Review Questions

1. Does Trader Joe’s seem to be basing its management practices on a solid understanding of human behavior in organizations? Is the company on track for valuing employees in a way that is good for them and for organizational performance over the long term? What weaknesses can you spot in the current approach that might cause problems in the future?

2. In what ways does this description of Trader Joe’s show attention to each responsibility in the management process: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling?

3. New employee situation. At the age of twenty-two and newly graduated from college, Hazel has just accepted a job with Trader Joe’s as a shift leader. She’ll be supervising four team members who fill part-time jobs in the produce section. Given Trader Joe’s casual and nontraditional work environment, what should she do and avoid doing in the first few days of work to establish herself as a skillful manager of this team?

4. Global Economy Situation. Trader Joe’s is owned by a German company operating in America. What are the biggest risks that international ownership poses for the people who make a career commitment to Trader Joe’s as their employer?

Discussion Questions

1. How does Trader Joe’s design jobs for increased job satisfaction and higher performance?

2. In what ways does Trader Joe’s demonstrate the importance of each responsibility in the management process: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling?

3. Describe the methods that show Trader Joe’s knows the importance of human capital.

4. Does Trader Joe’s utilize contingency thinking? Why or why not?

5. Research Question. What do the blogs and current news reports say? Is Trader Joe’s a management benchmark for others to follow? In what areas relevant to Organizational Behavior does the firm have an edge on the competition?