Small Business Interview: Product, Price, Promo, Competition, Place

Intro
Location
Target Market

Little Italian Pie’s reaches out to two target markets. The first target market is business oriented middle class men and women looking to get lunch. They cater to this market by providing exceptionally fast service in order to accommodate for their short lunch breaks. Their second target market includes families who are looking for a casual environment so they can visit and enjoy dinner. Italian Pie’s maintains customer loyalty by recognizing their customers and making them feel like regulars. This is easier for the dinner customers because they have more time to talk and get to know each other. Italian Pie’s believes that it’s the little things that count and those are the things that the customer is going to remember. Remembering their favorite dishes ….For their core customers, Italian Pie’s offers discounted prices on habitually purchased items and even the inclusion of free items such as bread. The owner abides by her statement, “if you are here all of the time and I know you are coming back I’m going to take care of you.” The owner believes that the main reason customer’s give them business is because they have good food and it is always consistent. She believes consistency is key and always having the same look, portion size, and making sure it always tastes the same makes them dependable in the customer’s eyes and it’s reason that the customer will always be pleased every time they visit. She always believes a way to attract and keep customers is to let them know they are always right. Even if it means losing a little money, keeping them happy and keeping their business is best in the long run.

Merchandising

Little Italian Pie’s uses a par list in order to select the inventory they need to satisfy their customer’s needs and wants. The list keeps track of how many items are selling per week, so they always know to have that many on hand. The par is adjusted based on a checks and balances system. If something isn’t selling or they are running out of a particular item, they adjust their par for the following week. Most of their suppliers were set up with the previous owner and continued to do business with them once they took over. Dole and Robinson are their main food distributers with some other vendors that had come and personally asked for their business. Their retail strategy for their inventory focuses on price and quality. When they took over they lowered the price of several of their items because they believe in keeping things fair with their customers. Quality also plays a big part with what they choose for their inventory. The only thing that is not homemade is their pasta. In order to forecast their merchandise needs, they use their par system and take inventory twice a week. They believe it’s always hit or miss and you just have to know your town and the time of year in order to know what merchandise you will need.

Pricing

Little Italian Pie’s has a varying pricing strategy; different things cost them different amounts to make. Their usual markup for food is 300%, while this sounds like it’s a lot, it really isn’t. It gives them what they need to efficiently and effectively run the restaurant and make a profit. This markup can vary, depending on the food item. More expensive (in time and labor) items may have less overall markup. Little Italian Pie’s does run specials or sales throughout the week on certain menu items. On Monday nights, they offer all you can eat spaghetti with a Tech I.D. On Wednesday nights, they have half price wine with the purchase of an entrée. Something that they consider when coming up with specials and sales is what will it cost them. The half price wine deal is not to help them make money on the wine, they do it to get customers into their restaurant. Mrs. Kaitlin stated that, “If you are going to do a sale, you have to have things that people bring in, not a sale on things people don’t like.” Little Italian Pie’s pricing strategy is very competitive; they try to stay right with or just below the competition. Little Italian Pie’s staff knows that their customers are very price sensitive. The customers are quick to gripe about any change in price, or an upcharge for a menu item such as a $2.95 salad.

Competition

The owener of Little Italian Pie’s do not consider the other Italian restaurant in the area direct completion- however, Roma's is taking business from them. Their strengths include customers who consider their food to be a different type of food, more homemade type; whereas the other is more bistro, Americanized Italian. Another strength is their ability to keep loyal customers who love home cooked and authentic cuisine. The opening of What-a-burger heavily impacted their business for about a week, they handle situations like this by just pushing through and knowing that people will come back if they continue to offer superior service and food. Little Italian Pie’s does have competition though, sWuch as, fast food chains, other sit down restaurants, and home meals.Consumer’s choose Little SItalian Pie’s over the competition because of the homemade, true Italianquality to their food and their friendly fast service. Oppurtunities include the ability to expand into other cities in addition to having an increasingly stronger prescence among college students. Another oppurtunity, is the fact that many

Threats include other restaurants and a small town economy fueled by college students who don't like to tip. In addition to slow summers, college students often will not tip so this is why their core customers are so important.

Finances and Little Italian Pie's: A Strength or Weakness?

Little Italian Pie's competes fiercely on price, but lucky for them, they already have complete ownership of the building and have one less worry to deal with on a frequent basis. When figuring out how much money would be needed to run their business, it came as a huge strength to have a prior-relationship with the previous owner, who was anxious to sell because of an on-going tense relationship with the landlord. They were able to pay for the building all at once, which has been a weakness in that the owners feel they should have talked them down to a lower price now, a realization that set in after thinking about all the effort they had to put into cleaning the place and not helped by the fact that the owner Mrs. Kaitlin does not like the “splatter paint” and other interior designs. A very clear piece of advice offered to entrpreneurs who need a location for their business was that they should buy the building all at once, or borrow from friends or family, and generally try to avoid the banks, interest rates, and other obstacles that are avoided after a one-time purchase or borrowing from trusted friends and family.

Interview

Promotion

Little Italian Pie's utilizes social media to promote their business. The co-owner takes full advantage of the reach that Facebook has. Facebook allows promoters to target specific geographic locations and also consumers. They have sales promotions throughout the week including a five dollar spaghetti night for Louisiana Tech students as well as a half-off wine specialty on Wednesday's. They also promote on the television which was an area the owner, Mrs.Kaitlin Hanna feels their television advertising is a serious strength for Little Italian Pie's. They do not use a marketing agency. The co-owner, Mr. Eric Hanna, feels his specialty is in marketing and he takes control of the stores advertising and promotion.

   They owners would certainly do everything again, Being a 22-year old and owning her own business is one of the greatest rewards Mrs. Kaitlin gets from her business. There are some changes they felt would She feels her greatest success as a company has been the ability to keep loyal and happy customers. In the future, Little Italian Pie's hopes to expand into Natchitoches Parish and possible Monroe. The future is bright for this small, home-style store and their owners are excited looking into the future.

   After meeting with the owners and living in Ruston as part of their target demonstrates to me that they are competing well in the market despite many peers feeling their competitors are superior or at least garnishing more attention for their business. Competition is very fierce among small business owners in this area especially as it relates to local food. Their ability to create home style Italian cooking and a smooth transition from Monjuni's Italian Food into Little Italian Pie's has proven to be successful.

Retail Organization Chapter definitions, test, answers study

End of Chapter Definitions

Test Review

Retail Organization – How a firm structures and assigns tasks, policies, resources, authority,

responsibilities, and rewards so as to efficiently and effectively satisfy the needs of its target market,

employees, and management.

Hierarchy of Authority – Outlines the job interactions within a company by describing the reporting

relationships among employees. Coordination and control are provided.

Organization Chart – Graphically displays the hierarchical relationships within a firm.

Mazur Plan – Divides all retail activities into four functional areas: merchandising, publicity, store

management, and accounting and control.

Equal Store Organization – Centralizes the buying function. Branch stores become sales units with

equal operational status.

Diversified Retailer – Multiline firm with central ownership. It is also known as a retail conglomerate.

Human Resource Management – Recruiting, selecting, training, compensating, and supervising

personnel in a manner consistent with the retailer's organization structure and strategy mix.

Human Resource Management Process – Consists of these interrelated activities: recruitment,

selection, training, compensation, and supervision. The goals are to obtain, develop, and retain

employees.

Recruitment – Activity whereby a retailer generates a list of job applicants.

Job Analysis – Consists of gathering information about each job's functions and requirements: duties,

responsibilities, aptitude, interest, education, experience, and physical tasks.

Traditional Job Description – Contains each position's title, supervisory relationships (superior and

subordinate), committee assignments, and the specific ongoing roles and tasks.

Goal-Oriented Job Description – Enumerates a position's basic functions, the relationship of each job

to overall goals, the interdependence of positions, and information flows.

Application Blank – Usually the first tool used to screen applicants. It provides data on education,

experience, health, reasons for leaving prior jobs, outside activities, hobbies, and references.

Weighted Application Blank – Form whereby criteria best correlating with job success get more

weight than others. A minimum total score becomes a cutoff point for hiring.

Pre-Training – Indoctrination on the history and policies of the retailer and a job orientation on hours,

compensation, the chain of command, and job duties.

Training Programs – Used to teach new (and existing) personnel how best to perform their jobs or

how to improve themselves.

Compensation – Includes direct monetary payments to employees (such as salaries, commissions, and

bonuses) and indirect payments (such as paid vacations, health and life insurance benefits, and

retirement plans).

Supervision – Manner of providing a job environment that encourages employee accomplishment.

Job Motivation – Drive within people to attain work-related goals.

Practice Test

Question 1. Which of the following is not a job classification method?

Functional

Product

Associated

Combination

Question 2. The job classification method that divides jobs on a goods or service basis is

functional.

product.

associated.

combination.

Question 3. Which job classification method is usually used by large retailers?

Functional

Product

Associated

Combination

Question 4. An organization with several levels of managers that is characterized by close

supervision and with fewer workers reporting to each manager is called a

tall organization.

flat organization.

geographic classification.

span of control.

Question 5. Which of the following statements about organizational arrangements used by small

independent retailers is false?

Small retailers generally have little specialization.

Small independent retailers have fewer activities to perform than other types of retailers.

The owner-manager personally runs the business and oversees employees.

Small independent retailers have no branch units.

Question 6. Which is not a functional area included in the Mazur plan?

Merchandising

Strategic planning

Publicity

Accounting and control

Question 7. Under the Mazur plan, the individual with complete accountability for controlling

expenses and reaching profit goals within his or her department is the

general manager.

merchandising manager.

divisional manager.

buyer.

Question 8. The department store organizational plan in which most authority remains at the

headquarters location is the

Mazur plan.

main store control.

separate store.

equal store.

Question 9. The department store organizational plan which tries to achieve the benefits of both

centralization and decentralization is the

Mazur plan.

main store control.

separate store.

equal store.

Question 10. Which is not generally a characteristic of the organizational pattern of a chain store?

Many functional divisions

Centralized authority and responsibility

The use of a simple control system

Standardization of many operations

Question 11. Which is not part of the special human resource environment faced by retailers?

Inexperienced workers

Few part-time workers

Long hours

Variable customer demand

Question 12. Job analysis is used in which of the following personnel activities?

Personnel selection

Recruitment

Training

Supervision

Question 13. Which selection tool enumerates basic functions, the relationship of each job to overall

goals, the interdependence of positions, and information flows?

Application blank

Weighted application blank

Goal-oriented job description

Traditional job description

Question 14. Usually, the first tool used by a retailer to screen applicants is the

personal interview.

application blank.

psychological test.

pre-training session.

Question 15. The training method that places trainees into real-life situations and has them act out

conflicts is

lecture.

case study.

competency-based instruction.

role playing.

Question 16. The training method that uses extensive interaction and is good for supervisors as a tool

for understanding employees is

sensitivity training.

conference.

behavior modeling.

demonstration.

Question 17. Which form of compensation is an indirect payment?

Salary

Straight commission

Retirement plans

Bonus

Question 18. In which form of compensation are earnings directly tied to productivity?

Salary

Straight commission

Salary plus commission

Compensation cafeteria

Question 19. Executives choose their own combination of salary, bonus, fringe benefits, stock

options, and retirement benefits through which system?

Salary

Straight commission

Salary plus commission

Compensation cafeteria

Question 20. Which of the following is an example of a desired goal?

A safe work environment

Employee empowerment in his/her area of work

Fair compensation

Basic fringe benefits

Question 21. The retailer must perform all the tasks of retailing.

True || False

Question 22. The product classification method of categorizing jobs recognizes that differences exist

in the personnel requirements for different products.

True || False

Question 23. A firm with a large number of subordinates reporting to one supervisor has a tall

organization. True || False

Question 24. A firm with a tall organization structure can handle problems quicker than one with a

flat organization.bTrue || False

Question 25. An independent retailer has a much simpler organization than a chain retailer.

True || False

Question 26. Many small retailers use organizational arrangements that are a modification of the

Mazur plan. True || False

Question 27. The basic Mazur plan groups all retail activities into one functional area. True || False

Question 28. The equal-store organization is a popular arrangement today for chain retailers.

True || False

Question 29. Human resource management is required of all retailers. True || False

Question 30. Labor costs can amount to over 50 percent or more of a retailer's operating expenses.

True || False

Question 31. The special human resource environment complicate employee hiring, staffing, and

supervision. True || False

Question 32. Retailers often rely on employee recommendations or advertisements to recruit entry-

level personnel.

True || False

Question 33. During recruitment, a retailer's major goal is to generate a list of three to five qualified

applicants.

True || False

Question 34. Job analysis is used for selecting personnel, establishing performance standards, and

assigning salaries.

True || False

Question 35. A traditional job description enumerates the relationship of each job to overall goals.

True || False

Question 36. An application blank should be used in conjunction with a job description.

True || False

Question 37. The training programs used by retailers should be geared only to new employees.

True || False

Question 38. The training method characterized by no active participation by trainees is the case study

method.

True || False

Question 39. With a straight commission plan, employee earnings are directly tied to productivity.

True || False

Question 40. A motivated employee requires fulfillment of both minimum expectations

("dissatisfiers") and desired goals ("satisfiers").

True || False

Question 41. A retailer should carry out a task only if it is desired by the __________.

retailer's management

target market

current customers

retailer's board

Question 42. In a _____ classification, jobs are divided among areas such as sales promotion, buying,

classification is useful for chains operating in different areas.and store operations; a _____ classification divides jobs on a goods or service basis; and a ______

product, functional, geographic

structural, functional, geographic

functional, product, geographic

functional, tall, diversified

Question 43. The ________________ outlines the job interactions within a company by describing

the reporting relationships among employees.

informational organization structure

mother hen organization

division of labor

hierarchy of authority

Question 44. The basic Mazur plan divides all retail activities into four functional areas: _____,

_____, __________, and ____________.

merchandising, publicity, store management, accounting/control

merchandising, buying, store management, accounting/control

buying, selling, store operations, accounting/control

buying, merchandising, store operations, financial/accounting

Question 45. The buying organization in which department stores try to achieve the benefits of both

centralization and decentralization is the _______________.

main store control

diversified store organization

separate store organization

equal store organization

Question 46. A _________ is a multi-line firm operating under central ownership.

department store

chain retailer

diversified retailer

public retailer

Question 47. _______________ involves recruiting, selecting, training, compensating, and

supervising personnel in a manner consistent with the retailer's organization structure and strategy mix.

Retail labor relations

Human resource management

Retail management recruitment

Retail personnel motivation

Question 48. While a _______________ contains each position's title, relationships, and the specific

roles and tasks to be performed on an ongoing basis, a(n) _____________________ enumerates basic

functions, the relationship of each job to overall goals, the interdependence of positions, and

information flows.

formal job description, informal-based job description

traditional job description, goal-oriented job description

structured job description, unstructured-based job description

concurrent job description, static-type job description

Question 49. __________ is an indoctrination on the history and policies of the retailer and a job

orientation on the hours, compensation, chain of command and job duties.

Pre-training

Skill training

Human relations

Corporate culture

Question 50. The training method which entails presenting an actual or hypothetical problem and

learning by doing is __________.

live demonstration

sensitivity training

case study

programmed instruction

Question 51. Compensation includes both __________ payments (such as salaries, commissions, and

bonuses) and _____ payments (such as paid vacations, health and life insurance benefits, and

retirement plans).

straight salary, incentive

straight salary, fringe

direct salary, bonus

direct monetary, indirect

Question 52. With a _________ plan, a worker is paid a fixed amount per hour, week, month, or year.

combination compensation

collective bargaining

straight salary

straight commission

Question 53. _____ is the manner of providing a job environment that encourages employee

accomplishment.

Supervision

Motivation

Compensation

Satisfaction

Question 54. __________ is the drive within people to attain work-related goals.

Job enrichment

Job compensation

Job satisfaction

Job motivation

Question 55. ________ relate(s) more to the job environment.

Minimum expectations

Desired goals

Job compensation

Job motivation

Answer Score

Now for the following answers for the questions #1-#55. Question 1. Associated

Question 2. product.

Question 3. Combination

Question 4. tall organization.

Question 5. Small independent retailers have fewer activities to perform than other types of retailers.

Question 6. Strategic planning

Question 7. buyer.

Question 8. main store control.

Question 9. equal store.

Question 10. The use of a simple control system

Question 11. Which is not part of the special human resource environment faced by retailers?

Few part-time workers

Question 12. Personnel selection

Question 13. Goal-oriented job description

Usually, the first tool used by a retailer to screen applicants is the application blank.

The training method that places trainees into real-life situations and has them act out conflicts is

role playing.

The training method that uses extensive interaction and is good for supervisors as a tool for

understanding employees is sensitivity training.

Which form of compensation is an indirect payment? Retirement plans

In which form of compensation are earnings directly tied to productivity? Straight commission

Executives choose their own combination of salary, bonus, fringe benefits, stock options, and

retirement benefits through which system? Compensation cafeteria

Which of the following is an example of a desired goal? Employee empowerment in his/her

area of work

The retailer must perform all the tasks of retailing.  False

The product classification method of categorizing jobs recognizes that differences exist in the

personnel requirements for different products.  True

A firm with a large number of subordinates reporting to one supervisor has a tall organization.  False

A firm with a tall organization structure can handle problems quicker than one with a flat

organization. False

An independent retailer has a much simpler organization than a chain retailer.  True

Many small retailers use organizational arrangements that are a modification of the Mazur plan.

False

The basic Mazur plan groups all retail activities into one functional area. False

The equal-store organization is a popular arrangement today for chain retailers.

True

Human resource management is required of all retailers. True

Labor costs can amount to over 50 percent or more of a retailer's operating expenses. True

The special human resource environment complicate employee hiring, staffing, and

supervision. True

Retailers often rely on employee recommendations or advertisements to recruit

entry-level personnel.

True

During recruitment, a retailer's major goal is to generate a list of three to five qualified

applicants.

False

Job analysis is used for selecting personnel, establishing performance standards, and

assigning salaries.

True

A traditional job description enumerates the relationship of each job to overall goals.

False

An application blank should be used in conjunction with a job description.

True

The training programs used by retailers should be geared only to new employees.

False

The training method characterized by no active participation by trainees is the case study

method. False

With a straight commission plan, employee earnings are directly tied to productivity.

True

A motivated employee requires fulfillment of both minimum expectations ("dissatisfiers") and

desired goals ("satisfiers"). True

A retailer should carry out a task only if it is desired by the target market.

In a functional classification, jobs are divided among areas such as sales promotion, buying, and

store operations; a product classification divides jobs on a goods or service basis; and a geographic

classification is useful for chains operating in different areas.

The hierarchy of authority outlines the job interactions within a company by describing the

reporting relationships among employees.

The basic Mazur plan divides all retail activities into four functional areas: merchandising, publicity,

store management, and accounting/control.

The buying organization in which department stores try to achieve the benefits of both

centralization and decentralization is the equal store organization.

A diversified retailer is a multi-line firm operating under central ownership.

Human resource management involves recruiting, selecting, training, compensating, and supervising personnel in a manner consistent with the retailer's organization structure and strategy mix.

While a traditional job description contains each position's title, relationships, and the specific roles and tasks to be performed on an ongoing basis, a(n) goal-oriented job description enumerates basic functions, the relationship of each job to overall goals, the interdependence of positions, and

information flows. 

Pre-training is an indoctrination on the history and policies of the retailer and a job orientation

on the hours, compensation, chain of command and job duties.

The training method which entails presenting an actual or hypothetical problem and learning by

doing is case study.

Compensation includes both direct monetary payments (such as salaries, commissions, and

bonuses) and indirect payments (such as paid vacations, health and life insurance benefits, and

retirement plans).

With a straight salary plan, a worker is paid a fixed amount per hour, week, month, or year.

Supervision is the manner of providing a job environment that encourages employee

accomplishment.

Job motivation is the drive within people to attain work-related goals.

Desired goals relate(s) more to the job environment.