...Randy Fields successfully built their business from a single cookie shop to over 400 individual store locations by combining their individual strengths. From the very beginning, Debbi’s focus has been to provide a “feel good product” and sell it “in a feel good way”. Randy clearly understood the value of Debbi’s commitment to quality products and the customer experience. He turned his vision of an MIS that “put as much decision making and intelligence into the store level PC as necessary to free the manager to do those things that uniquely people do” into a powerful strategic advantage for Mrs. Fields Cookies. The successful alignment of Mrs. Fields’ Cookies business and information systems strategies resulted in strong revenue growth and bottom line profits. The company developed an information technology platform that was more than just a business support tool. By collecting data, performing analysis and tracking results, Randy and the MIS Department created an expert system that routinely made day to day decisions for store managers. Suggestions related to daily production scheduling, sales strategies, labor demand and even hiring decisions were routinely generated by the company’s management information system. The sophistication of this tool allowed Debbi to maintain a strong influence on day to day store operations even as the number of locations exploded. From the beginning, Debbi committed herself to a strategy that would ensure each Mrs. Fields’ Cookies location...
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...Overview Mrs. Fields Cookies was founded by Debbi Fields in the late 1970s. She and her husband Randy Fields opened their first store in 1977 in Palo Alto, California, selling homemade-style cookies which quickly grew in popularity. Products Mrs. Fields Cookies came in 14 varieties. All baked products were made on premises in the individual stores and the company especially focused on the fresh cookies. If the cookies are not sold within two hours, they were given away and discarded. Competitors Mrs. Fields competitors included New York’s David’s Cookies, Atlanta’s Original Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Company, and the Nestle Company’s Original Cookie Co. Challenges 1. Low barriers to entry and mall locations competition In the early 1980s, cookies were cheap to make and the barriers of sweet snack industry to entry were low. There were many cookies producers and many consumers in the market, and no business had total control over the market price. Because some 80% of Mrs. Fields outlets were in shopping malls, so the competition for the most favorable mall locations was fierce. 2. Franchising Financing and performance of exchange market Mrs. Fields had consistently refused to franchise their stores, because “she viewed franchising as a loss of control over the end product and loss of touch with the customers”. To find bank financing and additional capital for expansion, Mrs. Fields tried to go public and made initial public offering on the London exchange...
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...Mrs. Fields’ Cookies Case Study Assignment 1. Would you describe Mrs. Fields’ Cookies as more of a functional hierarchy structured along traditional functional lines or more of an IT-enabled network consisting of tailored business processes? I would describe the organizational structure of Mrs. Fields’ Cookies as being an IT-enabled network consisting of tailored business processes. Throughout the different sections of the case study, several examples support the notion that Mrs. Fields’ organizational structure aligns with the descriptions and characteristics of a networked structure. The importance that the organization places on Information Strategy and the innovative control processes in place also support this claim. In order to prove this, I’ll start by discussing the basic descriptions and characteristics of a networked organizational structure. Then, I’ll demonstrate through examples how Mrs. Fields’ is a proper fit to these descriptions and characteristics. Pearlson and Saunders describe a networked organizational structure as formal and informal communication networks that connect all parts of the company, as opposed to the bureaucratic form with defined levels of management in a hierarchal structure. Randy and Debbi Fields did not like the idea of a hierarchy because they believed it leads to a focus on managing people instead of business processes. At Mrs. Fields’ Cookies, there was no official organizational chart. Although there were job titles and responsibilities...
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...Mrs. Field’s cookies (who happens to also be my first Colorado employer) was founded in 1977 by Debbi an Randy Field’s based in part upon Debbi’s cookie-making expertise and the demand for her cookies generated by Randy’s clients. By 1988 Mrs. Field’s cookies was in international success with 14 varieties of cookies, brownies, muffins, candies and ice cream. Mrs. Field’s has a highly centralized management methodology leveraging internal and external data to tightly direct supply, production, operations, and even human resources. Nearly equal with the company’s delicious cookies are its management information systems which feed decision making support, operations, aggregate reporting in a hierarchal fashion throughout the enterprise. In 1987 Mrs. Fields acquired La Petite Boulangerie (LBP), a French-style bakery, and integrated the acquisition into its existing organization and systems. Randy drove a new product concept combination store, and consolidated existing locations so as to ensure that the majority of existing Mrs. Field’s locations would support the combination store concept. The financial consequences of this decision along with the possible need for organizational and informational system change have created a dilemma for managers of Mrs. Fields. Initial Actions Mrs. Field’s initial actions after acquiring LBP were to integrate them into their existing management, organizational, and informational structure. This was followed with a “bakery strategy” in...
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... Debbi Fields Mrs. Field’s at the age of 20 began her company in 1977 in Palo Alto, California as Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery. Mrs. Fields believed in her motto “Making people feel special and important.” Mrs. Fields did not come from a wealthy family growing up, but she had a vision for herself to become a great business woman and entrepreneur. Mrs. Fields set her company on the Leadership-participation model. “A leadership theory that provides a set of rules to determine the form and amount of participative decision making in different situations (Robbins, Judge pg. 385-386).” When she started out she didn’t wont cookies that were made of imitation ingredients she believed that her cookies should be made from real products. She also believed that happiness is found in friends, family and enjoying what you do. When Mrs. Fields began her business her husband bet her on her first day that she wouldn’t sell 50.00 worth of cookies, realizing over half the day was gone and her husband was going to win the bet she took a platter filled with her cookies out into the street and began giving out her cookies by the end of the day she had cleared $75.00. Mrs. Fields was much of a transformational leader. She believed that you had to make your customers feel good so that they registered a smile on their face. Mrs. Fields vision was to keep her customers satisfied and coming back. In the early 1990’s Debbi Fields of Mrs. Fields Cookies sold the company she had...
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...Name __________________________ Date ________________________ Mrs. Lee Grade 3 Math Worksheet #24: Solving Word Problems Strategy: Read the problem. Find the key word or words to help you decide what operation to use. Write out the equation and solve it. Problem 1: On Valentine’s Day, Katie received 12 cards, 16 pieces of chocolates and 4 coupons for ice cream. How many things are in Katie’s Valentine’s Day bag all together? 1. Find the key word or words. _____________________ 2. What operation should you use? Addition or subtraction? ___________________ 3. Write out the equation and solve: ______________________________ Problem 2: Jimmy bought a package of 40 pencils, he gave a pencil to each of his 21 classmates. How many pencils does Jimmy have left? 1. Find the key word or words. _____________________ 2. What operation should you use? Addition or subtraction? ___________________ 3. Write out the equation and solve: ______________________________ Problem 3: For the museum field trip, Clara’s class will bring 44 juice packs, Jake’s class will bring 12 bags of cookies, and Max’s class will bring 23 boxes of fruit rollups. How many snacks will there be in total? 1. Find the key word or words. _____________________ 2. What operation should you use? Addition or subtraction? ___________________ 3. Write out the equation and solve: ______________________________ Bonus: In Cal’s family there are two adults and three children. Cal’s Dad is 41 and his Mom is...
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...daily sales * Realization of the customer count * Developing steps to lure people into the store * Provides focus on customers * Provides Knowledge on availability of freshly baked cookies and the ability meet the revenue goals. | Crew Scheduler | The corporate servers | Managers | * Allocation of tasks to people on the basis of time and skills i.e. scheduling | Store Status | Headquarters | Store controllers | * Knowledge on the daily sales and staffing of stores * Detecting anomalies in sales i.e. discrepancy between the daily report of batches of cookies baked, and the sales report | Q2. For the 3 ISs fill in the following table. Information Systems | List the data the IS needs as input. | List the Information/data the IS produces as output | Day Planner | Command from user | * Questions on the type of day whether normal day, sale day, hot day, school day or holiday * Information on when to expand stores | Crew Scheduler system | Roster of store employees and their skills | * Sales projections for two weeks and compares with standard times * A schedule of the people with skill levels he’ll need during particular hours | The Store Status system | Actual resultsExpected results | * Real results from the stores * Daily report of batches of cookies baked * The sales...
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... INDEX 1.Introduction 1.1Executive Summary Cakes n Cookies is a start-up bakery retail establishment located in the Pune city. Cakes n Cookies expects to catch the interest of a regular loyal customer base with its broad variety of bakery products. The company plans to build a strong market position in the city, due to the partners' industry experience and mild competitive climate in the area. Cakes n Cookies aims to offer its products at a competitive price to meet the demand of the middle-to higher-income local market area residents and tourists. 1.2 The Company Cakes n Cookies is incorporated in the state of Maharashtra. It is owned and managed by Mr. Vaibhav Achantani who has a great experience in the field of industrial engineering. The company intends to hire two full-time bakers and four to handle customer service and day to day operations. 1.3 Products and Services The bakery provides freshly prepared bakery and pastry products at all times during business operations. One to two moderate batches of bakery products are prepared during the day to assure fresh baked goods are always available. 1.4 The Market Cakes n Cookies wants to establish a large regular customer base, and will therefore concentrate its business and marketing on local residents, which will be the dominant target market. This will establish a...
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...Mrs. Fields’ Cookie Company had found that quality is a wonderful stimulant for improving operations. The good quality and services would increase the Mrs. Fields’ Cookie Company’s reputation. Mrs. Fields’ Cookie Company succeeded from their good quality products. It gave a stronger influence to the customers. Moreover, As Mrs. Fields’ Cookie Company pursuing the tender loving care, Mrs. Fields would consider product liability for their cookies. Product liability is very important when making products. The sellers and manufacturers should always be aware of any kinds of injury or causes from the product, which means, they should fully understand the product. Higher quality means better performance, nicer features, and other improvements. Improvements in quality would help the Mrs. Fields’ Cookie Company to increase sales and reduce costs, both of which can increase profitability. Increases in sales often would occur as firms speed response, lower selling prices as a result of economies of scale, and improve their reputation for quality products. Indeed, Quality was the critical success factor for Mrs. Fields’ Cookie Company. Ethical decisions are important to the long-term success of any organization. Therefore, if some products in Ben and Jerry’s are politically incorrect, their profit will decrease. Even though their some products have received much favorable, their reputation will decrease at the same time. It is because the media is quick to find and publicize cases of...
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...Q1. Describe the Information Systems Requirements of the organization at three managerial levels. A1. Hierarchy @Managerial Levels Store Level (Operational) 1. Store Manager Managerial Level 1. DSM (District Sales managers) 2. RDO (Regional Directors of Operations) 3. Senior Regional Directors Strategic Level (or corporate) 1. Store Controllers 2. Vice President of Operations 3. Debbi (Owner) At the Store level, the store manager required: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Menu specific projections of achievable sales target for the day. Continuous review of projected sales as per customer count. Time clocks: How many batches to mix and when to mix them. Labor scheduler Inventory management: Computation of supply needed Interview scheduling & resume scanning Skill testing and electronic and voice communication with the HQ Sales recording At the Managerial Level 1. District Managers need lots of data about the sales, number of customers, their time of visit, and item-specific demand. The Info system needs to compile this data for the district managers. 2. Analysis tools: The Information systems needs to generate trends based on the data collected (as mentioned above). This is needed for setting quotas. 3. The information system should also be able to come up with store based predictions of future growth prediction which would assist the regional managers to devise appropriate marketing strategies. 4. It helped in calculating cash underages...
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...Mrs. Fields’ Cookies is a case that was initially created in 1989 and revised in 1993. Even though it is nearly two decades old it contains a lot of educational value by providing look into an international company that has grown from just one small store to a huge organization with over 500 stores in 25 United States, and five countries on four continents. The company was created by Debbi Fields who opened her first store in Palo Alto, CA and grew her business with her husband Randy along her side. In this paper I will evaluate the development of the company as well as the early information systems that were used in the management of the organization. As the time progressed and company grew the founder, Debbi Fields realized that she needed to create system in order to be able to delegate and allow for the stores to be run more independently of her, as she realized that she couldn’t be in more than one place at once. Because of this a Is this essay helpful? Join OPPapers to read more and access more than 550,000 just like it! GET BETTER GRADES very structured system was put in place that allowed for proper reporting all the way from the store manager, through district manager, regional director of operations, store controller and ending with Debi and Randy Fields. Each one of the individuals listed above had tasks that needed to be completed in order to assure that the quality and efficiency of the organization was not compromised. Despite of that there was a minimal push...
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...Managing Codified Knowledge – A Review Knowledge has long been considered an intangible asset that can only be passed on from a teacher to his pupils through years of teaching and knowledge transfer. However, present day technological advancements and the increasingly dynamic nature of knowledge have led to the dissolution of the “sacred” teacher-pupil affiliation. Knowledge, now, is more of an entity that can be codified, stored, mined and retrieved as and when required, by any one and anywhere around the world. Albert Einstein’s quote, “The only source of knowledge is experience”, is now more of an anecdote than reality, as more and more organizations are realizing that knowledge learned from one’s experience can be codified, i.e. transformed into knowledge “packets” that can be stored and transferred to others. Business organizations have been the primary users of such codified knowledge, as huge amounts of information runs through the various divisions of an organization, which can be integrated and used for making more profitable, strategic and constructive business decisions. Thus, the need for knowledge management arose, wherein, chunks of codified knowledge has to be appropriately managed for ease of retrieval and use. The influential paper, “Managing Codified Knowledge” by Zack (1999) is reviewed here. The definition of knowledge and knowledge management, the benefits of knowledge management, the author’s rhetoric on the architecture of knowledge management and its...
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...(1) 3.4 Mr Eagle wants to hire out portable tablets to visitors. Each tablet will have all the details of each type of animal in the park as well as map of the park showing the visitor their exact location in relation to the map. He has been informed that the entire park area needs wireless access. 3.4.1 What is the network device to use to provide wireless access across the park considering we cannot run cables to each access point? Give two reasons for your answer. (3) 3.4.2 Explain why Bluetooth would not be an effective method to create a wireless network. (2) 3.5 List two wireless technologies that can be used in the Park. (2) 3.6 Use table to compare TCP and UDP protocols. Write two statements for each type....
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...UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, FAISALABAD Department of Computer Science (Synopsis for M.Sc. Degree in Computer Sciences) Title: COMPUTERISED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR SHAHEEN CHEMIST SATYANA ROAD, FAISALABAD Name of the student : Hammad Saleem Registration No. : 2011-ag-1444 Abstract The goal of this research is to build up a computerized management system for shaheen chemist satyana Road Faisalabad. Shaheen chemist is presently using manual inventory system for which to handle a large amount of data manually is a tricky task. In the existing system, it is very difficult and time intense process to manage stocks and stores information. The planned system will keep the information of stock and daily sail purchase. This system will also keep the record of employ salaries and other expenses of store. It will reduce the chances of errors and repetition of records and make it trouble-free to get the information of any medicine in the stock. The planned system will facilitate the users for swift and rapid access to the required data. It will provide facility to create eliminate and update the sales and purchase records of the medicines. This computerized system will be implemented for automation of management system by using SQL 2008r as back-end for database and .Net as front end. UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, FAISALABAD Department of Computer Science (Synopsis...
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...Knowledge Management – A Review Knowledge has long been considered an intangible asset that can only be passed on from a teacher to his pupils through years of teaching and knowledge transfer. However, present day technological advancements and the increasingly dynamic nature of knowledge have led to the dissolution of the “sacred” teacher-pupil affiliation. Knowledge, now, is more of an entity that can be codified, stored, mined and retrieved as and when required, by any one and anywhere around the world. Albert Einstein’s quote, “The only source of knowledge is experience”, is now more of an anecdote than reality, as more and more organizations are realizing that knowledge learned from one’s experience can be codified, i.e. transformed into knowledge “packets” that can be stored and transferred to others. Business organizations have been the primary users of such codified knowledge, as huge amounts of information runs through the various divisions of an organization, which can be integrated and used for making more profitable, strategic and constructive business decisions. Thus, the need for knowledge management arose, wherein, chunks of codified knowledge has to be appropriately managed for ease of retrieval and use. The influential paper, “Managing Codified Knowledge” by Zack (1999) is reviewed here. The definition of knowledge and knowledge management, the benefits of knowledge management, the author’s rhetoric on the architecture of knowledge management and its importance...
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