Home Depot Case Study Essay

The organization of power within a corporation is a rigid dichotomy between centralization and decentralization. Substitute strategies can exist anywhere along the spectrum whether they are completely centralized, completely decentralized or somewhere in between. Though Cervus’ methods are substitutable, centralized policies have not proven to be nearly as successful in maintaining

The Home Depot is the fastest growing retailer in U.S. History and currently has more than 2,200 convenient locations throughout the United States (including the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), Canada, China and Mexico. Stores average 105,000 square feet with approximately 23,000 additional square feet of outside garden area (The Home Depot, 2012). The retail inventory consists of up to 40,000 different kinds of building materials, home improvement supplies, appliances and lawn and garden products for all of your project needs. Selections may vary from store to store because

The Organizing function of management is one of the four main functions of management. Organizing within a company is very important and affects several aspects of a company’s organizational resources. In this paper, I will attempt to explain how the organizing function of management relates to the following organizational resources at The Home Depot: Technology and Knowledge. I will also discuss whether or not The Home Depot has optimized these organizational resources for effectiveness as well as efficiency.

I believe that Home Depot has done an excellent job at reaching its goals in the past ten years. They have been able to expand their market by aggressively opening several store locations and using a clustering strategy. In doing this they have become a market leader and they have also been able to keep their SG&A expenses down by eliminating redundant expenses by spreading them out between stores close in proximity to each other. Home Depot is facing a few problems in order to continue reaching its stated goal(s) of becoming a global leader and expanding their existing market. There are a few established business that are in direct competition with Home Depot such as Lowe's, their number one competitor, and other companies such as Eagle Hardware & Garden of Seattle, who has been preparing for the intense competition

Home Depot strives to provide the highest quality service to its customers. Home Depot achieves this by hiring professionals such as, carpenters, plumbers, and paint specialists. These experts are invaluable resources for less knowledgeable customers looking for a certain product or working on a new project. The Home Depot staff can help customers pick out larger and more difficult items such as showers, vinyl siding, carpet, appliances, and plumbing. After the purchase, Home Depot will have the items delivered and installed in the customer’s home. Home Depot’s focus on “product authority” is one of the main and drivers for the company’s high quality service.

Home Depot has been expanding their markets by opening new stores and new formats. Home Depot operates under four different business segments:

One of the themes in Thomas McCraw’s book American Business Since 1920: How It Worked is mastering centralized control through decentralized management. As the business world rapidly expanded competition for market share between the larger companies increased. More task management was necessary in order to delegate within the businesses as they expanded. The market was also changing and as an answer to that some companies implemented a revised version of traditional management; decentralized management (McCraw, 2009).

Structure is the basis through which an organization seeks to create control the direction of an organization. This is completed through clear definitions of the allocation of work, differentiation, and the coordination of having those responsibilities working together towards the efforts of the organization, integration (Bolman & Deal, 1993, pp). Through these methods, the organization is able to devise a division of labor that collaborates to bring about the missions and goals of an organization. The structure that comes about from this can be varied in their rigidness and flexibility it allows, and to an extent this is a great contribution to its success.

In addition, it is essential to generate detailed divisions for merchandise progress and industrial can have an effect on the company’s administrative structure known as product evolution. Centralized management retains all major decisions with one detailed decision-making group, whereas decentralized management lets company managers to have more ‘say’ in the executive process. Next, corporations that participate in the mass production of products may not exert as

The company started out as two stores, but now has 2,200 across North America. The brand has grown exponentially, but The Home Depot difference keeps them grounded. Despite their growth their priority is their service to customers, associates, communities, and shareholders according to their website.

The Home Depot is an option for retail in the home improvement industry (homedepot.com, n.d.). Home Depot’s strategic perspective appears to one that has been successful although the organization has remained in close competition with the competitor, Lowes. Both organizations are essential for home owners in that one can easily acquire building materials of all kinds. Upon entering a Home Depot store one is exposed to the vastness of product offerings. This vastness could cause one to argue that this type of store is not specialty but I offer that the Home Depot is a specialty in that you can only purchase home building or home improvement items. These items are specific to Home Depot. There is a no frill style of display and several

Thank you for calling me over this weekend in response to my complaint with your organization. In following up, I am memorializing the content of our conversation as I understand the facts:

The Home Depot, Inc. has climbed its way up to being one of the world’s largest home improvement centers, one of the largest retailers in the United States, and rank in the top 100 in the Fortune 500 companies list provided by fortune.com. (Fortune 500, 2016) They operate 478 warehouse stores that sell thousands of items to customers and professionals. They have retail stores located throughout the United States, with stores in all 50 states, as well as in Mexico, Chile, and Canada. Their goal is to offer high levels of service, a broad selection of products, and have the most competitive prices. Home Depot was founded in 1978 by coworkers Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus. The two hatched a business plan, and after securing sufficient

Decentralization has several advantages. Staffs are encouraged to develop decision-making skills, which help them advance in their careers. The autonomy afforded by this style of operation also increases job satisfaction and motivation. For example, if maintenance staff receives a complaint on a fault by a customer, in a decentralized organization the maintenance staff has the power to fix the problem without getting the approval from the administration. If that same front maintenance staff determines that a customer has been

A strong foundation for success and growth was already in place in Home Depot under Marcus leadership. The company demonstrated a very strong culture, built on entrepreneurialism and customer service. Abundant promotion opportunities were created due to rapid growth attracting carpenters, plumbers and other building professionals as salespeople. Most of the non-entry-level jobs were filled internally, and from the 400 department heads, just a dozen came from outside the company. Additionally, employee stock