The two retail companies picked are Walmart and Costco whose 2017 Financial statement links are provided below: WALMART https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ wmt/financials?query=income- statement COSTCO https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ cost/financials?query=income- statement Both organizations are well known brands and position themselves well with their customer base. Walmart’s value proposition is “We save people money so they can live better”. On the other hand, Costco’s value proposition is “All-in-one convenience and everyday affordability”. Both retailers focus on cost saving for their customers. Looking at their financial statements and by analyzing them a few key areas are evident when comparing the two organization. Looking at the current ratio and quick ratio we can determine the short-term solvency of each organization. The current ratio can be determined by dividing the assets by the liabilities. Walmart’s current ratio sits at 0.86 while Costco’s sits at 0.99. The quick ratio is c
The Hawthorne Effect experiments were designed to study the productivity of the workers at a factory with the change of the lighting condition. It suggests the inclination of people in the experiment tend to change the behaviour being evaluated only because it is being studied. However the work productivity improved with the increase in light as well as diminishing of the lights.
In leisure business, I had to manage the ground employees most of the times and one most important thing to take note was their service. They had to greet to the customers and put on smile and that was one main behavior which they were being observed. The employees were aware that they had to be graded by their superior on half year basis. On the other hand, our team had to gather feedback and compliments for the yearly Excellent Service Awards, as one of the KPI. In general, their work performance was able to be measured in the methods described, therefore they could be more aware.
What I might not have seen could be their thoughts about the job, the unhappiness and grievances they could have felt, due to customers’ complaints or other issues. For instance, employees many compliments and awards tend to resign within a short time frame of less than 1 year. What could we do to keep them longer? Another thing is, how shall we measure a genuine service? This is something I was not able to conclude, mainly due to inconsistency on the performances of some employees. Other than a nice staff resting area and great benefits provided for the employees, all these were motivating factors to observe their behaviors generally.
As for how does Hawthorne Effect impact the broader context of an organization, being situated in a labor challenging market, it may be important to list out the items to measure the behavior. For instance, if we want to reduce high turnover/ resignation rate of the manpower, gathering data such as punctuality, medical leave, disciplinary aspect, sales results of the team could be important. While every organization runs differently and is from different segment, the expectation from the Management needs to be known in order to make good use of the Hawthorne Effect to improve organizational behavior.
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