Final answer:
Store clerks viewed the requirement for fewer employees who worked for lower wages in the new chain-store model as negative, reflecting broader concerns around employment and wage standards in the face of standardized, efficiency-driven corporate practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
The negative aspect of the new chain-store model as seen by store clerks most likely pertains to the concern of employment and working conditions under the chain-store systems, which tended to standardize procedures, minimize labor costs, and often detrimentally affect small local businesses. One of the issues arising with such models, as with the case of Wal-Martization, is that they required fewer employees who generally worked for lower wages, in line with the necessity to reduce operational costs and achieve economies of scale. The implications of these business strategies often resulted in reduced local economic circulation because chain-store profits did not stay local and competition with smaller businesses led to their decline.
Indeed, chain stores featured a form of calculability, focusing on efficiency through means such as using a timecard to calculate employee hours and overtime. They achieved predictability through standardized goods and presentations, which while consistent, also resulted in a reduction of variety. Hence, option a) is seen as a negative by store clerks since it speaks to the core of their employment status and the nature of their work within the new chain-store model.