Denver Department Stores

Denver Department Stores, a Colorado retail store chain, is an entity that was suffering from the effects of decreased sales volume. Jim Barton, the supervisor of four departments within the main location in Denver, was struggling with developing a process to improve the store’s sales. Barton identified with the notion that the decrease in sales volume was a simple matter of a slowdown in the economic landscape, and that the downturn would effect all stores in the retail business. However, Barton’s superior, Mr. Cornwall, the general merchandiser of Denver Department Stores, told Barton that some stores have experienced a 15% gain in recent sales. Cornwall made it clear that he expected Barton’s segments to have sales equal to the other departments within the company due to more aggressive salespeople. As a result, Cornwall proceeded to employ a tally card system that would keep track of each employee’s sales as a method of evaluation. It should be noted that Denver Department Stores employs part-time clerks, those responsible for the majority of sales within each department, and head clerks, the superiors to the part-time clerks. The head clerks are responsible for organizing the stock room, training part-time employees, and maintaining the positive appearance of the store. Cornwall concluded that the tally card system would allow the company to eliminate the weak salespeople and replace them with people that possess stronger sales skills. Ultimately, the tally card system did not help increase the company’s sales. The tally card program was eliminated by Mr. Blanding, the store manager, after the realization of the program’s failure.
The details within the case description give us the main points, but our remedy for the company’s problems rely on some facts that are derived intuitively. These facts are in regards to the organization’s structure, employees, and management. As for the structure of management, we assume that Denver Department Stores is governed by