【MBA案例课堂】Case: CHET CADIEUX, CEO OF QUIKTRIP

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Case: CHET CADIEUX, CEO OF QUIKTRIP

Chet Cadieux is the CEO of QuikTrip (QT), a $4 billion privately held firm in Tulsa,Oklahoma, that operates more than 460 convenience stores in nine states and has sales of more than $2.8 billion. It has been listed as one of Fortune’s 100 best places to work several times. Turnover rates of its employees are less than 15 percent in an industry where the average turnover is greater than 100 percent. Recently, QT received more than 118,000 job applications for less than 300 jobs. Its stock price has aver aged a 17 percent increase in the past years. How has QT achieved these remarkable figures?

First, Cadieux has a clear vision of the com petencies his employees need to possess. Some of the key competencies include the ability to work in teams, the ability to learn from others, and an appreciation for diversity. QT puts appli cants through a personality assessment desi gned to reveal how patient and how extroverted they are. If an employee has the right personal ity, shoppers will sense that when they enter the store. Employees will enjoy working at QuikTrip and will like each other. Second, once the new person is hired, they are assigned a partner who has held the same position previously. These two work the same shifts and perform the same duties. Cadieux believes that this allows the new employee to interact with their peers and get a sense of the pace of work in a busy store. Third,

Promotions come from within. More than 400 store managers and every top executive started working at a store, stocking shelves, greeting customers, making coffee, etc. Cadieux believes that this fosters teamwork and managers who have empathy for their employees. Front-line managers also have role models to follow. Fourth, Cadieux has created fringe benefits pack ages that are tailored to employees’ needs. For example, depending on a person’s tenure, employees’ receive 10 to 25 days of vacation, plus 10 days of sick leave, and they can purchase up to an extra two weeks of vacation.

Cadieux has structured a customer service-appraisal system that focuses on the team’s per formance in satisfying and delighting customers. He employs mystery shoppers who visit stores and report on its service. If the mystery shopper is particularly impressed with an employee, all employees during that shift receive a bonus because he believes that individual rewards would undermine his belief that all employees contribute to the customer’s experience. He writes a personal note to the employee thanking him or her for outstanding service. He also tells employees that they will not be fired for well-meant mistakes. He wants to encourage employ ees to be innovative and take risks. He doesn’t want to let the fear of a mistake stifle innovation because employees are often the most important source of new product ideas.

Question： What kind of knowledge/theory does the case illustrate?

Case: CHET CADIEUX, CEO OF QUIKTRIP

Question:what kind of knowledge/theory does the case illustrate?

Answer:The Preview Case illustrates the importance of how a manager’s perceptions ofhis employees influence their behavior. People base their behaviors on whatthey perceive, not necessarily on what reality is. People shop atQuikTrip because of the experience they enjoy while shopping. Cadieux hasrecognized the difference between the per ceptual worlds of their customers andthe competitive nature of this industry.