Organizational Technology

Organizational Technology

Organizations use technology to become more efficient, more innovative, and better able to meet the needs and desires of stakeholders (Jonassen , 2001). When an organization has technology that enables it to create value, it needs a structure that maximizes the effectiveness of the technology. In order to remain competitive in today's markets, businesses need to embrace technology to given them a competitive edge.

Most people do not enjoy grocery shopping for various reasons; it might include long lines at the checkout lanes, or maybe it is a hassle to do when only a few things need to be picked up at the store. Whatever the reasons Food Lion's newly named Bloom grocery store in North Carolina has implemented some new and exciting technologies for those customers who dislike grocery shopping.

Thomas Henken, Vice-President, director of design, for Architecture Plus Intl. Inc. (2004.), says that process began by defining what "convenience" means to today's shopper who barely has time to plan tonight's dinner. "We defined convenience as being adjustable to the needs of the customer," he says.

Additional efforts have led designers to break grocery store design by shelving specific products according to type rather than by label. Dressings would be listed by French or Ranch rather than by Dorothy Lynch or Kraft. Another type of design meant to make it easier and more convenient for the customer is the multiple locations of specific products throughout the store. Although employees may have to spend more time restocking , they are also able to spend more time on the floor meeting and talking to their customers.

Bloom took this approach even further, eliminating vendor signage and p-o-p displays to reduce clutter; offering several shopping cart sizes to accommodate different trips; and putting less-frequently shopped items, such as laundry or pet food, in one area so as not to slow down everyday shoppers (DiNardo, 2005)).

Additional technological gadgets to benefits customers are personals canners. They can then scan and bag items that are located around the store as they shop. Technology allows them to select "end" barcode at any register, pay and then leave the store.

"Bloom will test some of the proven leading-edge technologies in the retail industry," said Robert Canipe, (2004), Vice President of Business Strategy. "The objective behind the technologies is to enhance the shopping experience and help customers find products, get information and check out with greater ease."

"Food Lion is one of the first supermarkets to broaden its vision by acknowledging that technology innovations will provide more than just operational efficiency, but can also be leveraged to enhance the overall customer experience," said Brian Scott, (2004), general manager of the Retail and Hospitality Industry Solutions Group at Microsoft. "This type of store is what we had in mind when we introduced the Smarter Retailing Initiative."

The Smarter Retailing Initiative (SRI) key concepts are based on smarter shopping, smarter selling and smarter operations which