Week 3 Case Study - Trader Joe's Robyn Wright Herman

Dr. Theodore S. Gorczyca Leadership and Organizational Behavior
January 25, 2015

Within this paper, I will be identifying the approach Trader Joe’s uses to promote a positive work environment for employees. Determine at least three (3) ways in which Trader Joe’s is able to increase job satisfaction and performance. I will also cover how Trader Joe uses the management process (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling) to develop its employees. Thereafter, suggesting two ways that leaders can effectively manage relationships in general by using the four (4) EI competencies. Finally, recommending at least three leadership practices that Trader Joe’s could implement in order to increase the competitive edge of the organization.
The primary question that needs to be addressed in order to get a true answer to what the relationship is between job satisfaction and job performance? In order to find a correlation among the two, we must first explore how individual attitudes influence the exposed behavior. An attitude is defined as “predisposition to respond positively or negatively to someone or something” (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien, & Hunt, 2012). Our attitude signifies the way we consider various things in our immediate surroundings such as family, workplace, school, or church. For example in the workplace, our attitude depends on how we feel about your career placement, position, or just being there, which ultimately influences how we perform. The most common job attitude is job satisfaction. Job satisfaction refers to the feelings or attitude a person has toward their job, either positive or negative (Schermerhorn et al., 2012). Many factors are composed in order to measure the effect of the satisfaction level within a work environment. Smith, Kendall, and Hulin (1969) designed the Job Descriptive Index to measures these factors. The JDI measures five aspects, including contentment with: the labor itself, value of management, the relationship with personnel, advancement opportunities and compensation. These elements are essential for executives and leaders to be concerned with because they in due course govern the success of a corporation. Trader Joe’s represents a firm that has managed to sustain its success over time. They continuously increase employment gratification and performance by forming an affirmative work atmosphere for its labor force. The employees’ uniforms are eccentric loud Hawaiian shirts and they are giving unique names conferring to their title which represents the fun relaxed atmosphere. Managers and assistant managers are known as “captains,” and “first mates,” supervisors in training are called “novitiates,” and the remainder of the staff is the “crew” (Lewis, 2005). Trader Joe’s company culture is built around success, which is reflected in their attractive compensation the setting also shows there is a pronounced emphasis on sovereignty and alliance.
Compensation
Employees are paid significantly higher than their colleagues who work in the retail industry. Salary’s range on average from $40,000 to $60,000 and management’s average compensation are in the low six figures (Kowitt, 2010). Trader Joe’s also has a great benefit package with quarterly bonuses, raises based on performance evaluations, insurance, employer contribution retirement plans, paid time off, as well as a 10% employee discount (Schermerhorn et al., 2012).
Autonomy
Trader Joe’s presents its associates with autonomy allowing them to participate in the decision making about store displays as well as being a part of the buying process and inventory. Product awareness is promoted through encouraging the employees to taste and educate themselves about the products; feedback is encouraged and is asking into consideration by the company’s executives. Frequent patrons enjoy the shopping experience and are able to taste products before