Lesson 7.4
Stock, Inventory, Wastage & Damaged Goods
Estimated time: 7 minutes
Stock is money in another form.
Depending on the workplace, inventory may include:
- food
- clothing
- beauty products
- school supplies
- spare parts
- office supplies
- medicines in appropriately regulated businesses
- raw materials
- finished products
Employees may not own the stock, but their actions affect it.
Responsible Stock Behavior Includes
- recording movement where required
- reporting shortages
- reporting damage
- avoiding unnecessary waste
- following authorization procedures
- storing items appropriately
- not hiding discrepancies
- not changing records to make missing stock disappear
Scenario — The Broken Item
An employee accidentally damages an item.
She is afraid she will be blamed.
She hides it at the back of the storeroom.
Now the business has two problems:
1. damaged stock 2. inaccurate information
The original damage may have been accidental.
Hiding it is a separate decision.
Wastage
Some wastage is unavoidable.
The goal is not to create fear every time something is lost.
The goal is to:
- notice patterns
- record significant losses where required
- follow storage procedures
- report problems
- prevent avoidable repetition
More Workplace Examples
Retail stock discrepancy
A shop assistant finds that the shelf count differs from the stock record.
BETTER RESPONSE
Restaurant wastage
A restaurant worker finds spoiled ingredients.
BETTER RESPONSE
Salon product damage
A salon employee accidentally spills a stock product.
BETTER RESPONSE
School supplies
A school staff member discovers damaged classroom supplies.
BETTER RESPONSE
Remember
You cannot manage what everyone is hiding.