...Best Buy - The Importance of Organizational Culture and Change Organizational cultures that can be a liability to an organization include those that create barriers to change, create barriers to diversity or barriers to mergers and acquisitions. (Robbins, S. P. 2011) Organizational cultures are also good for change and revitalization of a company. This paper will provide background information on Best Buy and the ROWE (Results-Only Work Environment) Program. This paper will describe the culture of Best Buy. This paper will also discuss the approach to organizational change that the ROWE program illustrates. This case has sources of stress and this paper will discuss the sources that are apparent in the case. Changes have occurred and this paper will discuss whether the organizational culture has helped with the change. Describe the culture of Best Buy Best Buy’s culture has changed. The old culture embraced long hours. Managers rewarded those employees who were first in the building and the last to leave the building with tokens of appreciation. One employee earned a bonus and a vacation when he stayed up three days in a row to complete a report that was suddenly due. Yet, he was hospitalized due to the stress. The new culture revitalized Best Buy and changed how most employees view work. Employees thanked the organizers for allowing them to have a better home-work life balance. One employee was considering resigning after the birth of her child, but with the new...
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...ROWE Program at Best Buy Craig Doss John Mitchell Leadership and Organizational Behavior BUS-520 8/30/2011 Abstract Previous to the implementation of the Results-Only Work Environment or ROWE for short. Best Buy had a really high turnover rate. Jennifer Janssen works in the finance department at Best Buy. She was often called to put out fires at her job that may have required her to stay late at the risk of not being able to pick up her children. She was definitely a team player and wanted to do what she could to help the company which employ’s her. However, her demanding schedule was causing havoc or her other tasks outside of work. For people like Jennifer, Best Buy created a program where you take the time you need, come in when you want. Leave or take off if needed as long as the job was done. And while there was some hesitation and apprhension when this program was first implemented. With time people have come to value this new system and retention has improved among employees. When anyone mentions where to purchase the newest electronics, most people first thought is Best Buy. It has become a consumer favorite. Over the years, Best buy has become a household name. Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than 45 billion in annul revenue and that...
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...1 ROWE Program at Best Buy Leadership and Organizational Behavior – BUS520 Professor Karmetria Burton Strayer University Ketty Bryan December 8, 2010 ROWE Program at Best Buy Culture is the dominant pattern of living, thinking, feeling and believing that is developed and transmitted by people, consciously and unconsciously to subsequent generations. Best Buy culture frees corporate employees to work whenever and however they want as long as they get results. It allows employees to decide how, when and where they get the job done. They can choose to work in the office or somewhere else. Meetings are optional and there are no schedules. The freedom has helped employees to be more productive. The company’s culture used to embrace long hours and sacrifice. One boss gave a plaque to an employee for turning the lights on in the morning and turning it off at night. Darrell Owens, a 14 year veteran, once stayed up for three days in a row to write a report that was due. He got a bonus and a vacation but ended up in the hospital. Women were accepting reduced pay and status of a part time position but doing the same work because it was the only way to get the flexibility they needed. For a culture to exist, it must be shared by the vast majority of the members of a major group or entire...
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...ADMIN 404 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Assignment one Best Buy Co. Inc : Sustainable Customer Centricity Model? Executive Summary Best Buy is a multinational retailer of consumer electronics. It operates as a retail store and online operations under several brand names in multiple countries, USA, Canada, Mexico, China and Europe. In Canada it operates under Future shop and Best buy names, offering in five revenue categories: Consumer electronics, Computing and Mobile phones, Entertainment, Services and other. Best buy’s mission is to become the leading multi-channel retailer by serving their customers and making a meaningful difference in their lives. Introduction and company overview Incorporated in Minnesota USA in 1966 as Sound of Music, Inc., Best Buy today is a multi-national, multi-channel retailer of technology products, including tablets, computers, televisions, mobile phones, large and small appliances, digital imaging and related accessories. It employs approximately 140,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees worldwide, it offers to its employees company-paid, full benefits that vary from location to location. Best buy’s success relies on the design and execution of appropriate business strategies. Best buy’s current strategy includes transformational change to many areas of business including online and in-store customer experience, employee-engagement, partnership with vendors and cost control, these strategies were adopted since 2012 as a result...
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...Abstract In this paper we will be reviewing a program called Rowe or Results-Only Work Environment. This program was first used in 2003 by Best Buy. The system was a success. The basic concept of Rowe is to take some of the pressure off the employees by relieving the stress from over working and allowing the employees to create their own work schedules. By doing this the company improved morally, decreased turnover and reduced stress. The ROWE program allows employees to work on their own time and from anywhere they were most comfortable. It gave employees the freedom to work as many and as little hours as they wanted as long as the job was complete and it reached the targeted goals. Before this program was implemented, employees tended to work long hours and were burnout, which caused the high turnover. Best Buy faced many challenges while implementing the ROWE program. Challenges included meeting the prerequisites for the company’s success. In this paper I will also discuss Best Buy being able to implement the policy in all their locations and the pros and cons of that decision. "ROWE Program at Best Buy" Culture of Best Buy Best Buy has implemented the Result-Only Work Environment or ROWE which was established by Jody Thompson. Before the ROWE system, Best Buy employees were known for working long hours and a substantial amount of overtime. The employees were over worked which affected the company as a whole. With this system in place employees have more...
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...BA 3103 Section 008 4th April, 2014 Best Buy Hits Rock Bottom Best buy the specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States is no longer the all-powerful super store that it used to be. Over the last fifteen years Best Buy, like many retailers, is “competing with a perfect storm of disruptive technologies (Savitz 2)”; making it hard to compete with companies such as such as Apple and Amazon that are embraced with innovations. As a result, Best Buys 2012 financial performance fell subpar, with a revenue decrease of 2.4% in the brick and mortar sector and operating profit plummeting by 54.30% in 2012. The net loss of the company was $1,231.00 million for 2012, against a net profit of $1,277.00 million during 2011 (Global Data 1). Lastly, Best Buy appears to be having cash flow problems in terms of declining liquidity of $1125 million (41.28% drop) for the year 2011. It is obvious by these numbers that Best Buy, a company that has been historically successful, has been running into some recent troubles. In this report I will conduct a situational analysis of potential causes of Best Buy’s problems and identify the major causes for declining revenue, net loss and declining cash flow position. Revenues Declining Best buy’s main source of revenues is contributed from the US market (76%) out of which the traditional brick and mortar accounts for 94% of the revenues and rest is from e-commerce segment (Passport). Best buy’s report card showed declined revenue...
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...start the Geek Squad? The many changes in the environment that occurred were related to technology, computers, software, communications, entertainment, and social factors such as demographics and cultures, all things he came to realize during his consulting years. While Stephens was attending college and working towards earning a degree in computer science, he also worked as a consultant repairing televisions, computers, and several other items; however his main focus was computers. Through his consulting experience, he came to realize that most people needed help with technology, such as, how it works, its operating system, how to install software, and especially how to read and understand the manuals. 2) What changes in the purchasing patterns of (a) all consumers and (b) woman made the acquisition of Geek Squad particularly important for Best Buy? Changes in social factors such as demographics and culture helped make Geek Squad very popular. In the past, many manufacturers and retailers focused primarily on men. However, they found that woman were becoming increasingly more and more interested in the personal computing and home entertainment. Best Buy’s consumer research began indicating that woman will more than likely outspend men in the near future. Furthermore, Best Buy’s consumer research has proven that women tend to expect personal service during the purchasing and installation after the purchase, just what the Geek Squad is designed to provide. 3) Based...
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...Competitive Strategy Best Buy Best Buy Group D9 THEME: How Best Buy has maintained and enhanced its Competitive Advantage over the years by constantly seeking a favorable competitive position in the Consumer Electronics retailing industry 1 Table of Contents Contents Objective of the report Executive Summary Part I – Early beginnings & Hyper-growth Part II – Initiating Change at Best Buy -- Recognizing the need for change -- First attempt at change (formulating the Standard Operating Platform) -- Head-Heart-Hands approach to change management (Overcoming Cognitive Inertia) -- Institutionalizing the Change Management Process (Overcoming Action Inertia) -- Impact of the SOP on the Best Buy's operations Part III - Revisiting the Drawing Board -- Building new skill sets -- Formulating Customer Centricity (deploying a new game strategy) -- Implementing Customer Centricity (reconfiguring the value chain) -- Reaping the gains from Customer Centricity Part IV – Staving off Competition: Click & Mortar model -- Industry going through a phase of Intermediating Change -- Where does Best Buy go from here? -- Experimenting may payoff but need to commit References used Page no 2 3 4-5 5-9 5 6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-12 9-10 10-11 11 12 13-14 13 13 13-14 15 1 Objective of Report Best Buy Co., Inc has been a leading player in the Electronics & Appliances retailing industry for several years now. It has withstood several cycles of churn in the Industry; seen many of its competitors...
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...whatever hours you like … and still get paid a full-time wage. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it actually exists. It was a trend that was started in 2004 by Best Buy, a retail chain in the US. The organisation introduced a system in their head office of 3000 workers called ROWE – Results Only Work Environment. In essence, it meant one thing: employees were judged on their performance, not their presence. The result was a 35 per cent increase in productivity as employees started working at more convenient times and during periods when they were more energetic. Since then, ROWE – or variations of it – has been rolled out in just a few companies. It is an innovation so radical, for now at least, that the vast majority of businesses prefer to stick with what they know, the nine-to-five grind. Only the brave attempt it, and one of those that's taken the plunge in Australia has been BigCommerce, a fast-growing SME of 65 employees, specialising in online stores. Advertisement: Story continues below BigCommerce’s co-founder and co-CEO is Eddie Machaalani. I asked him why he put such an extreme version of flexibility in place. “From day one we set about creating a supreme company culture in order to attract the best talent and keep our people happy,” he said. “We wanted to create a performance-driven culture. Performance doesn't start at 9am and end at 5pm. Sometimes it starts at 10am, sometimes it ends on Saturday morning. Who cares what time you start? As long as you attend...
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...Ghoreishi Best Buy: Strategic Audit June 8, 2015 Current Performance: Best Buy’s historical advantage has always been pricing. However, now that other specialty electronics retailers have dropped out of the market with the fall of Tweeter and Circuit City, Best Buy now must compete with discount retailers such as Kmart, Wal-Mart, Target, Sam’s Club, Costco, as well as online retailers like Amazon. Consumers no longer have to go to Best Buy to purchase DVDs because buyers can get them through dozens of online sellers or stream them online via NetFlix or Amazon. You can buy a Blu-ray player or camera at a discount online. Televisions and appliances are the two products Best Buy sells that many people are less likely to purchase online because of their size and prohibitive shipping costs. If Best Buy wants to continue to be the number one seller of electronics and electronics related accessories such as games, DVD's, and electronic wiring, Best Buy needs to focus on shoring up television and appliance dominance to ensure sufficient foot traffic. Best Buy must also address the phenomenon of 'show rooming', which is the practice of shopping for merchandise in a brick-and-mortar store and later buying online at lower prices. In the past, Best Buy has provided only one week training sessions for new hires. However, as a first step to prevent show rooming, Best Buy will provide...
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...stay with the business for a long time. Personally, I would go with the ethical way of conducting business, but it is up to a company to decide how they want to be perceived by the outside world. 1.2 The employees found through the black card strategy would most likely have to go through the same training as any other newly hired employees. They may already have good customer service skills and high sales records in the past, but the Apple Company would probably want them to familiarize themselves with the whole Apple culture and certain atmosphere in order for them to get excited about the products and feel like a part of the company. It can be assumed that those employees would be more satisfied with their jobs than the ones hired in more traditional way because they are more skillful and experienced in their tasks and are more likely to be recognized for their achievements. 1.3 It is up to the Apple Company to make sure that the Best Buy employees are just as motivated to sell...
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...Program at Best Buy Joyce Henry Dr. Sherrie Lu, PhD BUS 520: Organizational Behavior December 12, 2010 2 Introduction Competitive businesses face the challenge of being docile and successful organizations. The tasks are multifaceted when attempting to comprehend and accomplish organizational change. Employees have to adjust rapidly and leaders have to be proficient in order to be successful. The demands for change are important in the success or failure of an organization. The globalization of markets, technology advancement, increased developments of social networks, and generational differences are the most important reasons. The cultures of organizations help determine their need for change. However, the employees have to acknowledge that there is a need for change. The resistance to change may occur, if so the causes need to be recognized. Best Buy has taken an organizational change for the improvement of its employees’ productivity. This paper will discuss Best Buy’s culture, the ROWE program implemented and the resistance to the change as a result of the ROWE program. This paper will also discuss the stress that occurred and whether or not the organizational culture has helped with the change. 3 Describe the Culture of Best Buy. An organization that practices formality, rules, standard operating procedures, and hierarchical coordination has a bureaucratic culture (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011, p. 490.). The members of this type of this culture exhibit...
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...Leadership and Organizational Behavior December 9, 2011 ROWE Program at Best Buy In 1966 Richard M Schulze and partner start up a business called Sound of Music, Inc. Sound of Music, Inc sold home and car stereos in St. Paul Minnesota. In 1971 Schultze bought out his partner and began to expand the retail chain, no longer selling just stereos. “His first step was to expand Sound of Music's offerings to include appliances and VCRs. Schulze saw sales quickly climb. In 1982 revenues reached $9.3 million; the following year the company renamed itself Best Buy Co., Inc. and firmly oriented itself toward an older, broader, and more affluent customer base.” (Dougins, 2003) This was the birth of Best Buy.Best Buy is not one of the leading consumer electronic dealers within the United States. The Culture of Best Buy The culture of Best Buy has changed quite a bit since the first store opened in 1982. The newer culture is much more laid back and is more oriented to the work home balance. “The nation's leading electronics retailer has embarked on a radical--if risky--experiment to transform a culture once known for killer hours and herd-riding bosses. The endeavor, called ROWE, for "results-only work environment," seeks to demolish decades-old business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity. The goal at Best Buy is to judge performance on output instead of hours.” (Conlin, 2006) Now, if Joe wants to leave at noon to go fishing or Sallie wants to sleep...
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...cleaning, and home improvement. Richard W. Sears made his way into the retail industry by receiving a shipment of watches that was unwanted by a neighboring jeweler. He purchased and sold the watches Culture in business or corporate America is described as a blend of the values, beliefs, taboos, symbols, rituals and myths companies develop over time (http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82104.html). My definition of culture for organizations in business is what makes the business operate the way that it does and what strategies they use to reach their goals. Before Best Buy implemented the new plan called ROWE, the culture at Best Buy was like any other organization, come to work on a daily basis and repeat the same task over and over again. This caused a great deal of turnover within the company that needed a workable solution, because employees felt over worked, had no family time or job satisfaction, so this caused the production from the employees to be very low. Many companies operate under situations like this and do nothing to make employees feel valued and appreciated, but Best Buy decided it was time for a change. Best Buy was started back in the mid 1960’s and their culture took pride in...
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...Describe the culture of Best Buy. Best Buy, embraced a culture of long hours and sacrifice. Employees had been known to not sleep for a number of days just to get the job done, even some women were accepting part time hours and reduced pay with the same amount of work because that was the only way to get family flexibility. Presently, Best Buy has adopted a very different and manageable culture; the ROWE program which stands for Results-Only Work Environment. This program was able to reduce stress and manage overworking in their employees. Jennifer Janssen who works in the finance department was faced with a problem with one of their suppliers regarding non-payment and this problem had to be resolved by the end of the day. Janssen, a mother of twins was scheduled to pick up her children from day care that evening, also debated on if she had to pass this issue to an associate of hers in order to leave in time however without hesitation Jenssen left work as expected without any questions asked. Janssen knew she was able to provide flexibility and get the work done from home and also care for family all in the same evening without guilt for having to leave. So under ROWE “results only work environment) allows employees can work when and where they like, as long as they get the job done. Overall results of the ROWE program has been favorable and encouraging as voluntary turn- over has decreased remarkably and now Best Buy has developed a division called Culture X to tailor...
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