Investigating Castle Mall management Essay

The castle mall is a shopping centre located in the centre of Norwich. It is owned by the insurance company Friends Provident. Friends provident employ a whole managerial team who run the centre. This is called Castle Mall Management. This is what I will be investigating in my project. E1 Public and Private Limited Companies (PLC) Castle mall management Ltd is a private limited company (ltd). A private company is a business with limited liability whose shares are not available to the public. A Public limited company (PLC) is a business with limited liability whose shares are not available to the public. PLC’s are required by law to publish their accounts. This means that they are available for scrutiny, not only by the owners (shareholders), potential investors, and bankers, but also, by competitors. The Memorandum of Association must state clearly that the business is a public company and it must be registered as such. The term ‘plc’ must appear after its name. The differences between the two, private and public limited companies are; > A public company can raise capital from the general public, while a private company is prohibited from doing so. > The minimum capital requirement of a public company is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50,000. There is no minimum for a private company. > Public companies must publish far more detailed accounts than private companies. Advantages 1) The shareholders have limited liability. 2) It is easy to raise capital by issuing more shares. 3) It is much easier to raise finance because the banks are much more willing to lend money to a large, well established, as they see it as much less of a rise. 4) This all makes it easier for the PLC to grow and expand. 5) The shareholders will appoint specialists to manage and runt the company for them. Disadvantages 1) Setting up a public limited company is expensive. There is a lot of administration work involved and at least à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50 000 has to be raised before a PLC can be set up. 2) The PLC has to issue much more information about itself and this again is very expensive to produce. It has to prepare and annul report as well as Annual Accounts and these have to be printed and sent to all the shareholders. They also available to the general public and competitors to see. 3) The extent to which any one individual, or group, can maintain control of an organisation is severely limited by the sale of its shares on the stock exchange. A family may find their influence on a business diminished when a listing is obtained. In turn, this means that publicly quoted companies are always vulnerable to take over bid. This may affect the decisions taken by directors. For example, they may be more inclined to cut back on staffing during a recession, whereas a private firm would want to hold on to experienced staff for when the economy starts to recover. E6 Communications There has to be communication between each member of staff for the company to function properly. I will now look at how this can be done within the company. Uses of communication > To contact each other > To make deals > To give instructions > To give or receive information > To exchange ideas > To announce plans or strategies > To compare actual results against a plan > To lay down rules and procedures > Job descriptions, organisation charts or manuals Direction of communication Formal Informal Vertical Vertical * Downwards Between peers, friends or -From superior to subordinate. Colleagues. * Upwards Could be given as – From subordinate to superior emotional support. Or to organise a function Horizontal or lateral or party. > People of the same rank, (In the same section Or in different sectors) Diagonal Interdepartmental communication by people of different ranks. Methods of communication A) Face to face communications > Formal meeting > Word of mouth > Interviews > Informal contact B) Oral communication > The telephone > Public address system C) Written communication > Letters, external mail systems > Memorandum, internal mail system > Reports > Forms > Notice board > News letters, bulletins, house journals > Organisation manual, handbook, leaflet D) Visual communication > Charts > Films, PowerPoint Presentation E7/A3 Quality Control * Quality is one of the ingredients in the purchasing decision of consumers, who demand ever-increasing levels of quality * Any firms that ignore the quality aspect of both inputs and outputs risk losing market share to those firms who make it a priority. â€Å"Quality is defined by the Customer† W E Deming (American Quality Guru) Quality Defined * It is difficult to provide a single definition for quality as it means different things to different groups of people. Certainly the perception of the customer is a key element. Here are some of the minimum requirements for customer satisfaction: * Fitness For Purpose The product can do what is it meant to do. This is a useful definition as it can be applied to a wide variety of products, including cheap products such as disposable pens. * Meeting the minimum standards prescribed by acts of parliaments â€Å"Health and Safety†, â€Å"Weights and Measures† and â€Å"Trade Description† Legislation provides a legal framework for minimum standards across a wide range of goods. * Meeting trade association standards Some industries have self regulating bodies that guarantee their members’ work, e.g. the national house building council. In final analysis it is the customers’ perceptions of quality that really matter, firms must strive to convince the market that their product/service is the best value for money. Quality Control Systems In the past, Quality Control in the UK meant ‘inspecting’ the product after production has taken place. In other words it was a faultfinding exercise. Today quality control it is all about ‘building in’ quality at each stage of production. Such a ‘preventative’ approach reduces the high costs of rejects and re-working. The Japanese perfected this is known as: Total Quality Management (TQM) Basic features of TQM are: * The establishment of culture of quality among all employees * The recognition of quality chains where each stage of production is treated as a separate customer to be valued and looked after * The use of Quality Circles * Empowerment of workforce * The emphasis on after-sales service as well as quality manufacture. TQM is not a management tool but a Philosophy. Requiring a complete mind shift on behalf of the entire company (Managers and employees) Quality Initiatives In recent years these have been many initiatives introduced to assist firms to achieve Assurance.Quality Quality Assurance Refers to all of the activities that ensure the satisfactory delivery of goods and services to end customer. Quality Assurance refers to all of the activities that ensure the satisfactory delivery of goods and services to the end customer. Key factors include: * The quality of inputs such as raw materials and components * The quality of the design process so that the products meet customer requirements whilst still being economic to manufacture * To appropriate skill level of the workforce and its commitment to quality assurance * The quality control methods used in the production process * The quality of advice at the purchasing point and after-sales service The Main Initiatives Have Included: TQM A philosophy of quality QUALITY CIRCLES An informal discussion group drawn from all parts and levels of the business that meets regularly to discuss quality problems KAIZEN An approach to advocates continuos improved in small steps rather than a competitive overhaul of the production system. BENCHMARKING Identifying the best practice of the leading firms and using that as a yard stick with which to measure one’s own performance ISO 9000 An international quality certification procedure ZERO DEFECTS A philosophy that encourages all employees to strive for the ultimate goal of a ‘perfect product’ TRAINING Where management has recognised that for quality to be assured a ‘quality culture’ must be implemented at each stage of the process; it is imperative therefore to train all employees to have the requisite skills, both for their direct tasks and for quality monitoring Quality can be achieved in diverse ways but the ultimate goal is to satisfy the customer, which of course is a constantly moving objective. The thing is that Castle Mall Management does not sell anything. This can be a problem when trying to implement quality control. To overcome this they have to vet the stores they have in the centre and make sure that they use quality control. This would help castle mall management reach their objectives especially the main objective to make a profit. As Castle Mall management do not sell anything they cant run certain procedures. This means that the design and production side is out of their hands, but is it? If they want to be really sure of what they are getting into they can agree with the firm or business to have an input into what they are selling. For example, they could check the production side of a chocolate shop making sure that their production line is of a high standard and that they are not breaking any laws. Another thing they could check, although not directly liked with quality is where the product is made. If a product is made in a small 3rd world country with the st aff getting paid for example 50p a day they might disagree with this and not allow the shop to trade in their centre. I believe that one of their objectives should be to help the customer in buying a quality product. The use of quality control to add value. * Adding value – For landlord * Increase foot fall * Increase spending * Operate a profitable environment City * Investment in the city * Precence Population * Provides jobs * Provide social outlets * Sponsorships * Castle Mall is the only underground shopping centre in Western Europe. This makes it a landmark E2/E3/C1 The objectives of Castle Mall Management Objectives: A statement of what an organisation wants to achieve Objectives are a statement of what an organisation wants to achieve through its operation. A firm’s formal objective is given in its memorandum of association, and larger firms may publicly state their general philosophy and values in a list of objectives. For most PLC’s profit is only one goal among others. Objectives provide criteria for decision-making. Most firms harden these general objectives into more dynamic aims, which are intended to drive the organisation forwards in the chosen direction. Mission statements are focused declarations of intent, designed to energise staff at all levels to work in common cause. In practice the overall objectives of a large firm need translating into terms that have meaning for each operation or function. This may mean that one objective is particularly highlighted. 1) The Main objective is to make a profit. They have to make a profit in order to ensure that the investors i.e. Friends Provident get return on their investment. This is the main objective of most businesses; they set out to make money. If they do not then they are considered a failure. 2) To provide a Safe and secure environment for their customers. In order to make a profit people have to come in to the centre. If possible customers feel that the centre is secure and they will be safe then they may visit and return for all their needs. If they consider the centre and car parks not to be safe then they will not visit as they feel that they or their property is not safe. 3) To increase footfall per year. The footfall is the amount of people that visit the centre in a measured time. The more people that come in the more chance of them buying items and the Castle Mall making a profit. Even if a non-customer walks through the centre everyday on the way to work then they may see a shop or an item in a window, which they may come back and buy it when they want it. 4) To increase amounts of visits per person. This is not the same as footfall as footfall is the amount of people who visit the mall, whereas the 4th objective is to increase how many times one person visits in a measured period. Again more visits means potentially more profit. 5) To increase visits from within a large catch-ment area. Trying to gain custom from shops in a large catch-ment area. This means trying to get potential customers from other places of Norfolk up to a 1-hour drive away. 6) For customers to stay longer when they get there. The longer the customer stays the more money they are likely to spend. Also with plenty of food restaurants in the mall if people are there a long time then they may get hungry and buy food. This will help increase profit. The overall objective all the objectives lead to is to Make a profit. E4 The Functional areas of Castle Mall management Ltd The main functional areas of Castle Mall Management Ltd are; * Marketing * Accounts * Administration * Security * Human resources * Food Court * Customer service Each area has its own responsibilities and objectives. Next I will explain each areas responsibility; * Marketing > Public Relations > Advertising -Briefing the creative/media buying agencies -Approving copy and schedules -Ensuring targets and deadlines are met > Web Site > Christmas Decorations > Promotions -Events -Displays -Activities > Research > Sponsorship > Buying – -Maintaining stock levels -Existing literature -Briefing in new requirements -Checking prints quality -Distribution > Health and Safety checks on displays * Accounts The accounts section of Castle Mall Management Ltd looks after the money side of the company. This can involve checking and counting all the money side of the centre. This can range from making sure people have paid their rent and how much they should have paid to counting the money that is put into the car park pay machines. This is a very important side of the company as without them they would not get any money in and staff would not get paid etc. * Administration Admin look after the paperwork side of the company. This can involve writing to perspective clients and customers with information about the centre. Also it can involve internal communication helping the company run. Without the admin department the company could not run, this is because they basically sort everything out. If a letter needs to be sent, a contract needs to be singed or a delivery needs to be taken admin are there, if they cannot sort it out then they can contact a someone who can. * Security The security department is a very important in the Castle Mall. Weather you see them or not they are always there. There are a team of highly trained security staff patrolling the Mall 24/7. This offers a visual presence for the customers, making them feel safe and secure. What the customers don’t see is the main control room where the operation is run from. Here they control over 50 cameras. Some of these are visual to the customer, some a hidden ‘Matchbox’ cameras which can be hidden basically anywhere. The CCTV system is very important in the mall, if a situation is spotted then the security guards can be contacted by radio and told any information they need to sort it. The security staffs also are called into action when there is a fire alarm. When this happens the mall is evacuated and the fire service is called, when they arrive it’s the security guards job to show them to the area where the alarm is. When the all clear is given it is the guardsâ€⠄¢ job to let everybody back into the mall. From shoplifters to lost customers the security guards are helping the mall function properly. * Human Resources The human resources department is in charge of the employment side of the company. This can involve placing adverts in the paper for a new position, looking at the application forms. Deciding on candidates and then interviewing them. They would then have to decide on a new employee with their experience and knowledge. * Food Court The food court has a different sort of agreement with Castle Mall Management, they are directly accountable to Castle Mall Management Ltd as there targets are set by them. If they are struggling to meet this Deadlines Castle Mall Management will intervene and try and sort the problem. As they have this relationship the profits they make are shared with Castle Mall Management. This is a pre-arranged agreement, which was sorted when the mall opened. As the food court is a large part of the mall and is closely linked with Castle Mall Management they have their own manager within Castle Mall Management. It is their job to make sure that the food court are meeting their targets and are running with no problems. * Customer Service The customer service desk and team have a large area to cover. They basically look after the customers of the mall. Here are some of the areas they cover. > Information services for the mall and local area. > Security > Car parking – Disabled parking and access > Disability service – Shopmobility > Information leaflets > Public relations – informing public about evens > Baby changing facilities > Good signage and directions > First aid > Directory leaflets Also the customer service desk is also the first place to make a complaint. It depends on the nature of the complaint as to how it is dealt with. However, all that make a complaint will get a letter of some kind of response from the centre manager. All complaints are dealt with as soon as possible. If necessary clients/customers will be invited backs and helped. One example is when a fire alarm went off and a mother with a toddler with a pushchair had to carry the pushchair down flights of stairs because she had taken the wrong turning. She aired her concerns to CMM Ltd who invited her back to show her that there was an access/ exit especially for disabled/pushchair access. This alleviated her concerns and she is more than likely to return to the shopping centre because her concerns were dealt with efficiently and effectively. Complaints cam be made either through the information desk or by post. Customer fills in form They will then be sent to the management suite where the corresponding manager will deal with it. Investigation carried out And acted upon E5/C2/A1/A2 Organisational structures When you look at the structure of Castle Mall Management it looks, as it is hierarchical (See additional page 1). This is not 100% true, when I asked Erik Kirk the manager of Castle Mall management Ltd he described them as having elements of all structures and cultures. Organisational structures can be described as flat, hierarchical or matrix shaped. Where decision-making is decentralised, the structure tends to be flat. This means that managers and the staff are given wide ranging responsibilities in deciding what to buy, what prices to charge and which staff to employ etc. An organisational structure where decision-making is decentralised it can be described as flat because it does not have many layers. A disadvantage of this type of organisation is that decision-making can be slow. For example any decision that is made this way can take a long time. However, the decision-makers have the advantage of being close to the others day to day activities. In other words there is not along line of communication between the decision-maker and the work to be done. The most extreme version of this is the sole trader who does all the work and carries out all the decisions of the business. Some organisations have in recent years cut out layers in the middle management with the aim of improving communication and decision-making. It can be called de-layering this has had the effect of widening the span of control of the managers who are left. This means that managers can become overwhelmed by the information coming to them and the quality of decision-making suffers. The managers start to loose control over practices and procedures. Narrow Span of control Wide Span of control An alternate way to run the business is to centralise operations. This approach takes decision-making power away from junior staff. This resulting structure is described as hierarchical. Senior staff makes all-important decisions. Below is an organisational chart showing a centralised structure it has several layers of command and is pyramid shaped, i.e. wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. Most large businesses are organised in a hierarchical structure. The senior managers are responsible for taking decisions affecting the whole, or large parts of the businesses whilst shop floor workers mainly carry out decisions made by others. Manager Senior supervisor Senior supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Junior Supervisor Shop Floor Workers Shop Floor Workers The Key advantage of a hierarchy is that it allows strong leadership and centralised decision making. It ensures that the organisation has a consistent policy, approach or activity. A problem with hierarchy is that the line of communication between ‘top’ and ‘bottom’ might be quite long. There are layers of people who to receive and pass on information and at each stage the Information can be reinterpreted or misinterpreted. One way of avoiding this problem is to delegate decision-making. This means that people within the organisation are given the authority to make decisions themselves rather tan wait for instructions from the top. Advantages and Disadvantages of centralisation Advantages * Bulk buying reduces costs * Fewer staff are required in the whole operation. * The scope for specialisation increases * Producers such as ordering and purchasing can be standardised * Planning and control tends to be more effective * Decisions are made for the good of the company rather than the branch * Leadership is likely to be stronger and more consistent Disadvantages * Middle managers may be less motivated because they have less responsibility * Local needs are less likely to be met * There is less flexibility * There may be more administration * Communications between different sections might be poor * The burdens of management is more concentrated to the centre More example of Structures Location Allied Breweries Ltd Calsberg/ Allied Breweries Allied Tetley UK Netherlands Breweries Trading World-wide Product Allied Lyons PLC Spirits Retailing Brewing Food + Manufacturing Wholesaling Some organisations have structures that cannot be described as flat or hierarchical. They use tears that cut across traditional departmental boundaries. Sometimes the tears are permanent, in other cases the are brought together for a specific purpose. Project tears are increasingly being used by businesses to develop new products. Such tears have MATRIX STRUCTURES. In that the have members drawn from several departments. One example of a project team is the one ‘Rover’ used to develop the ‘600’ series. From the start of the project, stylists, manufacturing, production engineers, production line operates and suppliers all worked together. All team members had the authority to act without consistent referral to senior management. Stylists Engineers Team Leaders Production line Operates Suppliers How does the organisational structure affect its performance The organisational structure of Castle Mall Management (or as they call it the ‘Family Tree’) has a hierarchical shape. This means that there is one main centre manager. The centre manager Eric Kirk then goes directly to a deputy centre manager. They then lead directly to four other managers of separate divisions. The marketing, food court, security and administration manager all then head a team in that department except the marketing manager who has no team and works closely to the deputy and main manager. The structure shows that the centre manager has direct input to the four division managers. I believe that having a structure of this sort will be successful. This is because everyone has a link with everybody else. If there is a problem then there is always someone there to sort it. Also as the main manager has close links with most of the staff under him so if he makes a request they may not mind carrying it out. I think that the structure helps Castle Mall Management meet and exceed its objectives because they work well as a team. This is because everyone is linked with everyone and there is always someone to help you out if need be. You see how important they find these as they call there structure the â€Å"Family Tree†. This can help with all objectives, especially the objective, to make it a safe and secure place for the customers to shop. If the employees believe they are doing a important job and feel wanted as a part of a team then they may put more effort. This means that they may make the extra little bit of effort to clean a spillage etc. The management culture The management culture of a business is how the people very high on the hierarchy act to the lower down employees and their associates. It depends on how managers act, if they tell people what to do or if they leave it up to them to make their own decisions. A good model to show this is the leadership continuum. Autocratic style Participative style Free-Rain Style Consultative Consensus Democratic Autocratic style An autocratic leader maintains most of the authority by issuing orders and telling what to do without consulting them. To the autocrat, the basis for leadership is formal authority. Autocratic leaders may have a few favourite subordinates but they usually regard close interpersonal relationships with group members as superfluous. The autocratic style of leader is generally in disfavour in modern organisations. Participative style A participate leader is one who shares decision-making authority to the group. Participative leadership occupies enough space on the continuum to warrant dividing it into three subtypes: Consultative, Consensual and democratic. A Consultative leader solicits opinions from the group before making a decision, yet does not feel obliged to accept the groups thinking. A standard way to practice consultative leadership would be call a group a group meeting to discuss an issue before making a decision. A Consensual leader encourages group discussion about an issue and then makes a decision that reflects the general agreement of group members. Consensual leaders thus turn over more authority to the group than consultative leaders do. The consensus leadership style results in long delays in decision making because every party involved provides input. Free-rain style or laissez-faire style A Laissez – Faire or Free Rain leader turns over almost all authority to the group members and does as little leading as possible. Given a situation in which the work to be done by each employee is clearly defined, weather it is sorting coupons or cutting gears with laser beam, such leaders maintain a ‘hands-off’ policy. They make few attempts to increase productivity or to coach their employees. At times the free-rain leader is a abdicator who cares very little for productivity goals or developing subordinates. Erik Kirk of Castle Mall management is certainly not like this as he has very high targets and standards. As with any leadership style, there are some situations in which an autocratic style is appropriate. One example is a high-accident work area where the employees are not particularly knowledgeable about the potential risks. Many autocratic leaders have been successful as high-level leaders in the private and public sectors. One good example of this is taken from â€Å"Management and organisation† by DuBrin, Ireland and Williams. Jack Traimiel, the controversial executive who has occupied key positions at both Commodore and Atari. A co-worker of Tramiels said, â€Å"Commodore was the house that jack built, and when he left the company, so did the spirit, the aggressiveness and the drive. Decision making also went by the wayside† Castle Mall Management are democratic and laissez-faire at times but are autocratic at times of: * New Employees New employees may not know about certain parts of the business so if they make decisions however small they could make curtail mistakes, which could cost money or customers. Also if they are not taught they may never learn a certain technique and carry on using the wrong way forever. * Health and safety Health and safety is very important as it involves the welfare of workers and customers. If they want to meet their objective of proving a safe and secure place for people to shop they will have to be very strict on this subject. This means that precise decisions need to be made which are in lines with all guidelines set by the governments of the world. * Security Is very important, again if they want to meet their objectives they will have to be very strict and precise on security matters. This may involve making decisions based on laws and keeping information form other employees lower down the hierarchy. Erik Kirk and his associates like to have a team of workers who are loyal and work hard. He also likes to make them feel part of something, a team. He has an ‘open door’ attitude when it comes to this. He likes to feel that if there is a problem it can be sorted. No matter how small the problem is he feels that he can help providing answers and privacy. On paper the structure appears hierarchical but it does have elements of a flat structure. Overall the culture is: * Philanthropist in attitude * Good work ethics * Relaxed * Productive * Efficient * Good and open communication channels * Clear objectives * Safe and secure working environment E6 The use of ICT in communications Castle Mall management would be severally impaired without ICT. The main use of ICT is communication. There are many areas of communication featuring ICT, these are: * E-mail Internal External * Web site * Alarm System (2 way communication) * Reports * Telephone (external + between departments) * CCTV + Mini cameras E-mail Castle Mall Management uses E-mail to communicate between department, level and centre. E-mail is a very good way of communication as it is virtually instant. Also you can send designs, graphics and programs as attachment files. This is very helpful as it saves in paper costs and also cannot be lost as with paper. Castle Mall Management uses E-mail to communicate with each other no-matter where they are in the building or country. For example a admin worker could e-mail his supervisor to alert them of a problem or just to book holiday. Another example is Erik Kirk the main centre manager E-mailing another manager of another centre alerting them of a security problem. Web site Castle Mall Management help run the castle-mall.co.uk web site. Some Castle Mall Management staff has been trained to update and redesign the web site. The web site can be used to make customers aware of events and new promotions. It can also give customers information about what shops are in the mall and what services are available. Alarm systems The alarm system in the mall has a communication system built in so if there is an emergency most people in the mall can contact each other through the alarm system to find out what’s happening. It can also pinpoint where a person is so if they are in danger then they can quickly be located and helped. Reports Reports are written by all sections of management so that other people in other positions know what is happening, why and when. They are written about special events to inform people what is happening and how successful something was. Also reports are written once a week, month and a major one written each year. These reports are read by managers and then sent to Friends Provident or FisPam. To let them know how they are getting on. If there is a problem with the reports then friends provident will try and suggest ways to rectify it.