Abstract
One of the most fruitful approaches for increasing marketing productivity is through more efficient manpower planning. This is particularly true in the labor intensive sectors of marketing such as retailing, particularly the retail department store. Waiting line models offer a high degree of potential for more effective manpower planning in the retail department store. The department store, however, presents a particular set of problems which make applications of waiting line models to manpower planning fairly complex. This complexity stems from two major sources: 1) consumer shopping behavior and 2) sales personnel management practices. This article discusses these problems and presents a model by which they can be handled for retail department stores. A detailed example illustrating the model's application is also provided.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barrer, D.Y. “Queueing With Impatient Customers and Individual Clerks”, and Queueing With Impatient Customers and Ordered Service”,Operations Research, 5 (October 1957), 644–656,
Horgan, Charles, “A Systems Approach to Manpower Planning”,Journal of Retailing, 44, (Fall 1968), 13–30.
Moyer, M.S. “Management Science in Retailing”,Journal of Marketing, 36 (January 1972), 3–7.
Paul, Robert J. and Bell, Robert W., “Evaluating the Retail Salesman”.Journal of Retailing, 44 (Septembe 1968), 17–26.
Paul, Robert J. “The Retail Store As A Waiting Line Model”,Journal of Retailing, 48 (Summer 1972), 3–13.
Rachman, David J.,Retail Strategy and Structure. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall, 1975, 262–63.
Stokes, Charles J. and Mintz, Philip. “How Many Clerks on the Floor”,Journal of Marketing Research, 2 (November 1965), 388–393.
Vonriesen, R. Dale, “Toward Staffing Optimality”,Journal of Retailing 49 (Winter 1973–74), 37–47.
Gitlow, Howard S., “A Methodology for Determining the Optimal Design of a Free Standing Abortion Clinic”,Management Science, August 1976, 1289-1298.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gitlow, H.S., Rosenbloom, B. Improving retail manpower planning with a quasi-subjective waiting line model. JAMS 8, 212–233 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02721885
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02721885