Employees contribution in customer satisfaction, customer retention Dissertation

Employees contribution in customer satisfaction, customer retention and customer loyalty in SME retail organization like SUPERVA - Dissertation Example The peripheral economies have not been able to restructure their economies and introduce reforms to enhance productivity and competitiveness of their economies. 1.1.2 The Irish Economy The Irish economy has been one of the most successful in the world but it has also been among the hardest hit during the economic recession (European Commission, 2012). Up to 2007 Ireland experienced strong economic growth and the living standards in Ireland caught up with the world standards. This occurred as more number of workers entered the labor market. Additionally, higher levels of education resulted in better productivity. EU being declared as a single market made Ireland an attractive destination for inward investments. Between 2002 and 2007 the economy experienced high growth rates but this was at the cost of the Irish households building up personal debts. The real estate sector surged forward to due to increase in bank lending. Due to this, the balance sheets of banks grew disproportionatel y large compared to the size of the economy. In addition to the deposit base, the introduction of the Euro encouraged short-term borrowing from overseas. Risky lending practices by the banks proved to be damaging for the economy and this was evident when the property bubble burst (European Commission, 2012). Because of these anomalies the Irish banks were vulnerable to the global recession in 2007. The collapse of Lehman Brothers, investment bankers of US, led to severe tension in the global financial markets which led to deposit outflows at the Irish banks. 1.1.3 SME Retail sector in Ireland The retail sector in Ireland comprises of over 20,000 food and non-food retailers, mostly SMEs, being both Irish and International in origin (IBEC, 2012). The retail sector employs over 240,000 employees. Retailing offers people career in their own locality. The retail SMEs have invested heavily in the sector in the last decade. As a result of recession, the retail market has shrunk by over one -fifth in the terms of value. The retailers were forced to reduce prices, which in turn impacts the overall profits. However, the operating costs have not been affected due to inflexible rents, hourly pay rates, local authority charges and property service charges. The shrinking of the retail market compelled the retailers to seek help from the government. To enhance consumer spending, focus on employees has been considered a valuable agenda. This is based on the recommendation of Irish Business & Employers Confederation in its election manifesto ‘Delivering the Jobs Agenda’ (IBEC, 2012). 1.2 Competitive advantage through people Human resources are now considered valuable assets as there has been a rise in the status of knowledge workers (Sheehan, 2005). Based on the resource-based view of the firm, human capital has become the source of competitive advantage as Koch and McGrath (1996) contend that a highly productive workforce possess attributes that make it a highly v aluable strategic asset. This has led to the recognition of and commitment to human capital development; this has also caused the shift from traditional personnel management to refined HR practices. Competitive advantage can also be gained by recruiting people from diverse backgrounds regardless of ethnicity, age, gender and other individual characteristics (D’Netto and Sohal, 1999). 1.3 Motivation for Research Retailing is intensely competitive in Ireland as anyone can open a store. This has brought in many new