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nordsLrom: ulssenslon ln Lhe 8anks?

SLraLeglc ManagemenL
PunLer kerkes
1/30/2012










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$%&'()*+& ,(--./0
1he nordsLrom case ls a dlscusslon of Lhe way sales clerks were drlven Lo Lhe hlghesL
sLandards among Lhe reLall shopplng lndusLry durlng Lhe 1980's and 1990's. 1he phllosophy of
nordsLroms ls Lo offer Lhe cusLomer Lhe besL ln servlce, selecLlon, quallLy, and value. 1hls ls a
very good example of a buslness moLLo LhaL noL only wlll succeed buL have reLurnlng
cusLomers. 1he only problem wlLh Lhls phllosophy ls LhaL ln order Lo achleve such success you
need Lo have employees who share Lhe same passlon as Lhe owners and operaLors of
nordsLroms. Many of nordsLroms employees dld share Lhls vlslon buL Lhere were also many
employees LhaL were pushed Lo sLandards LhaL Lhey could noL fulflll, for fear of losL wages, bad
shlfLs, and even LermlnaLlon. ushlng employees Lo breaklng polnLs was noL a huge concern for
Lhe upper managemenL of nordsLroms and Lhls ls a reason why l feel LhaL Lhe company as a
whole suffered.
1/234&-5
1here are many problems assoclaLed wlLh Lhe way nordsLrom managemenL LreaLed
Lhere employees many of whlch l feel could be Laken care of wlLh a llLLle beLLer managemenL of
Llme resources and company pollcles. l feel Lhese are key problems wlLh Lhls case whlch are
llsLed below:
122/ -.6.7&-&6) 28 )*-& './95 .69 )*-& .442'.)*26
nordsLrom sales clerks were requlred Lo clock ln and ouL of work [usL llke any oLher
employees buL Lhe problems arose when selllng Llme" and non-sell" Llme are noL
clearly dlsLlngulshed.
:25)*4& ;2/< &6+*/26-&6)
eer pressure from oLher sales clerks, bad shlfLs, LermlnaLlon, and almosL unaLLalnable
goals makes Lhe nordsLrom worklng envlronmenL very sLressful. 1he nordsLrom SP
commlsslon sysLem ls very dlfflculL for all employees Lo achleve.
=6*26 /&>/&5&6).)*26 28 2640 . 8&; &->420&&5
Cnly 1,300 of nordsLroms nearly 30,000 employees are represenLed by Lhe unlLed lood
& Commerclal Workers unlon whlch only covers nordsLroms WashlngLon employees. A
spllL among unlon employees and non-unlon employees creaLes even more problems.
?.9 /&>/&5&6).)*26 30 =6*)&9 @229 A B2--&/'*.4 (6*26
1he unlon offlclals are asklng nordsLroms for way more Lhan Lhe employees are enLlLled
and refuslng Lo Lake some of nordsLroms offers.

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D&'2--&69.)*265
1hese are [usL a few of Lhe problem assoclaLed wlLh Lhls case along wlLh many more LhaL
can be dlscussed as well. 1here are a many number of recommendaLlons Lhe can be suggesLed
Lo flx Lhe problems dlscussed above. 8elow are acLlons LhaL wlll beneflL Lhe employees and
ownershlp of nordsLroms.
E6'2/>2/.)& . 6&; 505)&- 28 )*-& <&&>*67
1he Llme keeplng sysLem aL nordsLroms could use many lmprovemenLs. llrsL wlLh
respecL Lo clocklng ln and ouL for normal work hours, Lhls should be accompllshed by
uslng a compuLer sysLem LhaL would keep Lrack of when you clock ln and ouL. 1hls
sysLem could also be used as a means for sales clerks who were worklng afLer normal
hours Lo conLlnue Lo sLay clocked ln unLll Lhere work was done. As for dolng exLra Lhlngs
ouLslde of Lhe sLore lL should be mandaLory for Lhose employees Lo manually wrlLe
down Lhelr hours and Lurn Lhem ln aL Lhe end of Lhe each week, wlLh approval for Lhelr
managers, Lhls sysLem would ensure LhaL employees were pald for all of Lhe hours LhaL
Lhey worked.
E->/2+& ;2/<*67 &6+*/26-&6) 82/ 5(''&55
nordsLroms worklng envlronmenL ls full of sLress and pressure LhaL could drlve sales
clerks Lo Lhe brlnk. 1he SP program LhaL ls ln place now ls ln effecL a drlvlng force for
sales clerks LhaL are unllkely Lo be achleved. 1he program was lnLended Lo beneflL Lhose
clerks who achleved Lhe goals LhaL were seL forLh for Lhem buL many clerks were noL
able Lo achleve Lhese goals and as a resulL were penallzed wlLh fear of decreased hours
or LermlnaLlon. 1hls sysLem could be used Lo moLlvaLe employees lnsLead of leavlng
Lhem ln fear.
=6*26*F& .44 G2/95)/2- &->420&&5
8y allowlng all nordsLrom employees Lo be parL of a unlon you ellmlnaLe Lhose
argumenLs beLween unlon and non-unlon employees. WlLh only WashlngLon employees
belng represenLed by a unlon Lhls creaLes a dlvlslon ln Lhe labor force for nordsLroms.
8y glvlng all employees Lhe rlghL Lo be represenLed by a unlon you are glvlng employee's
opLlons LhaL wlll make Lhem happler and more producLlve.
G&; 4.32/ (6*26 >/&5*9&6)
1he Local 1001 unlon ls poorly represenLed by lLs currenL presldenL who noL only ls
overesLlmaLlng Lhe back pay LhaL employees deserve buL also argulng agalnsL sLeps LhaL
nordsLroms ls Laklng Lo flx Lhe problem of back pay and Llme keeplng. A new presldenL
and a new board could greaLly beneflL Lhe employees represenLed by Lhe Local 1001.

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I(5)*8*'.)*26
WlLh Lhe recommendaLlon above l feel LhaL nordsLroms could move pasL employee and
managemenL dlfferences and conLlnue Lhe nordsLrom model of success. 8elow are Lhe reasons
why Lhe recommendaLlons wlll be beneflclal Lo nordsLroms and lLs employees.
J88&/*67 . 6&; )*-& 505)&-
nordsLroms would have more success keeplng Lrack of employee's hours wlLh Lhls new
sysLem whlch would resulL ln a beLLer sales and happler employees. 1hls would ensure
LhaL employees are geLLlng pald for every hour Lhey worked and don'L feel llke Lhey are
geLLlng robbed of hours LhaL Lhey spenL provldlng added cusLomer supporL whlch ls one
of nordsLrom's company moLLos.
K2 *->/2+& &->420&& -2/.4&
Pappy employees are more wllllng Lo do Lhe exLra Lhlngs LhaL nordsLoms are asklng for
as long as Lhey are geLLlng compensaLed for Lhelr efforLs. 1he SP program can be very
moLlvaLlonal for employees who succeed buL lL should noL be used a punlshmenL lf goals
are noL meL. Lmployees should noL fear geLLlng bad shlfLs of loslng Lhelr [obs buL lnsLead
sLrlve Lo make lmprovemenL's every week Lo evenLually aLLaln Lhe goals LhaL have been
seL for Lhem as parL of Lhe SP program. Lmployees should noL be penallzed for worklng
overLlme and Lhere for noL meeLlng Lhelr sales per hour goals.
=6*26*F.)*26
lf mosL or all employees are represenLed by a unlon Lhen Lhls would ellmlnaLe a rlfL
beLween employees who are very loyal Lo Lhe company and of Lhose who are loyal Lo
unlons. WlLh all employees belng parL of a unlon Lhey are falrly represenLed lf Lhey need
lL buL also loyal Lo Lhe company as well. Lmployees wouldn'L feel scruLlnlzed for noL
belng parL of a unlon.
G&; (6*26 4&.9&/5
WlLh Lhe elecLlon of a new unlon presldenL for Lhe Local 1001 Lhe relaLlonshlp beLween
Lhe employees represenLed by Lhe unlon and Lhe managemenL of nordsLroms could be
puL back Lo Lhe way lL was. 1he presldenL of Lhe unlon ls belng unfalr ln argulng wlLh and
overesLlmaLlng Lhe amounL of back pay owed Lo employees. 1here ls no accuraLe way of
knowlng [usL how many hours employees worked off Lhe clock wlLhouL Lhose employees
physlcally wrlLlng down Lhelr hours. nordsLroms managemenL Look sLeps Lo lmprove
Lhelr sysLems whlch seemed falr buL Lhe presldenL sLlll argued agalnsL Lhelr sLeps.


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M/7(-&6)
1hese [usLlflcaLlons are [usL a few ways LhaL Lhlngs beLween nordsLroms employees and
managemenL can be beneflclal for boLh sldes. Powever, wlLh every recommendaLlon Lhere can
become problems. 8elow are some of Lhe problems LhaL mlghL arlse when acLlng upon Lhe
above recommendaLlons.
$->420&&5 /&'2/9*67 8.45& )*-&5

A problem LhaL arlses wlLh Lhe lmplemenLaLlon of a new Llme sysLem ls LhaL employees
could record false Llme whlle worklng off Lhe clock. 1hls could lnclude dropplng off an
lLem whlch may only Lake a half hour buL Lhe employee wrlLes down LhaL Lhe Lask Look a
full hour lnsLead. SLeallng Llme ls one of Lhe blggesL concerns for any company, one
whlch cannoL be solved very easlly.

$->420&&5 7&))*67 '2->4.'&6)

nordsLroms may lmprove Lhe morale of lLs employees buL ln dolng so lL may cause
employees Lo become lazy and have no drlve Lo achleve Lhelr lndlvldual SP goals for no
fear of punlshmenL. Lmployees wlll [usL sorL of become used Lo [usL only dolng enough
and noL golng over and above Lo please cusLomers.

J>>25*)*26 )2 (6*26*F.)*26

AlLhough many people en[oy Lhe beneflLs of havlng a unlon represenL Lhem Lhere are
many people who do noL feel Lhe same way. eople shouldn'L have Lo be forced Lo [oln
a unlon. 1hls could cause creaLe problems LhaL can be avolded. Lmployees could choose
Lo [usL qulL or never even begln worklng for nordsLroms.

$+&6 ;2/5& /&>/&5&6).)*26

1he unlon presldenL now ln place may be dolng Lhe besL [ob he can for Lhe Llme belng
buL Lhere are always worse ways of belng represenLed. 1he elecLlon process could Lake
unwanLed Llme, Lhe elecLed presldenL could only be Lhelr because of some sorL of
connecLlon and noL looklng ouL for Lhe goodwlll of Lhe enLlre unlon. LlLher way Lhere ls
never a way of knowlng who wlll do Lhe besL [ob.



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B26'4(5*26
1hls case ls falrly compllcaLed wlLh many problems LhaL can be ldenLlfled and plans can
be puL ln acLlon Lo resolve Lhese problems. l belleve LhaL Lhe nordsLroms moLLo of offerlng Lhe
cusLomer Lhe besL ln servlce, selecLlon, quallLy, and value ls a sLrong goal LhaL would achleve a
superlor buslness sLraLegy. 1he only problem ls LhaL somewhere along Lhe way Lhe
managemenL of nordsLroms forgoL abouL Lhelr employees belng Lhe key parL of Lhls sLraLegy.
ushlng sales clerks unLll Lhey were no longer wllllng or able Lo achleve such goals wlLhouL
sacrlflclng Lhelr own Llme and money was noL Lhe greaLesL play for Lhe managemenL of
nordsLroms.