Trader Joe's Responsibilities

Trader Joe’s Management Responsibilities and Their Skill Sets
Kristi RenyerUniversity of Central Missouri
Abstract
Trader Joe’s is a grocery store chain opened in California in 1967 CITATION Gle11 \l 1033 (Llopis, 2011). The company takes pride in keeping their experience unique with the way employees dress, their plan for success and keeping things original CITATION Gle11 \l 1033 (Llopis, 2011). They change the way they place product shelves and tables constantly CITATION Gle11 \l 1033 (Llopis, 2011). Trader Joe’s takes creativity and innovation to the next level. The average store size is 8000 to 12000 square feet and typically has a modular design CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010). The
design of the store keeps competitors from gaining ground, because they can’t fight back. At Trader Joe’s they make you feel like a part of the family not just another person that comes in to buy products and give them money.
Trader Joe’s is a neighborhood market that eventually grew to a multibillion dollar supermarket CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010). There are more than 300 stores across the United States today CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010). Perhaps their perfect fundamentals for great management had something to do with their success. A normal day at Trader Joe’s consists of employees dressed in Hawaiian shirts to point customers to their gourmet, specialty, and natural foods. Customer Service is seen to be pretty laid back yet very passionate. Shopping at Trader Joe’s is not a duty as it seems to be with other supermarkets CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010). They hold half as much stock as the average market and they believe this helps them sale twice as much more products simply because “Giving people too much choice can result in paralysis”, says Professor Barry Schwartz CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010).
There are four main responsibilities in the management process: planning, organizing, leading and controlling.
Trader Joe’s effectively completes all four of these objectives with great success. The company demonstrates good planning skills when they know there is always room for improvement to their business CITATION Gle11 \l 1033 (Llopis, 2011). They are never completely satisfied. They search looking for ways get new ideas, mainly because their ultimate goal is to make the customer leave happy. They ask customers to complete a consumer response card available at the front counter of every store CITATION Gle11 \l 1033 (Llopis, 2011). When it comes to organization Trader Joe’s employees never fails to be put together. The business values their employees by dressing them in Hawaiian shirts and performing as guides assisting the location of ahi jerky, ginger granola, baked jalapeno cheese crunchies, and even your ordinary foods such as milk CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010). They enter the leading side of things when they hold less stock than a normal supermarket which they believe allows them to sell quality products at lower prices CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010). They control themselves with their cost saving measures “Every penny we save is a penny you save”, says CEO. Trader Joe’s looks at every side of the management process by keeping their stores small and staying away from larger
prime cities CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010).
Trader Joe’s is a German company that operates in America and sources products worldwide CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010). There are many risks that come with international ownership. The first risk to all Trader Joe’s stores is the potential for loss of communication. Communication loss between management or between different stores can become a big problem CITATION Nic \l 1033 (Sergeant). When there is a lack of personal communication there are many opportunities for miscommunication or even no communication at all, some of this could be caused by the large distances between stores. Employees cannot listen to new ideas for their stores half way across the world. Objective may not be taken seriously, which could eventually cause productivity and sales to decrease CITATION Nic \l 1033 (Sergeant). There is also an in increase in demand of local foods for farmers. More not only farmers but average people are aiming to consume American just to help the economy CITATION Nic \l 1033 (Sergeant). Productivity, effectiveness, and efficiency are impacted negatively because Trader Joe’s is not a widely known store. Because of this secluded and small location idea the company could be forgotten. Currently the company is running off of customers talking, but that can’t last forever CITATION Gle11 \l 1033 (Llopis, 2011). There is also the foreign exchange of money risk which may make it difficult to receive reliable and constant products that can make it hard to effectively run a business CITATION Nic \l 1033 (Sergeant).
The employees’ uniforms are considered casual and in a casual dress environment it could be harder to focus on the goals of the business and problematic to being an efficient manager.
To compromise for this every employee must go through training programs to learn loyalty and how to treat customers CITATION Gle11 \l 1033 (Llopis, 2011). The training also teaches managers to love their employees and how to provide customer satisfaction CITATION Gle11 \l 1033 (Llopis, 2011). I do believe that Trader Joe’s has what it takes in both management and service skills in order to succeed. Their only downfall to success is that they don’t advertise on TV, billboards, or speak with reporters to get their name out there CITATION Joh10 \l 1033 (Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge, 2010). They provide great management skills and just maybe one day the company will become even larger than it is now. Who knows maybe they won’t need the advertising for success at all a simple friendly manager and employees can do the trick by the simple word of
mouth.

References BIBLIOGRAPHY (2010). Case 1: Trader Joe 's: Keeping a Cool Edge. In J. John R. Schermerhorn, Exploring Management (p. 416). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Llopis, G. (2011, September 5). Why Trader Joe 's Stands Out From All the Rest in the Grocery Business. Forbes.
Sergeant, N. What risks do organizations face when eingaging in international financial activities? Investopedia.