Belief and Support of Human Capital: Case Study Analysis of Whole Foods

Mackey believes “making high profits is the means to the end of fulfilling Whole Foods’ core business mission” (Rae & Wong, 2012, p. 152). Mackey says Whole Foods wants to better the world through quality products, but understands this is only possible if Whole Foods is a highly profitable corporation. This is such a reputable view of corporate responsibility and only heightens my respect for the Whole Foods corporation as well as John Mackey. The world needs more corporations such as Whole Foods in rode to be a better-rounded, sustainable world.

McGregor's third section of Theory Y best demonstrates Whole Foods role in management. Section three covers how people generally become committed to organizational objectives if they are rewarded for doing so (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2013, pg. 9). I believe Mackey's beliefs towards organizational behavior and management is more realistic and fair for both leaders and employees. Whole Foods uses the Theory Y strategy throughout their nationwide chain and obviously success is evident with the continued growth of the organization. One may wonder how large organizations operate in the confines of Theory Y? Meeker accounted in his article entitled "Theory Y: Another Look" states that even in the absence of leadership and his/ her sanctions because it's desgined to reach the employee's attitude as well as their behavior (Meeker, 1982, pg. 508). With strong leaders and accountable employees Theory Y

He believes that in a conscious business, you can have an expanding pie and potentially everyone can get larger pieces. Basically, the idea is to create value for everyone. This concept seems to be the comprehensive culture of the organization and is infused within everything they do. The employees are referred to as team members to incorporate their inclusion in this philosophy. On a daily basis, they are empowered and encouraged to take opportunities to practice servant leadership towards satisfying their customers. For long term benefits, the also are offered opportunities to develop job specific skills to grow within the organization. Furthermore, team members are encouraged to participate in community outreach efforts as well. The culture of Whole Foods Market is positively affecting the team members in the organization through training, example, and involvement to become servant leaders as

Whole Foods leadership is rare in today's corporations, where many corporations are run by an authoritative figure. Mackey has received a $1 dollar per year since 2007 – his suggestion – they have also capped executives salaries. Mackey built the foundation of Whole Foods Market on this leadership style since the beginning. According to Flanagan, "We all have the authority to make a broad range of decisions on our own, but it's extremely rare for any of us to make a decision of any consequence without consulting the full team, or many people on the team," she said. "We just don't do it that way." Shared responsibility and decision-making has been a philosophy at Whole Foods Market from the start and is shared throughout the organization. (Gaar, 2010)

These conflicts exist in the demographics served by Whole Foods – the elite and well to do. If Mackey is a conscious capitalist and servant leader and practices what he preaches he would have stores which are accessible to persons of all demographics. This has been the main complaint against Mackey and the one which the potential to damage his credibility as a servant leader and conscious capitalist and thus the good work of his legacy. Recently Mackey acknowledged the weakness of his legacy this and answered the call to provide good food for people of all incomes be creating Whole Food’s Market 365 stores, which only sell the stores brand. The 365 stores will have price points which are easily affordable to persons of middle and lower income (Kowitt,

Whole Foods definitely uses human capital as a competitive advantage in multiple aspects of the company business model. Whole Foods built the foundation of their business model around quality, empowered employees. These employees are the key to the unique experience that defines the company and the source of their primary competitive advantage in the marketplace. This competitive advantage is framed around the concepts of human capital value, human capital rareness, and human capital imitability (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2015). Whole Foods human capital value is represented by knowledgeable, capable employees empowered to champion the overall strategy of the company and make decisions at the lowest level to ensure a great product and customer experience (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2015). Human capital rareness is demonstrated by the emphasis placed on sourcing, interviewing, and hiring practices. This ensures Whole Foods hires the unique employee that will champion the quality of their product line as well as the front-line face of the company to customers. Regarding human capital imitability, Whole Foods overall human capital focus and packaging makes a formidable task for competitors to replicate. From the overall compensation package, degree of employee input and interaction, benefits structure, bonus program, and overall company environment, Whole Foods ensures that sourcing and retention of employees provides a definite advantage (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2015).

The factors that would appeal to working at Whole Foods are that they values employees. When a company give employees the resources they need to be successful, this goes a long way with the employee. The employee feels empowered, will be loyal the company, and to management. Employees will go out of their way for the company if management makes them feel valued and appreciated (Kainkan, (2015. Knowing that management ways you to be successful makes the employee want to do everything they can to do exceptional quality work for the customers and are committed to achieving the company’s goal. This dedication is directly benefited by profits for the company.

There are several factors that appeal to me for working at Whole Foods. In doing my research about the Whole Foods Market and John Mackey I learned a lot such as how it was established, and the history of John Mackey as well. In today's era it is very rare to find an employer who has a genuine concern with his employees, giving back to charities, and the community. I feel it is heartwarming to know that Mackey set-up a fund for his employees if they were going through personal issues and needed monies. He gave money to charities, and got to a point in his career that he no longer saw it as a profit to himself. He also promotes growth and encourages his employees to push for higher expectations. I would most definitely work for this company

Hollywood film writers understand the impact organizational behavior has in corporations across America. By creating comical movies such as Horrible Bosses it is evident the issue is far more prevalent than just limiting the problem to one organization. The movie Horrible Bosses focuses on three main characters who dislike their boss and the organization. These individuals formulate a strategy to remove their boss. The movie is quite comical however, it brings out real life emotions and frustrations when an organization has dissatisfied employees and horrible bosses. Whole Foods has several factors that are appealing in seeking employment with this organization; however, the two main ones are innovation

Theory Y plays a big role at Whole Foods. Theory Y is a positive set of assumptions about people being responsible and creative (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013). Manager could get more out of individuals by viewing them as self-energized positive people. Under theory Y, people enjoy working, they are self-motivated, committed to the organization, and are responsible human beings (Lawter, Kopelman & Prottas, 2015). Managers assume that individuals are capable of self-direction and they volunteer for additional responsibility. Managers that are consistent with Theory Y behaviors get higher performance out of employees and believe in empowering employees. When given the opportunity, managers with the theory Y principle feels people are creative and

It’s no secret why Whole Foods pursues individuals with a college education. Graduates display higher levels of critical thinking, problem solving, and self-confidence. Companies who have a full awareness regarding human capital will have continual success. These industries are constantly looking for the latest knowledge, skills, and education

Whole foods appear to have Autonomy, loyalty, fairness, and common good. These principles are the foundation for the business. Autonomy exist because Whole food they the employees the right to self-govern. And each employee knows their self-worth to the company. According to (“whole-foods-a-disciplined-democracy,” 2016) “Ownership is a powerful force that can inspire even the most productive workforces to surpass themselves.

Teamwork is important factor, because without social capital an employee will not become a benefit to the company. Whole Foods offer human capital because of the shared knowledge due to training and other qualifications that begin with the hiring process (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013). Managers that are selected with potential value to operate very functional is a quality that Whole Foods possess. These are all valuable factors when considering employment at Whole Foods. Overall Whole Foods offer that level of employee satisfaction that is very motivating and compelling to be a part

McGregor’s Theory Y at Whole Foods plays the role in positivity. The text mentions that Whole Foods has the mindset that if the employees are happy then the customers are happy (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013). Also, Whole Foods holds the idea of training as a very important of aspect of a well-rounded business.  There is no part in Whole Foods that shows any signs of using McGregor’s Theory X. A majority of McGregor’s Theory X shows negativity in the employees and how they view their work. This also could be why Whole Foods has been so successful in their endeavors.  One can even concur that the reason that Whole Foods is so successful is due to their CEO, John Mackey’s, philosophy of Conscious Capitalism (Cheretis & Mujitaba, 2014, pg. 4). Keeping

McDonald’s is one of the biggest companies in the world with restaurants in 119 countries and it has accomplished this extraordinary global presence through its effective management practices. McDonald’s uses a combination of Fredrik Taylor’s scientific management, Max Weber’s hierarchical structure, and Henri Fayol’s administrative principles to run its restaurants. McDonald’s has become a mechanistic organization by making its restaurant environment predictable. McDonald’s has developed set management structure and a predetermined set of procedures for running its restaurants. As a result, McDonald’s has come to resemble a machine where employees are like components of the big McDonald’s machine.