(c) Marius Janson 1 Colruyt Core Beliefs Catholicism Right to Privacy Social Action by church State Responsibility Right private property Right of workers
Dec 13, 2015
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Colruyt
Core Beliefs
Catholicism
Right to Privacy
Social Action by church
State Responsibility
Right private property
Right of workers
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Colruyt
Cont’d
Living Wage
Job Security
Worker Responsibility
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Colruyt
Socialism/Marxism
Learn to question ideas Learn to argue rationality
Reject rationality as sole determinant
Accept Emotionality
Question different models
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Colruyt
Post Modernism
Marxism and Catholicism are two Grand Narratives which individuals use to explain the world and direct action
Modernism
“in any science which legitimizes itself by referring to some grand narrative such as the rational subject”
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Colruyt
Cont’d
A work or view becomes postmodern if it was first modern
Post modernism is XXX and recurrent
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ColruytPost modernism does not hold in inevitable progress arising from human action
Rationally argued positions do not constitute the totality of knowledge
Lyotarch holds that discussion and conflict lead to new inventions
Dissension is kept alive by equal access for all to information
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Colruyt
Cont’d
Message interpretation is contextual and fluid and culturally dependent
Need information from multiple sources
Flemish and French cultures
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ColruytCommunication
“It is urgent that we learn to communicate. Check whether words mean the same for all parties; they seldom do. …achieve understanding of the position of the other…”
Business Model:
+10
-10
1
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ColruytRole of IT
Organize operations around the computer
What we cannot do with the computer we won’t do at all
IT has commercial consequences: Some products cannot be sold.
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Colruyt
ISID
…how do I stay informed? I turn on my monitor and scan memos which upper management have received and sent. I scan one hundred memos and that gives me good insight in to the issues. Then I make my rounds….
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Colruyt
ISID
…to understand society one needs many models - economic, social, capitalistic, Marxist, etc. They embody a collective intelligence which is activated by open communication among individuals. It occurs in meetings, on the telephone and by using ISID. Communication is key to company success….
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ColruytISD
a) User describes how IS improves the job performance
b) Calculate IS contribution to company
c) Calculate IS development cost
d) Calculate how much he is willing to pay for IS development
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ColruytCont’d
e) Calculate maintenance cost
The request goes to steering committee and then to IS department
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Colruyt
First the IS department planned IS development and selected
projects
Second the users selected the systems
Led to an enormous increase in IS development
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Colruyt
Outsourcing
“Because of the huge outlays the role of the IS department and outsourcing have been debated vigorously. In the end we concluded that outsourcing inevitably leads to a loss of control.”
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Colruyt
Work Roles
“…shows me a competition’s flyer, stating a lower price, then I give an immediate price reduction.”
Clerks also exercise power over job choice -
customer checkout
reshelving
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Colruyt
Cont’d
Decision Making
Independent decisions
group decisions
Consensus/Dissensus
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Colruyt
Emotions
“Someone says, “I feel discouraged you backed me into the corner.” That person speaks about his emotions. When others understand these emotions that creates an environment for human interaction. Rationality and emotionality should be open for discussion.
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ColruytCorporate Norms
Incorrect Flemish/French translation. Led to unpleasant exchange of ire between translator and employee.
Colruyt intervened and set limits to exchange. Criticizing is fine but no invectives.
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Colruyt
Development and Training
1) Questioning during meetings about situation, decisions, and
rationality of assertions create high levels of stress and safeguards are needed to keep stress within acceptable limits.
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Colruyt
2) Training involves self-empowerment
self-expression
assertiveness
communicative
competence
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Colruyt
Organizational Structure
1) Hierarchical but flat
2) Functional groups that form around a specific problem and then disband
3) Management does not emphasize the hierarchy
4) Power is not assigned from the top but instead acquired by individuals
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Traditional Supermarket Colruyt Discount Supermarket*Modernism, which is based on the concepts ofinstrumental rationality, informs the company'sideology.*Socialization of the individual into larger groupentities.
*Postmodernism, which is based on questioningthe grand narratives, informs the company'sideology.*Attention is on the individual.
*Fordism-mass production and mass marketing ofhomogeneous products.*The aim is mass consumption of a limitedassortment of products.
*Postfordism-small batch production of manyheterogeneous products and niche marketing.*The aim is individualized production andselective consumption from among a very largeassortment of products.
*Rigid organizational structures coupled with top-down command structures and bottom-upcommunicative structures.*The organizational structures are based onbureaucratic concepts.*Employees mistrust management.
*Flexible organizational structures couple withnetworked command and networkedcommunicative structures.*The organizational structures are based ondemocratic concepts.*Employees trust management.
*Planning - short term.*Spatial centralization - product pricing on system-wide basis.
*Planning - long term.*Spatial decentralization - product pricing isdetermined on a store-by-store basis.
*Managerial decision making - consensus seeking.*Managerial decision making - rationalism.
*Managerial decision making - consent seeking.*Managerial decision making -deconstructionalism.
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Table 2. Labour Structure
Traditional supermarket Colruyt discount supermarket
Employees focus on a single task witha high degree of task demarcation
Employees focus on multiple tasks with a lowdegree of task demarcation
Employees have little formal education Employees have much formal education-storeclerks have high school diplomas and managerspossess university degrees
Little on-the-job training Much on-the-job training
Little job rotation An extensive job rotation policy
Limited worker job responsibility Extensive worker responsibility-clerks performmultiple assignments ranging from checkout dutyto reshelving and cleaning the store=s interior
Limited worker empowerment Extensive worker empowerment-clerks decidewhen and how to perform their multiple jobresponsibilities
A hierarchical management structurewith decision making located at thetop of the organization
A flat management structure with decisionmaking throughout the organization
Limited job security for full-timeemployees
Much job security for full-time employees
No job security for part-timeemployees
High employee turnover Little employee turnover
Homogeneous labour markets Heterogeneous labour markets
*Adapted from Clegg (1990)
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Figure 1: Approximate Colruyt Organization Chart
Presidentand Board of Directors
DirectorPersonnel
DirectorFood Distribution
Director Warehousing
DirectorTechnical Services
District Manager
Store Manager Section Manager
Shop-Floor Employees Shop-Floor Employees
DirectorSales
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Table 3. Interactive System for Information Dissemination
Characteristics and specifications
Monthly volume Documents: 100,000 Printed pages: 1 100,000
Response time On-line documents: 1 second Archived documents: 15 seconds
Data base storage Recent documents: direct access storage Old archive: optical disk
Data base structure Three VSAM file types: Glossary: Keywords, Document numbers Text: Texts, Documents numbers Title: Keywords, Document numbers
Document search On keyword with Boolean operators
Document confidentiality Restricted: Keywords and contents accessible onlyto individuals named in the document
Nonconfidential: Keywords and contents accessibleto anyone
Document access Restricted: 5% Confidential: 15% Nonconfidential: 80%
Terminals Total number: 700 Per store: 3
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Subject Traditional Supermarket Colruyt Discount Supermarket
Product offered
Wide product assortment offered instandard package sizes.Inventory is replenishedperiodically.Supply driven inventory policies.
Stockouts are infrequent.
Extensive product assortment offered at below-competitor cost and in many different package sizesmade possible by using IT.IT-based daily inventory replenishment.Demand driven inventory policies using IT-basedhistorical customer purchasing figures.Stockouts are rare
StoreEnvironment
Aesthetically pleasing store interior.the intended message - a pleasingstore interior corresponds to qualityproducts.
Sober store interior lacking any but the most basicarchitectural features.The intended message - a sober store interior enableslow prices.
Support
Customer assistance is limited tofriendly service at the checkout.
Average to long customer waitingtimes are the rule.
Clients receive IT-based assistance throughout thestore.Clients are assumed capable of making rationalpurchasing decisions when provided the correct andright amount of information - product contents, productunit cost, and product preparation guidelines.Short customer waiting times made possible byextensive IT application - during slack times checkoutclerks restock shelves.
Policy on Costreduction
Cost reductions are achieved bypaying low wages, few benefits, andby using many part-time employees.
Cost reductions are achieved by employing few butmainly full-time employees, by improving employee andorganizational efficiency and effectiveness, and bybargaining for large-volume based product costreductions.
Adapted by Clegg (1990)