Nordstrom Case Analysis
analytical Essay
777 words
The Nordstrom department store empire has been one of the leading companies in the fashion market. They generated over 2.5 billion dollars in sales last year, yet they are facing several internal problems. While Nordstrom strives to have the best customer service in the industry, living by the “Nordstrom way” has caused some hardships on the companies’ employees. An in-depth analysis of the sales position at Nordstrom using the job characteristic model reveals that the job design may moderately increase employees intrinsic motivation, but it is lacking in several areas.
The job characteristics model is defined as, “An approach to job design that aims to identify characteristics that make jobs intrinsically more motivating and the consequences
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In this essay, the author
- Explains that nordstrom is one of the leading companies in the fashion market, yet they are facing internal problems. living by the "nordstrom way" has caused some hardships on the companies' employees.
- Explains the job characteristics model, which aims to identify characteristics that make jobs intrinsically more motivating and the consequences of those characteristics.
- Analyzes how the job characterization model influences intrinsic motivation, such as the degree to which a job allows an employee the freedom and interdependence to schedule work and decide how to carry it out.
- Opines that nordstrom's job characteristic model does not maximize intrinsic motivation. to make the position more intrinsically motivating, the task identity would need to change and more feedback would be given to employees.
If an employee felt that they were selling confidence and not just clothes, and they may feel as if their task significance is higher. The differences in personality between the employees greatly influences their perceived level of task significance. The fourth aspect of the job characterization model is autonomy, or the degree to which a job allows an employee the freedom and interdependence to schedule work and decide how to carry it out. Nordie’s have very low autonomy, as they have to follow strict outlines, and do not have much say in how much and how often they work. Employees feared being given “off hours” in which their sales per hour would drop due to customer inactivity. Additionally, the employees are required to carry out their work in the Nordstrom stores, and the employees are even told to look a certain way. Cindy Nelson, a former Nordstrom employee, claims that becoming a Nordie requires one to acquire a “certain look”. If employees feel as if they must look a certain way to effectively do their job, this may result in added stress that can have a negative effect on their overall job performance. The last element of …show more content…
In order to make the position one that is more intrinsically motivating, the task identity would need to change, and more feedback would need to be given to the
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- Explains that being part of a company that is constantly expanding means the possibilities for at&t employees are endless. this keeps employees motivated because they know they need to do well in their current position in order to move on to another position.
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