[MANAGEMENT LEVELS AT STAPLES]

Staples Incorporation

Management levels
at Staples
Company and organization

Submitted
to:Megha
Mehta

Submitted
byChitsimran
(44)
Pardeep
Satya
Mukesh

company and organization

MManagement
A N A G E levels
M E NatTStaples
PRA
C T I C E S A N D O R GPage
A N 0I Z A T I O N
B E H AV I O R .

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Table of content:1) History of Staples

2) About Staples
3) Present scenario of Staples
4) Case study
5) Problem in case
6) Solution
7) Result of solution
8) Concepts of management used
9) Conclusion
10)
Bibliography

Management levels at Staples company and organization

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History of Staples:Staples was co-founded by Leo Kahn and Thomas G.

Stemberg, who were former rivals in the New England retail
supermarket industry. The idea for Staples originated in 1985,
while founder Thomas G. Stemberg was working on a proposal for
a different business. He needed a ribbon for his printer, but was
unable to obtain one because his local dealer was closed for the
Independence Day holiday. A frustration with the reliance on small
stores for critical supplies combined with Stemberg's background
in the grocery business led to a vision for an office
supply superstore. The first store was opened in the Brighton
neighborhood of Boston in 1986.
About Staples:Staples, Inc. is a large office supply chain store, with over
2,000 stores worldwide in 26 countries. Based in Framingham,
Massachusetts, United States, the company has retail stores,
serving
customers
under
its
original
name
in Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, India
, Italy, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United
States, while operating subsidiaries in Argentina as OfficenetStaples, Netherlands as Staples Office Centre, Canada as Staples
Canada (Bureau en Gros in Quebec), and in Italy as Mondoffice.
Staples also do business exclusively with enterprises in the United
States and multiple European countries as Staples Advantage.
Staples sells supplies, office machines, promotional products, furniture,
technology, and business services both in stores and online.

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Present scenario of Staples:Type

Traded as

Public
NASDAQ: SPLS
S&P 500 Component

Industry
Founded
Founders
Headquarters
Number of
locations

Retail
Framingham, Massachusetts,U.S. (1986)
Leo Kahn, Thomas G. Stemberg
Framingham, Massachusetts,U.S.
1,575 (U.S.)
2,281 (worldwide)

Area served
Key people
Products

125 warehouses and fulfillment

centers (worldwide) (2010)
Nationwide
Ron Sargent(Chairman & CEO)
Joseph G. Doody(Vice Chairman)
Christine Komola(CFO)
Office Supplies
Facility & Janitorial Supplies
Office Furnishing
IT Consulting
Office and Data Center
Technology Hardware Sourcing
Industry-specific supplies
Health and Beauty
Electronics
Furniture

Revenue

Snacks
US$ 24.38 billion (FY2013)

Net income

US$ 210.7 million (FY2013)

Total assets

US$ 12.28 billion (FY2013)

Employees
Website

90,000+ (2013)
www.Staples.com

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Case study:1) About the company

The case is based upon the company`s status in 2006.
The company inaugurated its business in 1986 with just one
store in Brighton, Massachusetts. But now, i.e. in 2006, the
company has business in 47 U.S. States and 21 countries
with a turnover of $16.1 billion. It has led the industry in
both sales and profits.
2) Stores
it experimented various store layouts such as express
stores. The typical store worked on seven days a week from
7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. the stores were organized by
departments: office equipment, furniture, paper and ink, and
the copy center.
3) Employees at stores
there was a manager with two assistant managers and a
manager in training (if required) and the associates. The full
and part time employees were called associates. Senior level
associates were called specialists. Normally 6 8 associates
and specialists worked in stores.
4) Corporate culture and ethics
the company focused on providing high level customer
service for which it provided training. It changed its tagline
to Staples..That was Easy! along with the store
designs, signage, checkout processes, product offerings and
EASY Service Model to improve customer experiences in
stores. It maintained entrepreneurial spirit by making
separate income-and-expense statement at both department
and store level. There was set standards while allowing
freedom of interpretation. There were weekly rallies,
quarterly meetings led by CEO. They discouraged executive
perks and valued tem orientation and appreciated every
associate as capable of making difference.
5) Organization structure of home office
the CEO Ron Sargent had a team of 20 top executives
which were responsible for growth opportunities, goals,
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direction, performance review, etc. They were supported by

corporate strategy group, with individuals assigned to each
business unit.

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Ronald Sargent(Chairman and CEO)

Michael Miles(President and COO)
Demos Parneros(President, US Retail)
Michael DeSanto(SVP Sales and Operations)
Stephanie Shores Lambert(Head of Retail Innovation and Strategies)
Joseph Doody(President, Staples North American Delivery)
Theo van Brandenburg(President, Staples European Retail)
Patrick Seghin(President, Staples European Catalog)
Weiguo Jin(Chairman, Staples China)
Susan Hoyt(EVP Human Resources)
Shira Goodman(EVP Marketing)
John Barton(EVP Real Estate)
Jay Baitler(EVP Contract)
Peter Scala(SVP and General Merchandising Manager, Technology)
Erica Scheik(Copy Director)
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6) Home office support and directions

The initial decision was made by CEO`s team, with input
from U.S. Stores management team. New designs were then
defined by the Real estates, and research was conducted by
marketing, U.S. Stores operations, and U.S. Stores human
resources. There was repeated reinforcement by executives
from CEO down to district managers.
7) U.S. STORES Organization

The stores were organized geographically and grouped

into progressively later categories of district, region and
division. The daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly reports on
sales volumes and margins and P&L with comparison to
budget were available to GM and assistant managers, DMs,
and on up. The U.S. Stores business unit had its own staff
departments that handled programs, policies and
procedures.
8) Management action planning (MAP) system
there was a tool managed by U.S. Stores Operations
which kept GMs aware n of corporate initiatives and
deadlines, identified tasks to take, and allowed GMs to
assign these tasks to their assistant managers.

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Management levels at Staples company and organization

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Problem:The senior management identified the copy and print market

as a significant opportunity for Staples. The chain used offered
the copy services in its stores but it was located in the backend or
off side of the store with little advertisement and promotion.
Surveys showed that only few people knew about it and used it.
The senior management wanted to focus and strengthen this
department in their stores.
Solution provided:The new strategy was formulated. New products with high
speed, color and self-service copying, printing, faxing and packand-ship were introduced. The company invested millions of
dollars in equipment, store remodels, advertisements, training
and additional staff. It required shift in attitude of employees from
selling products to provide services and solutions. To support this,
new assignments, job descriptions, policies and procedures, and
training were created. Managers at all levels were held
responsible for the proper implementation of policy in time. A new
position, the regional sales and service manager (RSSM) was
established. A pilot test was also conducted in March 2003 which
was a success and after that the every store was refurbished.
Results of solution provided:-

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Concepts of management in the case:1) Organization structure

The management has opted for a hybrid structure in
the organization. There is a mix of functional and divisional
structure in the organization structure. This has been a good
decision to provide the special care to the U.S. Stores which
account for 80% of the company`s sales with 9 % operating
profits
2) Communication
To meet the effective and timely communication
Management Action Planning (MAP) system has been opted
by the management which has proved to be an excellent
measure to remove the barriers in the communication.

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3) Culture
The organization is very good in maintaining the
entrepreneurial spirit. The managers regard themselves as
the owner-operators. This has resulted in the outstanding
customer service and highly motivated associates. The
annual awards and discouragement f perks and
encouragement of team spirit have also motivated the
employees.
4) Control
The company has kept control by asking for daily and
weekly reports on sales, profits, inventory, expenses, etc. as
many as seven types of reports are been made for proper
recording and allocation and maintenance of the inventory
only.
5) Training
The management provides time to time training to the
employees. It has also arranged to keep a training manager
in the store itself to provide adequate training to the
associates. Time to time training is also provided to the
managers of all levels for their development and growth.
6) Planning
The top level management has focused itself to see the
opportunity in the market and set the standards and
measure the performance and is executing these functions
effectively. The timely realization and decision of focusing on
copying segment has been a very good example of good
decision-making.
7) Pilot testing
The management has conducted proper survey and
tested the success of the policy before implementing it
completely to minimize the risk and overcome the short
comings if any.

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Conclusion:As the conclusion of the case, I would like to say that the
decisions and plans made by the organization were quite good.
But for my point of view the management has introduced so many
levels in the hierarchy which might lead to more employees and
more salaries and lesser profits. Moreover this might cause the
delay in decision making procedures as there are so many levels.
The organization structure is also complex and it should try to
simplify it. The timings of the stores should also be increased to
grab more market share; efforts should be made to make it 24x7
available for the changing scenario. The company is already
expanding, and it should try to go into untapped and emerging
markets.

Bibliography:1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staples_Inc
- viewed on 1/09/2014 at 2:35 p.m.
2) http://www.staples.com
- viewed on 1/9/2014 at 2:40 p.m.
3) http://www.cogmap.com/chart/staples-inc
- viewed on 1/09/2014 at 2:42 p.m.

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