Word: coughlinism
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...were the source of 25% of the entire U.S. economy's productivity improvement from 1995 to 1999. "When you become No. 1 and as big as we are, business has a tendency to complicate if you don't do things to force yourself to keep it simple," says Tom Coughlin, head of Wal-Mart's store operations. As simple as keeping the right products in stock--a huge problem for Kmart. And maintaining a smooth checkout system. "We call it Take the Money," says Coughlin. What's the point of low prices if consumers can't pay for their items...
...sporting goods or women's apparel still get detailed reports of sales and profits in their areas, and they have a say in which products are stocked. Store managers can still buy locally and ask headquarters to adjust inventory of company brands that it has asked them to stock. Coughlin says Wal-Mart will not stray far from the locals-know-best model, even as more information and merchandise flows through Bentonville. At headquarters, management focuses on the top 20% and bottom 20% of its stores, as measured by sales and profitability. It wants to know who has been naughty...
...Staff writer Sean W. Coughlin can be reached at coughl@fas.harvard.edu...
...Staff writer Sean W. Coughlin can be reached at coughl@fas.harvard.edu...
...Morehouse says, losing an election can feel like losing a dream. It’s likely that the bigger the dreams, the higher the Machiavellian archer aims, the harder the fall. Coughlin recognizes the risks in dreaming big. But he feels there’s a greater risk in not dreaming at all. “The end-all is not assuming political office—and then you’ve played the game, so you win,” Coughlin says. “If you’re not idealistic, if you don’t have...