Whole Foods Core Values

This paper is intended to explore the work ethic and value of Trader Joe’s as a company and their employees. Hands-on top managers have always been insistent in the company. Now, CEO Dan Bane created the values to reflect on the original traditions of its founder. When reading through the accomplishments of this grocery store, I was pleasantly surprised that they have managed to keep their integrity during their growth. Being a customer at Trader Joe’s myself, I find myself thinking about all the good experiences I have had every time I visited the store. Trader Joe’s has grown from a “mom and pop” grocery to a worldwide chain. Their integrity for selling a good product at a good price with great customer has proven them to be one of the grocery stores to be in high completion with other retailers in their genre. Their focus on giving their customers the options of different goods and the smiling faces of their friendly employees has risen them to a higher level of grocery shopping.

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 has many important values. For example, they believe that their customers are the most important stakeholders and the lifeblood of their business.[8] Whole Foods has five major stakeholders; John Mackey (CEO), James Sud, Glenda Chamberlain, Walter Robb, and John Elstrott.[9] Whole Foods selectively chose where to do business based on their average customer. Whole Foods knows that its products are for health and food enthusiasts.[10]

Whole Food goes by a management philosophy called conscious capitalism meaning "the ethical treatment of customers, employees, and the environment is the main mission and basis for organizational culture (Cheretis& Mujtaba 2014,p.7)." This is a management philosophy that was created by the CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey. The philosophy was made to empower people, which is the customer, employer and investors. The three aspects will improve socialism as a whole. It's a win-win for the entire system and he value that is shown to employees in this system ignites enthusiasm to work. It’s just a trickle-down effect for the customer to feel valued and profit begins for the shareholder. People is what makes a successful business and Mackey shows

In order to achieve success, the first thing any business needs to consider is a proper, strategic business model, which is a concise description of how a business intends to generate revenue. Whole Foods' business model consists of maintaining the motivation along with the happiness of their team members which leads to efficient innovation and customer service. This process allows Whole Foods to give back to their communities, resulting in motivated investors, high quality products, and good value. Whole Foods appears to follow a strong business model, yet the key to their success relies on their competitive advantage in the market place. Any company is capable of holding a competitive advantage as long as the company or product provides

Whole Foods Market believes that the operation of a company should exceed beyond profits and focus on creating values and relationships within their communities. Whole Foods Market is “currently the 8th largest public food and drug retailer in the U.S., ranking #232 on the Fortune 500” (Whole Foods Market Annual Report, 2013). Food retailing has gained more competiveness over the years. Whole Foods Market, has been awarded, “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store.” Whole Foods Market’s “seek out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture” (Whole Foods Market Company Info, 2014). They believe that providing customers with natural and organic products, they are giving customers the most nutritious food and the best tasty food as well. “The quality of their foods is measured by nutrition, freshness, appearance, and taste” (Whole Foods Market Company Info, 2014).

The question that begs to be answered is, what is human capital? According to OECD (as cited by Soboleva, 2010) Human capital is “the knowledge, skills, competencies and attributes embodied in individuals that facilitate the creation of personal, social and economic well-being.” Whole Foods builds human and social capital in a variety of ways. Whole Foods trains employees to flourish in the workplace and to contribute to the overall health and prosperity of the company Whole Foods is also committed to ensuring that employees know their worth to the company Building a happy customer base ensures that they will be loyal customers, and in turn will bring more customers. Whole Foods invest in and values their employees The employees understand

In my opinion the key factors for working for Whole Foods would be that they strive for a great work environment. They encourage personal growth and being part of the team. The company has built its moral practice on striving to keep their employees happy. Whole Foods is a company that drives innovation, the company’s vision is excellent in terms of saving the environment and they are striving to change their communities by encouraging their consumers to practice healthy eating. This is an excellent example of how the company is trying to change the world around them. The average employee spends most of his or her time at their place of employment. (Shum & Yam, 2011) Why not spend it at a place that make you happy and is willing to invest

The purpose of this paper is to show a correlation between what is perceived about Whole Foods Market and what is factual about them. We intend to explore and investigate the following key points such as their mission statement, vision, their strategy for success, and empowerment techniques. We will look at how they motivate, compete with others, and the type of inspiration used as a whole to promote cohesiveness

One of the appeals of working for Whole Foods is knowing the value that is placed on their employees. Employees are considered an interquel part of the corporation. Whole foods strives to hire good people, provide continued training, offers competitive wages, benefits, educational opportunities and they value teamwork (Cheretis & Mujtaba, 2014). Kreitner & Kinicki (2013) reports that Whole Foods wants to see their employees flourish and as a result it will make for a win win situation for the employee and the company.

They are a great company because they care about the needs of their employees and believe achieving unity of vision about the future of the company by building trust and aim to cultivate a strong sense of community and dedication to the company. The Whole Foods Markets has many opportunities for growth, but they ask team members to take responsibility for their own

Management of Whole Foods believe that individuals can take responsibility, make good decisions and be productive associates. Formal ongoing training and advancement opportunities are also available.

Marketed as ‘America’s healthiest grocery store’ the company has successfully grown to 408 stores across the world with sales of $14 billion in 2014 (Whole Foods Market, 2015). The firm is positioned as an upmarket grocery due to the emphasis on natural, organic origins, and as a result are able to charge a premium for their products. Through efficiently running its operations and stores, Whole Foods are able to maintain healthy 4.02% profit margins (Financial Times, 2015) and operating margins well above the American grocery store industry average at 6.58% (Bloomberg, 2015). Looking at 2015’s quarter 1 figures it is clear to see that Whole Foods have had a hugely successful year with sales of $4.7 billion, up 10% from the same period last year. Furthermore, they opened 9 new stores and have signed a further 11 new leases.

Whole Foods Market prides themselves as being America’s healthiest grocery store. The store finds the best natural and organic foods available to fulfill the strictest quality standards in the industry and maintains a commitment to sustainable agriculture. In 1980 it was founded in Austin, Texas when four local businesspeople decided the natural foods industry needed a supermarket format. The founders were John Mackey, Renee Lawson Hardy, Craig Weller, and Mark Skiles. Most of the growth in the company has been though merger and acquisitions (Whole Foods Market).The mission and vision statements establish Whole Foods Market’s identity and individuality. Whole Foods Market did a great job with its vision statement. It tells you what the

Whole Foods Market began in 1970 as a local supermarket. Over the past 31 years, Whole Foods Market has grown from a single store in Austin, Texas, to becoming one of the worldwide leaders in providing consumers with natural and organic foods. They have grown to over 300 stores in both North America and the United Kingdom. (Whole Foods Market, Inc., 2011) This report examines the chief elements of the strategy that Whole Foods Market has put into place. Also, it uses past financial data to provide an assessment of the condition of the company going forward. Those assessments include recommendations of future actions, along with concerns I have about the way the company is currently operating and some difficulties that may be on the way.