Aspects And Merits Of Partnerships In Accounting And Finance (Essay Sample)

Partnerships in Employee-Owned Businesses
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Introduction
The John Lewis Partnership is a corporation in the UK that operates the John Lewis stores, Waitrose supermarkets, banking services, and other retail operations. The ownership of the firm belongs to a trust, known as a partner, which functions on behalf of the other employees. The owners of John Lewis Partnerships are the employees of these subsidiaries under the firm. John Lewis Partnership's founder is John Spedan Lewis, with estimated gross sales of £11,374m while its operating Profit is £478 m. The JLP chain's image is high-class, and it pleas powerfully to middle- and upper-class customers (Bradley and Estrin, 1992). Power is shared between the council, the chairman, and the board. Additionally, the partnership serves to attain maximum profits and equally distribute its shares to all the members. Members are well retained and portray integrity and commitment. Lastly, the partnership handles its customers with honesty and loyalty to ensure consumer trust and retention in the firm.
The human resource department is a crucial organ in all businesses. John Lewis Partnership has an extensive human resource team that strategically utilizes people like resources. The latter comprises of managing, employing and hiring workers, coordinating member remunerations and proposing employee seminars and expansion strategies. By so doing, the department specialists are advisors, not manual employees in a secluded business function; they counsel the seniors on issues related to the workers and help them in implementing and achieving the firm's goals. Additionally, the department works for purposes of collaboration, working to develop employees' skills and competencies. The objectives of JLP include improving the firm's offer to the customers, achieving customer satisfaction, retention, happiness, and increasing profitability and financial strength.
In a flexible JLP environment, employees have moved around to diverse business functions founded on business significances and worker preferences. Lastly, JLP human resource function is capacity building across all its partners. The aspect helps to boost the competitive advantage by offering unique products to its buyers that are rare to find in the competitors’ stores.
The subsidiaries of John Lewis Partnership includes Ocado web Supermarket, Waitrose, HSBC Bank, John Lewis, and Lloyds Bank. A subsidiary is a company that has more than 50% of its voting stock being controlled by another firm. Partnership refers to an assortment where two or more people or organizations share profits and losses generating from a private venture. An approach is simply a way of dealing with a situation. The John Lewis Partnership has set various methods to ensure customer and member retention, profit maximization, and customers' happiness (Cathcart, 2013). A theory is a proposition usually perceived to be true and is used in explanation and forecasting of something.
John Lewis Partnership uses the resource-based approach and the VRIO framework in addressing customer satisfaction and happiness, value addition, and competitive advantages. The Inside-out approach has been employed by JLP to ensure that the organization operates within its internal environment to cause competition and reduce imitation by other firms in the same industry (Das and Teng, 2000). For instance, the approach is necessary when considering innovations of technology in the enterprise. Additionally, resource-based theory aids in bringing on board, young, determined, and enthusiastic employees as well as boosting the members' morale in production, processing, and marketing. The approach has reflected improvements in transparency and accountability (Rowe and Barnes, 1998). Lastly, knowledge transfer across all departments and subsidiaries of the Partnership have been reliable and valid for use in implementing various decisions. The use of VRIO Framework by the John Lewis Partnership has been crucial in determining the way in which all operations cooperate. The VRIO structures have four issues that include, value, rarity, imitability, and ability to compete favourably (Hauser and Shugan, 2008, p88-110). The partnership has been working tirelessly to improve the value of its products and services. Waitrose and Ocado supermarkets have persistently provided commodities that encounter little competition in the market. Additionally, the HSBC and Lloyds Bank provide credits to customers during service delivery. The two banks are also able to reward their loyal customers through improved compensation plans and insurance cover. The entire partnership has a well-organized supply chain that ensures there is a constant flow of goods and services in all its stores to meet the consumer's needs at any moment. Besides, the entire fraternity has managed all the possibilities of a rarity. Their products are always on the shelves and considerable amounts. The issue of imitability is also of much concern. The partnership has been producing items and giving services that can rarely be imitated by its competitors. Also, the firm ensures that any opponent who tries to imitate their products is entangled with high costs in the production of a similar commodity and takes much time to create an ideal resemblance. However, some subsidiaries face various challenges related to reducing product imitability. For instance, Waitrose supermarkets have suffered a blow from other food providers such as the Tesco who offer affordable and equally high-value foods to the consumers. In addressing this problem, Waitrose has outsourced its items from the outside suppliers and concentrated on dissemination and marketing. In tackling the question, the paper will discuss various strategic approaches prevalent in John Lewis Partnership, critical decision-making, its policies, and practices. Additionally, the paper will aim at unveiling customer's perception and levels of satisfaction in the quality of products and services rendered to them by John Lewis Partnership.
Key terms: Partnership, approach, subsidiary, theory.
Outline of the Company's HR Approach
The John Lewis Partnership employ the use of an Employee-owned Business approach that functions to address diversity in management, employee participation, relations, and retention. The model has been useful in tax exceptions, versatility, and enhancement of international momentum (Storey, 2007). In a nutshell, the partnership benefits from significant relief in tax and capital gains. Lastly, the model ensures that the corporation generates global momentum and subjects its products in the international market. Based on the principle of joint decision-making, all the partners in the John Lewis Partnership have equal chances in the process of decision making. Also, the representatives of these subsidiaries engage other individuals and organizations that have extensive knowledge in a similar industry (Kotler and Roberto, 1989).
Critical Decision-Making in John Lewis Partnership
Decision making is a process that involves coming up with a problem, establishing alternatives, selecting best alternative, then implementing it. Integration of all people with particular disabilities in the partnership is highly recommended to ensure that they do not feel isolated from the process by their physical or mental abilities. In the John Lewis Partnership, co-ownership decision-making process comprises of various stages. First, JLP identifies the decision. All the subsidiaries and other relevant stakeholders define the nature of decision they are all willing to take. This phase is very significant because it forms the basis of the entire decision-making process. The second step involves identifying all possible alternatives. John Lewis Partnership gathers all relevant information regarding market trends, latest technologies, consumer preferences and tastes. Information collection is not done on a single environment entity but rather conducted both in the internal and external setting. The partners provide their suggestion of alternatives through self- assessments and the customers also present their contributions.
Additionally, external information is derived from articles, books, and important documentaries. Thirdly, the alternatives are identified. During the process of collecting informational materials, John Lewis Partnership often comes up with possible routes of actions. These are the alternatives. Besides, the firm uses imaginative analysis and supplementary information to generate new options. The fourth step involves weighing available evidence. Following compilation of information from the external environment and self-criticisms at the subsidiary level, there is a joint analysis of all these alternatives by all the members. They evaluate whether the goal identified in the initial stage of decision-making will be achieved by using these options. Consequently, the process leads to favouring of certain alternatives while eliminating others. Later, the partnership arranges these selected choices in the order of priority, basing their arguments on the market situation. The fifth stage involves choosing among the preferred alternatives. The John Lewis Partnership goes for the most compelling and cost-effective alternative. Sometimes, the partnership comes up with various options as its choices. For instance, John Lewis chose to improve electronic payments at the Waitrose supermarkets and at the same time, work on improving technology and hiring new employees in HSBC Bank. The six step that John Lewis Partnership consider worthwhile is the assumption of action. The subsidiaries agree upon taking positive actions that will better the working conditions, improve product value, and maximize on customer retention. Finally, the firm concludes by reviewing its decision and any possible conseq...