...Century Organizations and Unions HRM/531 February 6, 2012 Introduction Today’s organizations face a variety of challenges and changes with technology and globalization playing the largest role in a 21st century business. No longer are the days of conference room board meetings and higher paid multiple in-house factory workers. CEO’s and managers are conducting meetings from their laptops or iPhones while lying on the beach with their families and factory jobs are being outsourced to underdeveloped countries in an effort to cut labor cost here in America. These challenges and changes within organization’s can cause miscommunication and misunderstanding between management and employee and sometimes require the intervention and protection of employment laws. Human resources management is the bridge that helps to guide and enforce these laws (Cascio, 2010). Throughout this paper, the writer will discuss the role human resources management plays in the unionized company and the nation’s number one pure grocery chain, Kroger. 21st Century Organizations and Unions The Kroger Company was founded in 1883 by Barney Kroger who invested his life savings to open the grocery store in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Today the chain operates 2,500 supermarkets in 31 states with sales of $70 billion and is considered the nation’s current largest retailer and is known as a unionized company (Corporate News, History,). A union is explained as being a group...
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...LABOR LAWS AND UNIONS The Kroger Co., situated in Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of the country’s leading grocery sellers with financial revenue of more than 82 billion in 2010. The Kroger Co. covers numerous states with store arrangements that comprise “grocery and multi-department stores, convenience stores, and mall jewelry stores” (Kroger, n.d., para. 1). They function “under nearly two dozen names, all of which share the similar conviction in building sturdy local ties and brand loyalty with their patrons” (Kroger, para. 1). Food stores are their main commerce and account for almost 95 percent of the total corporation sales. Their convenience and jewelry stores and manufacturing facilities add to the rest of the entire sales (Kroger, n.d.). Kroger employees belong to the United Food and Commercial Workers union. In UFCW, the people form the union. They come collectively with their coworkers, and they put forward and choose by ballot union officers. They also establish the working circumstances and apprehensions bargained in an agreement, and they are part of a bigger movement to advance the lives of employees in the workplace and in their neighborhoods. The more employees who unite collectively, the more management will listen to what the workers have to say. In union there is momentum and without, “union employees have only a small number of rights such as minimum wage, overtime after 40 hours, and unemployment insurance” (Kroger, para. 2)...
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...LABOR LAWS AND UNIONS The Kroger Co., situated in Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of the country’s leading grocery sellers with financial revenue of more than 82 billion in 2010. The Kroger Co. covers numerous states with store arrangements that comprise “grocery and multi-department stores, convenience stores, and mall jewelry stores” (Kroger, n.d., para. 1). They function “under nearly two dozen names, all of which share the similar conviction in building sturdy local ties and brand loyalty with their patrons” (Kroger, para. 1). Food stores are their main commerce and account for almost 95 percent of the total corporation sales. Their convenience and jewelry stores and manufacturing facilities add to the rest of the entire sales (Kroger, n.d.). Kroger employees belong to the United Food and Commercial Workers union. In UFCW, the people form the union. They come collectively with their coworkers, and they put forward and choose by ballot union officers. They also establish the working circumstances and apprehensions bargained in an agreement, and they are part of a bigger movement to advance the lives of employees in the workplace and in their neighborhoods. The more employees who unite collectively, the more management will listen to what the workers have to say. In union there is momentum and without, “union employees have only a small number of rights such as minimum wage, overtime after 40 hours, and unemployment insurance” (Kroger, para. 2)...
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...Kroger Company is the biggest U.S. supermarket operator. The grocery chain of Kroger includes Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Smith’s and Food 4 Less. The company has a large network of over 2,400 stores across the United States. The company has strategic advantage against its smaller competitors. Kroger has worked hard to meet the needs of its customers through their “Customer First” strategy. It has also retained its customers through its strategic goals of low price, and fulfilling almost every need of the customers. History of Kroger In 1883, Barney Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to open a grocery store at 66 Pearl Street in downtown Cincinnati. The son of a merchant, he ran his business with a simple motto: “Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself.” It was a credo that would serve The Kroger Co. well over the next 120+ years as the supermarket business evolved into a variety of formats aimed at satisfying the ever-changing needs of shoppers. With nearly 2,500 stores in 31 states under two dozen banners and annual sales of more than $70 billion, Kroger today ranks as one of the nation’s largest retailers. Many aspects of the company’s business today trace their roots to Mr. Kroger’s early efforts to serve his customers. Consider two specialty departments that today are regular fixtures in the company’s supermarkets – bakeries and meat and seafood shops. In the early 1900s, most grocers bought their bread from independent bakeries. But Mr. Kroger,...
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...Grocers: Kroger 1. INTRODUCTION: CASE OVERVIEW AND KEY ISSUES The case Attention Shoppers: Executive Compensation at Kroger, Safeway, Costco and Whole Foods situation explains the costs and strategies related to a companies growth and expansion. Kroger is the main focus of this case. In 2006 Kroger’s was the second largest seller of groceries by revenue with an estimated $60 billion. The success of Kroger Company began in 1883 and which became one of the first chain stores in the country. Kroger then expanded its stores by buying out local competitors with low prices when the economy was suffering. Throughout the twentieth century, Kroger implemented several innovations to throw itself above the competitive advantage. By the 1950’s Kroger had built a reputation of producing fresh good quality products and began to label products with “sell by” dates and nutritional facts. Kroger took on multiple acquisitions helping push its expansion to the West. Under the full leadership of David Dillon Kroger increased revenue and lowered its debt dramatically and also found new ways to increase customer frequency. Kroger also sustained a four-month strike by the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which impacted not just Kroger, but Safeway, and Albertson’s. Retail grocery sales represent a significant amount of the U.S. economy. The industry that Kroger competes in is highly competitive. This resulted in Kroger reducing its operating costs in order to maintain profitability...
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...Toggle SGML Header (+) Section 1: 10-K (10-K) UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark One) ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended February 1, 2014. OR TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from to Commission file number 1-303 THE KROGER CO. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Ohio (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) 1014 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH (Address of Principal Executive Offices) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (513) 762-4000 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Name of each exchange on which registered 31-0345740 (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) 45202 (Zip Code) Common Stock $1 par value NONE (Title of class) New York Stock Exchange Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes No Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. No Yes Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding...
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...I. The Environment of Business 1. What Is Business? © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2007 C H A P T E R 1 What Is Business? Learning Objectives After studying this chapter you should be able to: 1. Differentiate between the three meanings of business as commerce, business as an occupation, and business as an organization, and identify the four main kinds of productive resources. 2. Understand how the forces of supply and demand determine fair, or market, prices. 3. Appreciate how a company’s business model is the source of its competitive advantage and can mean the difference between merely making a profit and profitability. 4. Recognize the way specialization and the division of labor lead to increasing profits and wealth via the market’s “invisible hand.” 5. List the reasons why business organizations are created and how they facilitate commerce and lower transaction costs. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT ? What if you went to your supermarket and found only one brand of toothpaste? Suppose there was only one pizza shop in your town and it charged $25 for a small pie. Economic principles such as the laws of supply and demand create the selection and prices we find when we buy, whether it’s gasoline or hamburger. This chapter will help you understand how business principles work and why companies try to add value to products and services that will appeal to customers and create a competitive advantage. The products we select compete with others for our attention and dollars...
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...recommendations regarding Walmart competing in foreign markets is provided. Overview Walmart is the number one retailer in the United States and is at the top of the Fortune 500 listing. Wal-Mart operates in many countries worldwide and is pursuing market share in new countries. As Walmart grows, so do the number of people who have a stake in Walmart. Each year, more claims are made against Walmart by the unions, disgruntled employees and other advocacy groups supporting various interests. Additionally, Walmart is often able to undercut many other local industries forcing more and more local businesses to shut down when Walmart moves into town. As a result of Walmart's ever growing size and dominance, their reputation is becoming more important than before. Also, as Walmart expands into different markets, they will need to be aware of specific country regulations and cultural expectations. These issues need to be addressed by Walmart in order to make it possible for Walmart to build a positive reputation and continue to grow in foreign markets. Company Strategy The core of Walmart’s strategy is overall low-cost leadership. It attracts a broad spectrum of customers by supplying a wide selection of the lowest cost general merchandise. Walmart achieves a cost advantage by controlling its cost drivers and relentlessly eliminating cost efficiencies out of its supply chain....
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...Terri A. Tacquard The History of Food Lion The now ever popular grocery store Food Lion was first founded 50 plus years ago in 1957 in the small town of Salisbury, North Carolina. Originally known as Food Town, Wilson Smith, Ralph Ketner, and Brown Ketner were the great minds who started this now multi-million dollar company. Many believe that more than any other North Carolinian Glenn Ketner helped create millionaires. For those who originally bought stock from Ketner in Food Town and did not touch it, for many simply not knowing if it could make money or not, 20 years later would be multi millionaires. It all started out with a simple grocery store owned by Glenn Ketner named Ketner Grocery, then once his brother Ralph Ketner had went through several jobs came to work for him along with holding several other jobs in the same industry it all started to take shape. Before they knew it, they were in price wars with big names such as Winn-Dixie. The Food Lion name itself was adopted around 1983, when the Belgium-based grocer Delhaize acquired the Food Town name. Once the Food Town chain expanded into the Virginia area, the chain came upon several stores still called Food Town in the central Virginia area, such as Richmond. Once the chain expanded into Tennessee, they would see an even bigger problem. Nearly 100 stores were displaying the name Food Town. Since the Delhaize Corporation had a lion as its official emblem logo, Food Town thought to display it on all of its...
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...Suggest ways that you could avoid claims of disparate treatment. 3. Identify the type of external influences that could hinder staffing and how you would address them. 4. Create a plan that you can use to deal with employee shortages and surpluses. 5. Conduct job requirements job analysis for the store manages and coffee servers in order to identify tasks, KSAOs, and contest for those positions. Identify the type of employment relationship you would establish between the coffee shop and employees from a legal perspective: The type of employment relationship that I would establish for my coffee shop would be employer-employee. I will have an employee contract drawn up which will have job description, code of conduct of the company, and pay wage bracket of what each position has. I will praise employee’s work when work is excellent, and give comments on their work process in private good and bad, and always acknowledge their work...
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...GROUP ASSIGNMENT -1 Total Marks: 10 Read the following case study thoroughly and answer the questions given at the end. (Consult course syllabus for writing guidelines. Total length should not exceed five pages) C A S E 22 Submission Deadline: 16-02-2015 Wal-Mart: But We Do Give Them a 10 Percent Employee Discount "l I Tal-Mart began as a simple dream by its founder, Sam Walton: to provide low l' l' prices for customers every day. That philosophy has taken Wal-Mart in fortyfour years from one five-and-ten store in Bentonville, Arkansas, to the largest retailer in the world with estimated annual sales of close to $300 billion. In 2005 it was the largest company in the world based on revenue and slipped to number two in 2006 when Exxon/Mobil took over the number one position. Wal-Mart has more than 1.5 million employees worldwide, including 1.3 million in the United States, and generates more than 2 percent of the gross national product in the United States. On December 19, 2005, the results of a Pew Research survey showed that 81 percent of the 1,502 people who responded to the survey considered Wal-Mart a good place to shop. In addition, 69 percent of the respondents stated that they had a favorable opinion of Wal-Mart. However, 31 percent of the respondents stated that they had an unfavorable image of Wal-Mart. Furthermore, 68 percent of the respondents believed that having a Wal-Mart store in their area was good for the community, and 64 percent...
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...Nov 3, 2010 Jack Nelson's Problem An article for Human Resources Management course, Gary Dessler 12/e, page: 52 1st Question: What do you think is causing some of the problems in the bank’s home office and branches? - There is not any communication between branch supervisors, home offices, and other branches. The supervisor employ their own employee without any communication with the main branch. The major problem is high employee turnover, actually there can be many reason for turnover, however in the text this is a result of when an employee would be hired, they would be resign another employee. In additionally, Ruth Johnson has been working in a home office for two months, howeever she does not know what the machine called she used and what it did. That means, there is not any HR to asist her about that machine. 2nd Question: Do you think setting up an HR unit in the main office would help? - Setting up an HR unit in the main office would help the managers. Through the HR unit the bank can employ the educated bankers and reduce turnover ratios. I mean, because of HR unit will work for supervisors’ and line managers’ needs, the employee which apply the job probably educated by HR unit about the which machine or computer software does he/ she have to. As a result of HR unit, turnovers decrase and efficiency increases in the bank. 3rd Question: What specific functions should an HR unit carry out? What HR functions would then be carried out by supervisors...
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...the competition and beat them every time.” —!David Glass, Director and Chairman of the Board, Wal-Mart1 “In Germany, we know how retail is spelled.” —!Holger Wenzel, Director, German Retail Federation Introduction “What are the 10 worst things we can do to fail?”2 This was how Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, summarized Wal-Mart’s approach to working in Germany. Wal-Mart had entered the German retail market in 1997, with the acquisition of the failing German retail chain Wertkauf, and had quickly encountered problems. Wal-Mart’s EveryDay Low Price (EDLP) guarantee, inventory control, and efficient distribution strategy, so strong in the United States, had each been a source of headaches. Wal-Mart went through protracted struggles with labor unions, with suppliers, and with local zoning boards. It also weathered a major pricing scandal, had been fined for failing to return used bottles to producers, and, in a case that was on appeal at Germany’s constitutional court, faced a 330,000 euro fine for failing to release financial data for Wal-Mart Germany. This was not the first time that Wal-Mart International had run into problems with overseas expansion. It had quickly pulled out of Indonesia after a disappointing ‘test project’ in the early 1990s. Yet in most cases, time had worked in its favor. In Mexico, where it was now recognized as the country’s leading retailer, Wal-Mart had needed five years to post profits. In the United Kingdom, which Wal-Mart had entered by acquiring ASDA...
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...world's largest company. It is three times the size of the No. 2 retailer, France's Carrefour. Every week, 138 million shoppers visit Wal-Mart's 4,750 stores; last year, 82% of American households made at least one purchase at Wal-Mart. "There's nothing like Wal-Mart," says Ira Kalish, global director of Deloitte Research. "They are so much bigger than any retailer has ever been that it's not possible to compare." At Wal-Mart, "everyday low prices" is more than a slogan; it is the fundamental tenet of a cult masquerading as a company. Over the years, Wal-Mart has relentlessly wrung tens of billions of dollars in cost efficiencies out of the retail supply chain, passing the larger part of the savings along to shoppers as bargain prices. New England Consulting estimates that Wal-Mart saved its U.S. customers $20 billion last year alone. Factor in the price cuts other retailers must make to compete, and the total annual savings approach $100 billion. It's no wonder that economists refer to a broad "Wal-Mart effect" that has suppressed inflation and rippled productivity gains through the economy year after year. However, Wal-Mart's seemingly simple and virtuous business model is fraught with complications and perverse consequences. To cite a particularly noteworthy one, this staunchly anti-union company, America's largest private employer, is widely blamed for the sorry state of retail wages in America. On average, Wal-Mart sales clerks -- "associates" in company parlance -- pulled...
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...Johnson III, Lawrence Katz, Sendhil Mullainathan, Andrew Morriss, Richard Murnane, Stewart Schwab, Douglas Staiger, and Marika Tatsutani for valuable suggestions, and to Barry Guryan of Epstein, Becker and Green for expert legal counsel. I also thank seminar participants at Brown University, Harvard University, MIT, the NBER Labor Studies workshop, and the 2000 Econometrics Society meeting for excellent comments.The views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the National Bureau of Economic Research. © 2000 by David H. Autor. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. Outsourcing at Will: Unjust Dismissal Doctrine and the Growth of Temporary Help Employment David H. Autor NBER Working Paper No. 7557 February 2000 JEL No. J21, K31 ABSTRACT The U.S. temporary help services (THS) industry grew at 11 percent annually between 1979 – 1995, five times more rapidly than non-farm employment. Contemporaneously, courts in 46 states adopted exceptions to the common law doctrine of employment at will that limit employers’ discretion to terminate workers and opened them to litigation. This paper assesses whether the decline of employment at will and the growth of THS are causally related. To aid the analysis, the paper considers a simple model of employment outsourcing, the primary...
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