...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...
Words: 772 - Pages: 4
...and 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...
Words: 1025 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 2160 - Pages: 9
...Introduction Mrs. Fields Cookies was started by Debbi and Randy Fields in the August of 1977 from a borrowed amount of $50,000. Today the single store venture has grown onto become a huge a company with a hundreds of stores, well established corporate structure and thousands of employees. The company’s operations span across 25 states in the US, five countries and four continents. The company’s growth was explosive and within a short span of 5 years the company was expanding its operations in international markets. The reason for the meteoric rise of the company is the way Debbi and Randy have been able to monitor and control the various activities of the company by incorporating information technology into the day to day to operations. Also the management philosophy of Fields’ was in unison with the ideals of the founders. Debbi and Randy Fields were in control of every store and did not believe in franchising their stores. Their main motto was customer satisfaction and the profits came later. Felids’ enjoyed great success in the first decade of business but their first big failure happened when they acquired the 119 store French bakery/sandwich chain. La Petite Boulangerie (LPB) from PepsiCo in the April 1987. The acquisition was the part of the company’s diversification and expansion plan. Until the acquisition, the main product of the Fields’ were cookies alone which came in 14 different varieties. But the acquisition of LPB added a whole new range of products...
Words: 1944 - Pages: 8
...members and the spirited PTA Officers. J & M: ladies and gentlemen, good evening! Welcome to the search for MISS SSG 2011-2012 and the induction ceremony of Tugdan National High School. M: as we commence this momentous event, may I request everybody to rise for a soul warming doxology to be lead by selected students. J: please remain standing for the Philippine National Anthem to be conducted by Mrs. Rachel Fesalbon. M: the world is proud of having its great leaders. From ancient times up to present, good leaders foster the rest of the world to stand firm, to dream big and to take the highest flight man could ever take.. good leaders prepare people to survive the realities of life !ladies and gentlemen, let us hear from our loving Madam Melicia Galicia for her opening remarks. : and at this moment, may I call on Mr. Christian Solidum to introduce the board of judges for tonight’s affair. J: thank you sir! And now let us all welcome our candidates in their production number. J: now, we have the induction ceremony of the newly elected SSG Officers who will be presented by Mr. Randy A. Musa, SSG Adviser and to be inducted by Hon. Herman Galicia, ABC President.. may I request all the officers to come on stage. M: folks, let us be entertained as the selected students set on stage in their modern dance presentation. : thank you guys!! J: ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause to the candidates in their fashionista...
Words: 790 - Pages: 4
...home after the previous governess died. Douglas begins to read from the written record, and the story shifts to the governess’s point of view as she narrates her strange experience. The governess begins her story with her first day at Bly, the country home, where she meets Flora and a maid named Mrs. Grose. The governess is nervous but feels relieved by Flora’s beauty and charm. The next day she receives a letter from her employer, which contains a letter from Miles’s headmaster saying that Miles cannot return to school. The letter does not specify what Miles has done to deserve expulsion, and, alarmed, the governess questions Mrs. Grose about it. Mrs. Grose admits that Miles has on occasion been bad, but only in the ways boys ought to be. The governess is reassured as she drives to meet Miles. One evening, as the governess strolls around the grounds, she sees a strange man in a tower of the house and exchanges an intense stare with him. She says nothing to Mrs. Grose. Later, she catches the same man glaring into the dining-room window, and she rushes outside to investigate. The man is gone, and the governess looks into the window from outside. Her image in the window frightens Mrs. Grose, who has just walked into the room....
Words: 1066 - Pages: 5
...character? To what extent is her final protest justified? How do the other characters portray themselves by their attitudes toward the ritual? Mrs. Tess Hutchinson stands out right from the start: she arrives at the lottery late. She explains to Mr. Summers that she was doing her dishes and forgot what day it was. The town treats her lateness lightly, but several people comment on it, “in voices just loud enough to be heard across the crowd, ‘Here comes your Missus, Hutchinson,’ and ‘ Bill, she made it after all.’” (Jackson 501). It is ironic that she is the one who wins the lottery, and is fated to be stoned. So Tess Hutchinson has already been noticed by people as one who is not entirely part of the group. Before the drawing she is friendly with the other women, pretending to be pleased to be present. The very moment that she sees is her family that draws the black dot, though, her egotism is evident. “You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!” (Jackson 504). She continues to scream about the unfairness of the ritual up until her stoning. Mrs. Hutchinson knew the lottery was wrong, but she never did anything about it. She pretends as much as she could to enjoy it, when she truly hated it all along. Maybe Jackson is suggesting that the more hypocritical one is, the more of a target they are. Mrs. Hutchinson was clearly the target of her fears. I think sometimes we have no problem remarking on people’s adultery until it is ourselves that...
Words: 548 - Pages: 3
...May I beg that you will write at once to the mother of this unfortunate woman--to Mrs. Catherick--to ask for her testimony in support of the explanation which I have just offered to you?" I saw Miss Halcombe change colour, and look a little uneasy. Sir Percival's suggestion, politely as it was expressed, appeared to her, as it appeared to me, to point very delicately at the hesitation which her manner had betrayed a moment or two since. I hope, Sir Percival, you don't do me the injustice to suppose that I distrust you," she said quickly. "Certainly not, Miss Halcombe. I make my proposal purely as an act of attention to YOU. Will you excuse my obstinacy if I still venture to press it?" He walked to the writing-table as he spoke, drew a chair to it, and opened the paper case. "Let me beg you to write the note," he said, "as a favour to ME. It need not occupy you more than a few minutes. You have only to ask Mrs. Catherick two questions. First, if her daughter was placed in the Asylum with her knowledge and approval. Secondly, if the share I took in the matter was such as to merit the expression of her gratitude towards myself? Mr. Gilmore's mind is at ease on this unpleasant subject, and your mind is at ease—pray set my mind at ease also by writing the note." "You oblige me to grant your request, Sir Percival, when I would much rather refuse it." With those words Miss Halcombe rose from her place and went to the writing-table. Sir Percival thanked her, handed her a...
Words: 572 - Pages: 3
...He went to where Miss Mijares sat, a tall, big man, walking with an economy of movement, graceful and light, a man who knew his body and used it well. He sat in the low chair worn decrepit by countless other interviewers and laid all ten fingerprints carefully on the edge of her desk. She pushed a sheet towards him, rolling a pencil along with it. While he read the question and wrote down his answers, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was ten. "I shall be coming back quickly," she said, speaking distinctly in the dialect (you were never sure about these people on their first visit, if they could speak English, or even write at all, the poor were always proud and to use the dialect with them was an act of charity), "you will wait for me." As she walked to the cafeteria, Miss Mijares thought how she could easily have said, Please wait for me, or will you wait for me? But years of working for the placement section had dulled the edges of her instinct for courtesy. She spoke now peremtorily, with an abruptness she knew annoyed the people about her. When she talked with the jobless across her desk, asking them the damning questions that completed their humiliation, watching pale tongues run over dry lips, dirt crusted handkerchiefs flutter in trembling hands, she was filled with an impatience she could not understand. Sign here, she had said thousands of times, pushing the familiar form across, her finger held to a line, feeling the impatience grow at sight of the man...
Words: 2581 - Pages: 11
...Contact Information for Teaching Staff at Thomas Knyvett College If you email a member of staff please allow 48 hours for a response. If it is an urgent matter please contact a member of the SLT or your son/daughter’s House Leader. Senior Leadership Team Mrs Miss Mr Mr Mr Miss Mrs Mrs Mrs Miss Miss Mr Mrs Mrs Ms Mr Mrs Mrs Mrs Miss Miss Miss Miss Mrs Mr Miss Mrs Miss Miss Mr Ms Ms Mrs Mrs Miss Mrs Mrs Miss Mr Mrs Mr Mrs Mrs Miss Miss Miss Ms Miss Miss Miss Mrs Janise Farrah Andrew Sheldon Chris Freya Claire Valerie Inma Seema Allison Adam Sian Kapila Theresa David Aimi Correen Jackie Emma Tanya Joann Alison Rachel Nick Abigail Wendy Lauren Isobel Andy Megan Mazie Carolyn Priscilla Preetpal Gurinder Sian Emily Steven Christine David Susan Vanessa Hayley Jean Azmari Linda Laura Nicole Hayley Tanya Marillat Thantrey Ward Snashall Bellamy Oliver Parsons O’Keeffe Alvarez Balrai Bates Belbin Bolsh Chalisgaonkar Chambers Chapman Curtis Danks Dillaway Edge Ellis Epps Fairclough Foley Fowler Frith Grantham Jankowski John Knott Lister Lloyd-Smith Manwaring Naicker Nashad Oberai Reeve Razzell Ratsakatika Reilly Retsinas Rowntree Russell Sculpher Semadeni Shikder Strachan Thomas Vernon Warren Zaheer JMa FTh AWa SSn CBe FOL CPa VOk IAL SBa ABa ABe SBo KCh TCh DCh ACs CDa JDi EEd TEl JEp AFa RFo NFo AFr WGr LJa IJo AKn MLi MSm CMa PNa PNd GOi SRv ERa DRa CRe SRe SRe VRu HSc JSe ASh LSt LTh NVe HWa TZa Head of School Deputy Head Assistant Head Assistant Head Cross Phase Assistant Head Partnership...
Words: 591 - Pages: 3
...Article 86 of the Uniform Code Of Military Justice. This Article covers Point and Place of Duty. That means from PT formation to COB that is where you will be. What a lot of Soldiers do not understand that includes appointments made by them or someone else. We have appointment times, SP times, formation times and many other start times that dictate we will be there. If a Convoy has an SP time of fifteen hundred hours and the Soldiers decide to show up late because they did not feel like getting ready on time people could die. If they rolled out on time, they may have avoided the ambush or avoided the Vbid that hit them in the bottleneck. It sounds extreme but time management plays a critical role in the Army. When you make an appointment that spot has been reserved for you. That means if you have been given the last slot someone else is going to have to wait for another one to open up. This could be one day or one month. And because you missed it someone else is still going to have to wait when they could have had that spot and been there. If you are going to miss the appointment or cannot make it due to mission they do allow us to cancel the appointment with in twenty four hours. The Army allows us to make appointments for whatever we need. Be it for a medical appointment, house goods, CIF, Smoking Sensation or whatever we need these recourses are available to us. But when Soldiers start missing appointments theses systems start to become inefficient. What a lot of Soldiers do...
Words: 354 - Pages: 2
...THE VIRGIN by Kerima Polotan Tuvera 1) He went to where Miss Mijares sat, a tall, big man, walking with an economy of movement, graceful and light, a man who knew his body and used it well. He sat in the low chair worn decrepit by countless other interviewers and laid all ten fingerprints carefully on the edge of her desk. She pushed a sheet towards him, rolling a pencil along with it. While he read the question and wrote down his answers, she glanced at her watch and saw that it was ten. "I shall be coming back quickly," she said, speaking distinctly in the dialect (you were never sure about these people on their first visit, if they could speak English, or even write at all, the poor were always proud and to use the dialect with them was an act of charity), "you will wait for me." As she walked to the cafeteria, Miss Mijares thought how she could easily have said, Please wait for me, or will you wait for me? But years of working for the placement section had dulled the edges of her instinct for courtesy. She spoke now peremtorily, with an abruptness she knew annoyed the people about her. When she talked with the jobless across her desk, asking them the damning questions that completed their humiliation, watching pale tongues run over dry lips, dirt crusted handkerchiefs flutter in trembling hands, she was filled with an impatience she could not understand. Sign here, she had said thousands of times, pushing the familiar form across, her finger held to a line, feeling...
Words: 2588 - Pages: 11
...was a member of the “Kissy girls”, whose job was to hunt boys down and kiss them till they screamed. Another hobby was to collect snakes and lizards. She even had a favourite lizard, called Vladimir. Later she was a student at Beverly Hills High School far from being beautiful. She wore braces, glasses and was painfully skinny. So the students teased her but they didn’t know that she had an impressive collection of knives. Her movie career At the age of seven she appeared in her first movie but her breakthrough came with Girl, Interrupted. It followed her big hit: her role in Tomb Raider, where she had to master a British accent. She had to become familiar with kick-boxing, street-fighting, yoga and ballet. In 2005 she released Mr. and Mrs. Smith, where she and Brad Pitt starred as a bored couple. Now she is married with Brad Pitt and although she is committed to motherhood she does charitable work...
Words: 269 - Pages: 2
...When most people see the name Angelina Jolie they only think of the talented actress, the significant other of Brad Pitt or the celebrity with the very diverse children but she is so much more than that. Since 2001 Jolie has been working alongside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to bring awareness to the unfortunate situations of refugees from around the world. She has traveled to and volunteered in many third world countries such as; Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Iraq and North Caucasus. In addition to this, she along with Brad Pitt founded the Jolie-Pitt foundation which is dedicated to eradicating extreme rural poverty, protecting natural resources and conserving wildlife. This foundation also donates to many other humanitarian groups, one being Doctors without Borders. In 2009 Angelina Jolie gave the opening speech for a World Refugee Day event being held at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington D.C. Throughout this speech Jolie concentrates not on the horrible conditions that refugees endure but on the spirit that they have from being in these situations. When speaking to millions of Americans she doesn’t rely on facts or statistics but instead she uses anecdotal evidence, visualization and pathos to get her point across. The purpose of this speech is not to persuade but to inform the people of America about the amazing people she has met while traveling to third world countries. Furthermore, she is trying to show people that...
Words: 268 - Pages: 2
...When most people see the name Angelina Jolie they only think of the talented actress, the significant other of Brad Pitt or the celebrity with the very diverse children but she is so much more than that. Since 2001 Jolie has been working alongside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to bring awareness to the unfortunate situations of refugees from around the world. She has traveled to and volunteered in many third world countries such as; Sierra Leone, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Iraq and North Caucasus. In addition to this, she along with Brad Pitt founded the Jolie-Pitt foundation which is dedicated to eradicating extreme rural poverty, protecting natural resources and conserving wildlife. This foundation also donates to many other humanitarian groups, one being Doctors without Borders. In 2009 Angelina Jolie gave the opening speech for a World Refugee Day event being held at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington D.C. Throughout this speech Jolie concentrates not on the horrible conditions that refugees endure but on the spirit that they have from being in these situations. When speaking to millions of Americans she doesn’t rely on facts or statistics but instead she uses anecdotal evidence, visualization and pathos to get her point across. The purpose of this speech is not to persuade but to inform the people of America about the amazing people she has met while traveling to third world countries. Furthermore, she is trying to show people that...
Words: 317 - Pages: 2
