本文是美国留学生assignment代写范例，题目是“Management Levels at Staples（Staples的管理水平）”，Staples是一家为客户提供办公产品的美国跨国公司。该公司自1986年成立以来经历了巨大的增长，在销售额和占地面积方面是最大的办公产品公司之一。该实体依靠其门店来接触客户。截至2006年，该公司在美国和加拿大拥有超过1500家门店(Gavin and Levesque, 2007年第1页)。这些商店的销售额占公司销售额的80%。该组织的门店有一定程度的自主权。店长负责整个店铺内的所有活动。
Abstract 摘要
Staples is an American multinational organisation in the business of providing office products to its customers. The company has experienced tremendous growth since its inception in 1986 and is one of the largest office products company in terms of sales and footprint. The entity has relied on its stores to reach its customers. As of 2006, the company had over 1500 stores in united States and Canada (Gavin and Levesque, 2007 p.1). The stores were responsible for 80% of the company sales. The organisation’s stores have some level of autonomy. The manager of the store is responsible for all activities carried out within the establishment.
The units also maintain their own Profit And Loss Statements. Therefore, the manager is responsible for the growth of revenue at their unit. Gavin and Levesque (2007 p.1) report that each store averaged an income of six million dollars in 2006.Competition in the office product industry is high. Staples face competition from other companies in the same business like Office Depot and also big departmental stores such as Walmart. The heightened competition requires the firm to improve its customer service. The business instituted several measures that ensure the customer service at its stores is to a high standard. The firm has trained its staff and incorporated a customer-centric culture in its operations.
这些子公司也有自己的损益表。因此，经理要对其部门的收入增长负责。Gavin和Levesque (2007 p.1)报告称，每个商店在2006年的平均收入为600万美元。办公用品行业的竞争非常激烈。Staples面临着来自Office Depot等其他公司以及沃尔玛(Walmart)等大型百货公司的竞争。激烈的竞争要求公司改善对顾客的服务。该公司制定了几项措施，以确保其门店的客户服务达到高标准。该公司对员工进行了培训，并将以客户为中心的文化融入到其运营中。
1.Challenging Aspects of a Manager’s job at Staples Staples经理工作的挑战性
The role of management is essential for any business entity. Barros, Sampaio, and Saraiva (2014, p.3) argue there is a correlation between quality management, organisational practices, and the performance of the firm. Schraeder, et al., (2014 p.57) add that a manager is critical in the successful implementation of a firm’s vision and mission. Furthermore, the leadership in a company is responsible for a conducive work environment (Henry, 2013 p.93). Staples relied on the leadership at the centre and on-the-field to run the business efficiently and effectively in order to achieve its revenue and growth objectives.
管理角色对于任何企业实体都是必不可少的。Barros, Sampaio和Saraiva (2014, p.3)认为质量管理、组织实践和企业绩效之间存在相关性。Schraeder等人(2014年第57页)说道，管理者是成功实现企业愿景和使命的关键。此外，领导在一个公司负责一个有利的工作环境(亨利，2013年第93页)。史泰博依靠中心和现场的领导来高效和有效地运营业务，以实现其收入和增长目标。
The management at Staples was designed in a structured manner, such that there were different levels of management. The job description and expectation at the different levels were similar, but the scale and scope increased with each hierarchical level (Gavin and Levesque, 2007 p.6). Therefore, the leadership faced similar challenges in executing their mandates. This is a list of the issues the managers at Staples faced.
2.Meeting Performance Targets会议业绩目标
The company has sales, customer service, and efficiency objectives which each manager is tasked with ensuring are achieved at the store, district, regional, and divisional levels. Sales, expenses, and profit reports are generated daily and weekly. The General Manager has a mandate of checking sales volume and margin at stores level. The reports are then passed up the chain of management and each subsequent manager would study the reports to ascertain whether their area of influence is performing according to the set targets. The leadership has the challenging tasks of ensuring company’s income and profits grow amidst heightened competition. Staples also have a system in place to check customer service delivery.
公司有销售、客户服务和效率目标，每个经理的任务是确保在商店、地区、区域和部门层面实现这些目标。每天和每周生成销售、费用和利润报告。总经理的任务是检查门店的销售额和利润。这些报告随后传递给管理部门，随后的每一位管理人员将研究这些报告，以确定他们的影响范围是否符合既定目标。领导层面临着在激烈竞争中确保公司收入和利润增长的艰巨任务。Staples还有一套检查客户服务交付情况的系统。
Mystery shop scores and online customer service surveys are used to check whether the stores adhered to the brand’s customer service strategy. As a manager, ensuring the employees under your supervision deliver service at the set levels is not an easy task. It is through the customer experience that a consumer makes a decision on whether or not to maintain a relationship with a company (Voorhes, et al., 2017 p.271).
A manager has to design a proper strategy that will ensure the customer has a good experience (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016 n.p). Therefore, a firm cannot meet the brand's promises if the team's action is not based on quality customer management. Consequently, the managers have to share and ensure the customer service vision is understood and implemented in the workplace. Inventory management is also vital for Staples operation. The general managers have a daily report that update them on the daily inventory needs. Problems such as outages, low balances, and products which need to be moved from the storage area to the shelves were highlighted by the reports.
The management, especially the general manager has to ensure they adhere to the firm's inventory policy in order to have an efficient and effective operation. However, stock level management can be a difficult and tiresome task to accomplish. At Staples, each store would take manual daily stock counts, the point of sale system would also aid in stock management. Perusing through all that data could be a time consuming and energy draining activity. The different stores compete with each other; there is a performance metric developed to check if the stores meet the requirements. The general manager, districts, regional and divisions' heads have to ensure they perform well against their internal competition.
3.Budget Allocations预算分配
The Home Office which is the central governance unit of Staples makes budget decisions for the different units of the company. Each manager is expected to deliver the performance target while operating within the funds allocated. The set expenditure can be a challenge since the management has to balance costs and spending to meet the objectives of the company (Serrador, 2013 p.3). This is evident during the course of the budgetary period; when a number of operations would ask for supplementary allocations due to changes to the operations plan or increased competition.
作为Staples的中央管理部门，英国内政部为Staples的不同部门制定预算。每个管理者都应在分配的资金范围内完成绩效目标。设定的支出可能是一个挑战，因为管理层必须平衡成本和支出，以满足公司的目标(Serrador, 2013年第3页)。当一些运营由于计划改变或竞争加剧而要求补充拨款时，这在预算期间是很显然发生的。
4.The Characteristics of a Manager and its Influence on Customer Experience经理的特点及其对顾客体验的影响
The mandate of designing, developing, and maintaining a customer service oriented culture in an organisation rests with the leadership of a company (Wisner and Linda, 2008, p.121). The responsibility is with the management because they have the authority to influence the corporate culture, and they also make service decisions and communicate the customer service vision to the rest of the team. Odiakaose (2018) argues that a firm’s organisational culture has the potential of determining the performance of the company.
在组织中设计、发展和维护以客户服务为导向的文化的任务取决于公司的领导层(Wisner和Linda, 2008，第121页)。管理人员有责任，因为他们有权影响企业文化，他们也会做出服务决策，并将客户服务愿景传达给团队的其他成员。Odiakaose(2018)认为，公司的组织文化具有决定公司绩效的潜力。
There are various characteristics and personal attribute that can be essential to a manager when it comes to customer service such as communication skills (Luthra and Dahiya, 2015 p.45). The skills are vital and without them the business runs the risk of offering poor service; therefore, losing the competitive edge that is associated with superior service. The manager can use these attributes to enhance customers’ experience and also act as a role model to other employees; therefore, influencing the whole value proposition at their area of influence. This case study highlights some of the attributes that can positively impact customer service at an organisation.
5.Matrix Organisational Structure矩阵组织结构
A matrix organisational structure is a reporting framework in which the reporting lines are set up in a grid format. Schnetler, Steyn, and Van Staden (2015 p.29) posit that a matrix structure is a mixed approach to organisational leadership, the traditional hierarchical approach is overlaid by some form of lateral authority. The diagram below is a pictorial representation of the matrix structure.
矩阵式组织结构是一种报告框架，其中报告线以网格格式设置。Schnetler、Steyn和Van Staden(2015年第29页)认为，矩阵结构是一种组织领导的混合方法，传统的等级方法被某种形式的横向权威所覆盖。下图是矩阵结构的图示。
There are two stands concerning the matrix structure: one is a group of leading scholars who believe the approach is beneficial and needed for corporate, and another group is of the opinion that the model is not useful in organisational structures. The proponents of the model argue that the structure is a prerequisite for across-the-board coordination for large entities (Burton, Obel, and Hakonsonn, 2015 p.3). The opponents hold the position that the approach slows down decision making and interferes negatively with accountability. The two camps have tabulated the benefits and disadvantages of the method. Below is a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages that will accrue to Staples if it changed its organisational structure from the traditional pyramid model to the grid model.
6.Obstacles to an Effective Strategy Implementation at Staples Staples有效实施战略的障碍
The company has instituted various changes to how it operates in a bid to capture new revenue streams. The increased focus in the copy and print segment of its services is an example of one of the changes in strategies the firm has previously carried out. The initiative was successful; however, various challenges were encountered in this change. The section below highlights some of the obstacles the company faces in rolling out a new strategy.
为了获得新的收入来源，该公司已经对其运营方式进行了各种改变。其服务中对复印和印刷部分的关注日益增加，这是该公司以前实施的战略变化之一。这项倡议是成功的;然而，在这一变化中遇到了各种挑战。下面的部分重点介绍了该公司在推出新战略时所面临的一些障碍。
Cost
Initiating a change in the way the business conducts its business can be an expensive affair. Costs are incurred in the purchase of new equipment, restructuring the human resource, and in collecting information about the new approach. A high-cost implication can act as a hindrance to the successful implementation of a new strategy. The firm has to conduct a cost analysis and identify whether the benefits accrued from the change match and exceed the expenses.
Resistance to Change
When laying out a new strategy, the management and employees can resist the new way of doing things, more so, if there are uncertainties in the project. Pieterse, Caniels, and Homan (2012) argue that implementing organisational change can prove problematic. In their study, they claim only thirty per cent of change initiatives are successful. When Staples changed its focus to copy and print, both the management and the staff had apprehensions about the move. The management felt that it would be difficult to change the organisational culture and the employees felt that the new changes will result in job losses. Therefore, managing change is crucial in implementing a new strategy.
Employee Education
The capability of the company to educate its employees on a new strategy can impact its success. The firm has to first ensure that managers have a grasp of what the change means. Thereafter, the management has to disseminate this information to the rest of the team.
The management of a large organisation such as Staples requires a carefully designed and developed approach. The implementation of management elements will depend on the managers of the company. To achieve this, the management faces various challenges that need to be overcome for the process to be successful. The case study examines the challenges and some of the measures that can be used to improve management at Staples.
Staples这样的大型企业的管理需要一种精心设计和发展的方法。管理要素的实施将取决于公司的管理者。为了实现这一点，管理面临着各种需要克服的挑战，以使过程成功。本案例研究探讨了Staples面临的挑战，以及可以用来改善管理的一些措施。
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