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Home Depot

Introduction
History
The Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernard Marcus, Arthur Blank, and Ronald Brill. These men founded The Home Depot because they were laid-off of their management jobs at the Handy Dan home center chain. They used the knowledge that they acquired from the Handy Dan along with funds provided by a New York venture capitalists firm to form The Home Depot. The Home Depot understood there was an unserved market of do-it-yourselfers who couldn't do-it-themselves. Though we also serve professional contractors, we have made the do-it yourselfer our primary focus. In order to properly serve this market of unskilled craftsmen, we made it a requirement that our employees be competent in their department. We are credited with revolutionizing the home improvement industry by offering an unparalleled selection of products and services.
The Home Depot is currently the world's largest home improvement retailer.
Some of our competitors (Lowe's) have tried to replicate "The Home Depot" way of doing business, but they lack the human resources to provide the type of value and service that we offer. Although we have enjoyed our success over the years, the lumber and hardware industries are highly competitive. The Home Depot is not only the world's largest home improvement retailer; we are the second largest retailer in the world (Behind Wal-Mart). Because of this fierce competition, we are always looking for ways to improve our company.
The Home Depot also strives to take care of its investors by trying to earn them the greatest return on their investment possible. We would like to keep our reputation for being a very safe yet profitable investment. People should see our stock symbol, HD, and feel comfortable that we are working for them. Our 21% increase in sales is evidence that this is being accomplished.
Summary of Organizational Challenges
The Home Depot's is being faced with its biggest problem to date. We are expanding and...