Home Depot popular concept of "do it yourself" for clients seeking to build, repair and improve their homes. Home Depot stores were equipped with a wide range of home improvement products and knowledgeable staff are ready to help customers choose the right products, tools and materials, and even explain how to use them. To some extent, Home Depot store managers "do it yourself" as well. For the first 20 years, Home Depot has been known for its entrepreneurial spirit and launched, and unofficially. Store managers who wanted to be an expert in home improvement, made their goods-planning decisions and have considerable autonomy in running their shops. Purchase was decentralized. As it grew in size, many companies believe that a more disciplined approach to operations will be important for future growth. In 2000, the company has hired Bob Nardelli, a former executive GE, to bring change. As chairman and CEO Nardelli centralized sales and purchases and brought technological discipline to store operations, simplification and standardization of processes and product implementation Six Sigma quality methodology. Nardelli changes led to higher profitability. However, the stock Home Depot has remained almost unchanged during his term in office, and some aspects of customer service significantly affected. These results raise an important issue not only for Home Depot, but also for other companies in which employees perform as routine associated with the production of non-standard measures and customer service activities: there is a compromise between the technological discipline and customer service? If so, what aspects of customer service? "Hide
by Zeynep tons, Katharine Ross Source: HBS 28 pages. Publication Date: March 12, 2008. Prod. #: 608093-PDF-ENG
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