Retail industry and labor supply- Economics assignment

Internal code-  MAS4092

Economics assignment

Questions- Q1. Undertake research on the WA economy and the retail industry and note some of the factors that may affect labour supply for Citistores, at present and in the future. Quote from and reference all the resources you use to support your researched response. a)Citistores anticipated workforce demands, based on our objectives and planned growth b) possible skills shortages in the retail industry - whether any shortage exists or is anticipated and how it will affect the planned growth c) current labour trends in retail – include a range of examples, such as age, gender, qualification, employment type, and what effect these might have on our labour d) the effect of influential sectors - such as the changes experienced in the mining industry – on the retail industry e) changes to Government Q2. Consider the following scenario and prepare your responses to the questions below: Citistores’ competitors have achieved notable increased market share in the retail industry and, in response, Citistores has changed its strategic direction and will no longer follow the path of expansion and growth originally outlined in the strategic plan and current workforce plan. As a result of the organisation’s decision to downsize the Sydney store will remain, but there will be no new stores opening in NSW. The two new stores planned for WA, being Joondalup and Bunbury, will not be going ahead as planned either. The introduction of the Toy Department and Pet Department will not go ahead and the Music Department in the Perth store will be closing down. a) Citistores senior management team wants to ensure that there is minimal impact on employee retention, morale and productivity as a result of the downsizing. Provide your recommendations on ‘change management strategies’ that would assist in achieving these objectives, during this period. b) Develop a brief contingency plan for HR to cope with this extreme situation and include information on: i. the communication strategy for all stakeholders ii. aspects to consider when managing the redundancy process iii. redeployment of staff iv. training needs c) Explain what steps HR would take to evaluate how effective the change processes have been in this instance.