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TANGLEWOOD: A CASE STUDY

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TANGLEWOOD: A CASE STUDY

INTRODUCTION
Tanglewood is a department store chain that operates in the nondurable general retail industry. It is considered a moderately priced retailer that features consumer items such as clothing, appliances, electronics and home décor. The company has been in business since 1975, and CEO, and President, Emerson and Wood would like an external evaluation of the firm’s current HR strategy. The company’s Director of Staffing has contacted us in an effort to obtain feedback on their current HR strategy, and to provide recommendations in each of the following areas: Tanglewood’s staffing quality and staffing quantity. According to authors, Heneman, Judge, & Mueller, 2012, a firms staffing strategy should be an outgrowth and interplay between organizational strategy and HR strategy (Heneman, Judge, &Mueller, 2012). The CEO and President believe in the philosophy that Tanglewood’s success is a direct result of the company’s strong culture. The company is looking for feedback from the external consultant on ways to maintain their unique culture and value even as the firm moves into the future, and a new phase of economic growth. The company’s focus is on competition, culture, and HR strategy, and its relationship to their operating environment.
Tanglewood's core values and belief in responsible financial management, clear and honest communication, and the opportunity to provide the maximum value to customers, shareholders, and employees has set the company apart from its competitors, and is the core reason for their success.

TANGELWOOD AN OVERVIEW
I. ASSES CURRENT OPERATING ENVIRONMENT 1. Competitors: Tanglewood is a moderately sized organization with strong growth potential. To stay competitive, the company focuses on quality customer service, stocking quality merchandise, low cost shipping alternatives for online consumers, and the development of several proprietary brands which enhances the firm’s trademark look. Tanglewood’s current return on revenue, return on investment, and return on assets figures indicate that the company is effectively managing to control expenses, convert its money into net income and managing its rate of profit (Investopedia, 2012). Tanglewood’s compound growth rates, and profit ratios confirm that it is a competitive company in the retail industry. 2. Culture: Emerson and Wood have stated that Tanglwood's success is due entirely to the company’s strong culture. The culture at Tanglewood highly emphasizes a “straight talk” attitude that carries through to all areas of their business. The company is committed to aligning its core values, mission statement, and culture with their corporate mission and HR strategy. The culture at Tanglewood is one that supports the idea of growth from within. The culture at Tanglewood believes that a competent and knowledgeable staff leads to increased company growth and economic stability. 3. Structure: Tanglewood's structure is a hierarchy, with a top-down approach that stems from their corporate office downward. However the corporate hierarchy becomes less structured as you move down the corporate ladder. Recently, Tanglewood has reported a problem in some of its regional offices in relation to Managers not following corporate HR policy. Each Tanglewood store is organized into 12 regions with 20 stores per region. Each Regional Manager has a Store Manager that reports directly to the RM. The lose hierarchical structure has led to variations in how each RM executes organizational HR policy. 4. Values: In contrast to Tanglewood’s competitors, the company places value on employee participation and teams. During orientation, new employees hear the philosophy of employee relations at Tanglewood. The company allows workers to have their own space, and to make