Staples Chapter 3 Summary

The different styles or types of leadership that exists within a business is important, as it will be the determining factor of the survival and successful outcomes in which it will have. Staples leans more towards having a democratic leadership style. Managers are in charge of teams and operates using the hands on approach; at times, employees’ opinions are sought out and in doing so it can give a sense of responsibility (“Democratic leadership style,” n.d.). Additionally, employees are encouraged and motivated to take charge and show initiative in their work. Also, managers generally cross train employees to support the business needs and uses it as an opportunity to help with employees’ grow within the company. In turn, having a democratic

With recent years of having these controls be unstable, it has resulted in Staples not being profitable. And not only has this affected the company’s standing, but it has also disrupted the employees’ performance as a result of not being motivated. And as mentioned before in Chapter 3, there are incentive programs that are available for employees; however with the decline in sales and profits due to not meeting sales goals, these programs may not be available. And therefore with this state of affairs, the organizational and strategic control of Staples is strongly corroborating to be an internal

In doing so there are factors that should be anticipated, planned for, and considered, such as technological and fluctuating changes, competitors, environmental factors, and varying demands of customers. And for those reasons, Staples has been on the defense over the last few years with the office supplies industry competitiveness being intense, and them experiencing numerous amounts of unsuccessful hits. This has resulted in them placing planning at a high priority with goals and objectives for what they would like to achieve.

Unfortunately, even with having strategic plans in place, it does not directly address the issues at hand of increasing its sales and profitability. And as mentioned in Chapter 3, it discusses ways in which they anticipate to overcome competitors in following new or revamped tactics. However, it has not been concrete enough to be successfully implemented to work, which is why in the process Staples is continuing the restructuring process of downsizing through closing underperforming stores. And therefore in this manner, it is a weakness for Staples as other actions needs to be taken.