Retail Stores and Formal Organizations

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes the New York and Company retail store, noting its structure of a formal organization, the status groups within this organization and the presence of the Hawthorne effect. The paper provides examples of different power and authority structures and discusses the application of Robert Michel's theories of growth and Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Finally, the paper examines the open type of organizational theory and the motivation of employees.

From the Paper:

"The organization I have selected for this project is the retail clothing store New York and Company. This is a growing fashion retailer of mid-priced women's clothing and accessories. Although they are affordable, they offer many current fashion trends and are frequently busy with customers. It was because I was reasonably sure that I would be able to observe this organization in action that I selected them. The store I visited was located at the Tyler Mall where my girl friend is an employee. I elected to visit the store on a Saturday when another large department store located within the mall was having a big sale. I based this decision upon the knowledge that New York and Company usually holds sales of their own in conjunction with sales held at larger retailers. Although the store stayed pretty busy, I was able to get in a conversation with one of the store's employees, the store manager and a frequent customer at the store."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Grusky, Oscar and George A. Miller. "Robert Michels Oligarchy." The Sociology of Organizations: Basic Studies. New York: Free Press, 1970, pp. 25-43.
• Kreitner, Robert. Management. (9th Ed.). Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
• Shortell, Timothy. "What is Power?" Inequality in Contemporary American Society. (2003). February 24, 2007 < http://www.shortell.org/courses/cs3/power.html>
• Sugarman, Barry. "Notes Towards a Closer Collaboration Between Organization Theory, Learning Organizations and Organizational Learning in the Search for a New Paradigm." Society for Organizational Learning. February 24, 2007 <http://www.solonline.org/res/kr/Sugarman.html>

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