Read the following scenario:

Alex Grant recently graduated from university and is excited to be starting his first job as a store manager for The Grocery Cart, a large supermarket chain. The company has a very good management training program, and it is one of the fastest-growing chains in the nation. If Alex does well managing his first store, there are a number of promising advancement opportunities in the company. After completing the store management training program, Alex met with Regina Hill, his area supervisor. She informed him that he would be taking charge of a medium-volume store in an upper-class neighbourhood. This store had been operating without a manager for the past six months. The store had also not made a profit in any of the monthly financial reports for the last year.

Hill also shared the following information with Alex: Because the store has been without a store manager for the past six months, the assistant manager (Drew Smith) has been in charge. Drew is known for being highly competent and a solid performer. However, there have been complaints that he is frequently rude to employees and insults and ridicules them whenever they make mistakes.

Turnover among sales clerks and cashiers at this store has been somewhat higher than in other stores in the area. Clerks and cashiers are paid the minimum wage per hour. The last two EXERCISE • Unethical Behaviour semi-annual inventories at this store showed significant losses. There has been a large amount of theft from the stockroom (an area where only employees are allowed). Given that the store has generally done well in sales (compared with others in the area) and that most expenses seem well under control, Hill believes that the profitability problem for this store is primarily due to theft.

Therefore, she suggests that Alex’s plans for the store should focus on this. LO8