| Summary: | Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. === ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Excessive shrinkage threatens the viability of retailers, especially grocery retailers
because they operate on low profit margins.
One possibility is for retailers to dismiss employees who are perceived to be
responsible for excessive shrinkage, but South African law generally requires that the
employer prove individual culpability or poor performance to justify a dismissal. In
most cases, retailers are not able to identify the exact causes of shrinkage or those
employees who may be responsible for the shrinkage.
Pep Stores has developed a novel group dismissal model, using a poor performance
process, in terms of which a store's entire staff complement is dismissed on the basis
of collective responsibility for failing to avoid excessive shrinkage. The Pep model is
attractive to retailers because it overcomes the retailer's inability to produce evidence
relating to excessive shrinkage.
This Study Project seeks to determine whether collective responsibility for shrinkage
may be introduced in owner-managed grocery stores and, if not, whether adaptation
of the model or new technology might facilitate its introduction. A further objective is
to determine whether the applicability of the Pep model correlates to factors such as
the size, activity level and complexity of retail stores.
Three barriers to the application of the Pep model in grocery retail stores were
identified: firstly, the determination of an "acceptable level of shrinkage" that is
reasonably attainable; secondly, the conducting of sufficiently accurate stock takes to support dismissals and, thirdly, the existence or creation of circumstances allowing the implementation of collective responsibility for shrinkage.
Grocery retailers have no difficulty in identifying an attainable "acceptable level of
shrinkage" or in conducting highly accurate stock takes and stock counts.
Circumstances allowing the imposition of collective responsibility for shrinkage were,
however, clearly not present. Collective responsibility was precluded by the
specialised nature of the employees' tasks and a lack of co-responsibility arising from
employees' inability to directly observe each other. However, an adapted Pep model
is applicable in grocery retail stores at departmental level if the departments are
insulated from fraud or error by receiving clerks and cashiers. This insulation may be
achieved by implementing joint receiving procedures that involve each department in
receiving departmental stock and an increase in cashier monitoring.
The introduction of Radio Frequency Identification Technology will ultimately facilitate
the implementation of the Pep model through the enhanced insulation of
departments. This enhanced insulation is achieved through the ability to track the
movement of individual items in stores and the reduction of receiving and cashier
error and fraud as a result of the automation of aspects of these functions. This
technology, however, is unlikely to be implemented in the short term given the
significant cost of RFID tags and the technical and organisational constraints to
adoption.
Perceptions on the applicability of the Pep model are correlated in smaller stores to
total store floor areas, while the applicability of the model in larger stores is correlated to the size of staff complements. This suggests that the model may be ideally
applicable in smaller stores, where the total store floor area is relatively smaller and
in larger stores, where the staff complements are relatively larger. === AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Oormatige voorraadverlies bedreig die lewensvatbaarheid van kleinhandelaars, veral
kruidenierswarehandelaars, omdat hulle met klein winsmarges werk.
Een moontlikheid is dat kleinhandelaars werknemers ontslaan wat gesien word as
die verantwoordelikes vir oormatige voorraadverlies, maar die Suid-Afrikaanse reg
vereis oor die algemeen dat die werkgewer indiwiduele skuld of swak prestasie
bewys om ontslag te regverdig. In die meeste gevalle is kleinhandelaars nie in staat
om die presiese oorsake van voorraadverlies, of die werknemers wat vir die
voorraadverlies verantwoordelik mag wees, te identifiseer nie.
Pep Stores het 'n vindingryke groep-ontslagmodel ontwikkel, met gebruik van 'n
swakprestasieproses, ingevolge waarvan 'n winkel se hele personeel ontslaan word
op grond van kollektiewe verantwoordelikheid weens versuim om oormatige
voorraadverlies te vermy. Die Pep-model is aantreklik vir kleinhandelaars, want dit
oorkom die kleinhandelaar se onvermoë om bewys te lewer in verband met
oormatige voorraadverlies.
Hierdie navorsingsprojek probeer vasstel of kollektiewe verantwoordelikheid vir
voorraadverlies ingestel kan word in eienaarbestuurde kruidenierswinkels en, indien
nie, of aanpassing van die model, of nuwe tegnologie, die invoer daarvan sou kon
fasiliteer. 'n Verdere doelstelling is om vas te stel of die toepaslikheid van die Pepmodel
korreleer met faktore soos die grootte, bedrywigheidsvlak en kompleksiteit van
kleinhandelwinkels.
Drie struikelblokke vir toepassing van die Pep-model in kleinhandelkruidenierswinkels
is geidentifiseer: eerstens, die bepaal van 'n "aanvaarbare
voorraadverliesvlak" wat redelik haalbaar is; tweedens, die uitvoer van voldoende
akkurate voorraadopnames om ontslag te steun en derdens die bestaan of skep van
omstandighede wat die implementering van kollektiewe verantwoordelikheid vir
voorraadverlies moontlik sal maak.
Kruidenierskleinhandelaars ondervind geen probleme met die identifisering van
haalbare "aanvaarbare voorraadverliesvlakke" of met die uitvoer van hoogs akkurate
voorraadopnames en - tellings nie.
Omstandighede wat die oplê van kollektiewe verantwoordelikheid vir voorraadverlies
moontlik maak, was egter duidelik nie aanwesig nie. Kllektiewe verantwoordelikheid
is uitgesluit weens die gespesialiseerde aard van die werknemers se take en 'n
gebrek aan mede-verantwoordelikheid weens werknemers se onvermoë am mekaar
direk waar te neem. 'n Aangepaste Pep-model is egter toepasbaar in
kruidenierskleinhandelwinkels op departementele vlak indien die departemente van
bedrog of foute deur ontvangsklerke en kassiere afgeskerm word. Die afskerming
kan bereik word deur die implementering van gesamentlike ontvangsprosedures wat
elke departement betrek by die ontvangs van departementele voorraad en verskerpte
kassiermonitering.
Die invoer van Radiofrekwensie-identifikasietegnologie sal uiteindelik die
implementering van die Pep-model fassiliteer deur die verhoogde afskerming van
departemente. Hierdie verhoogde afskerming word bereik deur die vermoë om die
beweging van indiwiduele items in winkels na te speur en die vermindering van
ontvangs- en kassierfoute en -bedrog as gevolg van die outomatisering van aspekte
van die funksies. Hierdie tegnologie sal egter waarskynlik nie oor die korttermyn
toegepas word nie weens die aansienlike koste van RFIO-etikette en die tegniese en
organisatoriese beperkings op die invoer daarvan.
Persepsies oor die toepasbaarheid van die Pep-model word in kleiner winkels
gekorreleer met die totale winkelvloeroppervlak, terwyl die toepasbaarheid van die
model in groter winkels gekorreleer word met die grootte van die personeelkorps. Dit
suggereer dat die model ideaal toepasbaar mag wees in kleiner winkels waar die
totale winkelvloeroppervlak relatief kleiner is en in groter winkels waar die
personeelkorps relatief groter is.
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