Business assignment # 3
[University Affiliation]
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday for the American people and they celebrate the day with family and friends and have great time together. Most recently some shops and businesses consider opening on that day, perhaps with the aim to get more business or for the convenience of the consumers or for other obvious reasons. The impact of the decision to open some shops or businesses on the Thanksgiving Day mostly from an employee perspective is discussed.
Impact of the decision to open on Thanksgiving Day
Americans consider the day to be an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. I personally have memories of some quality fun time with family during the Thanksgiving Day. As both my parents had different work schedules, me and my siblings could either be with mother or with father during our free times. So it was only during national holidays like Thanksgiving Day that we got opportunity to be as a family and so I still cherish those sweet memories.
When we consider the decision to open shops or businesses during the Thanksgiving Day from the perspective of an employee, it appears as though he or she would be denied the chance to be with family and friends during that day. If big retailers like Walmart and others open on the Thanksgiving Day, then lot of employees either willingly or unwillingly would have to support the initiative of their employer. So Thanksgiving Day in future could no longer become a day of togetherness and fun time with family. On the other hand, for those wish to work on a holiday with the aim to get more returns, it would be a blessing for them as they could get more than the normal wage on that day.
In general, it is considered that employees require some quality breaks with family as it provides a revitalising experience for them. In fact, I have read in a recent article that research on employees who takes vacation or outing with families performs well compared to employees who work continuously. That is, every individual requires some time to be themselves and I consider spending time with the family is an excellent breather for the stressed out employees (Galinsky, 2013). So the decision to open shops on Thanksgiving Day might affect the employees, especially of the retail segment.
Retailers on the other hand consider the decision as an opportunity to increase their profits. They claim that the decisions such as this are based on the increasing consumer demand (Olson, 2013). Retailers’ claims that consumer surveys indicate increasing consumer demand for opening stores during national holidays such as this. From the perspective of the shop owners or owners of businesses, they would get additional business or working hours to implement their strategies as well as to make profits. Businesses consider that initiatives like this are relevant for catering to the changing consumer behaviour and patterns. They consider opening on Thanksgiving Day as a move based mostly on the consumer demand. But, I consider it as a strategy to capitalise on the holiday sales, which is always much higher than weekday sales (Baker, 2013). Though at present only a few shops and a few businesses might ahead with the decision to open on Thanksgiving Day, it would become a reality in the near future that most or all of the shops or businesses could remain open. That is, decisions like this by their competitor would force other shops and business houses to follow suit. So most of the employees would be left with no other option, other than working on a national holiday.
When considering from a customer’s perspective, decision to open shops or businesses provide them with opportunity to experience and extend the benefits of holiday shopping. But employees on the other hand would be at the receiving end. That is, they would be deprived of a holiday and their opportunity to be with family and friends. It is considered by experts that holidays as well as vacations are equally relevant for the employee to maintain the right balance in life. I feel that now days the work pressure is relatively high and increasing number of employees appear stressed out due to long working hours. For them, holidays are a real blessing to give away their stresses and strains in life.
Conclusion
When considering the impacts of opening shops on Thanksgiving Day, it is seen that the retailers and the consumers would be benefitted but the employees would be largely affected by decisions such as this. So I personally feel that Thanksgiving Day needs to remain as a holiday for all, especially for the benefit of the working class, who are the assets for the future.
References
Baker, R. (2013). No thanks to Thanksgiving Day shopping. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/no-thanks-to-thanksgiving-day-shopping-b99150505z1-233549981.html
Galinsky, E. (2013). Don’t Go Shopping This Thanksgiving. Just Don’t. Time ideas. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from http://ideas.time.com/2013/11/22/dont-go-shopping-on-thanksgiving-just-dont/
Olson, S. (2013). Simon’s decision to open malls on Thanksgiving draws criticism. Indianapolis business Journal, News. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.ibj.com/simons-decision-to-open-malls-on-thanksgiving-draws-criticism/PARAMS/article/44678
