1 What are the advantages and disadvantages of providing a loosely structured working environment as part of a broader communication and participation strategy? Trader Joe’s, a speciality supermarket chain, was started in 1967 by Joe Coulombe. Joe owned a few convenience stores initially but managed to grow his small business by selling speciality products such as Californian wine and gourmet foods. Taking advantage of the growing popularity of his stores, Trader Joe’s eventually began to offer its own-

label products. Over 80 per cent of the products Trader Joe’s sells are now of their own label.

Headquartered in Monrovia, California, Trader Joe’s has a total of 367 stores (Trader Joe’s, 2013). Unlike many of its competitors, Trader Joe’s is a non-

union company. Pay is on average

$21 per hour, compared with an average of $17. 90 at union operations such as Kroger and Safeway. In addition to providing competitive pay as well as health and retirement benefits, Trader Joe’s runs positive labour practices through its approach to communication and participation.

Trader Joe’s has created a store environment in which authority is decentralised and each employee, or ‘crew member’, is individually charged with the responsibility of meeting customer needs. A strong upward and downward communication chain is built into everyday operations. Each store group operates as a team and individual opinions are valued. Crew members are led by a ‘first mate’, the assistant store manager, and the ‘captain’, the store manager. A South Seas motif, for which ‘crew members’ wear Hawaiian shirts, add to a casual and free atmosphere. Instead of enforcing strict operating rules, employees are granted autonomy to feel they ‘own’ their supermarket. The communication strategy helps foster this decentralised, team-

oriented ethos through informal dayto-

day staff meetings between ‘crew’ members. Employees are trained to work in all areas of the store and rotate positions to create an all-

inclusive, team approach. While Trader Joe’s provides specific spending and behavioural guidelines, there are few execution guidelines. Instead, regular in‑store meetings and on‑the-

job informal communication enable the crew to communicate with one another and see to customer and store needs as they arise in situ. For example, managers help out at the register and sweep up or clean up when needed