Date of Graduation

12-2025

Document Type

UAF Access Only - Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Marketing

Advisor/Mentor

Heather Fischer

Abstract

This thesis highlights the organizational strategy, culture, and operating structure of the grocery retailer Aldi, as well as examines the experiential learning gained through the company’s District Manager Internship Program. Aldi’s immense success as a global leader in the grocery retail industry is rooted in the company’s commitment to its three core values of simplicity, consistency, and responsibility. These values drive both business practices and employee culture. Through firsthand experience in the internship within the Olathe Division, I gained exposure to Aldi’s retail operations, leadership expectations, and management processes. My experiences included learning the company’s standard operating procedures, conducting store walks with store managers, audits, supported the hiring process, and managing store challenges. The main component of this internship involved creating and conducting a research project on employee training compliance. This project included developing a survey for over 100 store managers in the division and analyzing real-time data from multiple stores. Findings from this process revealed gaps in employee training methods, training fatigue, and inconsistencies in protocol adherence. By presenting these issues, along with the data and actionable recommendations to divisional leadership, this project contributed insights that emphasized the need for improved communication, a more streamlined training process, and better alignment between corporate expectations of employees and in-store realities. Overall, this experiential study demonstrated how structured internship with Aldi cultivated leadership skills, informed operational improvements, and supported Aldi’s continued success as a leading and efficient grocery retailer.

Keywords

retail operations; organizational culture; leadership development; retail management internship; internship project

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