In 1946 Maxwell Kohl opened his first store in southeastern Milwaukee, it was a grocery store called Kohl’s Food Store. Mister Kohl was very successful but was not content selling groceries, so he kept adding to his inventory. In 1962 Maxwell Kohl opened his first department store in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Today Kohl’s Department store has 1,158 stores in 49 states.
Kevin Mansell, current Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) states in the Kohl’s new associate hand book that Kohl’s builds their great company around the associates. Associates bring their talents, skill and leadership to build the foundation of the company. Kohl’s accomplishes this with a clear core value, teamwork and consistent focus on the costumer. “Expect great things; every customer, every store, every time” is Kohl’s focused goal. Kohl’s mission statement is; To be the leading family-focused, value-oriented, specialty department store offering quality exclusive and national brand merchandise to the customer in an environment that is convenient, friendly and exciting. (Associate Handbook, pg.2) Kohl’s core value is based on the word Values:
V – Very result oriented
A – Acts with integrity
L – Leverages teams and partnerships
U – Uses an informed approach
E – Engaged, prepared and focused
S – Strives to develop self and others
The six core values are the heart of each associate and are the DNA of Kohl’s.
Kohl’s favors a duty-based ethical system for their associates. The ethical responsibility is placed on each associate to not only monitor themselves, but also all the others in the store where they work. Internal and external thief contributes to most of the losses Kohl’s has, internal thief the highest. Kohl’s has an established program to reward honesty and making the company aware of unethical, fraud or thief behavior or any Kohl’s associate. The company has a off site operation called Loss Prevention that can monitor any store at any time and provides everyone a 800 phone number to report violations and also a web site. Kohl’s provides all associates with a walkie-talkie to allow all associates available to each other. Anyone can communicate instantly with Loss Prevention (LP) or a manager instantly. The biggest deterrent to thief is keeping your eyes open, be aware of your surroundings and oddly enough greeting a customer in the section they are casing. Kohl’s provides clear steps for associates in this situation.
Many discounts and rewards are offered to associates for jobs well done and for preventing losses to the company. Floor managers monitoring the floor have token they can give associates and they in turn can use them for various rewards, such as wearing jeans on Friday. Associates are given a 15% discount on all purchases and every three months all associates are given a 35% off sale day. If an associate has a Kohl’s credit card it can add another 10% discount to the 15% associate discount on normal shopping a days. “Yes You Did” program enables the associates to recognize each other’s efforts when they go above and beyond to help a customer. Kohl’s Milestone program recognizes associates at the five year to the 40 year anniversary of service with points, pins, gift cards and merchandise. Kohl’s “we’re listening” meetings allows any associate to (who requests in writing) attend in-store meeting about company plans and upcoming events. All employees of Kohl’s are called associates. Each associate is given the responsibility to make the best decision in the interest of the company avoiding any potential conflict of interest. The company’s code of ethics prohibits: Harassment of any kind to anyone, recognizes the American’s Disabilities Act, confidentiality, drug and alcohol free work and shopping environment, social media restrictions, and some other minor rules which promotes a safe workplace. All associates adhere to the same dress code which is business casual. Acceptable dress include: traditional business wear, suits, and dresses, golf shirts, polo collard shirts and woven shirts, banded-collar shirts and blouses. Casual pants, khakis, Capri pants, skirts (two inches above the knee), denim shirts, and jumpers are also acceptable. Novelty ties, vests, blazers, sports coats, sweaters cardigans and sleeveless sweaters, but no sleeveless shirts are allowed. No open toed shoes, crocs, athletic shoes flip-flops or casual sandals are accepted as Business casual. All levels of Kohl’s employees have the same rules and expectations of ethical behavior. Management has an open door policy and is subject to a higher standard of behavior. All associates are encouraged to become part of in-store and community committees. Kohl’s is a green company that implements recycling, paper reduction, and other green programs. Kohl’s is technology savvy also, they offer customers easy access to their account online and also employees can access copies of payroll, the ability to update current information like address, phone numbers, requests W-4, change direct deposit information and other personal information they might need to change. Kohl’s associates are told from the beginning that each and every one is responsible for the ethical health of the company. They are rewarded 10% of a potential loss recovered by Loss Prevention for their efforts. Upper level executives are held to the same standards as all associates. There are clear cut rules in the code of conduct about conflict of interest, gifts, and discounts like most companies. The Loss Prevention Program is live, and is watching when contacted to protect the associates. Kohl’s has LP personal on hand to handle any potential thief rather it is internal of external. Clear rules are given in orientation that applies to all who work at Kohl’s. It is a uniform culture and what influence the culture to be different in each of the 1,158 Kohl buildings are the personalities that work there.

References:
Kohl’s Associate Handbook June 2013, pg.2
Kohl’s Ethical Standards and Responsibilities/Code of Ethics
http://www.kohlscorporation.com/InvestorRelations/pdfs/CodeOfEthics022003.pdf