1. According to the case, what external trends did managers at Kohl€™s have to deal with? In addition to these, what other external components might be important to these managers? (See Exhibit) How might they keep track of changes in these components?

2. If you were a manager at Kohl€™s headquarters, what types of external information might you want? What if you were a manager of a local Kohl€™s store? What types of external information might you want?
3. Look at Exhibit. In what cell of the environmental uncertainty matrix would you place Kohl€™s? Why? How might Kohl€™s managers €œmanage€ the environmental uncertainty?

4. What stakeholders do you think might be important to a company like Kohl€™s? What issues/concerns might be important to those stakeholders? Explain your choices.

Even when times are good, the department store industry is one of the toughest industries to compete in. Like many of its competitors, Kohl€™s Corporation struggles to find a way to continue its successes even when faced with a drastically changed external environment.59 Based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Kohl€™s has more than 1,050 discount department stores in 49 states. The company has aggressively moved into the western and southern United States, although nearly a quarter of its stores are located in the Midwest. In 2010, the company had revenues of over $17.1 billion and profits of $991 million. One analyst has described Kohl€™s as €œthe best-positioned department store in this economy and one of the leading retailers with respect to inventory management, technological innovation, and merchandising and marketing execution.€ However, to continue its successes, it€™s important that Kohl€™s understand its externalenvironment.

Global The Organization Stable Cell 1 Stable and predictable environment Few components in environment Components are somewhat similar Cell 2 Dynamic and unpredictable environment Few components in environment Components are somewhat similar but and remain basically the same Minimal need for sophisticated are continually changing Minimal need for sophisticated knowledge of components Cell 3 Stable and predictable environment Many components in environment Components are not similar to one another and remain basically the same High need for sophisticated knowledge of components Cell 4 Dynamic and unpredictable environment Many components in environment Components are not similar to one another and are continually changing High need for sophisticated knowledge of components knowledge of components