Human Performance Technology Applied to Supermarkets in India

Abstract

The International Society for Performance Improvement human performance technology model was applied in four supermarkets of a well-known retail firm in India. An organizational environment model was used for a cause analysis. The fishbone (i.e., cause-and-effect) diagram was used to express the basis of poor sales performance. Both customers and employees were dissatisfied with the stores. It was determined that poor inventory management, long approval periods, and frequent employee turnover were the reasons for poor sales performance in the supermarkets.HUMAN PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY (HPT) is a process that solves performance problems. Practitioners use different types of models such as diagnostic, process, and holistic (Wilmoth, Prigmore, & Bray, 2002 ). Diagnostic models tell us where HPT can be applied. Process models guide us as we apply the process. Holistic models are nonsequential and integrate diagnosis and processes. The International Society of Performance Improvement (ISPI) HPT model is a process model that is widely used for performance improvement in different types of organizations. The model has been used successfully for performance problems in military settingsThe focus was a partial chain of supermarket stores of a well-known, private limited company with numerous retail locations throughout India. The name of the company is not disclosed for reasons of confidentiality. The company is a conglomerate of different busi-nesses, and the retail sector is one among them. When contacted for the study, the head of human resources for the supermarket division of the company agreed to pursue the study in the city of Coimbatore. As per the recommendation of the deputy manager in Coimbatore, the study was undertaken in four supermarkets that are located in different parts of Coimbatore. Considered the Manchester of South India, the city is located in the state of Tamil Nadu.The four selected supermarkets were showing poor sales performance, as confirmed by company records. The ISPI HPT model was applied to address the performance problems of the four supermarkets. (In this discussion, each supermarket shall also be referred to as a store.) A single retail firm manages the four stores, and the ISPI HPT model was applied to all of them. Performance analysis and cause analysis was carried out, and interventions were designed for the four stores. The data were collected from the customers who frequented the stores, as well as from the employees. The operations of the stores were observed keenly, and detailed observation notes were recorded. An organizational environment model was specially designed for use in the study to help identify the causes of poor performance. A fishbone diagram (i.e., cause-and-effect diagram) was used to graphically express and facilitate understanding of the causes of poor sales performance.