Upload
dinhcong
View
219
Download
4
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
2
25Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
Teamwork is one of the most essential skills in retail. This visit will help you master it and help you plan your personal and career development.
Working in a retail environment involves working as part of a retail
team. To do this effectively you need to understand the purpose of
teamwork within a retail environment and how your skills and
knowledge can contribute to a team’s performance. You also need
to be aware of how you can develop these skills and knowledge to
perform at your best when working with others.
For this assessment visit, you will be focusing on building your
team-working skills and looking into the range of roles available in
the retail sector. While most of the work you complete for this visit
will be based on the retail business you work for, you should also
think of it in the context of the broader retail industry.
In this section you will find a range of activities to help you prepare and gather evidence for your assessment related to the following topics:
1. Your occupation and
organisation
2. Your team and its
contribution to the
retail organisation
3. Personal development
and career planning
26
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2 1. YOUR OCCUPATION AND ORGANISATIONIn the following activities you will investigate the structure of the
retail organisation you are employed in so that you know where
your role fits into its overall structure. You will look into the range
of functions that contribute to the success of different size retail
organisations and explore how they work. This will allow you to
consider the many possible career pathways that you could take
within the retail industry.
You will also investigate the contribution teams make to the
success of a retail organisation and look into the different skills and
knowledge each team member has. You will identify team roles and
responsibilities and assess how they contribute to the team’s goals
as well as the importance of good communication, support and
understanding.
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Retailing is the sale of goods and services to end consumers and is
the most important contributor to the UK economy.
The retail sector is the UK’s largest private sector employer with
just under three million employees, a turnover of £321 billion (2008)
and approximately 295,000 retail businesses. Within these retail
businesses 90 per cent employ fewer than 10 people and 66 per
cent of retail employees work for the largest 75 retail companies.
Those retail employees consist of a ratio of 57 women to 43 men
and almost one-third of retail employees are under 25 years old.
The retail sector is very diverse and employs a slightly higher
proportion of people from ethnic minority backgrounds compared
with the economy as a whole. Just under half of retail employees
work part-time, with 50 per cent of them having sales and customer
service job roles. Those who work on a full-time basis account for
the 18 per cent of all retail staff who are managers or senior
officials. For more information on retailing’s role in the UK
economy you can access the website www.skilllsmartretail.com
Some of the activities in this section are about identifying where job
opportunities arise in retailing. You should know about the following
aspects regarding the retail organisation you work for:
the number of people it employs in your department, branch,
nationally and globally
the products and services it provides
the type of customers it attracts
the different functional teams there are, such as Visual
Merchandising, Marketing, Store Operations, Buying and
27
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2Allocations, Finance, Supply chain Distribution, Human
Resources, Information Technology (IT)
the range of job roles and career pathways within those
functional teams
the relationships between different job roles and who is
responsible to whom.
Retail functions
A function is a set of people who work together and perform the
same types of tasks or hold similar positions in an organisation. As
retail organisations grow, their various functions increase as more
employees have to cope with the large demand for products and
retail services.
The different retail formats have different structures. The size of
the retail organisation determines the number of functions within it.
For example, a privately owned wholesaler selling products to local
retailers will have either one or two owners who are involved in a
number of functions, including ordering, recruitment and security.
A small independent retailer may have a manager who also owns
the business, as well as a full-time employee and a couple of
part-time employees.
Manager/owner
Full-time employeePart-time employee Part-time employee
Organisational chart of a small independent retailer
A large multiple retail chain listed on the stock market will have a
complex organisational structure with many roles depending on the
size of the retail business and whether it operates on a local,
national or global basis. The person in charge of a large retail
business will be aware of all aspects of it. They will communicate
any decisions made by the board to the managing director, who is
the key link between what goes on in the business and what is
decided in the boardroom.
A large retail organisation may have a head office where several
functions are performed.
28
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2Managing Director
Store OperationsFinance &
AdministrationHuman Resources
Buying & AllocationsMarketing Logistics & Distribution Technology
Organisational chart of a large retail organisation
Task 1a
In this activity you will test your knowledge of the functions in a
large retail organisation. Draw arrows to link each function to the
correct list of activities.
Store Operations
Marketing
Buying & Allocations
Human Resources
Technology
Finance & Administration
Logistics & Distribution
Customer data
Pay point systems
Supplier data
Security data
Stock data
Planning
Buying
Inventory Control
Merchandising
Visual displays
Promotions
Public relations
Visual merchandising
Training
Staff budgets
Recruitment
Redundancy
Personnel
Management
Cashier
Sales
Receiving
Loss prevention
Customer service
Property
Refurbishment
Accounting
Credit
Budgeting
Communications
Coordinating suppliers
Transportation & deliveries
Stock control
BTEC Unit 3: 4.1
29
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2Task 1b
Using your research skills, find out about each of the functions
listed below. Write a short description of each one.
Function Description
1 Store Operations
2 Marketing
3 Human Resources
4 Finance & Administration
5 Logistics & Distribution
6 Technology
7 Buying & Allocations
To progress in retail, you need information about how this dynamic
sector works, what you might earn and the variety of career routes
you can take.
With over three million people working in around 290,000
businesses (see www.skillsmartretail.com) retail’s success
depends on many departments working efficiently together. In each
there exists a variety of job roles from first rung to the top, but it
doesn’t matter what level you start at as this is an industry that has
opportunities to progress with transferable skills across all
businesses. Take a look at the overview of the departments below
which are typical of a large retail business and then complete the
task.
Store Operations No other part of retail carries more responsibility
than the sales floor. With jobs ranging from sales assistants to
store managers, Store Operations deals with finding the right store
location, organising the relevant fixtures and fittings, ensuring
customers receive excellent service and maintaining the store
environment as a place where products turn into profit. All trainees
BTEC Unit 3: 4.1PLTS: IE4
30
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2 cut their teeth here, and if they work hard they will be rewarded
with fast progression and early responsibility.
Merchandising This is the link between buyers and the sales floor
and the customers. Merchandisers work with buyers and allocators
and supply departments with the low-down on how products
perform, making sure the right products are in the right place at
the right time. This means keeping an eye on stock, checking out
buying trends and predicting what will sell and in what amounts.
Buying Every product appears in a store thanks to a careful process
of selection and sampling from suppliers. Buyers are seen as
having the glitzy job of jetting around the world, but the role comes
with responsibility and they have to get it right. Buyers live in the
future, predicting tomorrow’s tastes and trends by trawling through
data, travelling to see merchandise and attending trade shows.
Human Resources The Human Resources department attracts,
hires and trains the retail workforce, making sure every
department has the best people in the best positions. From
interviewing potential staff to reviewing salaries and performance,
HR professionals organise and motivate, identify skills gaps, build
confidence and develop retail employees to maximise the human
potential in the business.
Marketing and Public Relations (PR) It’s all very well having great
products ready to be sold, but if no one knows what or where they
are, there is not much point. Marketing and PR departments use
TV, radio, online and print media to get the message across about
the organisation’s brand and products.
Visual Merchandising Visual merchandisers create the best store
layouts and the most eye-catching shop windows, in order to get
customers’ buying impulses quickening from the minute they get to
the store to the minute they leave it and after. The job role joins art
with retail. This department is the reason products look so good in
the stores.
IT The systems that support the complete supply chain, from when
merchandise reaches the warehouse to when it is scanned at the
checkout, are provided by the IT department. When IT is doing its
job well, it goes unnoticed, but IT departments are becoming
increasingly high profile with the rise of online retailing. IT also
plays a part in other functional areas such as employee information,
communications, visual merchandising, planning, security and
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for transporters.
Logistics Keeping the products on the shelves and making sure the
stock gets from supplier to store at the right time is the
responsibility of the Logistics functional area. This department
arranges the transport of everything from the factory to front of
31
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2store, by road, rail, sea or air, making sure it arrives on time, on
schedule and in the right place.
Finance In retail, the finance function deals with money in and
money out. The Finance team plans and secures the financial future
of the business. The team monitors each store’s performance,
allocates the resources, looks at any issues that might prevent the
retail business from making a profit, evaluates financial risk and
works with all the other functional areas.
Retail job roles
Task 2a
You will now test your knowledge of which function area of the
organisation a particular role fits into. The following table contains
a list of team roles. Fill in the right-hand column with the functional
area of each role.
Role Functional area
Junior retail property negotiator
Buying assistant
Training administrator
Visual merchandiser
Trainee systems analyst
Delivery driver
Sales consultant
Personal shopper
Window dresser
Customer service adviser
Area recruitment manager
Regardless of the number of employees and the size of the retail
business, no job role can work in isolation. Relationships between
different job roles are necessary because they all have to work
together. Also, within each team there are lines of accountability,
which means that managers are responsible for those they are in
charge of. The number of team members a manager is responsible
for is known as the span of control. Some managers are in charge
BTEC Unit 3: 4.2
32
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2 of 20 people whereas others may be responsible for only three. In
the diagram below, the store owner/manager has a small span of
control and is responsible for the assistant manager, the
supervisor, two full-time employees and two part-time employees.
Full-time
sales assistant
Part-time
sales assistant
Full-time
sales assistant
Part-time
sales assistant
Manager
Assistant manager
Supervisor
The span of control in an organisation
Task 2b
Select three of the above functional areas that interest you, and
using two sources of information, identify the different job roles and
career pathways within them and record them in the table below.
An example has been done as a guide.
Functional area Information sources Different job roles Career pathway Your next step
Marketing British Display Society
Careers adviser
Marketing assistant
Marketing manager
PR assistant
Visual merchandising manager
Visual merchandiser
Online visual merchandiser
1 Current role
2 Visual merchandiser
3 Visual merchandising manager
1 Ask at next review to learn about visual merchandising
2 Complete Apprenticeship
For more information you can research www.ehow.co.uk
BTEC Unit 3: 4.1
33
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2Within a marketing department there are various roles.
Marketing managers oversee the running of the department and
make sure all the customer, product and service information is
accurately collected and analysed. They liaise with Finance so they
know how much money they have, with the buyers so they know
what products and services will be available, and with the company
director so they know what is happening in the future.
Marketing assistants assist the manager and work with various
media companies. They support the marketing manager by liaising
with the other team workers and external contractors such as
printers, publishers and the IT function.
Public relations assistants help promote the public reputation and
image of the retail organisation. This includes writing press
releases, attending press conferences and building relationships
with media professionals. They work well under pressure and know
keeping to deadlines is essential. They are computer literate with
good spelling, grammar and punctuation. They make press cuttings
of stories that have made it to print, and write in-house magazine
articles.
Visual merchandising managers oversee all product presentation
in stores and on the retailer’s website. Their responsibilities include
working with the marketing manager, buyers and allocators and
with the Operations and Finance teams. They use the trends and
customer buying data to co-ordinate which products should be
presented when, where and how. They make sure the visual
merchandisers use their creative skills to present the goods in line
with the retail organisation’s image.
Visual merchandisers attract customers to the store and hold their
interest once they enter. They create attractive displays inside and
outside a store to showcase items, introduce new items, create a
positive store image and increase revenue. They also have to order
printed signage, hang signs from ceilings, set up dramatic lighting
and disassemble the displays.
Online visual merchandisers may also be known as site or web
merchandisers. They co-ordinate the visual display of retail
products on the retailer’s website. They have to evaluate and
change the website continuously to optimise sales. They have to
work with the buyers and the Marketing team to position
promotional offers and the most popular products effectively to
attract customers when they go online.
Depending on the size of the retail organisation, everyone working
within a team is accountable to another team member. There are
four levels of job role.
34
BTEC Apprenticeship Assessment Workbook Level 2 Retail
Original text and illustrations © Pearson Education Limited, 2012
2 Management Known as senior management, executive
management or the management team, this is the highest level of
retail organisational management. It has the day-to-day
responsibilities of managing the retail company. An example is the
Marketing manager.
Supervisory This is the level of junior managers in a position of
trust in a retail business. These managers have the power and
authority to give instructions and orders to subordinates and are
held responsible for the work and actions of a small group of
employees. The stockroom supervisor is an example.
Technical This level of workers has certain skills and techniques.
Technical workers provide technical support, usually involving retail
teams where electronic and mechanical systems are used. An IT
technician who works in the website team is an example.
Operative Employees who have an operative role require few skills
but their job role is usually the key one that keeps the retailer
going. An example is the checkout operator in a supermarket.
Task 2c
Identify the various lines of accountability in the Marketing
department of a large retail organisation. The role of Marketing
manager has been done already as an example.
Functional area Job roles Level Accountable to Responsible for
Marketing Marketing manager Management Senior and executive management
Marketing manager
PR assistant
Visual merchandising manager
Visual merchandiser
Online visual merchandiser
PR assistant
Visual merchandising manager
Visual merchandiser
Online visual merchandiser
BTEC Unit 3: 4.2