...Organizational Behavior 18 February 2013 Belief and Support of Human Capital: Case Study Analysis of Whole Foods What role, if any, does McGregor’s Theory Y play at Whole Foods? Explain? The primary focus of this case study analysis shall be to examine the methods of Whole Food’s distinctive approach and development to the implementation of creative management strategies and how they can continue to successfully help them to maintain growth in their company. The underscoring premise of McGregor’s Theory Y primarily rest on the assumption that that the role of management is develop the potential of their employees and help them to realize their potential to meet the common goals of their organization (Steward, 2010). With this underlining thought in mind McGregor’s Y Theory plays an intricate and crucial role at Whole Foods. According to our textbook, Organizational Behavior, by Robert Kreitner and Angelo Kinicki, and the company’s primary mission directives, Whole Foods goal is for upper management to share the responsibility with their frontline managers in the development of a successful work environment (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013, p. 30). Whole foods promotes their employee teams to be self-directed and take initiative and responsibility for operating together for the benefit of their entire business organization. To this end John Mackey, Cofounder and Co-CEO of Whole Foods Market promotes through the application of McGregor’s Theory Y the happiness and growth of all employees...
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...Case Study: Whole Foods Market in 2010: Vision, Core Values and Strategy Jessica Shramek Hawaii Pacific Whole Foods began with one small store in Austin, Texas in 1980. “In 1978, twenty-five year old college dropout John Mackey and twenty-one year old Rene Lawson Hardy, borrowed $45,000 from family and friends to open the doors of a small natural foods store called SaferWay in Austin, Texas (the name being a spoof of Safeway, which operated stores under their own name in Austin at that time)” (Wholefoodsmarket.com). A few years later, Mackey and Lawson Hardy partnered with Craig Weller and Mark Skiles to merge SaferWay with Clarksville Natural Grocery, which resulted in the opening of the original Whole Foods Market on September 20, 1980. Beginning in 1984, Whole Foods Market began its expansion out of Austin, by continuing to open new stores from the ground up, and by acquiring other natural foods chains. The chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market is pursuing are providing the best natural and organic foods to customers through retail grocery stores. “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet” is the slogan and visionary statement John Mackey uses to describe his company and mission. Whole Foods sells products of the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful, naturally preserved, and the freshest foods available. When a product is labeled organic it has “to be grown and processed without the use of pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, synthetic chemicals...
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...Whole Foods: Final Paper Whole Foods Market, Inc Jess Tourville Endicott College Managing in the Evolving Workplace TJ Hanratty March 5, 2013 From the fairly humble beginning of being a one-store entrepreneur living on the third floor and taking baths in the dishwasher, John Mackey has seen his 1978 Safer Way grocery store grow into an $8 billion a year corporation. As of September 2008, Whole Foods had 264 stores in the United States, six in Canada, and five in the United Kingdom. Whole Food’s is now the leading chain of natural food supermarkets in the United States. The company's stores average 28,500 square feet in size and feature foods that are free from artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, and sweeteners. They also offer many organically grown products. Many locations include in-store cafes and juice bars. Whole Foods has also developed a growing line of private label products such as organic pasta, freshly roasted nut butters, oak-aged wine vinegars, and aromatic teas. After the company was founded in 1980 with a single store, it grew dramatically into a chain of more than 130 stores in 25 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. It is a Fortune 1000 company, ranked as the 41st largest U.S. supermarket and the 730th largest U.S. company overall. There are few companies that attract the kind of following Whole Foods and its CEO/founder has both among its customers and the national media. Their corporate website averages more than 50,000 visitors...
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...Unethical Business Practices From 1999 to 2006, John Mackey used the internet to post inaccurate information concerning one of his competitors. He was attempting to drive down stock prices, buy out his competitor thereby eliminating competition, and finally create a monopoly. Normally making business profit is not a bad thing. One technique is for a business to cut prices, thereby becoming more competitive -- a plus for the consumer. Another is when a company or CEO uses devious tactics or unethical means to influence the market for corporate or personal profits. According to a statement made by Brian Schactam from CNBC, “John Mackey used a pseudonym on financial message boards to bash rival Wild Oats as a bad business not worth its stock price.” Those inaccurate postings concerning Wild Oats caused their stock prices to fall and deterred other investors from buying the stock. That tactic is highly unethical. An article on Daily Finance blogging dated July 11, 2007 cites the following statements and sources made concerning Whole Food CEO: “John Mackey often criticized Perry Odak, Wild Oats' former CEO, who resigned last year. "While Odak was trying to figure out the business and conducting expensive 'research studies,' to help him figure things out, Whole Foods was signing and opening large stores in OATS territories," Rahodeb wrote in 2005. "Odak drove off most of the long-term OATS natural foods managers" and brought in executives who "didn't know too much...
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...strategy that Whole Foods Market pursuing? The principal purpose as an organization in helping support the health, wellbeing, and healing of both people (costumers and Team Members) and of the planet (sustainable agriculture, organic production and environmental sensitivity). The mains elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market pursuing is to grow but maintaining the same standards of quality and service. The Growth strategy had been to expand via combination of opening its own new stores and acquiring small, owner-managed chains that had capable personnel and were located in desirable markets. In 2008 the company had 89 stores averaging 51,500 square feet located in 36 states. 2. Is the strategy well matched to recent developments and conditions in the natural and organic foods segment of the food retailing industry? Whole Foods Market does have a well matched strategy to the recent developments and conditions in the natural and organic food segments of the food retailing industry. The strategy of Whole Foods Market is to grow by providing quality organic products. Consumer demand for organic foods was growing at close to 20 percent annually, for several factors: * Healthier eating patterns on the part of a populace that was becoming better educated about foods, nutrition, and good eating habits. * A “wellness” trend among people of many ages and ethnic groups. * Increasing consumer concerns over the purity and safety of food. 3...
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...Core Values and Strategy, Organizational Behavior and John Mackey CEO at Whole Foods Market 2013 A Case Study J H W State College This paper was prepared for Organizational Behavior September Semester, taught By Professor Core Values and Strategy, Organizational Behavior and John Mackey CEO at Whole Foods Market 2013 Introduction This case study research investigation will evaluate the organizational behavior theories and John Mackey’s Management concepts of Core Values and Strategy “Conscious Capitalism” approach at Whole Foods Market. The five organizational behavior theories that were chosen for this study are; Theory X/Y , human and social capital, the profile of the 21st century manager, Carroll’s Global Corporate Social Responsibility Pyramid, and the seven moral principles. Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas, by four businesspeople that decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket. The original Whole Foods Market opened in 1980 with a staff of only 19 people and became an overnight success. Most of the success was attribute to the quality standards, a devotion to community and environmental responsiveness, a healthy growth model and highly-regarded employment practices. What Role Does McGregor’s Theory Y Play at Whole Foods? Theory Y believes employees are proficient in setting goals on their own; they can do it with little to no guidance from others. They are responsible, willing to take on new...
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...Jordan Davis Whole Foods Market Baker College Whole Foods Market Economic environment The economic environment is describe as the totality of economic factors, such as employment, income, inflation, interest rates, productivity, and wealth, influencing the buying behavior of consumers and institutions. It has five main components; they are economic conditions, economic system, economic policies, international economic environment and economic legislations. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey has pioneered a different approach for the operation of his company than most large retail businesses. John Mackey has the ideal that business and “crony” Capitalism is fundamentally based on greed, selfishness and the exploitation of consumers, workers, society, and the environment for the goal of maximizing profits.(Mackey 2013). However as his business has grown and become very successful he grew to believe that if ran correctly business and capitalism can be a vehicle to solve most of the economic problems of the world we live in. (Mackey 2013). The economic condition of the world affects the profitability of Whole Foods Company through several different factors. The standard of living in which the customers of Whole Foods Market are subject to dictates the amount of tangible goods they can purchase from the company. Organic offerings cost more to produce that other types of offerings making the price to consumers considerable higher than non-organic...
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...Running Head: WHOLE FOODS CASE ANALYSIS 1 Whole Foods Case Analysis Thomas Edison State College WHOLE FOODS CASE ANALYSIS 2 The Whole Foods company mission is whole foods, whole people, whole planet. The Whole Foods company strategy reflects the company mission. Their whole foods mission is achieved by offering a wide variety of food and non-food items that are organic or natural. They source their products locally and usually have stricter store guidelines for the definition of “local” requiring a shorter maximum distance for traveling. “Locally grown” n.d. Their standards of quality are high and they strive to provide products that are fresh, safe and support well being. They have a list of unacceptable ingredients for food and quality standards for other products. “Quality standards” n.d. Their mission of whole people is achieved through the formation of teams at the store level. The teams manage themselves and are encouraged to make decisions about their department they are responsible for. Compensation is in part from stock options so they are invested in the profitability of the store. Fortune magazine has listed them as on the top 100 companies to work for for 13 years in a row now. Team members can go on field trips to...
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...Whole Foods Market in 2010: Vision, Core Values, and Strategy Whole Foods Market 2010 1 OVERVIEW The synopsis of the Whole Foods case discusses the ideas and strategies used by the co-founder and current CEO, John Mackey in taking Whole Foods Market from a small, local store in Austin, Texas and turning the company into one of the nation’s largest retailers of natural and organic supermarkets. STRATEGY The success of Whole Foods is due to the intelligent business strategies used by the company. Strategies were used in all elements of the company including those regarding growth, location, product line, pricing, cost controls, merchandising, marketing, operations, employee compensation, purchasing, distribution and social responsibility. Whole Foods strategy has worked well for the company assisting in supporting growth and income for the future. Whole Foods had a niche for providing a variety of natural and organic goods. Even though conventional stores have begun selling a limited amount of organic products, Whole Foods continues to have a competitive edge due to their consistent effort to be the best in the natural food market and striving to build and keep their dedicated customers. STRATEGIC VISION AND MOTTO John Mackey’s vision for Whole Foods differentiates the company from an ordinary retail store to one that is extraordinary. It has provided the company with the reputation of being a pioneer of the natural and organic consumer market. It...
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...Chapter 8 Case: Whole Foods Vanessa R Brown Michael Finn Organizational Behavior Janurary 29th, 2011 Discuss how the basic interpersonal communication model that is presented in Figure 8.1 can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. First interpersonal communication is communication between two or more people in an organization. In figure 8.1 the message contains the thoughts and feelings of the sender in which he or she hopes to evoke in ther receiver. The primary components of the message is contained in the words, ideas, symbols, and concepts chosen to relay the message. The feedback may or may not be activated in the model. Feedback occurs when the receiver provides the communicator with a response to the message. Also, feedback occurs when information is fed back to the sender that completes two-way communication. However, basic interpersonal communication can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. It can be applied by using computer mediated communication to send messages throughout an organization. The delivery of the message and how it is perceived from the receiver will depend on the response to the message. You can set up meetings and conferences when everyone is in different locations, particularly sales jobs involving travel. It can also be used by managers to communicate with there employees when away from the office or to just simply provide information or update on company status. How does defensive communication enter...
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...COMPANY BACKGROUND Whole Foods Market was founded in Austin, Texas, when four local businesspeople decided the natural foods industry was ready for a supermarket format. Their founders were John Mackey and Renee Lawson Hardy, owners of Safer Way Natural Foods, and Craig Weller and Mark Skiles, owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery. The original Whole Foods Market opened in 1980 with a staff of only 19 people. It was an immediate success. At the time, there were less than half a dozen natural food supermarkets in the United States. It has grown in leaps and bounds since then. Today, they are the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with more than 310 stores in the North America and the United Kingdom (About Whole Foods Market). During its 31-year history, Whole Foods Market has been a leader in the natural and organic food movement across the United States, helping the industry gain acceptance among growing numbers of consumer concerned about the food they eat (Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2010, p.C-2). The company seeks out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintains the strictest quality standards in the industry, and has an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture. Add that to the excitement and fun they bring to shopping for groceries, and you start to get a sense of what they are all about. John Mackey, the company’s cofounder and CEO, believes that Whole Foods’ rapid growth and market success has much to do with its having “remained...
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...Case 1: Whole Foods Market in 2010: Vision, Core Values, and Strategy 1. What are the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market is pursuing? * Whole Foods uses the competitive advantage of having 100% organic products and the highest quality of natural products. Whole Foods uses growth strategy of expanding a combination of opening its own new stores and also acquiring small, owner-managed chains located in desirable markets. Another use of strategy is their location of stores. The company had a set number of stores each year. Their product line strategy guaranteed 100% satisfaction on all items purchased and too live up to their core values. For pricing, Whole Foods products and offerings were “value-priced”. The prices are normally higher than conventional supermarkets. 2. Is Whole Foods’ strategy well matched to market conditions in the food retailing industry (one of the criteria for a winning strategy discussed in Chapter 1)? * Whole Foods does not pass the fit test in the food retailing industry because other supermarkets dominate the industry and have the potential to have more success in a down economy. Whole Foods does have a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry that is becoming a preferred way of life. This company has the option of producing a superior performance, but it may not be for more than a brief period. As far as the performance test, Whole Foods does have financial strength and maintains competitive strength...
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...October 30th, 2015 Whole Foods Market brands themselves as “America's Healthiest Grocery Store.” They were founded in 1980, when four local business people decided that the natural food industry was ready for supermarket format. They started with one small store in Austin, Texas and now are the worlds leader in natural and organic foods, with 431 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. Much of the growth of this fortune 500 company, has been accomplished through mergers and acquisitions. They operate as a high profitable corporation while maintaining an aura of commitment to social justice and environmental responsibility. Although Whole Foods Market operates on a profit, it also has established three non-profit organizations; Whole Kids Foundation, Whole Planet Foundation, and Whole Cities Foundation. 100% of donations help to support and achieve the mission of each of these organizations. Many of Whole Food Markets distributors and global partners are contributors to these organizations. Whole Foods Market is not only a highly successful business, but a movement in shaping the future of a world that values human creativity, diversity, and individual choice. Whole Foods Market, the first National Certified Organic Grocer in the United States, is a Fortune 500 company and ranked as the 10th-largest food and drug store in the United States. The four founders of Whole Foods Market were John Mackey, Renee Lawson Hardy, (owners of Saferway Natural Foods), and Craig Weller...
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...Whole Foods Michael K. Cooper Sr Principles of Organizational B– Business 322 Professor Christopher McGrath July 27, 2011 Whole Foods 2 Abstract In this paper I’ll discuss interpersonal communication, defensive communication and how it transforms the way people communicate. How we communicate in most cases makes up what other people think and observe of us. Poor communication often is the main problem in a troubled relationship, both professional and personal. To better understand communication a person must acknowledge many different aspects, including speech, body language, and context. Context, the time, place, or occasion when communication is encoded, has a very large role in transmitting a message. Without the right context, a message could be perceived as the opposite as it was intended. The best way to begin to understand the communication process is to understand the interactive communication model. First, there is a sender who encodes a message to the receiver. Noise interfering with the communication of a message is called a channel. The receiver then decodes this message depending on the context of the situation, and the speaker’s credibility. I will also discuss the ethical behavior of Mr. John Mackey CEO of Whole Foods Market. Whole Foods 3 Discuss how the basic interpersonal communication model that is presented in Figure 8.1 can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. Interpersonal...
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...The purpose of this document is to discuss interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication is found in various aspects of life. How we communicate in most cases makes up what other people think and observe of us. Poor communication often is the main problem in a troubled relationship, both professional and personal. To better understand communication a person must acknowledge many different aspects, including speech, body language, and context. Context, the time, place, or occasion when communication is encoded, has a very large role in transmitting a message. Without the right context, a message could be perceived as the opposite as it was intended. The best way to begin to understand the communication process is to understand the interactive communication model. First, there is a sender who encodes a message to the receiver. Noise interfering with the communication of a message is called a channel. The receiver then decodes this message depending on the context of the situation, and the speaker’s credibility. 1. Discuss how the basic interpersonal communication model that is presented in Figure 8.1 can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. The basics of interpersonal communication are represented in an online forum. A sender or the person originating the message exists in an online forum as does a receiver, the person receiving the message. There is a two-way communication as there is interaction between a sender and...
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