The
purpose of this blog is to show the flaws of stakeholder relationships,
manager methods, and marketing strategies that placed JCPenney into
jeopardy. My position to the flaws is
that JCPenney should consider the role of the stakeholder in value creation,
adapt human resource strategies that result in a competitive advantage, exploit
technology, and create marketing strategies that result in a community
value. My approach is to show
environmental, leadership, and process problems with JCPenney with a
recommendation to help.
Understanding
the Challenges at JCPenney
J. C. Penney
Company, Inc., commonly known as JCPenney, executed an orthodox strategic plan
to increase return of investment.
Furthermore, JCPenney’s approach is in reducing the cost. The cost idea includes eliminating stores with
diminished returns and eliminating labor from those properties to include
corporate support. The strategy causes
organizational market value to decrease.
In addition, when the economy improves organizations meet with
difficulty building up capital. Nevertheless,
whenever a sluggish economy affects market behavior a return on investment
survives; however, when the issue is due to loss in value the strategy flaws
because of losses to culprit.
Effective
managers should use an intuitive design to troubleshoot organizational issues (Morgan, 2006). As managers gain experience, the reaction to
issues occur at a subconscious level and is the topic of management that
JCPenney lacks. An effective manager should
have an outward image of content towards the organization and career path. In addition, effective managers consider many
variables to correct a situation not just fixed points. All points in an organization lead to a fixed
path that effective managers can foresee and make decisions based on the outcome.
Changing
Needs From Customers
JCPenney
has a weakness in having enough trained personnel in the stores to attend to
customers; however, the untrained personnel try to engage with customers with a
welcome message, but do not try to build professional relationships. In addition, the online auction experience
does not offer the connection between customer and client representing in less
social interaction with the public. The
misalignment challenges are causing JCPenney in moving to a direction for
solvency ("Balance Sheet," 2013).
For JCPenney to
adapt to fewer employees, a movement to give autonomy and work satisfaction is
important (Morgan, 2006).
The necessity to inspire employees to think proactive and self –reliant allow
JCPenney to develop customer relationships.
Newer methods to management style places more emphasis on analyzing
stakeholders as microorganisms with the assistance of biology. Further studies entail the embodiment of
motivation to stakeholders based on the hierarchical needs (Maslow, 2000).
JCPenney is in
a negative discourse aiming at devaluing stakeholders. Social interaction dynamics is essential for
sustainability, and JCPenney has not shown interest in identifying new emerging
stakeholder base. The retail industry
has a difficult task of identifying stakeholders. Much of the misalignment is within how the
internal stakeholders and external stakeholders communicate. Majority of JCPenney employees do not attempt
to develop professional relationships with customers; therefore, JCPenney will have
difficulty learning customer’s expectations.
The center of mass of customer’s perceptions maintains a distance from
the misconceptions of JCPenney. In
summary, new, emergent stakeholders appear in external societies with
boundaries not reachable by JCPenney.
Restructuring
JCPenney’s Processes and Structures
Moving
from external threats, JCPenney should focus in internal opportunities. Uses of Organizational Mindfulness (OM) to
derive opportunities are beneficial to organizations that will make JCPenney a
competent entity (Vogus & Sutcliffe, 2012). Furthermore, opportunities achieved the
OM represents studying inherent business structures and practices (Vogus &
Sutcliffe, 2012). The key links
to improve from the value chain include support activities include the firm
infrastructure, human resource management, technology department, and
procurement and primary activities: inbound logistics, operations, outbound
logistics, marketing and sales, and service (Porter & Millar, 1985). Revamping Marketing and Sales will develop
JCPenney’s goals. The comparative
advantage JCPenney has is offering better value by better use of Information
Technology (IT) and further analysis of value creation (Freeman, Gilbert, & Hartman, 1988; Harvard
Business School Press, 2005). The implementation of broad scope offers company
relationships between related industries, geographic areas, and value chains
(Porter & Millar, 1985).
JCPenney
can respond by introducing team-based stakeholders and matrices that deal with
environments, and organizational challenges (Morgan, 2006). Team-based organizations improve
environments, coordination between organizational structures, and maximize the
efficiency of human resources. Lastly,
team-based organizations troubleshoot effectively, improve organizational
branding, and create a healthy environment for competition.
Applying
The Right Amount Of Feedback
Competent
organizations realize external threats to the physical environment by including
behaviors and settings labor forces require for a “Workplace Fun” environment (Pryor, Singleton, Taneja, & Humphreys, 2010). The factors that increase workplace fun
comprise of higher moral: (a) lower turnover; (b) increase creativity and
innovation; (c) better performance; and (d) higher commitment (Pryor et al.,
2010). Workplace leaders and ethical
standards by the leaders result in negative workplace fun (Pryor et al.,
2010). The ethical standards and hiring
practices link to organizational mission and values. Top management creates a competitive
advantage by continuously reviewing staff’s fit to the organization (Pryor et
al., 2010). A dysfunctional environment
and negative workplace culture build negative workplace fun (Pryor et al.,
2010). A successful organization
self-regulates failures and realizes success by implementing causality feedback
loops (Stacey, 2011).
A
successful manager at JCPenney will understand the levels of negative feedback
(irrational) and positive feedback (rational) to invoke onto employees (Morgan, 2006). Furthermore, managers should understand the
behavior patterns that fuel conflict between employees. Patterns exist between rational and
irrational behavior.
Understanding
The Images As A Manager
Organizational
problems result from external and internal threats (Morgan, 2006). With the consideration of external threats,
organizations confined to three systems that include autonomy, circularity, and
self-reference. Organizations fail when
it attempts to self-identify its brand without considering the viewpoints of
external stakeholders. Organizations
enact close organizational cultures to protect branding. Consequently, the organization creates a
destructive pattern.
Companies
should test change within community patterns to assure the organization can
offer value to consumers (Morgan, 2006). The interchange of information is important
to maintain long-term sustainability. Evaluating
the exchange, organizations learn patterns and points of references as key to
success. Companies should attempt to
connect with external environments, review the organization identity to see if
it compliments the external environment, and observe for factors of
change. Companies should envision change
since change will offer rewards specially when change is in alignment with
consumer needs.
Changing
Needs From Employees
From
change, JCPenney should consider the stages of organizational sustainability
and leadership of employees. Moreover, employees
pass through a phase of acceptance and conflict (Morgan, 2006). Employees get to know leadership and accept
the direction through a passageway. If
employees do not accept the leadership conflict occurs. Employees gather to fight and rid the
intruder from the organization. For employees
who confuse leadership with conflict, employees follow bad impulses and project
negativity onto other groups perceived as villains. The organization then becomes dysfunctional
with vengeful attitudes from employees.
Following
a dysfunction, organizations pass through a coping mechanism (Morgan, 2006). Managers often fall prey to mixed signals
from stakeholders. The organization
experiences vengeful actions from stakeholders and ethos of cutthroat. Sarcasm and betrayals sets in the minds of
stakeholders fueled by sadism.
Leaders
can react to the dysfunction by allowing stakeholders to think of transitional
objects. The objects can represent
expressions, scenarios, experiences, or situations that allow employees to focus
on features that fuel acceptance (Morgan, 2006). For example, children sometimes feel safe with
the presence of a teddy bear, a security blanket, and a night-light to suppress
fears and anxiety. People holding fear
will relinquish the fear from decision-making that obtains something new thus
outweighing the fear.
Hiring
Competent Employees
Managers
can focus in hiring functional labor assets.
Organizations have to evaluate human resource decisions affecting a
competitive advantage to the organization (Martins & Meyer, 2012). Retaining human capital through the cyclical
cycles of the organization is challenging.
Moreover, organizations overcome factors to loss of human capital
through the evaluation of return on investment (Martins & Meyer,
2012). Organizational knowledge ends at
the turnover of employees (Martins & Meyer, 2012). Furthermore, an aging workforce results in
loss of job data and job-related information (Martins & Meyer, 2012). Moreover, the downsizing of the organization
and economic recession increase turnover (Martins & Meyer, 2012). Recessions disrupt the availability of
education resulting in a reduction to intellectual capital (Martins & Meyer,
2012).
JCPenney
should focus on trendsetters and employees that are creative to sustain
change. Creativity, productivity, and
health in self-actualizing people are not always factors that reflect a
positive stature (Maslow, 2000). Special talent creativeness does not equal
self-actualizing (SA) creativeness. SA
creative people can see the truth from world problems compared to people
verbalize worldly concepts. All
stakeholders have the ability for creativity.
A leader must assist in alternating inhibitions by blocking paths.
Maintaining
Value
JCPenney
failed to recognize the changing dynamics of society’s culture and growing base
of younger stakeholders. In addition,
the CEO placed more emphasis on vision to the dominant discourse than alignment
with stakeholder needs. The strategic
plan of offering new products through Martha Stewart represented the
misalignment in understanding the needs of a younger generation of
stakeholders. Moreover, JCPenney missed
the opportunity in relating social constructionism to stakeholders. In essence, JCPenney realized the approach of
supplying products and services to an older stakeholder group that represented
a small portion of social groups.
JCPenney
bombed to attempt to measure stakeholder response to strategic planning. The CEO abandoned academic views to
interchange with personal tools. The CEO
did not examine core business alignment with customer, attempt to realize
entrepreneurship with stakeholders, and recognize the value. Moreover, evidence-based management
principles or TQM were not important for JCPenney. The CEO brought a mixture of conceptual
beliefs from past industries and attempted to realize gains from those
experiences. By not relocating to
corporate headquarters, the CEO did not bond with the culture of JCPenney,
therefore, could not correctly interpret the culture. The signals of communications were a miss by
not examining the communicative system of participants. Lastly, the CEO convoluted strategies were
successful at not yielding positive cash flows.
JCPenney
should recognize communities for change.
Managers and leaders have to accept the current problems with
communities to realize change (Hamel, 2009). Moreover, managers and leaders must
acknowledge that people desire different challenges that differ by
territory. To move forward, managers and
leaders must accept the new challenges as the initial placement of
society.
Empowering
A Diverse Workgroup
JCPenney
ought to realize the opportunities in a diverse work force. Diversity is the variety of culture and
ethnic groups within an organization (Stacey, 2011). Moreover, diversity allows organizations to
adopt the best cultures to offer an environmental cohesive group (Stacey,
2011). Diversity enhances organizational
performance and provides improvements through planning (Stacey, 2011). Diversity also calls for culture adaptation
and acceptance of differences (Stacey, 2011).
Consequences Of Images To The Stakeholders
Diversity
is a signal to change. Stakeholders
experience challenges with organizations when the organizations refuses to
change with communities needs (Morgan, 2006). Consequently, people that represent
organizations as stakeholders succeed by aligning self-interest with their
immediate environment. The decisions
made by the stakeholders are typical to their immediate surrounding or
immediate peer groups called open-systems approach.
Conflicting
Organizational Culture
To
assure the implementation of an effective organizational culture, leaders should
adapt to a role model process (Harvard Business School Press, 2005). The guarantee is in alignment to leadership
and role model ethics (Harvard Business School Press, 2005). The hiring process, training, logistics,
pricing, and other activities realize by meshing the support system of the
strategy (Harvard Business School Press, 2005).
In addition, leaders benefit from understanding the potential of
employees and motivating employees based on potential (Harvard Business School
Press, 2005). Moreover, the organization
culture must reflect the ethics of the leadership (Harvard Business School
Press, 2005). To achieve an ethic
alignment with organizational culture, leaders should pair heroes with novice
employees (Harvard Business School Press, 2005). Creating a culture base environment is
challenging. Valued leaders will
encounter difficulty in effort, time, and disruptions of creation (Harvard
Business School Press, 2005). Dampening
Innovation And Creativity
A
culture base environment also means to consider employee satisfaction. JCPenney has to slow the progression of
employee turnover, maintain tacit knowledge, and fear of executive job loss by
strengthening industry placement (Martins & Meyer, 2012). Furthermore, JCPenney can improve external
and internal views of diversity by electing leaders that are diversity friendly
(Stacey, 2011). JCPenney can become
competent by realizing an organization that incorporates external a friendly
physical environment including behaviors and settings labor forces require for
a “Workplace Fun” environment (Pryor et al., 2010). The factors that increase workplace fun for
JCPenney comprise of higher moral: (a) lower turnover; (b) increase creativity
and innovation; (c) better performance; and (d) higher commitment (Pryor et
al., 2010).
Interpreting
The Financial Statements
Workplace
fun can improve the bottom line. JCPenney’s
current stature to the North American economy is at shambles. The stock price or perception of stability
has diminishes return clearly seen with a negative slope to stock value ("Stock Price," 2013). The slope represents a year activity
including the years of 2012 until 2013 ("Stock Price," 2013). Moreover, JCPenney’s public balance sheet
dating 2011 to 2013 represent diminishing returns of equity while maintaining
similar levels of the debt ("Balance sheet," 2013). The amount of profits in the last three years
shows a diminishing value to sustainability ("Income Statement," 2013). The last three years of cash flow are
falling, and Net Borrowing increased ("Cash Flow," 2013). Clearly, JCPenney is not utilizing resources
in a way to offer value to customers since it is failing to produce
profits. Improvement to IT is the
catalyst to profit maximization.
The Images That Are Compatible For
Long-Term Sustainability
Maximizing
profit can arrive from long-term sustainability to social systems. Communities unite in complex social systems
and create their own ethical systems (Morgan, 2006). Organizations that operate within communities
are subject to push and pull principles of open-systems approach. The communities alter the behavior of
organizational culture by colluding ethical systems based on the communities
direction. The ethical systems of
communities have characteristics that members enter into the systems where
participants accept new applicants, and the system must have subsystem that
directs continuity of structure and balance of members.
Improving
Value Chain Processes
Structure
and balance are a challenge for value chain processes. Technological challenges do not end with
changes in buying behavior. Department
stores are introducing “Just In Time” inventories changing the scope of
the supply chain (I. Anitsal & Anitsal, 2011). The faster time to process and deliver products
to the supply chain improves organizational performance and improves customer
satisfaction scores (Anitsal, & Anitsal, 2011). Customers consider value to businesses that
offer products in a timely fashion.
The
forecast for the future includes robotization the cashier sections of department
stores (Anonymous, 2012). Another technological change includes
robotization, changing the demand of labor (Anonymous, 2012). The opportunity to reduce organizational
costs is a method to sustain by JCPenney.
A careful analysis is important to measure the amount of organizational
staff required to run department stores.
This measure aligns with customer engagement and participation. Robotization, as introduced in the automotive
industry, represents a competitive advantage by reducing costs and delivering
timely output. The adaptation to
robotization will boost productivity and offer customers quicker service.
Aligning
The Marketing Strategy
Robotization
does not mean less than customer involvement.
The online auction research shows males to dominate the online auction
shopping experience (Hou & Elliott, 2010). Within Porter’s Five forces, the change in
shopping behavior shows a change in bargaining power of customers (Harvard
Business School Press, 2005). In
addition, higher education equates to more online auction attendance. JCPenney should observe the general state of
the population with correlation to education and compare it to the census. The lack of alignment to a new emerging group
could invite a new competition as barriers to entry vary (Harvard Business
School Press, 2005). Lastly, other
factors affecting the online auction experience include (a) type of
relationship a customer draws to the online shopping experience (affiliation);
(b) bargain hunting; (c) enjoyment seeking; (d) information seeking; (e)
convenience seeking; and (f) variety seeking (Hou and Elliot, 2010).
Avoiding Failed Historical Strategies. Other failed marketing strategies include
hiring criminals. JCPenney placed a
product strategy that introduced Martha Stewart’s brand (Murray, 2013). Moreover, Martha Stewart
is a well-known criminal and communities do not embrace criminals in the United
States. According to JCPenney, it is in
alignment with the legal principles of communities “A deep commitment to
legal compliance and ethical business practices is firmly embedded in
JCPenney’s history and company culture …” (Lee, Fairhurst, & Wesley, 2009, p. 146). The corporate social responsibility is not
evident in the activities JCPenney makes.
Moreover, JCPenney’s mission statement offers information on being a
servant “JCPenney is committed to serving our communities, our Associates,
our Customers and the environment. What matters to you matters to
JCPenney." (M. M. Anitsal, Anitsal, & Girard, 2012, p. 136). A conclusion drawn from the two statements
depict an organization wanting to be a servant and committed to a lawful
alignment with communities; however, the concern for communities is
ethics. The ethical foundation of
JCPenney is missing a link to the desires to stakeholders (Harvard Business School
Press, 2005).
Maintaining
Low Threats
Observing
the weakness of competition is essential to turn the competition’s weakness
into organizational advantages (Harvard Business School Press, 2005). Weaknesses to competitors are the areas where
customers are not receiving value (Harvard Business School Press, 2005). Exploiting the weaknesses include the
introduction and analysis of new business to strategic regions (Harvard
Business School Press, 2005). The
exploitation to realize converges into areas where the competition is not
practicing. The conversions implement as
other implementation projects.
Specifically, JCPenney measures areas of exploitations to achieve value
where the competition fails to acknowledge.
The
external forces challenging the sustainability to JCPenney are threats. The challenges to Social, Economic and
Technological factors are in profit maximization, value creation, and
efficiency. The specific external
threats include online auctions, GPN outsourcing, supply chain processes from
competition, robotization, and gender preferences. Value creation and maintenance require a
competitive advantage. A derived benefit
anticipates global social changes to determine a positive footing in the
industry. Moreover, the economic
challenges to the online auction represent the supply and demand of what
customers are willing to pay.
Unfortunately, the online auction process does add stability to the
demographic patterns within the store environment. Consequently, customers may dictate different
shopping experiences. Lastly, changes in
technology represent both gains and losses in profits if not managed correctly
within organizational infrastructures.
Robotization of the cashier centers represents a competitive advantage.
Keeping Relationships With Customers
A competitive advantage is also
available from organizations. Organizations
representing customers to other organizations experience additional cost to
training whenever changing services or products to a competitor (Porter, 2008). Cash
flows necessary for routing expenditures compromise forecast and implementation
of projects (Porter, 2008). Incumbents
have fixed arrangements with other competitors that could have preferential
access to cheap raw materials (Porter, 2008).
The access to distribution channels offers difficulty to starting
organizations (Porter, 2008). Lastly,
government policy to protect existing organizations introduces barrier to entry
to competitors (Porter, 2008).
Conclusion
JCPenney should actualize a strategic plan that
increases the return of investment and adopt modern management strategies that
focus an intuitive design to troubleshoot organizational issues. Customers require human engagement. Uses of OM to derive opportunities are
beneficial to organizations improve JCPenney as a competitor. Empowering employees and implementing control
through workplace fun and negative feedback is an important management
strategy. Employees pass through a phase
of acceptance and conflict as organizations experience change. Organizations have to evaluate human resource
decisions that affect the competitive advantage. JCPenney failed to recognize the changing
dynamics of society’s culture and growing base of younger stakeholders. JCPenney ought to realize the opportunities
in a diverse work force. Stakeholders
succeed by aligning self-interest with personal environment. To assure the implementation of an effective
organizational culture, leaders should adapt to a role model process. JCPenney has to slow the progression of
employee turnover, maintain tacit knowledge, and fear of executive job loss by
strengthening industry placement.
Leaders should consider accounting concepts as value metrics. Communities unite in complex social systems
and create their own ethical systems. The
speed and accuracy of products to the supply chain improves organizational
performance and improves customer satisfaction scores. The online auction research shows males to
dominate the online auction shopping experience. JCPenney placed a product strategy that
introduced Martha Stewart’s brand. Observing
the weakness of competition is essential to turn the competition’s weakness
into organizational advantages. Organizations
should change hats by acting as customers to understand the value to customers.
References
Anitsal, I., & Anitsal, M. M. (2011). Emergence of
entrepreneurial retail forms. Academy of
Entrepreneurship Journal, 17(2), 1-17. Retrieved from http://www.alliedacademies.org/Public/Journals/JournalDetails.aspx?jid=6
Anitsal, M. M., Anitsal, I., & Girard, T. (2012).
The core of retail mission statements: top 100 u.s. retailers. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 11(1),
131-143. Retrieved from http://www.alliedacademies.org/Public/Journals/JournalDetails.aspx?jid=13
Anonymous. (2012). On being human in a transhuman
future. The Futurist, 46(6), 64-65.
Retrieved from http://www.wfs.org/
Freeman, R. E., Gilbert, D. R., Jr., & Hartman, E.
(1988, November). Values and the foundations of strategic management. Journal of Business Ethics, 7(11),
821-834. doi: 10.1007/BF00383045
Hamel, G. (2009). Moon shots for management. Harvard Business Review, 87(2), 91-98.
Retrieved from http://staff.ithaca.edu/smonagan/docs/Hamel_Management_Moo.pdf
Harvard Business School Press. (2005). Strategy: Create and implement the best
strategy for your business. Boston, Massachussetts: Harvard Business School
Press.
Hou, J., & Elliott, K. (2010, Spring). Profiling
online bidders. Journal of Marketing
Theory and Practice, 18(2), 109-126. doi: 10.2753/MTP 1069-6679180201
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP): Balance sheet.
(2013). Retrieved April 2, from
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bs?s=JCP+Balance+Sheet&annual
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP): Cash flow.
(2013). Retrieved April 2, from
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cf?s=JCP+Cash+Flow&annual
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP): Income statement.
(2013). Retrieved April 2, from
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=JCP+Income+Statement&annual
J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP): Stock price.
(2013). Retrieved April 2, from
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=JCP#symbol=jcp;range=1y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;
Lee, M.-y., Fairhurst, A., & Wesley, S. (2009,
Summer). Corporate social responsibility: A review of the top 100 U.S.
retailers. Corporate Reputation Review,
12(2), 140-158. doi: 10.1057/crr.2009.10
Martins, E. C., & Meyer, H. W. J. (2012).
Organizational and behavioral factors that influence knowledge retention. Journal of Knowledge Management, 16(1),
77-96. doi: 10.1108/13673271211198954
Maslow, A. H. (2000). The Maslow business reader. Toronto, Canada: John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Morgan, G. (2006). Images
of organization: Updated edition of the international bestseller. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Murray, L. (2013, March 8). J.C. Penney puts Martha
Stewart plan on hold. Dallas Business
Journal. Retrieved from
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2013/03/08/jc-penney-puts-martha-stewart-plan.html
Porter, M. E. (2008). The five competitive forces that
shape strategy. Harvard Business Review,
86(1), 78-93. Retrieved from http://hbr.org/
Porter, M. E., & Millar, V. E. (1985). How
information gives you competitive advantage. Harvard Business Review, 63(4), 149-160. Retrieved from
http://hbr.org/
Pryor, M. G., Singleton, L. P., Taneja, S., &
Humphreys, J. H. (2010, August). Workplace fun and its correlates: A conceptual
inquiry. International Journal of
Management, 27(2), 294-302. Retrieved from
http://www.internationaljournalofmanagement.co.uk/
Stacey, R. D. (2011). Strategic management and organizational dynamics: The challenge of
complexity. Essex, England: Prentice Hall.
Vogus, T. J., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2012). Organizational
Mindfulness and Mindful Organizing: A Reconciliation and Path Forward. Academy of Management Learning &
Education, 11(4), 722-735. doi: 10.5465/amle.2011.0002
