Education Enhancement Conference Employability: Planning for Success • Retail Management degree was established in 1989 and the first cohort undertook an Entrepreneurial Project and Consultancy Project in the final year • In subsequent years a buying and merchandising project was set up for year two students, as well as a Retail Design project, with a Dragons Den style of assessment, also in year two.
Employability: Planning for Success • Key Benefits – 100% graduate employment year on year since 1993 • Retail alumni- 4 Managing Directors, 38 Directors • Very strong network of retail alumni : retail alumni in every leading retail company in the U. K. also Australia, America, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore • 20 year reunion in February, 2010 attracted a large number of alumni who mixed with existing retail cohorts and staff – excellent networking event
Employability: Planning for Success • Retail alumni offer placement and graduate employment opportunities to current retail students at BU on a regular basis • Senior retail alumni also become clients by offering Consultancy Projects to final year retail students • Best Buy – consultancy project, 8 graduate positions, 2 placement positions, 13 summer 3 month placement positions and sponsored a Fellowship (£ 23, 500)
Employability: Planning for Success • Sponsorship also secured from Dixons Stores Group, Barclays, Tesco, B & Q, Debenhams, New Look, House of Fraser, Waitrose, TK Maxx, WHSmith, Asda, Sainsburys, and John Lewis. • Retail alumni- 4 Managing Directors, 38 Directors • Very strong network of retail alumni : retail alumni in every leading retail company in the U. K. • 20 year reunion in February, 2010 attracted a large number of alumni who mixed with existing retail cohorts and staff – excellent networking event
Consultancy Project 2009 -10 • Key Benefits • In a recent article in the Sunday Times about graduate employment the value of courses with a professional focus was highlighted • ‘Companies want more than just academic qualifications. The key attributes they identify as important and in short supply are communication skills, an ability to work in a team and an understanding of business, often gained through work experience’
Critical success factors • Compatibility of the personalities involved in each team and ability to handle conflict • Focus on the client’s needs • The Consultants’ listening skills • Awareness of underlying problems • Regular contact with external and internal client
Critical success factors • Determination, creativity, teamwork, research skills, quantitative/qualitative analysis • Awareness of constraints • Establishing of priorities • Awareness of the client’s intentions • Honesty in specifying what can be delivered
Essential reading • Levi, D - Group Dynamics for teams 2 nd edition, Sage publications • Wickham, P. A – Management Consulting, FT publishing
Characteristics of successful teams Hackman’s 5 factors for successful teams • Clear direction and goals to focus efforts • Good leadership to manage internal/external relations • Projects should be complex and challenging requiring the integrated efforts of team members • Necessary resources to perform tasks. Client/tutor • Supportive environment. Organizations must allocate sufficient power and authority to allow team members to make and implement decisions
Characteristics of successful teams Levi and Slem(1995) 4 factors for team success • Evaluation and rewards: teams need fair and objective criteria for evaluation • Social relations: teams need social skills so they can resolve internal conflicts and function smoothly • Projects should be complex and challenging requiring the integrated efforts of team members • Task characteristics: teams need clear direction and goals, tasks that are appropriate for teamwork, and work that is challenging and important • Leadership: leaders need to facilitate team interactions and provide assistance when problems occur
Common features of successful teams • Teams have clear goals that provide direction and motivation • Team leaders structure tasks and facilitate group processes • Their organizations provide supportive contexts for the teams to grow • Teams are held mutually accountable for the success of their teams and rewarded for their efforts
Motivation and social loafing • The potential of teamwork is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts • However, working together can cause a decrease in motivation due to social loafing, which is the reduction of individual contributions when people work in groups • The ‘sucker effect’ (Johnson & Johnson, 1997) is when good performers slack off in teams because they do not want others to take advantage of them • When work teams are given challenging tasks, when they are rewarded for group success yet have identifiable individual performance indicators, and when there is commitment to the team, social loafing does not occur
Motivation and social loafing • A balance of individual and team based rewards is necessary to encourage both a commitment to the team and an incentive for individual performance. (Thompson, 2004) • The more people value membership in the group, the more motivated they are to perform. Cohesive groups are less likely to experience social loafing (Karau & Williams, 1997) • Highly cohesive groups have more commitment to their tasks and perform better (Wech, Mossholder, Steel, & Bennett, 1998)
Cooperation and Competition • When individuals or teams in an organization compete against each other, changes occur that prevent the team from being successful (Tjosvold, 1995) • A successful team has members who work together to reach a common goal. When team members compete against one another, individual goals can conflict with the team goal. Team members then distrust one another because they are uncertain of one another’s motives. Over time, internal competition reduces communication within the team.
Cooperation and Competition • Groups that work cooperatively have less tension, fewer conflicts, and fewer verbal confrontations (Tjosvold, 1995) • Team members sometimes go along with the team leader’s solution to avoid disagreements and conflict. This can lead to poor decisions and the formation of sub groups. • Team members should speak up in meetings and communicate their real feelings to avoid future fragmentation.
Consultancy Projects Feedback Finalist feedback ‘I can’t stress enough the benefits of taking part in the Consultancy Project and I feel wholeheartedly that consultancy is the foundation of this retail management degree, setting it apart from other Universities’
Consultancy Projects Feedback Finalist feedback ‘I feel that the Consultancy Project has and will prove to be the most worthwhile and important piece of work that I have undertaken this year. I believe that it is the commercial experience that this project provides which sets the Bournemouth retail degree apart from others’
Consultancy Projects Feedback Finalist feedback ‘Overall the Consultancy Project has played an invaluable part in my development this year and I believe that the experience will stand me in good stead to leave University and move into an excellent graduate position.
Consultancy Projects Feedback Finalist feedback ‘Effectively the Consultancy Project is what separates the Retail Management degree at Bournemouth from other degrees and is highly respected amongst other organisations’
Consultancy Project – Key dates Group report 50% Feb 8 -12 th Group presentation 50% Feb 8 -12 th Team leader to inform client company
Consultancy Projects 2009/10 Best Buy currently have plans to open stores in the following locations ; Southampton and Thurrock. Taking into account the size of stores, Best Buy’s customer profile, catchment area and any additional factors, where would you suggest Buy open their next 10 stores?
Consultancy Projects 2009/10 B & Q How can B & Q change its use of fixturing and merchandising to become more flexible, hence increasing the speed and reducing the cost of future range and layout changes in its Stores?
Consultancy Projects 2009/10 John Lewis How can John Lewis leverage the benefits presented by the impending Olympic Games in London in 2012? £ 2. 1 billion extra sales available in London. JL want a slice of the action!
Consultancy Projects 2009/10 Tesco have recently celebrated the opening of their 1000 th Express store. Explore the opportunities of targeting students on university campuses through the integration of the Express format.
Consultancy Projects 2009/10 TUI (Thomson) Produce a marketing overview of the retail business which encompasses marketing strategy and internal communications.
Consultancy Projects 2009/10 Waitrose A strategic plan to develop Waitrose Branches’ internal Communication and Information Management systems
Consultancy Projects 2009/10 West Quay Investigate the potential deflection of customers caused by the recent opening of Ikea and Carnival in Southampton and how this impacts West Quay’s current trading performance. Factors to consider are the detrimental effects of ‘sales’, available car parking and increased traffic congestion. ’
Consultancy Projects 2009/10 Client feedback – Sally Kennedy, Retail Change Manager, Waitrose I and my colleagues were very impressed with the final presentation and it is no exaggeration to say that I believe that the professional approach and level of understanding of our business, demonstrated by the students, was more impressive than any professional consultancy presentations I have seen. I do believe the students have excelled and should be justifiably proud of what they have delivered
Employability: Planning for Success Question time
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