Management at a Company

Assignment 2: Management at a Company

Walgreens and its Evolution over the Years

Name

Institution

Faculty will provide two to three (2-3) companies for you to choose from for this assignment. Using the Internet and Strayer University databases, research the selected company from its inception to current-day operations.

Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you:

Evaluate two (2) key changes in the selected company’s management style from the company’s inception to the current day. Indicate whether or not you believe the company is properly managed. Provide support for your position.

Explain senior management’s role in preparing the organization for its most recent change. Provide evidence of whether the transition was seamless or problematic from a management perspective. Provide support for your rationale.

Evaluate management’s decision on its use of vendors and spokespersons. Indicate the organizational impact of these decisions.

As a manager within the selected company, suggest one (1) innovative idea that could have a positive impact on both the employees and customers of the company. Indicate the approach you will take in implementing the new idea. Provide support for your suggestion.

Predict the selected company’s ability to adapt to the changing needs of customers and the market environment. Indicate how open communication channels are critical for successfully implementing change in the organization. Provide support for your prediction.

Use at least three (3) quality academic resources. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

Walgreens became America’s largest chain drugstore by the year 2011. By this time, it had established 8,210 by 2011 locations with a total of 7,761 pharmacies. According to statistics, almost 75% of the Americans lived within five miles of a store owned by Walgreens. It is estimated that the chain stores served over six million customers every single day. The stores issued over 800 million prescriptions every year, which represents 20% of the entire U.S. market. The organization’s strategy evolved and went through many phases for more than a century in business. However, beginning the year 2012, the company started going through several hardships regarding its strategic positioning. There issues of international expansion in a rapidly changing health care environment. Also, its management styles have evolved to make it what it is today (Hill & Jones, 2012).

Changes in management styles

In its early years, the company had authoritative or visionary managers whose primary objective was providing long-term strategies and direction to the employees. Most of these were firm but good individuals who wanted nothing but the best that they could manage. Good examples of these are Walgreen himself and his son Chuck Walgreen also known as Cork. Cork took over the presidency of the company from his father in 1969 when the U.S. economy was suffering from a combination of recession and inflation. At the same time, the company’s problems that had been overlooked for a long period were rather becoming too apparent.

When Cork took over, there was a total overhaul in the management team as he brought a whole new batch of leaders who were eager to transform the company. With his new management team, Cork focused most of his attention on the operations in the stores. Many customers termed the goods from these stores as being “beaten up” and junky. Hence, the management resorted to quick refurbishment and remodeling of the products to make them attractive. Eventually, the management team learned that most of the current problems were arising out of outdated an antiquated distribution system; in some cases, it took two whole weeks to replenish the stock. To solve this, Chuck built six new distribution centers in the 1970s, which made it possible for the company to have a much stronger and efficient system of distribution. Being a visionary leader, Chuck also realized that the making of too many legacy decisions was weakening the core operations of the company.

However, so much has happened until Alex Gourlay became the president of the company after serving several years as an executive vice president. Gourlay’s style of management is participative in nature where his primary goal is to build consensus and commitment among the entire workforce. In essence, this style is democratic in nature as it encourages input from every member of staff. The decisions of the employees are duly respected and evaluated for congruence and validity before the process of incorporation into the working system. One thing that has characterized Gourlay’s management is his motivation of the staff by way of rewarding them when there have been outstanding team efforts.

Essentially, his interest is in establishing the credibility of the workers, making them have experience in certain crucial matters thus putting them in a good position to handle similar cases in future. This style of leadership has also been very influential in helping the company resolve many of the crises that have been crippling the core operations in major departments. This advancement resulted in increasing the competence of most of the workers since the output is carefully monitored and coordinated with other tasks.

The current structure of the corporation is made up of ten divisions. In each of these divisions, there are multiple career opportunities, directed at producing top-notch employees through proper handling of the routine activities. The marketing division has a marketing manager and is entrusted with the handling of all the branding and product marketing of the company. The engineering, IT, and E-Commerce department are in charge of the development of new processes for increased advancement in the company’s technology. The department is as well in charge of maintaining all software and hardware. Other departments with empowered team managers are legal, merchandise and procurement, HR and business development and strategy. The senior management team comprises of all the departmental/divisional managers, who are all empowered and motivated towards working as a team with each other and the rest of the other junior staff.

The role of management in preparing the organization for its most recent change

In the recent past, Walgreens has had aimlessness regarding its objectivity. However, Gourlay has made tremendous efforts in raising the shopper traffic that had flip-flopped from 2012 to 2014. The stock price for the company had gained no ground during the market’s robust recovery. The first thing that the Gourlay is doing is closing down all the underperforming stores, and so far 200 stores have been shut down (Stone, 2013). The recent changes were necessitated by the need for a reboot of the company if it so desires to thrive once again in the health market. Walgreens has been adversely affected by changes in the federal law, demographics, and economics. Another change that is underway is the reduction of the costs on the side of the consumers so as to bring in more numbers. Thirdly, Gourlay also intends to form partnerships with one of the PBMs. He further says that the priority right now is to improve on their relationships with PBMs, which hit the lowest point in the period during a costly and protracted contract with the famous Express Scripts in the year 2012. The president is also keen towards boosting nonprescription profit and revenue by improving the company’s health and beauty products. He says that a margin expansion is essential for this change to occur.

Innovative ideas for positive impact and change

The most innovative idea that could transform the company’s progress is recognizing its strength and capitalizing on it. From an analytical point of view, Walgreen has a competitive advantage as a store of convenience to the majority of the clients. Therefore, the secret here is to rally the consumers to see the brighter and better future that the company holds in store for them. One thing that makes it better for the enterprise is the fact that company’s products are in demand by people of all ages, sex, races, and personalities. As such, everyone out there is a potential client. After this, the next thing is to revitalize the marketing team that would carry out thorough and strategic marketing that would inform the public of the rebranded products and the advantages of identifying with the stores. As a manager, I would also aim at turning every talent of each and every employee into real-time performance. The idea is to identify and deploy individual differences spotted in each and every employee.

Adapting to the dynamic nature of the market

According to Vogel (2005), the health market is one of the most dynamic markets in the present 21st century. As a company, it is critical to evolve along with the needs and demands of the market. One thing that needs immediate action is for front walls of Walgreens to change drastically to reflect and promote the health-related items that the market desperately needs. It is time to drift away from the general idea of convenience products alone. There has to be an exclusive and renewed focus on the clinics, beauty products, vitamins, immunizations, skin care and beauty products. Professionalism is important and necessary in the health sector. It is one of the ways of maintaining the pace of the market without excessive strain. It thus follows that all the employees at every store have to be professionally trained and offered refresher courses at appropriate intervals to ensure that the deliver as expected by the market.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that Walgreen is not staying down, and it is quickly bracing up for revitalization. The pharmacy is the heart of Walgreens’ success. It is thus putting all departments to repossess its old place in the market and regain its lost glory. The management is also changing its structure to an all-inclusive style of management which will ensure that every employee has a role in shaping the capability and future of the company.

References

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Hill, C. & Jones, G. (2012). Essentials of strategic management. Australia Mason, Ohio: South-Western/Cengage Learning.

Stone, B. (2013). The everything store : Jeff Bezos and the age of Amazon. London: Bantam Press.

Vogel, D. (2005). The market for virtue the potential and limits of corporate social responsibility. Washington, D.C: Brookings Institution Press.