Introduction
The analysis of working and organizational practices used in the launch of retail outlets plays a significant role in opening new branches. Except for the economic aspects at the design stage of new geographical areas, the emphasis should be on staffing technology, business tactics, and branch-to-branch relationships. The Dunkin’ Donuts franchiser has offered the franchisee full authority to launch and manage five new outlets over the next two years. To solve these tasks, the district manager should responsibly approach the analysis of business processes and assess the number and competence of hired employees. The franchisee should carefully consider the possibility of introducing a divisional form of organization that determines the transfer of powers to the branches. This paper will discuss the techniques of job and organizational design used in the opening of the new Dunkin’ Donuts.
Job Design
Opening new branches for an existing trading network always involves risks, albeit relatively less than creating entirely new sales points. This is because even if newly opened branches incur severe economic losses and regularly show unreasonable expenses, the remaining trading places belonging to the same owner can partially cover the damage. This section deals with the method of opening and running five new franchise branches, management of which has been transferred from senior management to the district manager.
Job Analysis
First of all, it is essential to understand that the opening of new Dunkin’ Donuts points should be based on an in-depth economic analysis of the city’s infrastructure, aimed at assessing tangible and intangible resources. Positioning is not the least important — in the case of a doughnut shop, there is no need to open a branch in the city’s business center, as people in business usually do not eat lunch in a fast-food restaurant. In other words, licensees of new outlets should clearly understand whether a particular space is in demand among passers-by, whether the cost of rent is justified, and whether the size of the rented space is sufficient (Keeble et al., 2018). It is, however, important to recognize that these issues are beyond the district manager’s competence, although they can often be resolved jointly with the district manager. From running the new five business branches, the district administrator would be well suited to a strategy of departmentalization by geographic area, implying the presence of Dunkin’ Donuts in selected, highly sought after regions that justify culture, traditions, and environmental conditions (“3.3 Departmentalization,” n.d.). The strategy starts with an assessment of the human resources required to open branches successfully. In particular, the first stages of construction hardly dictate the need for cashiers, but they do indicate that there is a demand for local managers operating the Dunkin’ Donuts launch process. A more accurate assessment implies a close initial collaboration with the franchisor, human resources department, and, indeed, the finance department, which controls the economic feasibility of hiring and firing employees.
Job Description
Likely, two to three local managers, six sellers, and maintenance staff will be required for each retail outlet, depending on the size of the rented space. The work schedules of the managers alternate hence there would be at least one administrator on each shift. Staff includes bakers, sellers, and pickers: from a shift position, a district manager could give these powers to branch administrators, but it would be sufficient to organize work for two days; hence at least three employees are present at each branch shift. It would be most expedient to conclude a contract with a service technician who would clean and repair the point of sale. With this step, the district manager would reach a scenario where only actual work would have to be paid.
Job Specification
The professional competence of each link in the new Dunkin’ Donuts structures includes responsibility, a careful approach to the brand, products, and customers, as well as a sincere desire to grow independently and develop franchises. Administrators would need at least a high school education, substantial work experience, and the ability to manage subordinate employees effectively. When hiring a local manager, it would be logical to conduct an interview in game mode to assess skills. Staff members are people with whom customers are in constant contact and therefore have special requirements: communication and sales skills, education, and friendliness.
Organizational Design
The described sale points management strategy implies granting local authorities to branch administrators, where the central control over five new franchise spaces remains in the hands of the district manager. If to refer to the known terms, this type of organizational management could be called a light version of the division form (“Divisional organizational structure,” 2019). Although this approach is standard for large corporations whose goods are exported outside the mainland, for Dunkin’ Donuts, such management would be appropriate. In particular, as the description makes clear, the company is continuously expanding in the marketplace, introducing new places for city residents. Such development may concern trading positions such as new flavors of doughnuts, new drinks, or combo sets.
The division of operational functions makes units independent concerning each other: this means that each of them can act as an autonomous unit, without coordinating their actions. However, the divisional format does not mean a lack of control at all by the management (Meier et al., 2019). On the contrary, there would be no point in a vacancy for a district manager if each branch had absolute autonomy. The head office, the manager’s workplace, has the competence to decide the economic forces of the branches to evaluate the productivity, profitability, and profitability of each of the new Dunkin’ Donuts stores. In addition, this approach allows delegation of authority to relieve the district manager of some of their professional burden but leaves them the right to intervene in-branch decisions actively.
It should be noted in addition that the divisional form of the organization, which implies domination over machine bureaucracy, has one significant disadvantage. In particular, due to the remoteness of the district manager from the staff of individual branches, there is a situation where the district manager’s active intervention does not take into account the corporate culture in retail outlets. For example, while in one Dunkin’ Donuts store, there will be an environment of friendliness, openness, and ease of communication between employees and customers; in another point, a more formal and restrained tone will be characteristic. Without these aspects, managing a district manager can be useless and can also cause more professional and psychological harm (Proctor, 2018). For this reason, the divisional format is facilitated — this includes regular communication with employees, cross-branch events, and training courses.
Conclusion
In this paper, it was shown that opening new branches always involves risks that do not meet economic expectations, but with the right approach to the design of workers and organizational structures, the risk potential is significantly reduced. To effectively launch and manage Dunkin’ Donuts branch offices, the district manager needs to use a divisional structure that implies delegating authority to the outlets. Nevertheless, the opening process is inextricably linked to the district manager’s activities, whose duties include staffing according to the tasks set jointly with the franchisor and HR department, control over productivity, economic efficiency, and solving spontaneous problems.
References
3.3 Departmentalization. (n.d.). Ashford University. Web.
Divisional organizational structure. (2019). Accounting Tools. Web.
Keeble, M., Burgoine, T., White, M., Summerbell, C., Cummins, S., & Adams, J. (2019). How does the local government use the planning system to regulate hot food takeaway outlets? A census of current practice in England using document review. Health & Place, 57, 171-178. Web.
Meier, S., Stephenson, M., & Perkowski, P. (2019). Culture of trust and division of labor in nonhierarchical teams. Strategic Management Journal, 40(8), 1171-1193. Web.
Proctor, T. (2018). Creative problem solving for managers: developing skills for decision making and innovation. Routledge.