GMS Case #2 - GMS case study 2 PDF

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Case 2: Zara International – Fashion At The Speed Of Light 1. In what ways are the elements of the classical management approaches evident at Zara International? The classical management approach is about clearly defining job responsibilities and training workers for better performance and are very evident within Zara. This approach branches off into three sections. Firstly, scientific management, which is being expressed through the selection of workers with the right abilities. It is only possible for well-trained employees who have the abilities for this job. Zara distribution centres in Europe have items in stores within 24 hours of receiving an order, and American stores within 48 hours. Next, their administrative principles are clearly shown through their control over design, production, and distribution of their products. Their clothing lines aren’t restocked, instead they’re replaced by new designs to create the value of how rare their pieces are. This creates a sense of urgency in shoppers to buy the product now because they are not aware of how long it will sit there for. Lastly, a bureaucratic organization exists through Zara’s clear division of labour, between the designers, manufacturers and managers, helping the organization run smoothly. 2. What elements of the behavioural management approaches are being used by Zara’s management team? The behaviour management approach assumes that people are social and self-actualize. One of the first approaches is the Organizations as Communities approach where managers and workers work in harmony without one of them dominating the other. For instance, designers send photos of new store fronts and layouts to store managers who implement the designs and put them into action. This allows for the freedom of employees to talk over and reconcile conflicts or issues without feeling like there is a higher authority. Another behavioural management approach

is McGregor’s Theory X and Y workers. Theory X are people who dislike work, lack ambition and prefer to be led while Theory Y workers are willing to work and take responsibility, are creative and self-directed. Zara lets their store managers decide which pieces to carry in their stores, showing that they not only trust their employees, but they encourage their employees to be leading, clearly focusing on Theory Y. Zara focuses on towards people, paying close attention to what kind of fashion the public likes and is in demand. Zara also tries to make their prices affordable for the public, while keeping up with trends and new fashion. 3. How can systems concepts and contingency thinking explain some the distinctive practices underlying Zara’s success? Zara’s power and flexibility to accommodate to the rapid changes and trends in the fashion world is an example of contingency thinking. There is no best way to manage a company like Zara which is constantly changing its products. Instead of wanting people to buy what is in their stores, Zara chases sales and offer to exchange items that are not marketing with something new and different. Zara also makes alterations to their store fronts every couple weeks, which helps the company remain ahead in the fashion community. Behind Zara’s ability to promptly react to changes in the markets, the organization consists of numerous systems. The fashion designers, cloth manufacturers, dispersion centres and shop locations that all work in agreement and harmony with each other to put the most recent designs into the hands of customers. Each system is critical to Zara’s overall achievements and if one of these systems were unsuccessful, then it would be difficult for Zara to dominate others in the fast-changing fashion industry...