Woolworths Case Study: Applying Management Theories to Communication

This report analyzes Woolworths Australia's communication systems, focusing on current practices and offering recommendations for improvement. It examines existing communication models, such as the transmission model, and discusses a past legal issue stemming from compromised consumer safety due to communication failures. The proposed solution, "The People's Campaign," leverages the employee base to enhance communication and relationships with consumers. Recommendations include implementing innovative communication approaches, providing employee training, and utilizing social media for internal communication and idea generation. The report concludes that effective communication is crucial for Woolworths' reputation and revenue in the Australian retail industry. Desklib provides access to similar case studies and resources for students.

Running head: FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
Executive Summary
The report is based on the analysis of a communication system that can be implemented in an
organization in order to improve the operations. The organization that has been taken into
consideration is Woolworths Australia that operates in the retail industry of the country. The
current communication systems that have been implemented in the organization have been
analysed in the report in detail. The recommendations are based on a new and innovative
systems that can be implemented by the organization for its future operations of Woolworths
in the Australian retail industry.

2FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
1.0 Background..............................................................................................................3
2.0 Existing practices.....................................................................................................3
3.0 Recommendations....................................................................................................5
Conclusion......................................................................................................................6
References......................................................................................................................7

3FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
1.0 Background
Woolworths Supermarkets is an Australian organization that operates in the grocery
or supermarket based industry of the country. The different products that are sold by the
organization mainly include, magazines, beauty based products, baby and pet supplies, health
products and many more. The organization currently operates around 1000 stores in different
parts of Australia. Around 19 convenience stores are operated by the company in the
Australia retail industry. Woolworths Online is based on the online operations that are
conducted by the company (Woolworths.com.au 2019).
The report will be based on the analysis of communication based issues that have
been faced by Woolworths and the innovative solutions that can be implemented in order to
solve the issue. The current communication systems that have been implemented in the
organization and the issues that have been faced based on the communication systems will
also be a major part of the analysis.
The development of an effective communications strategy is important for the future
operations of Woolworths in the retail industry of Australia. The innovative communications
strategy that needs to be implemented by Woolworths is termed as “The People’s campaign”.
This strategy is mainly based on the people or human resources that have been gained by the
organization (Dawson 2018). The innovative communication system will be able to play a
major role in improvement of relationships between the management and employees.
2.0 Existing practices
Communication is considered to be an important part of the ways by which
information can be communicated among the employees. The transmission model of
communication is implemented by the organization in order to communicate the objectives
and goals. The transmission model is based on the different factors that include, information

4FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
source, channel, transmitter, receiver and destination. The interpersonal skills are used by
employees in Woolworths in order to negotiate with the customers in an efficient manner
(Keyton 2017).
The employees have developed some active listening based skills in order to
communicate with the customers who visit the stores. The problem solving skills have also
been implemented by the employees in order to provide solutions to the issues that have been
faced by the customers related to the purchase the products. The decision making based skills
of the employees are important for providing the best levels of services to the store related
customers (Touhidul and Sorooshian 2018).
Woolworths had faced a major communication based issue in the year 2016 and the
company had to face a legal battle due to this. The organization had to pay penalties of more
than 3 million Dollars for the breaches of Australian Consumer Laws. The issue was mainly
based on the compromise that has been made by the organization in safety that is to be
provided to the consumers. The company was accused of misleading the consumers related to
the products that are offered to them by Woolworths (Edwards and Fredriksson 2017).
The defects that have been found in the products are considered to be major factors
that have been a reason behind misleading the consumers. The employees have not been able
to communicate the different features of the products that are offered to the consumers. The
suitability of products has not been considered before the organization has provided them to
the consumers. The injuries that have taken place due to the products have not been
considered by the management of Woolworths in an effective manner (Razmerita, Kirchner
and Nielsen 2016).
The communication strategy that has been selected for implementation in Woolworths
for solving the issues related to communications is “The People’s campaign”. The employees

5FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
or human resources will be used effectively in order to solve the communications related
issues of Woolworths. The employee base of Woolworths is highly effective for the
relationships that have been developed by the organization with the consumers and the local
growers as well. Woolworths has been able to develop its position in the retail industry as the
“Fresh Food People”. This image has been able to play a major role in the development of
revenues of Woolworths in the industry (Rodrigues, Azevedo and Calvo 2016).
The employee base will be able to play a major role in the proper development of the
communication process in the organization. The employees can provide their ideas based on
the ways by which communication can be improved and company can solve the issues as
well. The information based in features that are offered by the products can be provided by
Woolworths to the consumers. The well informed consumers can be satisfied in an effective
manner with the help of the employee base of Woolworths (Gálvez-Rodríguez, Caba-Perez
and López-Godoy 2016).
3.0 Recommendations
The major recommendations that can be provided to Woolworths based on proper
improvement of communication are as follows,
The organization needs to implement an innovative communication approach
in order to improve the operations and interaction levels with the consumers as
well.
The employees need to be provided with effective levels of training in order to
increase the interaction with customers.
The social media based communication process can be used by the
management of the organization in order to motivate the employees and gain

6FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
their ideas as well. The opinions of the employees are considered to be
important for the development of an effective communication system.
The employees or human resources of Woolworths will be able to provide the
best levels of services to the consumers and gain their loyalty as well.
Conclusion
The report can be concluded by stating that the communications based issues that
have been faced by Woolworths can be solved or mitigated with the help of innovative
communication process. The organization will be successful in improving its position in the
retail industry of Australia with the help of proper and interactive communication. The
employees will play the most significant role in formation of a communication system that
will be able to affect the reputation and revenues that will be earned by Woolworths. The
management of the organization will be able to communicate with the employees with the
help of digital and social media based strategies.

7FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT
References
Dawson, V.R., 2018. Organizing, Organizations, and the Role of Social Media
Conversations. In Transformative Practice and Research in Organizational
Communication (pp. 62-78). IGI Global.
Edwards, L. and Fredriksson, M., 2017. inconsistency and communication in
organizations. Management Communication Quarterly, 31(3), pp.467-472.
Gálvez-Rodríguez, M.D.M., Caba-Perez, C. and López-Godoy, M., 2016. Drivers of Twitter
as a strategic communication tool for non-profit organizations. Internet Research, 26(5),
pp.1052-1071.
Keyton, J., 2017. Communication in organizations. Annual Review of Organizational
Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, pp.501-526.
Razmerita, L., Kirchner, K. and Nielsen, P., 2016. What factors influence knowledge sharing
in organizations? A social dilemma perspective of social media communication. Journal of
Knowledge Management, 20(6), pp.1225-1246.
Rodrigues, A., Azevedo, C. and Calvo, V., 2016. Internal communication in organizations:
Practical instruments to help the shift change. Millenium-Journal of Education,
Technologies, and Health, 2(1), pp.105-114.
Touhidul, I.A. and Sorooshian, S., 2018. Balancing for an effective communication in
organizations. Science and engineering ethics, pp.1-3.
Woolworths.com.au 2019. [online] Woolworths.com.au. Available at:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/ [Accessed 30 Mar. 2019].