Publications
Publications
- March 2019
- HBS Case Collection
Control or Flexibility? Structured Empowerment Offers Both—Lessons from Retail & Service Chains (Abridged)
By: Tatiana Sandino
Abstract
This note explains how several retail and service organizations use a practice described here as “structured empowerment” to balance control and flexibility as they grow. I define structured empowerment as a practice that grants employees both (a) the power to make choices from narrow sets of options on a set of inputs and processes and (b) the responsibility to deliver results according to the company’s value proposition. This lets a company control operations by standardizing the options frontline employees can choose from to drive results as well as adapting to diverse markets. Combining choices from the options makes a large number of service offerings and routine sequences possible. This abridged version of the note does not reference the case "OXXO's Turf War Against Extra." It is intended to be used in a classroom setting where "OXXO's Turf War Against Extra" is also being taught, abridged so that it does not give away any relevant information about the case.
Keywords
Service Operations; Standards; Employees; Service Delivery; Decision Making; Power and Influence; Retail Industry; Service Industry
Citation
Sandino, Tatiana. "Control or Flexibility? Structured Empowerment Offers Both—Lessons from Retail & Service Chains (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Technical Note 119-088, March 2019.