Introduction of Company

Background
AEON CO. (M) BHD. is a well-known retailer in Malaysia. The total revenue of the company is
RM3.51 billion for the financial year under review. AEON CO. (M) BHD. was incorporated on
15 September 1984. The journey began with a response to the invitation sent out by the
Malaysian Government to AEON Japan to help modernize the retailing industries in Malaysia.
Because of its association with the international AEON Group of Companies, the brand AEON
has become a well-known name among Malaysian as well as foreigners. AEON is well reputed
as a leading chain of General Merchandise Stores (GMS) and supermarkets. The stores of AEON
are mostly situated in suburban residential areas. This makes it convenient for AEON to cater for
Malaysias vast middle income group. The AEON Group of Companies consists of AEON Co.,
Ltd. and more than 250 consolidated subsidiaries and affiliated companies. Besides the core
GMS, supermarket and convenience store operations, AEON also actively involves in specialty
store operations, shopping centre development and operations, credit card business and services.
Despite being an integrated Japanese retailer, the AEON Group of Companies is active in
operation all over ASIA and China as well as Japan.

History
The history of AEON goes back to JAYA JUSCO. The first Jaya Jusco Stores Sdn. Bhd. was
opened in Malaysia in the year of 1984. This was because of the then Prime Minister of
Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad who requested help to modernize the retail industry in
Malaysia

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expertise.

Modernization of the retail industry was deemed vital by Tun Dr. for the economic development
of the country. Prior to this major step in Malaysian retail industry, Dr. Mahathir visited Tokyo
and met the then JUSCO Co., Ltd. President, Mr. Takuya Okada in 1983. This meeting resulted
in the proposition of bringing the JUSCO name to Malaysia. The meeting ended on a positive
note for both parties involved and with that, the invitation was sent to JUSCO to set up stores in

Malaysia. This step towards uplifting the retail industry was a part of the Look East Policy
introduced by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad for Malaysia.
After the fruitful meeting, in September 1984, a joint venture company was established. Three
parties were involved, namely JUSCO Co., Ltd., Japan, Peremba which is a leading governmentowned property company and Cold Storage which is a premier supermarket chain store.
The aim of JAYA JUSCO was to grow with the people of Malaysia. This was done through the
transfer of expertise from Japan to Malaysia as per the Look East Policy and human resource
development. These two factors were deemed as great contributors to progress of Malaysia.

Organization
AEON CO. (M) BHD. is managed by a group of well-respected board of directors. Dato'
Abdullah bin Mohd Yusof as the Independent Non-Executive Chairman, Mr. Shinobu Washizawa
as the Vice Chairman, Ms. Nur Qamarina Chew binti Abdullah as the Managing Director, Mr.
Poh Ying Loo as the Executive Director, Mr. Kenji Horii and Mr. Mitsuru Nakata as the NonIndependent Non-Executive Directors, Datuk Syed Ahmad Helmy bin Syed Ahmad as the
Independent Non-Executive Director, Dato' Tunku Putra Badlishah Ibni Tunku Annuar as the
Independent Non-Executive Director, En Abdul Rahim bin Abdul Hamid as the Independent
Non-Executive Director and Mr Charles Tseng as the Independent Non-Executive Director.

Principle, Strategy and Goal

The Principle of AEON CO. (M) BHD. is to serve the 'Customer First'. They make it a point to
always be mindful of the three keywords which are deemed as the essence and the key point of
the retail industry and that must always be prioritized at all times. The three keywords are
'peace', 'people' and 'community'. As retail industry is a person-to-person business, AEON CO.
(M) BHD. s existence and survival is highly dependent on the people of the region and societies
in which they serve. This mentality has been cultivated in the work ethics of AEON wherever
they do business and as such they act as a contributing member of the local community.

Their strategy is to establish a solid competitive position and achieve continuous growth. The
two key components identified as underlying this strategy are Accelerating Shopping Center
Development and the Aggressive Pursuit of GMS Stores. They are set in channeling their
resources towards developing attractive and integrated commercial facilities their customers can
fully enjoy. For example, regional shopping center and neighbourhood shopping center. Besides
that, their General Merchandise Stores (GMS) combines supermarkets and departmental stores
under one roof and operate as full-line retailers. The products offered are food and other daily
necessities, apparels and household goods such as bedding and bathroom products, and
specialized products such as home appliances, sporting equipments and cosmetics.
Their goal is to operate as an "international-scale retailing group" which is well known for
excellence in Japan and other parts of the world. The international recognition we are working to
achieve is not one which can be measured merely in quantifiable terms of size, growth and
profitability. They hope to be competitive at the global level in intangible aspects such as
customer satisfaction and corporate citizenship instead of quantifiable aspects such as size,
growth, and profitability. "Quality management" is considered a key point to reach greater
heights.

Management and Manager

Management is defined as the process of overseeing and coordinating resources efficiently and
effectively in line with the goals of the organisation. The key terms in the definition of
management is effectiveness and efficiency. Effectiveness can be defined as goal attainment that
realizes the objectives of an organization. Efficiency can be defined as the process of completing
a job with minimal effort and cost.

An effective and efficient management is deemed a

successful management. In other words, management can also be defined as the delegation of
tasks to employees in a manner which ensure the completion of the tasks at hand.
There are four functions of management, namely planning, organizing, leading and controlling.
Planning is a process where a framework which includes the time period and procedures to
complete a given tasks. The planning stage usually involves all management levels in an
organization. Secondly, organizing refers to the process of specifying the what, where, who, how,

and when. These aspects will lead to the orderly manner of the whole process. Organizing will
also be an advantage in terms of crisis in that plan B can be executed appropriately. Thirdly,
leading involves the communication between employers and employees, among employees and
subordinates. Communication channels are kept clear and conflicts are resolved so as to achieve
the objectives set on time. Finally, controlling is when any changes to the orginal plan is
identified, cause of the deviation identified and an alternative is taken in order to achieve the
objectives.
A manager is defined as an individual who is directly responsible to ensure that tasks are
performed by people or employees in an organisation. Generally, there are three types of
managers in an organization. The managers at the top level in an organization are known as toplevel managers. They are also known as executives and they normally have titles such as
president, chief executive officer and vice president. Then comes the middle-level managers
usually known as managers. At the lowest level of the management hierarchy are the lower-level
managers also known as line managers. They are supervisors who oversee employees in a
factory.
There are many roles that are played by a manager namely, figurehead, leader, liaison officer,
spokesperson, negotiator, and initiator. The first role is as a figurehead. This refers to ceremonial
duties such as the opening of events and delivering opening speeches. Secondly, a manager also
has to be a leader when it comes to the matter of motivating his/her subordinates and directs the
unit towards goal completion. Thirdly, as a liaison officer. This refers to the role of the manager
as a middleperson who conveys messages between the organization and the public or between
the units. For the role as a spokesperson, the manager conveys the necessary information to the
respected subordinates which ensures goal completion. As a negotiator, the manager needs to
resolve conflicts diplomatically via discussions. Finally, as initiator, the manager suggests and
implements new ideas which enhances the running of the organization.
A manager is required to possess several skills which will ensure the smooth running of an
organization. The skills required are conceptual skills, interpersonal skills, and technical skills.
Firstly, conceptual skills refers to the ability of the manager to view the organization as a whole
and yet compartmentalize each unit within the organization. Secondly, interpersonal skills will
enable a manager to work smoothly alongside people of various backgrounds, ideas, mentality,

and personality. Qualities such as good listener and speaker also is part of possessing good
interpersonal skills. Finally, the technical skills which refers to the ability to apply techniques
and procedures required in the completion of the goal. This may also refer to specialized
knowledge on the processes of producing a final product from the beginning till the end.

Evolution of Management Theory

The classical perspective is deemed as the pioneer of management theory followed by the human
perspective, quantitative management perspective and finally contemporary perspective. It is
notable that there are no clear and distinct boundaries between these theories. These theories
overlap and coexist for a very long time.
The classical perspective focused on rational and scientific approaches and in finding ways to
make an organization more efficient. There are three subclasses in this perspective which are
scientific management, bureaucratic management, and administrative management. Scientific
management focused on improving employees efficiency to expand productivity (Mahmood
et.al., 2012). The bureaucratic management is based on hierarchy, rules and procedures.The aim
of this approach was to ensure the continuity of all operations in the organization by having
clearly defined responsibilities. Next is the administrative approach whereby the whole
organization plays a role in the goal completion.
The human perspective was founded by Mary Parker Follet and Chester Barnard. This
perspective focuses on understanding human behavior, the needs of employees and the attitude
of employees in the work environment. There are three subclasses in human perspective namely,
human relations movement, the human resource approach and the social science
approach.According to the human relations movement, individual employees are more influential
when it comes to efficiency compared to strict authority. The productivity increases when
employees feel that they are well treated. Human resource approach points out that the
productivity of employees increases when they are satisfied. The satisfaction of employees are
directly related to meeting their basic requirements. The social science approach involves the
sociology, psychology, and anthropology to further understand the behavior of employees.

Through the study of employee psychology, it can be said that motivation, proper
communication and good personnel management increases productivity.
Next is the quantitative management approach. The three subclasses under this approach are
management of science, management of operations, and management of informative systems.
This approach involves quantitative techniques to achieve objectives.
Finally, the contemporary approach. The two subclasses under this approach are known as the
systems theory and contingency theory. System theory focuses on sections or units that work
together to ensure the completion of a common goal. The five components of systems theory are
input which refers to tools, work force, money and information used to produce something,
transformation process which refers to the process of conversion from input to output using
production technology, output which refers to the products or the end-product of an organization,
feedback which refers to decisions made from previous process cycle and will be used for the
betterment of the next process cycle, and finally, the environment which covers the economic,
social and political influences that might occur in the workplace. There are also several ideas of
systems which influences the mind sets. The open system is a system interacting with the
external environment to ensure survival, the closed system refers to non-interacting system
which more often than not, fail to survive, the entropy which refers to systems which eventually
become obsolete, synergy which refers to the power of cooperation among individuals in an
organization, and finally, sub-system which refers to interdependent sections within systems.
Other than that, the contingency approach where observation and case studies play a major rola
in decision making .

Management theory used by the chosen organization

AEON CO. (M) BHD. uses the classical perspective in the organization. The target of the
organization is middle income group. Thus, all the shopping malls were strategically situated in
sub-urban areas. This is to lure customers which will increase their sales. Besides that, the
management is continuously finding ways to improve the performance of its employees. The
employees are given training via Management Trainee programme. It is a 6 months training to
enhance trainees on theoretical and practical elements. Through this programme, many

successful leaders were born and now is in the management line. There is also the Japan Trainee
Programme which focuses on the exposure to overseas working environment. The leaders who
undergo this programme are sent to work in AEON Japan to enhance their knowledge and skills
in retailing. Apart from that, there is also MOU between JUSCO and OUM. Programme such as
Executive Diploma is offered so as to enable the participants to manage their career more
effectively and efficiently. This, in turn will increase the productivity of the organization. Not
only that, AEON Business Academy situated in Wangsa Maju is for the training of AEON
employees. It consists of three schools namely, School of Management, School of Operations
and School of Hospitality. The aim of this academy is to provide training programmes to the
employees. All these shows the ample of training provided by AEON to its employees in order to
increase the productivity of the organization. This is on par with the classical perspective. AEON
also has clearly defined responsibilities among the workers as well as the implementation of
unbiased guidelines. The flow of ideas is unidirectional as in from top level management to the
workers whereby there is no platform for the normal workers to share their ideas on the
improvisation of the organization.

The best theory for the organization

The best theory for AEON is the human perspective. Retail industry is an industry which deals
with people all the time. The employees portray the face of the whole organization and as such
has great responsibility to exude positive image. Their basic needs should be take care of because
according to the human resource approach employees productivity will increase when their
requirements are met. Other than that, instead of just trainings focused on increasing the
productivity of the organization, trainings and courses which focus on the betterment of the
employees as individuals should be organized. This will enable the employees to gain confidence
and build a sense of loyalty to AEON. These personal based trainings would also enhance the
bonding between employees and create a more pleasant environment. A pleasant environment is
the perfect backdrop for retail industry. The management should also ensure ideas flow
bidirectionally as in from top management to normal workers and vice versa. This will promote a
sense of involvement among employees which will cause a positive working environment. The

enhancement of employees attitude will result in a pleasant working environment. As a result, the
productivity of the organization can be increased by leaps and bounds.

Conclusion
Various management theories have been founded and observed throughout the years. While some
may have been best fit for that time period, some have become rather unsuitable to current
management environment. For example, while the quantitative....may have been the best
approach during war times, it is deemed unsuitable for current rapidly globalising world where
the retail industry is transcending borders. As such, the best management theory have to be
adapted based on the context of the organization to ensure the survival of said organization in
this highly competitive world. AEON has to make some adjustments to incoroporate the human
theory into its management practise so as to ensure satisfied employees and consequently high
productivity.