Bakgrund: Med ökad konkurrens och då nya marknader som e-handeln växer sig starkare blir det allt viktigare för företag inom modebranschen att arbeta för att stärka varumärket och sina kundrelationer. Den fysiska butiken är en viktig del inom den externa marknadsföringen då företaget kan kommunicera varumärket genom interaktion med kunden. Butikspersonalen bör ses som en av företagets mest betydelsefulla resurser som marknadsförare då de har störst kundkontakt. Därför bör företag satsa på intern kommunikation för att marknadsföra varumärket till personalen. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att beskriva och analysera hur företag kan använda intern kommunikation för att utveckla och motivera sin butikspersonal till att agera som varumärkesambassadörer. Metod: Undersökningen består av en fallstudie av ett företag som använder sig av konceptbutiker för att marknadsföra sitt varumärke. Studien består av kvalitativ karaktär genom intervju med distriktschef, kvantitativ data i form av enkätundersökning med personalen, samt granskning av företagets årsredovisning. Mindre observationer utfördes även i de olika butikerna. Teorier: Brand Vision, Brand Values, Kommunikations- och attitydstyrning, Intern marknadsföring i form av utbildning och ledarskap, Företags-/Serviceskultur samt Varumärkesambassadörer. Vi har med dessa teorier skapat en modell som vi kommer att använda för att utvärdera företaget och dess förutsättningar till att skapa varumärkesambassadörer av sin butikspersonal. Slutsats: För att skapa en varumärkesambassadör krävs kontinuerlig intern kommunikation som överensstämmer med företagskulturen. Ledaren har en viktig roll i att kommunicera varumärkets gemensamma värderingar till butikspersonalen och måste då även själv leva efter dessa värderingar. Personalen måste kunna ta till sig och dela dessa värderingar samt förstå vilken betydelse deras roll har i företagets helhet.

The covid-19 pandemic can endanger the physical and mental health of people in general, but a particularly vulnerable group are people who work in stores. The purpose of the study was to examine how the health of store employees had been affected by the covid-19 pandemic and to identify if age, gender, form of employment, line of business and type of store, are important contributing factors. To answer the purpose a web-based survey was performed where 783 store employees participated. The results showed that store employees had relatively high anxiety levels concerning covid-19 infection and relatively high stress levels concerning increased workload because of covid-19. A large proportion of the store employees who had less social interactions due to their job had experienced sadness. The results also showed that there were several factors that affected the health of store employees. The factors who clearly influenced the anxiety and stress levels were if the store employees had shown symptoms, has had covid-19 or were in risk group. Gender, line of business and what type of store they worked in also had some impact on anxiety or stress levels. Age and form of employment were however factors who influenced the health very little according to this study, but to draw this conclusion with certainty further studies are needed. The conclusion is that the health of store employees has been negatively affected by the covid-19 pandemic regarding increased anxiety, stress and sadness, and also that risk group is the foremost contributing factor.

The correlation between employee theft and various employee attitudes is investigated with 489 subjects from a large discount store chain located in the southeastern United States. Subjects completed two tests: Personnel Decisions, Inc. 's Employment Inventory/Customer Service Inventory which measures employee reliability and orientation toward providing customer service; and the Organization Responsiveness Questionnaire which measures satisfaction and perceived store security. Individual scores on the tests were correlated with a performance rating form completed by the subject's supervisor. Scores were computed for each store and correlated with inventory shrinkage rates. Results revealed relatively weak correlations for some variables. The multiple regression analysis was unable to significantly predict any of the criterion variables.

Submitted by ADELSON FERREIRA DA SILVA JUNIOR (adelsonj@uol.com.br) on 2016-09-16T18:54:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO Adelson Ferreira da Silva Junior.pdf: 4169013 bytes, checksum: bcfbf6d0b752b78c43041727b0b29f0a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Pamela Beltran Tonsa (pamela.tonsa@fgv.br) on 2016-09-16T18:58:10Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO Adelson Ferreira da Silva Junior.pdf: 4169013 bytes, checksum: bcfbf6d0b752b78c43041727b0b29f0a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-16T19:36:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTAÇÃO Adelson Ferreira da Silva Junior.pdf: 4169013 bytes, checksum: bcfbf6d0b752b78c43041727b0b29f0a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-29 / This dissertation seeks to deepen the understanding of how the phenomenon of prejudice and racial discrimination is developed, perceived and faced in brick and mortar stores during the consumer and seller interaction. The comparison of existing knowledge in the literature, combined with an interpretative qualitative empirical research performed with black consumers in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, has generated valuable contributions to the understanding of the theme in question, and to put in question current consumer approach practices adopted by the retailers. It is found that this phenomenon, in the way it is perceived in the context of this research, in some cases shows different of some proposals presented in the literature. Among the four main themes that emerged, some aspects are highlighted: 1) while recognizing the existence of the phenomenon and despite the reports that make them evident, most respondents hesitate and deny its occurrence with themselves, transmitting great discomfort in dealing with the issue; 2) it is noticed that the mechanisms of social categorization based on social identity theory (SIT), the theoretical framework adopted in this research, operate in the context studied, but are insufficient to understand how being the agent (the seller) of the same group (ingroup) of the target (the final consumer) discriminatory behaviors are still perceived against them; 3) given the perception that the phenomenon manifests itself in its most subtle forms, the main dilemma experienced by respondents is to distinguish a bad service from a discriminatory treatment; and 4) besides the prevalence of passive reactions to the phenomenon, there is great importance attached by respondents to the appearance and self-image adjustments, as a defense mechanism to deal with possible incidents of prejudice and discrimination. The phenomenon in question in the retail environment is a serious problem that mainly affects the target, but also impacts everyone involved and seems to pervade other social spheres. The difficulties to face it range from the dubious way by which it usually manifests, hindering its recognition, to the often seemingly passive reactions from the target. From these findings, the dissertation draws attention to the relevant and unpublished aspects on consumer-seller interaction in physical stores, not yet explored in the Brazilian context and that need to be deepened. As managerial implications, the research calls attention of the retailers about the importance of formulating strategies to prepare physical stores sales teams to face properly the threats posed by the phenomenon. Finally, in terms of public policies, the results contribute to the improvement of not only educational communication efforts aimed to a fairer consumption relationship between consumers and sellers, but also to reduce the existing and still intense phenomenon of racial prejudice and discrimination in Brazil. / Esta dissertação busca aprofundar o entendimento sobre como se manifesta, é percebido e enfrentado pelos consumidores o fenômeno do preconceito e da discriminação racial em lojas físicas, durante sua interação com vendedores. A comparação do conhecimento existente na literatura, combinado a uma pesquisa empírica de natureza qualitativa interpretativista realizada com consumidores negros da região metropolitana (RM) de São Paulo, gerou valiosas contribuições ao entendimento do tema em questão e colocou em xeque algumas práticas de abordagem de consumidores adotadas atualmente nos pontos de venda. Verifica-se que esse fenômeno da forma como é percebido no contexto desta pesquisa mostra-se em alguns casos diferente de algumas proposições apresentadas na literatura. Entre os quatro principais temas que emergiram, alguns aspectos se destacam: 1) apesar de reconhecer a existência do fenômeno e a despeito dos relatos que o evidenciam, a maioria dos entrevistados hesita e nega sua ocorrência consigo mesmo, transparecendo grande desconforto em tratar do tema; 2) observa-se que os mecanismos de categorização social da teoria da identidade social (SIT), referencial teórico adotado nessa pesquisa, operam no contexto estudado, mas se mostram insuficientes para o entendimento de como o agente (vendedor), sendo do mesmo grupo (ingroup) que o alvo (consumidor final), ainda assim são percebidos comportamentos discriminatórios; 3) dada a percepção que o fenômeno se manifesta nas suas formas mais sutis, o principal dilema vivido pelos entrevistados consiste em distinguir um mau atendimento de um atendimento discriminatório; e 4) além da prevalência das reações passivas ao fenômeno, destaca-se a importância atribuída pelos entrevistados à aparência e aos ajustes de autoimagem, como mecanismo de defesa para lidar com possíveis incidentes de preconceito e discriminação. O fenômeno em questão no ambiente de varejo é um grave problema que, além de afetar o alvo, impacta todos os envolvidos e parece permear outras esferas sociais. As dificuldades para o seu enfrentamento vão desde a forma dúbia como geralmente se manifesta, dificultando seu reconhecimento, até a maneira frequente e aparentemente passiva como o alvo reage. A partir dessas constatações, a dissertação chama a atenção para aspectos relevantes e inéditos, relativos à interação consumidor-vendedor em lojas físicas, ainda não explorados no contexto brasileiro e que precisam ser aprofundados. Como implicações de ordem gerencial, a pesquisa alerta os varejistas sobre a importância da formulação de estratégias capazes de preparar as equipes de vendas das lojas físicas a enfrentar de forma adequada as ameaças decorrentes deste fenômeno. Por fim, em termos de políticas públicas, os resultados da pesquisa contribuem para o aprimoramento dos esforços de comunicação educativa, com vistas a estimular não só uma relação de consumo mais justa entre consumidores e vendedores, mas também reduzir o ainda intenso fenômeno do preconceito e da discriminação racial no Brasil.