Bazar Stores Company Ltd (Bazar) is one of the largest food retailers in Ghana, employing over 2,500 staff in over 75 locations across the country. Bazar started its business operations over 64 years ago just after Ghana gained her independence, and has always had a reputation for high-quality goods, clean and efficient stores and a very professional approach to its business. It has a good track record of its dealings with the public with limited bad press and has remained ethical and loyal to the communities that it serves.

Bazar has expanded to most regional capitals and districts from its humble beginning in Accra and now has about 10 stores in the Northern part of Ghana especially border towns in the North, East and West. Bazars market share continued to grow during the last decade. The industry as a whole is becoming increasingly segmented between the big four Supermarkets (all of which place emphasis on good standards of customer services). High-quality goods, pleasant shopping atmosphere with visible security make shoppers feel secure. Bazar sells a wide range of products and some of the shops tend to be discount stores. Like most retail outlets, the company is highly centralised, not only in terms of employee relation decisions but also in most aspects of management policy, such as buying decisions, store layout, pricing, financial controls and preferred management style.

There is tremendous rivalry between the market leaders both at national level (Regional Capitals) and locally (District capitals), with new stores opening having immediate effect upon sales in those areas. Close attention is paid to the activities of the competitors in terms of price, product range and store-design that are purported to be of high tech to facilitate services to shoppers. There has been a rush to open new stores in attractive locations, increasingly out of town to cater for the one-stop shop shoppers. Indeed, over the last few years, each of the major multiples has moved further up market, aiming to target more quality-conscious consumers, and this has increased the competition yet more. Customer demand also varies considerably, but usually in a fairly predictable manner, throughout the course of the day, week and year. For example, sales tend to increase during the week, with peaks on Saturdays and Sunday afternoons and trough on Wednesday mornings. This has implications for the number of staff employed at any one time, and it provides a rationale for the high proportion of part-time staff in the stores. The majority of sales staff on the sales floor are part-timers, and overall, about 65 percent of employees are part time. A large proportion of the staff are young (in their mid-20s), although those employed on the checkouts are just as likely to be in their mid-30s and early 40s due to the demand of the roles and responsibilities in the shop floors. As is the practice in the banking sector, employees provide the numerical flexibility management at peak-time and this is deemed to be appropriate.

In a similar vein, the type of products sold also varies over the course of the year for obvious reasons, although sudden change in the weather and emerging hash economic conditions are some of the causative factors. Product availability is another challenge and this is due to COVID- 19 disrupting global supply chain systems. Worse is the recent war between Ukraine and Russia affecting supply. As with all supermarkets, the company relationship with its customers is vital. Bazars relationship with supply chain stakeholders has historically been positive although perceived to be abusive especially when it favours Bazar. This is usually done with impunity as confirmed by some suppliers. Major manufacturers have been encouraged to discuss their

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requirements with senior personnel to develop trade for mutual benefit. The larger manufacturers often receive preferential arrangements for product facings and positioning within stores. Relationship with smaller suppliers however have been the source of disquiet. Bazar has spent a considerable amount of time trying to build up relationship with those suppliers, to promote closer links between retailers and manufacturers. Code of Best Practices and Quality Assurance measures have been instituted for all suppliers. Representatives from Bazar regularly visit the suppliers to ensure compliance and to discuss product development, sales and joint promotional arrangements. Bazar refused to participate in research and development activities to assist manufacturers with healthy product development. However, Bazar is keen to promote a view of suppliers that puts them in the Bazar family working together for mutual benefit. However, some suppliers have complained that Bazar is treating its family members with little loyalty, changing suppliers when alternative arrangements are more beneficial.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The organisational structure of Bazar is family centric management while not interested in changing the structure any time soon. At the Head Office, there are some ranges of functions including Human Resources and Organisational Development and Finance and Operations which is also directly providing oversight to Procurement and Supply Chain Management- whose role is to implement the core policies and other advice to the stores. At the intermediate level, there are skeleton staff employed in several regions and again this includes finance and other officers. The Regional Managers are the main point of contact between the centre and the individual stores, visiting each store every two weeks on the average. Given the sustained growth rate of Bazar during the last decade, the Regional Management Teams have assumed responsibility for a growing number of stores and have been confronted with a number of requests for assistance at the store level. Although some managers might have little need for intermediate tier in the structure in the past, this viewpoint has less credence now that the number of stores has increased. Each store is run by a Store Manager who has a number of deputies with him or her, and below this there are a series of departmental heads covering such areas as grocery, warehouse, bakery and customer services. Finally, there are a number of junior managers, often supervising not more than a handful of people for sections such as fresh foods, delicacies or staff restaurant. The departmental and sectional managers spend a large proportion of their time with same duties as the staff they supervise.

MANAGEMENT STYLE

Traditionally, Bazar operated with a somehow authoritarian style of management described by some managers as almost autocratic and militaristic. In recent years, this has softened and there has been a drive to create a more open style that encourage managers and supervisors to seek ideas from staff and to operate in an informal manner. To some extent this shift in approach has been stimulated by the fact that managers are highly dependent upon staffs consistent high- quality service to customers. The importance of quality and customer care is continually stressed to employees, partly because the company is exposed to high levels of competition, but also because of the need for Bazar to differentiate itself from other food retailers. The idea that staff should help to ensure that shopping is a pleasant experience is made apparent during the induction period and subsequently re-informed through training programmes and messages on the noticeboards and in the company newspapers. One of the company objectives states that Bazar aims to offer our staff outstanding opportunities in terms of personal career development

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and remuneration relative to other companies in the same market, showing concern for the welfare of every individual including payment of continuous professional development fees to core staff to horn in their skill.

The unitarist philosophy is evident in much of the audio-visual material produced by the company, with regular references to being vital members of the team and to the ethos of all working together for the good of the company as a whole. For example, one of the companys induction videos encourages staff to buy into the benefits offered by the company. If staff work hard, look smart and maintain strict hygiene and high service standards, it is suggested that Bazar will be able to ensure that customers receive quality products and treatment, as well as value for money. This will then result in secure employment of staff, profit sharing, good promotion prospects and job satisfaction. In addition, the fact that staff can see relatively opportunities of promotion, at least to the level of junior management serves to reinforce the feeling that working together can present a way forward for the staff and the company alike.

On the other hand, this benign image of team-working and co-operation makes the right controls that are everted within the company, especially in the management hierarchy. There are strict formulae for the amount of labour that can be employed in any one period, although store managers are allowed some flexibility between full and part-time employees according to local needs. Regional managers make spot visits to each of the stores on a regular but unscheduled basis, principally to check on store layouts, queue lengths and general performance. These visits can be a cause of some consternation of managers, as their aim is to keep them on their toe, always aware of the need for high-quality service. Disciplinary standards are precisely laid down by the company rule book, and there are specific instructions about standards of cleanliness and dressing. Indeed, the desire to project a high-quality image is central to much of the activity at the store. Finally, video cameras have been fixed in the sales areas in an effort to deter pilferage by customers and to ensure that there is a record of events if the need arises for prosecution at the same time. Although this is not the purpose, the video camaras also act as an instrument of surveillance over staff who are aware that these recording could be used against them as well as customers.

EMPLOYEE AGREEMENT

Bazar has separate but identical agreements with two trade unions that allows for individuals to be represented at the workplace. The agreement came into effect in 1992 at the beginning of Ghana 4th republic, and it appears that the reason for recognising two union (as opposed to one, which many of the competitors do) owed much to the existing packets of union membership in different parts of the country. Collective bargaining is not catered for in the agreements. Workplace union organisation is weak, with little more than 11 percent of all the eligible employees actually in the unions. The unions generally face difficulty in persuading sufficient people to become representatives, and those who do often lack experience of unionism.

Although there is no provision for collective bargaining with employees, it was agreed in 2019 that a GWC (General Welfare Committee) structure could be set up between Bazar and the appropriate union(s) at area level if union membership exceeds a certain threshold. Management was keen to initiate the GWC structure because a number of similar problems kept on recurring in various branches at the same time, and it was felt that these were better resolved at areas rather than national level. The GWC structure provides union officials with the opportunity to meet

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with the Senior Personnel Manager from headquarters as well as several line managers within the region. The Committee meet up to three times per annum at a neutral venue, usually a hotel and is preceded by a meeting between the full-time officials and representatives from the branches in the area. The issues that are typically dealt with at the GWC include health and safety, terms and conditions of employment, union reactions to company pay reviews, polices on time-off for trade-union affairs and various general items (such as security in stores or information about new opening), model on central government employees to ensure that Bazar is in line with Ghana Labour Laws. However, management approach leans more towards welfare than legal enforcement under court of competence jurisdiction, hence not legally binding.

Pay at Bazar is determined by management rather than being the subject of collective bargaining and the system has recently been reorganised through the introduction of new job-evaluation scheme. The previous system was felt to be too subjective and open to abuse by managers favouring specific individuals, a situation compounded by the growth of the company since the previous system had been introduced. Changes in technology had also rendered some of the previous gradings (for example, in warehouse) inappropriate. Moreover, senior management was concerned that the existing system was potentially discriminatory, because those manual jobs (such as those typically undertaken by men in the warehouse) attracted higher rates of pay than those that involved contact with customers (such as those typically done by women on the checkouts). The new system has five grades: the top grade includes crafts skills (such as senior butchers/bakers) and the bottom grade covers cleaners and trolly assistants /packers. Checkout staff (the largest group in the store) are in the fourth grade. Pay levels are good for the industry.

LABOUR TURNOVER

Labour turnover at Bazar is high at 70 percent per annum and in some stores 150 percent or more. In stores located in areas of higher unemployment, labour turnover rate tend to be much lower and at two stores that formed the basis for a research conducted, it was 15 percent. The lowest turnover rate tended to be among the middle-aged women part-timers with childcare commitments, whereas higher rate were found for the younger women. These figures are much higher than in manufacturing, but they are not untypical for the retail industry as a whole. These crude figures also mask the fact that some of the turnover is as a result of seasonal and temporary employment, as well as the fact that many of the leavers go within the first month of arriving.

Nevertheless, Bazar has made a number of efforts to reduce this high labour-turnover figure, and so reduce the costs associated with recurrent recruitment exercises. Much greater effort has been put into the whole selection and induction processes, and in some stores where it is difficult to retain staff, special attempts have been made to attract older people (so-called grey workers in their 50s and 60s) to apply for jobs. Getting sufficient applicants has not been a problem in the coastal stores, although ensuring that these people are satisfactory has been more difficult. Store Managers and their deputies complete a short informal interview with potential applicants before the selection process is started in the hope that this will screen out weaker candidates. The selection process still relies heavily on interviews. However, they are considering the use of psychometric test and this attitudinal tests are likely to be introduced for all staff in the near future.

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Once recruited, all staff go through a formal induction programme undertaken within the store by a team of trainers. All new recruits receive policy documents on health and safety matters, the company history, rules and regulations and detail of service-related benefits. This is contained in a handbook that outlines all the key points of the employment package, as well as providing answers to the more typical questions asked by the new employees. New starters also receive written information about the customer service campaign, and series of brochures detailing the required standard of dress and hygiene. This is then supplemented by the set of videos presented by the trainers, and new staff are given the opportunity to ask further questions about working in Bazar. All these messages are constantly reinforced throughout the individuals employment with the company.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Mr. Sushil Sheriff, the current Board Chairman and son of the founder Agrawal Sheriff of Indian descent but naturalised in Ghana has little appreciation and/or respect for corporate governance best practice system of organisational management. He, at the age of 77, plays an active role in running of the organisation. He depends heavily on the companies culture and management orientation of the past. Why should Bazar be investing in governance just to increase cost and reduce the bottom line, he reasons. The only non-family Senior Management member, the Director of Finance and Operations, Mrs. Emma Owusu-Kwakye strongly disagrees with this assertion by the Board Chairman. The Board Chairman likes to share the humble beginnings of the business and prefer to use the word grocer rather than supermarket. He explains his philosophy as a no-nonsense approach to retailing, shunning hype and gimmicks in favour of plain selling

Despite Mr. Sushil Sheriff, the Board Chairmans misconception, standards of corporate governance are high thanks to the strong conviction of the Director of Finance and Operations Mrs. Emma Owusu-Kwakye.

Bazar recognises that creating sustainable shareholder value depends on the full understanding of the impact on society and the responsible management of the business in a manner consistent with the organisation values and principles. Bazar understand how the behaviour of the organisation can impact on the wider society hence management is working hard to earn the trust of all stakeholders as a company that tries to live up to its responsibilities.

At the pinnacle of governance in its formal sense is the board of directors with its terms of reference, regular meetings and adherence to the Combined Code. Reporting to the board are several committees with particular responsibilities relating to governance and control, as well as the management of the company operations. A head office business assurance regulates the process of internal controls throughout the company.

Strategies have been developed to motivate Bazar on the way to approach its relationship with customers and shareholders, both existing and potential. Another strategy point is the way Bazar relates to government and public institutions in the jurisdictions in which it operates.

CUSTOMER DIVERSITY

Bazar, operates in an increasingly diverse community, not just in terms of staffing, but of customers and suppliers. Bazar prides itself on the highest standards of customer service across

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the difference stores using the location advantage as it competitive advantage. At the heart of Bazars service ethic is a commitment to treat all its customers both fairly and equally, regardless of their race, gender, age, religion, disability, marital status, sexuality background or beliefs.

However, treating people equally isnt about treating people the same. It is about understanding that different people have different needs and responding to these needs. Recognising and valuing customer diversity will help Bazar to deliver truly world class services that are accessible to everyone, which in turn, will ensure that Bazar retain their customers in the future. It is about fairness and equality, but it also makes good business sense, said the Director of Finance and Operations, especially corporate social responsibility and enforced ethical standards.

The Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) as passed by 4th Parliament of the Republic of Ghana sets out a number of requirements for companies which Bazar support and are working to the spirit of the legislation. Bazar is currently building on its existing strengths in looking to meet the needs of all its customers which include access to stores. Among other things, the Act provides for rights such as unrestricted access to public places and buildings, free health care, employment, education and transportation. Bazar is constantly reviewing the services it delivers and to invite comments and suggestions from customers but these are hardly discussed at senior management meetings with no system in place for analysing the feedback collected. It is a process of satisfying legislation, said the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Culture, Mrs. Raju Asha. This was said during private conversation and recorded by an employee. The employee is currently seeking legal advice.

ORGANISATION COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

In recent years, Bazar has also attempted to increase employee involvement within the company, mostly through improved communication both of a written and verbal nature. Unlike many other large organisations. Bazar has chosen not to introduce a formal communication policy, such as team briefing, preferring to rely on informal channels and face-to-face contact between managers and their staff on an ad hoc basis. This is justified by some senior management because of the nature of the market environment, that is, continuous pressure from customers that require immediate attention, allied to employment policy that maintains strict controls on the total number of hours worked in any one store. Accordingly, Bazar management is unwilling to provide extra payments for the purpose of communicating information to staff in addition to their working hours. At the same time some of their competitors have chosen to implement more formal systems for cascading information to staff, so it could be argued that the environment is not totally deterministic.

Although many of the managers who were interviewed in the research felt the informal system worked well and that staff were adequately informed about company and store developments, a significant proportion of employees felt they were not always kept in the picture. Indeed, at one of the stores where the general manager was more elusive, a majority regarded the grapevine as a more effective source of information. At another store, the open approach adopted by the general manager helped to create a climate in which managers did keep staff better informed.

As with any informal system, however, much depends upon the character of the individual managers as well as the ethos of the department and the store. This potential communication breakdown is now beginning to concern some senior managers at the regional level and within the corporate personnel department.

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Although there is no formal machinery for regular face-to-face information passing between managers and staff, Bazar is well renowned for the quality and comprehensiveness of its written communications. At each store, there is a system of information board that assumes a key place within the framework of employees relations. Not only are these placed prominently within the stores, but they are also regularly updated as well as managed unlike most noticeboard. All employees walk past the board several times each day, on their way to and from staff restaurant and new items are highlighted either on the board itself or on the door into the restaurant. A questionnaire survey of staff undertaken in two units indicated that the noticeboard was the most valued sources of information in the store.

Like the rest of its competitors, Bazar has developed a range of mechanisms to encourage staff to maintain high-level customer services, most of which are centered around video campaigns and training sessions. For the most part, the videos are shown by a staff trainer not a line manager and staff are drawn from different parts of the store as appropriate. There is no attempt to use these sessions as a vehicle for team building and it is rare for line managers to attend these meetings. The messages conveyed in these sessions tend to be single and straightforward varying in degree to which they take a prescriptive line about the one best way to serve customers. The image of the customer as all-powerful is central to all the programme and once again the phraseology employed reflects unitarist assumptions. Examples are:

Customer care is the number one skill all Bazar employees must have, our future success will depend upon how well you apply this skill.

Remember it is not what you are doing that is the most important thing, it is what the customer perceives you are doing.

Make sure that you always say good morning etc, please, thank you, use the customers name if known, always apologise if something is wrong or there is a delay to take customers to a display, always show concern.

Some of the more experienced employees in the stores found these customer-care videos extremely simplistic and actually became annoyed by them. They resented the way in which the message was put across as well as the patronising and condescending tone of the whole presentation. As one of the long serving staff commented, we have always practiced customer care, although we didnt call it that, we dont need management to tell us how to do it. In addition, the image conveyed by the stores in which the films were made also caused some ill- feeling not to say incredulity in these, the actors who were playing staff worked at a very leisurely pace and had time to laugh and laugh and joke with the actors who were playing customers. Wouldnt mind a job there! was a common response. Some of the staff interpreted these initiatives as simply new forms of control many look to days when they had a job to do and do it.

INFORMATION PROCESSING

To monitor and track inventory sales activities in the stores which forms on the average 70% of Bazar cost of sales, an integrated advance Point of Sale (POS) inventory and management system is employed. The system automatically polls each store every 24 hours to gather pertinent data regarding the stores inventory levels. Information provided on a daily report include total of sales by household and individuals and further breakdown of sales by category. This allows

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management to evaluate performance on daily basis and implement controls and strategies as and when needed but the analysis is not fully being optimized due to the use of big data hence the need for a data mining facility to process it into management information to support decision making.

This system is updated continually to add additional functionality to aid management with stores operations. For example, personnel-scheduling and time-keeping functions have been added to take care of the large number of part-time work in the stores. In addition, a new function is being planned that will better identify and track consumer demographic and store security with hidden cameras.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

The company remains very successful not only in terms of market share and profitability but also with respect to its employee relationships, policies and practices. Bazar has done much to change from its traditional image of the autocratic management style to a vision that encourages a more open approach to people management. All the staff who were interviewed during the research project noted that management had become more approachable and participative in its attitudes over the last few years.

Nevertheless, there are many tensions perceived between new initiatives and old practices. There remains a strong degree of centralised control and precise instructions but also a growing emphasis on the staff showing initiative. This is coupled with the threat of constant surveillance and disciplinary action for those who transgress the rules. Perhaps the tensions and contradictions are best illustrated by the concept of the customer-care programme, which specifies conformance to precise working patterns but includes slogan such as We trust you; The customer trusts you.

There are other practices that could be reformed, for example, there are doubts about the effectiveness of communications between managers and their staff, and some considerations is being given to implementing a formal structured programme of team-briefing. Moreover, given the way in which training is undertaken within the stores, there is little or no opportunity for the managers to engage in any explicit team-building exercises while at work.

While the ethos of customer care is strongly expressed by managers, the actual management of customer relationships is to some degree vague. One might argue that the companys traditional plan selling approach is somewhat at odds with the increasingly sophisticated techniques of its major competitors. It is therefore, making some tentative efforts to catch up. For instance, in the light of other retailers development loyalty care system, Bazar has invested in an independently owned loyalty card. This card allows users to receive loyalty bonuses from other non-grocery retailers, petrol retailers and restaurants. Non-specific purchases behaviour information is shared between the organisations involved. Each organisation receives precise information on the behaviour of the use of the card in their outlets. Bazar has invested heavily in the development of this card, they are hopping that this advanced loyalty card can be transformed into a smart card system, perhaps combined with credit card in the future providing even more information on the customers behaviour when the Ghana government digitization programme is completed. Customer feedback on the use of the loyalty has been favorable.

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The regular unit rewards offered by the card compared poorly with other sole retailer loyalty card, however most users build up unit rewards and then wait for the regular special promotions that the organisations involved contribute. So for instance, a shopper at Bazar can enjoy a buy one get one free meal at the restaurant that is also party to the card. At the moment however, the companys use of data generated by the card is rather limited.

One advantage that Bazar loyalty card has over those of their rivals is its link with national charities. For every ten unit rewards accrued, Bazars donate 2 pesewas to a national charity. The charity collects their accumulated donation in the form of a cheque at the annual award ceremony. This ceremony attended by a Senior Manager of the participating companies and the Press, is a huge celebration held at the prestigious Accra Hotel and it is at this ceremony that the national charity for the following year is announced.

Finally, and most significantly, the company is considering its operation by purchasing 20 stores located along the middle Savanna Region of Ghana currently owned by Little Bee, a struggling regional supermarket. This represents a move out of Bazar traditional heartland and it represents an ambitious and risky move. In an assessment to the board, the Director of Finance and Operations advised that the acquisition of those 20 stores should be thought of like an investment and should be appraised using appropriate methods when data is available before discussion with the governing board. She also emphasised that the high-risk nature of the strategy should be reflected in any appraisal of the investment with a clear consultant term of reference highlighting the specific deliverables and expectations including timelines.

While the stores would be re-branded, the boards decision will be influenced by the current financial position of the 20 stores and so it has contracted a consultant to support the board with necessary acquisition research information. AB Consult & Associate has been contracted and are expected to report to the board on 5 August 2022. Below is an incomplete records prepared by the Finance Manager:

Appendix I

Bazar Profit and Loss accounts for the year ended 31 December, 2021

2021 GH000 Turnover 670,400

2020 GH000 666,198 (466,339) 199,859 (95,930) 103,929 (11,360) 92,569 (27,771) 64,798 (18,500) 46,298 37,174 83,472

Cost of Sales

Operating Profit

Operating Expenses

Operating Profit/Loss

Interest Payable (20%)

Profit before taxation

(469,280)

201,120

(103,560)

97,560

(14,160)

83,400

Taxation (20,850)

Profit after taxation 62,550

Dividends (12,000)

Retained profit for the year

Retained profit brought forward Retained profit carried forward

50,550

83,472 134,022

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Appendix II

Bazer Balance Sheet as at 31 December, 2021

2021 GH000

Non-Current Assets

Intangible assets 1,550 Tangible assets 112,800

Current Assets

Inventory 43,699 Trade debtors 10,300 Other debtors 9,400 Cash 400

63,799

Creditors amounts Due within one

year

Trade Creditors 4,610 Other Creditors 2,390 Taxation 20,850 Dividends 12,000 Overdraft 9,440

2021 GH000

114,350

2020 GH000

- 94,800

41,447 8,890 6,100

280

56,717

3,450

1,750 27,771 18,500

-

51,471

2020 GH000

94,800

Net current assets Total Assets

Creditor amount (falling due after more than a year)

Bank loan repayable 2026

14,509 128,859

(70,800) 58,059

5,246 100,046

(56,800) 43,246