Introduction (Summary Of The Case). Lowe’S Companies Is

Established as the older company of the two, Lowe’s ranks forty-second as a Fortune 500 company. Established in 1946 as a small hardware business, Lowe’s has grown into a 40,000 product, global market enterprise that consist of 1,710 stores nationwide expanding into the countries of Canada, Mexico and Australia (Lowe's Internal, 2010) Home Depot, founded in 1978, is the fastest growing retailer in the United States. Ranked twenty-ninth as a Fortune 500 company, Home Depot continues to remain the number one do-it-yourself retail store in America. These two companies may sell products of the same nature, but comparing their Code of Ethics is their way of setting themselves apart. (Home Depot Internal, 2009)

Lowe’s Company has been in business for over 60 years. The company is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world and employs more than 215,000 employees. The company’s home base is Mooresville, North Carolina. Standard & Poor ranks Lowe’s as #48 . Presently, Lowe’s stock, which is identified on the New York Stock Exchange as LOW, is selling for right under $20 a share. This price has been consistent and is comparable to their biggest competitor Home Depot, Inc whose stock has remained steady at $23.

Managers promote poor communication when it is not planned out correctly, which can cause chaos and friction within the department. Emotions can cause a barrier and result in a communication breakdown. Poor communication is not always at the fault of the manager, poor listening on the staff’s part can

The CIPD (2014) factsheet states that Employee Engagement is a concept that ‘is generally seen as an internal state of being – physical, mental and emotional – that brings together earlier concepts of work effort, organisational commitment, job satisfaction and ‘flow’ (or optimal experience)’. An engaged workforce willingly demonstrates discretionary effort within their roles; their goals and values reflect that of their employers/organisation; they express a passion for work, feel valued and that their work has meaning.

Lowes (NYSE: LOW) is in the retail business that specializes in the sales of home improvement. Lowes first began in 1946 as a small hardware store that expanded into what it is today. The company is a corporation which has specialized in customer service. Lowes has broaden to install interior and exterior projects for customers. Teaming with companies such as Sherwin Williams, Allen and Roth, and Kohler Lowes has drastically improved. Over the past few years, Lowes has expanded by taking over companies such as ATG Stores and RONA. The company operates 1,250 stores in the United States. Lowes is a power house in the home improvement retail, representing 6% of the 700-billion-dollar industry.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc., is a $26.5 billion company that employs 122,000 people. It is the world’s second largest home improvement retailer and the 14th largest retailer in the United States as well as the 30th worldwide. Lowe’s owns 854 stores in 44 states and serves eight million do-it-yourself and commercial customers weekly. Headquartered in Wilkesboro, N.C., Lowe’s has been in business for 57 years and publicly held for 41 with stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LOW. The company offers products and services in home improvement, home décor, home maintenance, home repair and remodeling and lawn and garden.

Lowe’s is the world’s second largest home improvement retailer and operated 952 stores in forty five states at their fiscal year ending January 30, 2004. The company is currently in the midst of the most aggressive expansion in its history with 130 new stores opened in 2003 and another 140 slated for this year. Lowe’s saw 2003 sales reach approximately $30.8 billion, due largely to their focus on the retail customers and home-improvement projects.

One of the primary factors in employee engagement is a person’s relationship with his or her direct manager. Some managers are excellent at managing teams and making each person feel valued, while others don’t have the same abilities. Train your managers in the skills that can improve employee engagement, and it can boost your organization’s overall results. Most employees fear their supervisors, so they choose to leave because they don’t want to work in a stressful environment. However, they don’t always express their

Lowes Company Inc. has grown out of a small hardware store which was located in North Carolina in 1946. The founder and owner Carl Buchan had a vision of chain home-improvement stores at that time. One of the best strategies that Buchan did was working directly with manufacturers instead of wholesalers. This let Lowes come over the power of wholesalers. The company made a big reputation with low prices strategy. In addition, Lowes owns and operates stores in Mexico and Canada as well as United States (About Lowe’s, 2014).

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is the fourteenth largest retailer in America, and overall the world’s second largest home improvement retailer. They are the 108th ranked corporation on the Fortune 500 top corporations list. With an impressive in store stock of 40,000 home improvement items on hand, ranging from lumber to Home décor items, plus an additional 400,000 home improvement items available through a special order program. Lowe’s provides a onetime stop for all home improvement needs, for both the Do-It-Yourselfer, and the ever-expanding market of the Commercial Business Customer.

Lowe’s Home Improvement is one of the two largest home improvement stores in the United States. The company initially began in 1946 in Willsboro, North Carolina, but has now become international, with stores in Mexico and Canada (Lowe 's Companies, Inc., 2015; Flavelle, 2007). The store initially began as a small hometown hardware store until a new owner envisioned a more focused product selection, home improvement, and eliminated wholesalers to deal with the product manufactures directly. While that narrow product line has continued to be the focus of the company you can now find over 40,000 products in the stores, the ability to order hundreds of thousands more through special order or a Lowe’s affiliate, and over 50 professional installation services available (Lowe 's Companies, Inc., 2015). As of 2014 the company had over 1,800 store and had revenues exceeding $56 million dollars (Lowe 's Companies, Inc., 2014).

Lowe’s is a hardware store that sell products from vacuum and dishwashers to wood and other hardware equipment. Lowe’s sell products for home improvement and construction. Lowe’s was originally founded in Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1921 by Lucius Smith Lowe. His daughter Ruth inherited the store in 1940 after Lucius passed away. She then sold the franchise to her brother Jim. Jim partnered with Carl Buchan in 1949 under the management of Buchan. Jim and Carl had several disagreements as far as the expansion and diversification so in 1954 the partners split making Carl the sole owner. He successfully expanded the business to other cities in North Carolina. Then he passed away in 1960 leaving the store to his executive team of five people. They made the company public in 1961. The former headquarters for Lowe’s was originally located in Wilkesboro, now located in Mooresville, North Carolina. The once small town business has expanded to a well-known name brand is currently located in several countries.

Communication is the conveyance and flow of ideas from one person to another. The exchange of information takes place through letters, words, symbols and nonverbal behaviors. It involves the transmission of ideas from the sender to the receiver. Communication is effective only if the receiver fully understands the transmitted information. Many problems and failures occur in organizations due to poor communication. Objective and goals fail due to misunderstandings in the organization. Effective communication provides a chain of understanding to all participants in the organizational framework. It promotes the flow of information both vertically and horizontally.

Employees who are “not engaged” exude the feeling that they are just there for a paycheck. This type of person is not contributing and just goes thru the motions in the performance of their job duties. The worst type of employee is an “actively” disengaged employee. That type of person is also known as a trouble maker. Whatever good that an engaged employee accomplishes, an actively disengaged employee tries to destroy. Disengaged employees are unhappy and they want everyone they come in contact with to know it. Organizations with disengaged employees are more vulnerable to lower productivity, higher absenteeism, higher turnover and lower product or service quality.

·     Training - Employees want to increase their skills, knowledge, and abilities to remain marketable. It gives them a sense of job security. In today's workplace, the more training employees get, the more likely the employer will retain them. "According to a 1999 Emerging Workforce Study conducted by Interim Services and Louis Harris and Associates: Among employees who say their company offers poor training, 41 percent plan to leave within a year, versus only 12 percent of those who rate training opportunities as excellent. (Business Week, March 1, 1999)"