Question

Introduction

Developing strategies that sustain the operation of a company is significant to building profits and maintaining long-term operation. During 2019, some stores reported closure (ending operation) or partial closure (closing some of its stores).

1. You will select ONE store to analyze the overall operation, and identify areas that required improvement and possible solutions to either reopen or rebrand the company.

Getting Started

CLICK HERE (Links to an external site.) to view a list of some of the companies that either closed the entire operation or closed some of its store locations.

Activity Steps

• Introduction: Write 50 words that informs readers about the main points of the case. What is interesting to know based on your research?
• Body 1: Write 100-150 words that provide detail information about the company selected. What was the operation (products or services) and what happened, why did they close operation or closed some stores?
• Body 2: Discuss the leaderships traits significant to effective operation of the chosen company. Explain the relevant situational leadership model that assumes the appropriate leader behavior for the company selected. (150-300 words)
• Body 3: Discuss the effectiveness of organizational communication to maintain the business operation. What areas of communication needed clarity and how has digital communication impacted the selected company's operation? 100 - 150 words.
• Body 4: If you were asked to formulate a group of workers to devise strategies to assess the company's performance in an innovative global market to determine significant factors that caused closure of the company or some stores. Define the characteristics/traits essential to the group members to effectively perform the assigned task. Ensure to discuss why those characteristics or traits would be significant to team work. (150 - 200 words).
• Body 5: Identify at least THREE (each) characteristics you deemed significant for information, strategic, operation and financial control of the company. Identified TWO environmental changes that the company could have adapted to possible maintain operation 150 - 250 words.
• Body 6: Assess the companies overall operations management and design a Fish Bone Chart (See page 435 of the et-ext) to identify possible causes for the major problem you stated in Body 1 as the reason for the company closing operations or closing some stores. SAMPLE Fishbone Chart.
• Conclusion (50 words): What did you learn, and how important was it for you to learn this information.

Answer 1

Any company needs to examine its strengths, weakness and use them or work upon them to meet the growing opportunities and to face the various challenges existing in the industry. Any company which fails to take into account the varying internal, as well as external factors, is bound to fail in the long run and it will have to shut off its business operations. The year 2019 was no different and the company which closed its operation was the shoe company Payless.

Body 1. The company was flourishing in the 90s. Being a family-owned business, it enjoyed tremendous success in the footwear industry. It provided high-quality footwear at reasonable rates which attracted its customers. However, of late, the company failed to take into account the rising competition from companies like Target and Walmart. The prices offered by these two companies were competitive and they offered them at huge discounts around the year. Moreover, there was an emergence of online retailers where customers could buy footwear online. This further caused the decline of the footwear company Payless.

Ultimately it had to file for bankruptcy and shut off its operations in the year 2019.