Case Study

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CASE STUDY: Mr. Robot, Inc.

COMPANY BEGINNINGS

Mr. Robot, Inc. started in 1994 as a single computer

retail store in Houston, Texas. The company’s niche

specialty was building high-end PC-based computers

for gamers. Over time, it expanded its retail client

base to business users wanting reliable, affordable

PCs. Business flourished and Mr. Robot opened seven

more retail stores in the greater Houston area. The

company’s foundation customers continued to be

gamers, but soon the company was offering network

services and system integration work to small

business users. As a result, the Business Network

Services Division was created in 2005 and grew

quickly to become approximately 25% of the

company’s revenue and 50% of its profit. The

corporate headquarters is located in Houston, Texas.

RETAIL DIVISION

Through acquisition of other niche PC retailers in

Austin (4 stores), Dallas (6 stores), and San Antonio,

(3 stores), the retail division grew to a total of twenty

retail units. In this division, each retail store employs

approximately 25 people of which there are fifteen

sales people, four technical experts and management.

This division also has two dedicated help desk

employees to support all retail stores and customers.

Hours of operation are from 10:00AM to 9:00PM

seven days a week.

BUSINESS NETWORK SERVICES DIVISION

In the Business Network Services Division there two

system integrators, two hardware engineers, four

network engineers, and five account engineers

assigned to specific customers. Two help desk

employees support this division. The new Business

Network Services Division operates only in Houston.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

In this company information moves from top to

bottom. The CEO heads Mr. Robot, Inc. and passes

information to the company executives. At this point,

the company splits up to its two divisions. Each

division has its own management team. The senior

most management level is the Corporate Staff who

connect top level management to the down level

management.

The Corporate Staff gives information to District

Managers. Each district has its District Management

that answers directly to corporate. Each district is

comprised of at least three stores. The stores are

headed by General Managers who have their

assistants. In each store, there are departments.

Every department has its team lead who answers to

the General Manager. Staff in different departments

have specialized jobs to do.

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Communication is through an Employee News Feed,

where front line employees get to acquire

information from the corporate level employees. The

company also uses an email system and SharePoint

for communication between employees and

management at all levels. All staff at all levels work

under policy and rules so as to fulfill their duties

accordingly. In the Mr. Robot retail stores, there are a

list of company objectives and goals that employees

need to achieve.

Mr. Robot has a good structure though it has its

drawbacks especially when it comes to

communication since front line employees only

receive information, but do not send any. The

company has managed to come on top of the list for

Ten Best Workplaces in Texas.

CEO/PRESIDENT VISION

Hubert Slater is CEO and President of Mr.

Robot, Inc. He joined the company in

2004 and led transformation of the

Business Network Services Division. He

also led the customer-focused strategy for

the retail division. The transformation

has resulted in improvements in

customer satisfaction, market share gains,

revenue growth and improved margins.

Now, Mr. Slater is leading Mr. Robot into its next

phase, Mr. Robot 2020. In this next phase, Mr. Robot is

driven by a clear purpose: to help customers pursue

their passions and enrich their lives with the help of

technology. It aims to address their needs around

entertainment, productivity, and communication in a

more holistic fashion. It seeks to evolve from selling

products through transactions to providing solutions

and building relationships.

THE GOAL FOR THE RETAIL DIVISION

Mr. Slater’s challenge is to modify the backbone of the

hardware product line and begin offering Apple-

based products to compliment the PC-based products.

The reason is to satisfy growing demand and

popularity of Apple users among students and retail

customers seeking an alternative to the PC/Microsoft-

based offerings. Mr. Robot has invested in obtaining

certification as an Apple Certified Dealer.

RETAIL DIVISION OBJECTIVES

For the Retail Division, the intent is to dedicate about

20% of the retail space in each store to Apple

products and to create the equivalent of Apple

famous “Genius Bar”. A phased rollout is planned for

the retail stores - Houston in three months, Austin in

four months, and Dallas in five months. Initial

Operating Capability (IOC) for each geographic

location must include changes in the facilities,

changes in the logistics processes, training of the

sales staff, and training/certification of gurus called

“Robotons”.

CASE STUDY: Mr. Robot, Inc.

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CORPORATE STAFF

VICE PRESIDENT RETAIL DIVISION - Terri Landry

In her role, Terri is responsible for the

retail stores operations, e-commerce,

and the company’s real estate strategy.

Terry Landry is a seasoned executive

with deep retail experience. She was

hired out of college in 1997 beginning

as an assistant store manager and rising

to general manager. After a variety of retail

leadership roles, she was promoted to Director of

Human Resources in 2001.

In 2005, she assumed her current responsibility for

Mr. Robot stores, focusing her energies on deepening

customer relationships and better utilizing the full

range of talent and resources that reside within the

company’s stores to drive growth.

Terry Landry’s corporate team consists of six

employees. She reports directly to CEO/President

Hubert Slater.

DIRECTOR OF MERCHANDISING AND MARKETING

Calvin Morrison

Calvin Morrison is Senior Director of

Merchandising and Marketing for Mr.

Robot, Inc. He is responsible for the

category management, merchandising,

marketing, and supply chain.

Calvin Brown uses his nearly 20 years of

retail and management experience to build actionable

business plans that drive revenue growth,

profitability, market share gains and increased

employee and customer satisfaction for Mr. Robot.

Before working at Mr. Robot, Calvin has overseen the

launch of thousands of store-within-a-store locations

in partnership with leading technology vendors for

other companies such as Best Buy and Radio Shack.

Calvin has served in his current role since 2014. He

leads a team of four employees.

He reports to Terry Landry, Vice President Retail

Division.

VICE PRESIDENT FINANCE – Barry Chan

Barry Chan is the Vice President of

Finance for Mr. Robot, Inc. In this role,

he is responsible for overseeing all

aspects of finance, strategic planning, as

well as information technology,

information security, audit, procurement

and pricing functions.

Barry Chan joined Mr. Robot in 1999 and has held a

variety of financial and operational roles within the

organization, both in the field and at the corporate

headquarters. Barry leads of team of five corporate

employees. He reports directly to Hubert Slater.

SENIOR DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Lauren Garcia

Lauren Garcia is the Senior Director of

Human Resources for Mr. Robot. Inc.

She has been in this role since 2005

overseeing talent development and the

health and well-being of the more than

500 Mr. Robot, Inc. employees.

Lauren has served in a variety of retail operations,

CASE STUDY:

Mr. Robot, Inc.

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SENIOR DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES –

Lauren Garcia (continued)

marketing, and human resources leadership roles

since beginning her career in retail more than 10

years ago. She has a proven record in the creation and

execution of HR and HRD operational strategies and

organizational transformation. This has led to great

success in building strong cultures of high employee

engagement, low turnover, succession planning,

training and development, and productivity

improvements for Mr. Robot. Lauren leads a team of

six employees. She reports directly to Hubert Slater.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT PLAN

In this case study you are a needs assessment

consultant hired by Lauren Garcia. She has briefed

you on the CEO’s vision, the goals and objectives for

the Retail Division as communicated by the CEO.

Your assignment is to plan the needs assessment by

choosing three needs assessments/analysis from the

list below.

• Target Population Analysis

• Job Task Analysis

• Contextual Analysis

• Performance Gap Analysis

• Needs vs Wants Analysis

• Goal Analysis

• Competency Based Assessment

• Knowledge and Skill Assessment

• Feasibility Analysis

Needs Assessment Plan

1) Write a goals or purpose statement for each

needs assessment or analysis you’ve chosen.

2) Determine who you will interview in the company

and give reasons for your choice(s).

3) Based on the type of needs assessments you

choose, develop 3 to 5 interview and/or survey

questions that you think will give you the best

results for assessing training needs. You are to

give reasons why you chose the type of

assessment or analyses.

4) Your needs assessment plan is to be at least three

pages double spaced in Word or a PDF. You may

write the plan in first or third person. Use

headings in the document. The cover page and

reference page is not included in the three pages.

10 BONUS POINTS: Add one additional needs

assessment or analysis.