are set and their
objectives determined, then organizing and leading functions are used to ensure that the plans are
running as expected. For example, in the case study, the store manager could foresee challenges
in the sales of meat and decide to promote sales by use of coke products. This focusses on
mitigation mechanisms to put everything in order.
1.3 Management approach
The best management approach that suits the Grocery Store is Weber's bureaucratic
approach where the organization is organized in a chain of hierarchy from top to bottom (Olsen,
2008). Each of the level of management has powers that increase as you go up the ladder. This is
seen in the case where there is the main team of Bill and Doris and then a chain of 200 stores that
are organized in four regions with each region having a management span of fifty stores. Then
within each region there are four district consisting of twelve to thirteen stores each. Further, the

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
7
store are divided into functional units of meat, grocery and produce who report directly to the
district coordinator. This chain of bureaucracy allows each unit to function independently but
report to a higher authority above it.
Koybasi, Ugurlu, & Bakir (2017) suggests that the role of this structure is the
specification of goals and formalization of organizational processes to avoid overlap. In this
system, employees are required to be specialized in any three area of meat, grocery or produce
where they work and report to the unit leader who reports to the district coordinator as the chain
of command ascends up the ladder. However, the positions are impersonal and the decisions that
leaders make in the grocery store are based on existing rules and policies rather than personal
interests. The advantage of this system is that it offers specific goals and formalization. The role
of goal specialization is to have specific guidelines for completion of tasks based on the allocated
resources and the require timeframe. For the grocery store, efficiency is a value of quality
management that ensures the grocery supplies the required quality of products for its customers.
1.4 Effectiveness/effectiveness
Efficiency in an organization is seen in the relationship between inputs and outputs to
denote how well an organization uses its profits while effectiveness is the ability of the
organization to achieve the desired goals by performing at an optimal level (Jalham &
Abdelkader, 2006). Effectiveness can thus be measured from the relationship between employee
performance and company profits. The success of a leader is the ability to use effectiveness to
achieve efficiency. The best way to achieve organizational efficiency and effectiveness is to
work with human resources and tailor them to organizational goals. Through training and
development, management can institute efficiency and effectiveness in employees by

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
8
empowering them with skills for managing organizational processes to meet the required goals
(Godwin, Handsome, Ayomide, Enobong, & Johnson, 2017). Since what matters is optimal
performance, then it means that the best way to achieve this is through empowering employees
with the resources that make them more effective and efficient.
The second way to create effectiveness in First Groceries is the use of quality
management strategies as a way of ensuring that the products meet the needs of the customer.
Since all business processes focus on the customers, quality management can be used to achieve
the above concepts to ensure that the organization achieves efficiency and effectiveness in its
business processes (Becker & Glascoff, 2014). Quality management focusses on product
processes to ensure that they meet the required standards, by applying total quality management
in all business processes, it becomes easy to increase efficiency and effectiveness since service
quality and customer satisfaction are improved which makes it easy for them to satisfy customer
needs.
Lastly, coordination between different departments and levels of the organization can be
used to increase efficiency. Despite the nature of the organization, management needs to ensure
there is proper coordination between different departments in each store for effectiveness
(Lisinski & Saruckij, 2006). Each store needs to have an overall manager rather than having each
unit manager reporting to the district manager. This will increase coordination of activities
between unit leaders thus increasing effectiveness at work.
1.5 Conclusion
The major challenge that First Abraham Grocery Store has been facing is the
coordination of activities within a single unit rather than the whole organization. Most activities

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
9
in the grocery take place at the unit level, which means that coordination needs to be
concentrated at the single store level to achieve effectiveness and efficiency which will lead to
increased business benefits like customer satisfaction, service quality and improved profits.
Overall store manager position needs to be established to ensure that activities are coordinated
well to reduce tension among the three unit leaders.

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
10
References
Bass, B. (2008). The Bass Handbook of Leadership: Theory, Research, and Managerial
Application. New York: Free Press.
Becker, C. M., & Mary A. Glascoff. (2014). Process measures: a leadership tool for
management. The TQM Journal, 26(1), 50-62.
Godwin, A., Handsome, O. E., Ayomide, W. A., Enobong, A. E., & Johnson, F. O. (2017).
Application of the Henri Fayol Principles of Management in Startup Organizations.
ournal of Business and Management, 19(10), 78-85.
Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Balkin, D. B., & Cardy, R. L. (2008). Management: People, Performance,
Change. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Jalham, I. S., & Abdelkader, W. T. (2006). Improvement of organizational efficiency and
effectiveness by developing a manufacturing strategy decision support system. Business
Process Management Journal, 12(5), 588-607.
Koybasi, F., Ugurlu, C. T., & Bakir, A. A. (2017). The Factors that Influence Bureaucracy and
Professionalism in Schools: A Grounded Theory Study. Journal of Education and
Practice, 8(8), 196-2017.
Lisiński, M., & Šaruckij, M. (2006). Principles of the application of strategic planning methods.
Journal of Business Economics and Management, 7(2), 37-43.
Matthew R. Fairholm. (2009). Leadership and Organizational Strategy. The Innovation Journal:
The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 14(1).
McNamara, D. E. (2009). From Fayol‟s Mechanistic To Today's Organic Functions of
Management. American Journal of Business Education, 2(1), 63-79.

MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
11
Olsen, J. P. (2008). The Up and Downs of Bureaucratic Organization. Annual Review of
Political Science, 11.
Schoemaker, P. J., Krupp, S., & Howland, S. (2013, January-February). Strategic Leadership:
The Essential Skillls. Havard Business Review.
Yukl, G. (2010). Leadership in organisations. Upper Saddle River: Pearson educatio.