Managing the Store
  Ruth Cummings, on her first day of work on1st January, was formally named branch manager for thenew Saks Fifth Avenue branch store in Washington. Her boss, KenHoffman added, \"Ruth, I'm putting you in charge of this store. Yourjob will be to run it so that it becomes one of the best stores inthe system. I have a lot of confidence in you, so don't let medown.\"
  One of the first things Ruth did was to hire anadministrative assistant to handle inventories. Because this wassuch an important part of the job, she agreed to pay her assistantslightly more than the top retail clerks were making. She felt thathaving an administrative assistant would free her to handlemarketing, sales, and personnel matters, areas she felt werecrucial if the store was to be a success.
  Within the week, however, she received a call fromHoffman: \"Say, Ruth, I heard that you hired an administrativeassistant to handle inventories. Don't you think that is a bitrisky? Besides, I think paying an assistant more than your topsalesclerk is damaging to morale in the store. I wish you hadcleared this with me before you made the move. It sets a badprecedent for the other stores, and it makes me look like I don'tknow what is going on in the branches.\"
  Three weeks later, Ruth appeared on a localnoontime talk show to discuss new trends in fashion. She had workedhard to make contact with the hosts of the show, and she felt thatpublic exposure like this would increase the visibility of herstore. Although the TV spot lasted only 10 minutes, she was pleasedwith her performance and with the chance to get publicexposure.
  Later that night at home, she received anotherphone call from Hoffman: \"Don't you know the policy of Saks? Any TVappearances made on behalf of the store are to be cleared throughthe main office. Normally, we like to have representatives from themain store appear on these kinds of shows because they can do abetter job of plugging our merchandise. It's too bad that youdidn't notify someone of your intentions. This could be veryembarrassing for me.\"
  Just before Easter, Ruth was approached in thestore by one of the salesclerks. A customer had asked to chargeapproximately $3,000 worth of jewelry as a gift for his wife. Hehad been a customer of the store for several years and Ruth hadseen him on several occasions, but store rules indicated that nocharge could be made for more than $1,000 for any reason. She toldthe customer that she was not authorized to approve a charge ofthat amount, but that if he would visit the main store, maybearrangements could be made.
  Later in the day, an irate Hoffman called again:\"What in the world are you thinking about, Ruth? Today we had acustomer come into the main store and say that you wouldn't make asale to him because the charge was too much. Do you know how longhe has been a customer of ours? Do you know how much he spends inthe store every year? I certainly hope we have not lost him as acustomer because of your blunder. This makes me very upset. You'vejust got to learn to use your head.\"
  Ruth felt stressed and powerless. She thought aboutthe conversation and what happened on her long-wanted new positionfor several days and finally decided that she needed to see KenHoffman. She called his secretary to schedule an appointment forthe following day.
- What type of conflict Ruth is having with Hoffman? How can thisbe solved? (10 points)
- Ruth needs some suggestions when she work with Hoffman in thefuture. Can you make 2 suggestions to improve her personal skillsand 2 suggestions to improve her inter-personal skills? Pleaseprovide reasons for these suggestions. (16 points)
