The Aging of Abercrombie & Fitch

        Generational changes are affecting the way companies run, in that, they are trying to keep up with the ever-changing personalities and trying to promote the best working environment for all. With new generations, the real struggle is deciphering the way an employee will work at peak performance, how long a company can keep them on staff maximizing their use, and also moving with customer demands as times vary. The question is whether companies can balance the alterations while continuing their strategic operational goals.

        In “The Aging of Abercrombie & Fitch,” it was apparent that their CEO, Michael Jefferies, was not moving closely with the times. Although Jeffries knew what he wanted for the company, he did not realize the weakness he gave A&F, stagnancy. But, the opposite is true for PwC. PwC’s NextGen global study is forcing them to evaluate the culture and career stages of their business people. PwC is ahead of the game and has the foresight to look beyond the now and adjust to what is needed in their firm futuristically. As the world evolves, there is an organizational need for growth. Abercrombie & Fitch tried to grow, through various additions of companies, and they still were not reaching the majority of people because of Jeffries tight hold on operations.

        Where the two articles were similar in thought was with doing what is best for the company. Jeffries was said to be a marketing mastermind and “was phenomenal. He was always creating the movie, the lifestyle story he wanted to project” (Berfield and Rupp, 7). Although Jeffries left the company by the boards request, the board wanted to pull A&F out of the trenches and make them the all-time great corporation they were again. To build A&F, “it took a very dominant, controlling, detail-oriented visionary,” but that is also how the company failed, they were not able to advance with a leader having those personality traits (Berfield and Rupp, 11). PwC also wants the best for their company and that means taking care of the employees. Through the global study, they desired the effect of “evolving talent strategy to match the new workforce reality” (Finn and Donovan, 1).  Each business took a different route, one by adjusting to the workforce and the other through changing the top leadership to allow for growth. They both had the same goal of pursuing the dream of leading a top ranked business.