Running Head: MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Management Strategies within the Retail Industry: A Literature Review

Jocelyn Navarrete
The University of Texas at El Paso

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Management Strategies within the Retail Industry: A Literature Review

Businesses throughout the United States serve a dual role in the economy. They are the
bedrock of community life in the United States, providing goods and services that people rely on
an everyday basis. Restaurants, dry cleaners, car repair shops, and hair salons are only a few of
the many different types of businesses that are part of peoples daily lives. Businesses in the
retail industry are important contributors to the engines of economic growth and innovation.
Many of the successful companies that are admired today were able to flourish due to the use of
a well-developed management system. A successful management system rests first and foremost
on strong management strategies which are steps to attain long-term objectives as to achieve the
highest rates of growth and profits in the long run. Business management strategies can be
illustrated as a process of specifying a companys objectives, developing policies and plans to
achieve these objectives and the allocation of resources in the direction of implementing the
policies and attaining these objectives. Business management strategies used in companies
throughout the United States will be better analyzed through the review of these three questions:
1. How has the use of technology in management strategies evolved in the retail industry
over the last 5 years in companies located in the United States?
2. What management strategies used in companies located in the United States create
innovative workforce management?
3. How is it that having an innovative workforce management system improves companies
in the United States?
These questions will focus on the purpose of this literature review by providing a variety of
information that will explain the process of business management strategies and the workforce
management system in companies throughout the United States.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Purpose and Methodology

The purpose of this literature review is to look further into management strategies
within the retail industry in response to three questions. Research was done primarily
through an examination of published articles, videos, and books. An interview was also
conducted with Loretta Samaniego, a manager at the retail store Dillards. The interview
was conducted in person on March 9, 2016. The interviewee has been a manager for
nearly 6 years in the beauty department at Dillards located at Sunland Park Mall in El
Paso, Texas. The interview consisted of questions in regards to management strategies
and how these strategies are applied in the department.

How has the use of technology in management strategies evolved in the retail
industry over the last 5 years in companies located in the United States?
The 21st century has evolved to become a global world, but what exactly does this
mean? It means that individuals throughout the world are all connected to each other,
and can communicate with just about anyone in the world. The idea of a global world is
important for business because it allows companies to incorporate technology in their
corporations which will allow them to do better business and make more money. Many of
the retail companies in the United States are leaning more into the use of technology.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Figure 8-52
High-technology establishments as a percentage of all business establishments: 2015

Figure 8-52.This image shows the use of technology within businesses across the United States.

The figure above shows the percentages of the amount of technology used in businesses located
in the United States during 2015. According to figure 8-52 the states of Texas, California,
Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Georgia, Virginia, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Delaware had the
highest percentages with the use of technology ranging from 9.28%-14.78% . The image shows
how technology has become an essential part for businesses in the United States.
The retail industry has changed during the past 5 years in numerous ways and mobility is
a big part of those changes. Companies see how mobile point-of-sale is changing the way people
shop. Retail stores are trying to adapt to this changes by managing mobile devices in order to
provide efficient customer service. In the video: Managing Mobile Devices in Todays Retail
Industry, Aaron Davis talks about how unified mobile device management works in the retail
industry. In the video he states that smart retailers use this solution to manage a variety of
devices in multiple locations, collect analytics using customer facing tablets, and support their

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

warehouse and operations devices (S.,2014). The main goal of this management strategy is to
secure mobility in the company so that it can result in a successful business. In addition to
technology being integrated into management strategies in the retail industry, a new software
called KnowledgeLake was introduced in 2014 into the management department. This software
is a retail document management solution that enables retail organizations to significantly
improve internal processes, capture paper or electronic business content, and generate staff
productivity gains across a wide range of departments, such as human resources, accounts
payable, contract management and other content-heavy departments. This software utilizes
Microsoft software and the main goal of KnowledgeLake is to reduce costs in the retail business.
Jeff Judkins, system administrator of E-Z Mart said: Our HR department uses KnowledgeLake
to manage everything from insurance policies to safety inspectionsaccounting uses it to
manage bank deposits, daily cash detail reports, and deposit verifications (K., 2014).
What management strategies used in companies located in the United States create
innovative workforce management?
The success of a retail business depends not only on employees fulfilling their roles
efficiently, but on the business management strategy for identifying those roles and supervising
their execution. Sometimes, then, a business under-performs because of a poor or outdated
management strategy. Realizing this takes a bit of humility at the executive level and strong
motivation to implement change. In order to improve employee productivity, retail employees
need quick and easy access to important information to support customers. However, most
organizations struggle to unlock critical data stored in separate and disparate business systems,
which leads to lost productivity, lower customer satisfaction, longer response times and higher
operating costs. According to an analysis done to chief executive officer of General Electric,
Jack Welch, the success of General Electric was attained due to the energetic and visionary

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

leadership of Jack Welch, however, it is a complex narrative of managerial innovation and

prescient strategic moves ( Davis, 2010). In the analysis it is stated that having strong
management strategies is essential to a companys success which will eventually lead to a
stronger workforce. The principles of the Welch management system address five points that
companies may use to have an innovative workforce management. The five points are the
following: Change is good; don't be afraid of it, Lead a company, don't over-manage it, Hire
and develop managers who can energize, excite and control, Acknowledge the facts and proceed
to exploit them for advantage or eliminate their negative impact, Be focused, be consistent and
follow up on every detail ( Davis, 2010). The management principles in the Welch management
system provide strategic and tactical moves to improve employee relations with managers. It is
vital for a company to have a strong workforce management because it could potentially lead to
10% or more earnings growth (Davis, 2010). Having an innovative workforce management
system is essential to the success of a company in the retail industry. In addition, in the interview
conducted to Loretta Samaniego, who is a manager in the beauty department at Dillards, she
described in detail the corporate strategy used in designing the marketing plan in the department.
Samaniego stated that Developing innovative products and e-commerce websites increased
sales by at least 15% per year for the past 3 years in the corporationHaving aggressive, wellfunded marketing programs in a business aims at building brand equity (Samaniego, 2016).
Building strong management strategies help the corporation become more successful and
prosperous in the business environment.
How is it that having an innovative workforce management system improves
companies in the United States?
Having an innovative workforce management system within a company can help
the corporation become even more successful. A workforce management system creates

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

an organizational process that smooths out the business cycle in the company, thus
developing a process that works effectively for the employees and the managers. A good
workforce management system will give the business independence to take decisions
and create a network that is effective to control the entire workforce and to manage the
work proficiently. With efficient workforce management system programming,
preparation and prediction in the everyday process becomes much easier and attaining
targets can come in strides (Earl, 2006). In the article How to Change Management
Strategies in the Retail Industry written by Josh Fredman, it is stated that having an
innovative workforce management system can increase profits in the company by up to
15% (Fredman, 2015). When a company has an efficient workforce management,
system managers are able to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them to the
benefit of the organization. According to the article Business Management Strategy,
Business Strategic Planning published by EconomyWatch; Business management
strategies can be said to be fundamentally hinged on the basic market principles of
getting people their most suitable jobs, effective Research and Development activities,
establishing certain standards, delegation of duties and improving the cash flow to the
company ( E., 2010). The information given by the article shows that having business
management strategies in the company will improve the corporation in different ways.
Furthermore, Samaniego said: An increase in sales and revenue within a corporation can
be directly linked to how well the companys management system is used (Samaniego,
2016). Eventually having a strong and effective workforce management system results in
the companys success due to the various strategies applied in the firm.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

Conclusion
In conclusion, this literary review has analyzed and answered three questions in
regards to management strategies within the retail industry. Management strategies
within the retail industry are a key point in the success of a company in the retail
industry. Involvement and integration in a company improves the business in various
factors. By having well-developed management strategies and an innovative workforce
management, the corporation is able to make better use of a companys resources, as well
as to concentrate on integrating all aspects for the good of the company, its employees
and its customers. In the end, management strategies work towards the well- being of the
company in order to be successful.

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

References
Davis, M. (2010). Management Strategies From A Top CEO | Investopedia.
Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.investopedia.com/articles/financial.
E. (2010). Business Management Strategy, Business Strategic Planing.
Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.EconomyWatch.com/
S. (2014). Managing Mobile Devices In Today's Retail Industry.
Retrieved March17, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCiEeGec72Y
Fredman, J., & Media, D. (2015). How to Change Management Strategies in the Retail Industry.
Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/
K. (2014). Document Management Software for the Retail Industry.
Retrieved March 17, 2016, from https://www.knowledgelake.com/
High technology establishments as a percentage of all business establishments: 2015 [Digital
image]. (2015).
Retrieved from http://www.bing.com/images/search
Earl, C. F., & Lichtenstein, N. (2006). Building a business in the virtual world. New York, NY:
The New Press.
Lichtenstein, N., &Virtanen, H. (2006) Wal-Mart: The face of twenty-first-century capitalism.
New York, NY: The New Press.