INTRODUCTIONThe objective of this company research project is to learn more about the potential careers and to understand “What is Operations?” and how the companies use Supply Chain and Operations. The company I will be researching is Canadian Tire Inc.
which is a Canadian company. After completing the research on this company, the knowledge will help me understand the functions of a Canadian business. CAREERSJob Title: General ManagerDescription: General Managers are responsible for the operations at the distribution centre such as Human Resources, Finance, Administration, Maintenance, Loss Prevention and Health and Safety. General Managers plan, organize, govern, control and evaluate through managers that have been hired, production, utility, transportation and warehouse companies. (Canada Supply Chain Sector Council 2012).
Requirements: Working in a typical office environment under conditions of low risk or injury. May also be exposed to all areas of the business, so may be exposed to noise, equipment, temperature change. There is a constant need to make a physical and mental effort, including prioritizing multiple demands and projects, and unpredictable demands for assistance from management and employees. (Canada Supply Chain Sector Council 2012). Job Responsibilities: Collect, review and analyze information regarding strategies, plans, policies and procedures.
Presents good leadership for management teams though coaching, supporting and establish direct reports; establishing annual performance objectives, conducting performance assessments, and identifying opportunities for skill development. (Canada Supply Chain Sector Council 2012).Most interesting responsibility: Presents good leadership for management teams though coaching. In order a project to be successful the manager must get the work effectively completed by their team members which requires the members to each have a clear vision and understanding of the task asked of them.
I personally enjoy being in a leader position, being the person that people look up to to guide them and help them though their journeys and task. Least interesting responsibility: Establish objectives for the company and formulate or approve policies and programs. The company’s policy is an important factor to maintaining the company’s efficiency and need to provide clear communication to the employees. I personally would not like this job because the policies would have to be very specific to send out the proper message and creating the policies would be very time consuming. Yearly Salary for General ManagersGlass Door Salary $83,487APICS Salary Calculator $71,200Conestoga College Graduate Employment Report $38,310Similarities or Differences in SalaryThe difference between salaries could be based off the methods used in the study. The salaries could be based off difference levels of experience, the time the survey was conducted, and the different companies involved.
For example, Glass Door Salary website allows any employee to post about their job position but sometimes the employee doesn’t post their level of experience. Glass Door also does not show you when that employee posted their wage so without knowing what year the salary was collected from. Also, the Conestoga College survey was conducted in 2014-2015 with recent graduate from that year, so it may not include minimum wage increases or new wages that could have happened in the last years.
Those students may have just found their job, or still jumping from job to job. Lastly, the survey uses salaries from different companies where some companies might have a higher revenue, or less employees. General Manager Position seems like a good job position that I would be interested in pursing since general managers get to communicate directly with member of their store they manage. They have a high level of power and can easy control the company’s outcomes, they get to decide which employee deserved a promotion or raise since general mangers are highly respected. Plus, the general managers make a high salary. If this job position was offered to me, I would accept the job position because $80,000 is an alot of money to earn for doing something I love.
The Canadian average income is $51,000 so to be above the average which allow me to have financial freedom. OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT DECISIONSLocation StrategyCanadian Tire has over 500 retail stores all over Canada in small and big communities, though all of Canada you can find a Canadian Tire store within 15 mins of driving time. The stores are built in selected high interested locations. Stores are built from A- F, A stores being the largest and F stores being the smallest. “A” size retail stores are located in large cities like Ottawa or Edmonton.
Before Canadian Tire builds a store they conduct survey’s involving the community to receive feedback, based on the feedback the company gets back they finalize their decision in building a store in that community and which size of store. Design of Goods and Services Canadian Tire is one of Canada’s most shopped retail stores that focuses on automotive, recreation, home products and workwear. Canadian Tire has developed their own brands to sell in their store but with reduce price to ensure customer satisfaction. The company works constantly to come out with new products and new brands to add to their store shelves.
Since Canadian Tire has their own brands and cost, they can sell products of good quality and at an acceptable price. Supply Chain ManagementCanadian Tire uses basic Supply Chain Management where the materials flow between supplier, to distribution to the retail store. Canadian Tire analyzes inventory records to predict the future demands and inform the suppliers, they can do this by forecasting, replenishment and operations planning. The suppliers and Canadian Tire are on a yearly forecast. MISSION, STRATEGIES AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGESCanadian Tire’s Mission StatementCanadian Tire is connected to the communities all over Canada, offering products and services that reflect the diversity. “Canadian Tire knows and understands the life in Canada like no other retailer can.” (Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited)The Strategies Used to Accomplish Mission StatementCanadian Tire stays focused on the company’s main strategy and continues to work towards customer experience, converting information into a digital format and driving growth and productivity into the business. Customer ExperienceCanadian Tire is a trusted brand, when customers shop at Canadian Tire they stay loyal to their company.
Customers have been shopping with Canadian Tire for over 95 years. Canadian Tire have retrained their employees and introduce new in store inventory technology to make it easier to locate an item for customers to decrease wait times and to increase customer satisfaction. Canadian Tire employees have good customer service, are friendly but also have knowledge about the products located in the store, when employees don’t know the answer to the customer’s question they find the answer. Canadian Tire created tools for staff and customers like in-store kiosks, online ordering and home delivery. Since Canadian Tire has all these different methods of purchasing it will increase sales instore and online making Canadian Tire having a higher revenue.
Franchising Canadian Tire Corporation has operating stores all over Canada that they have franchised such as Sport Chek, Atmosphere, Pro Hockey Life and National Sports. Canadian Tire’s other businesses are Canadian Tire Gas+, Marks and Part Source. By having so many different retail stores under Canadian Tire Corporation, they can compete against competitions in many sections of the market such as Automobile, Sports, Gas etc.
Differentiation Canadian Tire has invested Customer Loyalty Program, In October 2014 the company launched an online version of the customer loyalty program – My Canadian Tire ‘Money’. Customers collect online Canadian Tire Money on their online or instore purchases with Canadian Tire, Marks and SportChek. The program offers personalized products and weekly flyer bonuses for their customers. (Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited.) By having a rewards system different than any other retailer store, Canadian Tire has a competitive advantage.
