Author: spr1332khendricks

WHOLE Fresh Foods?

Posted on by spr1332khendricks

 

 

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Entrance of Whole Foods Market

 

 

 

 

There are companies who do it better than others, and those who do it better, eventually gain more customers, and a larger portion of that market. I am talking about priming consumers how to subconsciously shop by precise marketing tactics that show symbolism of freshness and purity.

For instance, Whole Foods Market strategically places fresh flowers at the entrance of their stores to create an illusion of fresh, different and what it means to have high quality not only in their products, but as well as in their environment.  A study indicated that flowers are associated with implications of fresh, therefore, gives the consumer walking in an unconscious suggestion that the store is bursting with freshness. They have dominated this type of consumer priming that positioned them to be leaders in the market, “priding themselves on selling the highest quality, freshest, and most environmentally sound produce.”

Another occurrence is the abundance of ice everywhere and sprinkled drops of water on produce being another symbolic unconscious suggestion of freshness and purity again. There is no actual need for the ice and constant water drops, as it tends to make the produce rot more quickly. However, the point is the perception and illusion of the products being fresh and of high quality and that association is continued subconsciously, with the consumer as they shop. Approaches alike are being implemented as retailers use these mechanisms of luring and encouraging customers to spend more than they need to and more than they intended to.

The point is that by focusing on how to hook and gain customers, is quality compromised at all? Definitely not, as one of the main differences between Whole Foods Market and other retail supermarkets is that they can actually back it up with all the products they offer and high level of customer service they provide.  They have quality standards and are extremely devoted to serving the consumer as the medium in making informed choices when it comes to discovering the best of the best. From seafood, meat and animal welfare to unacceptable ingredients in food they do not carry*. Their core business is to sell the highest quality foods they can possibly find at the most competitive prices. In addition, they evaluate quality in relation to nutrition, freshness, appearance, and taste, and their search for quality is a continual process involving the vigilant decision of buyers throughout the company.

So why do customers keep coming back even if they know they are being primed? They like the experience of going in there, as it is aesthetically pleasing to consumers’ senses and their subconscious. Besides, who doesn’t want better, quality products that aim at always being environmentally sound, and that are good for your mind, body and soul? Everyone’s a winner in this occasion.

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Caulk boards gives illusion and implication of being fresh daily

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Sources:

http://www.fastcompany.com/1779611/how-whole-foods-primes-you-shop

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/about-our-products/quality-standards/unacceptable-ingredients-food

 

*disclaimer  from WHOLE FOODS reserving the right to change this list at any time. Please note that creating a product with no unacceptable ingredients does not guarantee that Whole Foods Market will sell it. This list is intended for illustrative purposes only. If you are interested in selling your product to Whole Foods Market, please contact a WFM buyer.

 

Can Self-Management Improve Quality?

Posted on by spr1332khendricks

As management students start to think about their career paths, especially for those graduating soon, one of the things on their minds is how they will differentiate themselves in the job market. Better yet, the opportunists’ who will be brave enough to tackle competitive markets, what kind of unfair advantages could these entrepreneurs come up with in their businesses? Well, one suggestion is how you actually structure the company through your business model and management style. This will determine how successful you will become in the long run, because the people you hire will indeed be the backbone of the company.

Morning Star’s founder, Chris Rufer has built a tomato processing empire that is like no other business model many have never heard of until now. He calls it a “bossless” model, which consists of no managers, no titles, so no one to report to, making everyone have mutual accountability of their work. They set their own goals and meet them, creating an extreme level of achievement.

When everyone having a high degree of accountability, the company strives; therefore you can focus in on the company’s core competency, in this case, the tomato process. In the video, Morning Star demonstrates their process from start to finish, and we can see the dedication from their employees; they take pride in their work every time. It shows how workers evaluate every single tomato for quality, before going on to the next process.  Innovation is also encouraged within the organization through everyone’s perspective of how to be more efficient in the process.

Consequently, when you have that amount of freedom in the workplace you can perfect a higher level of quality in your products and services, resulting in a greater profit margin or penetrating a larger market in the end. Why? There is no pressure of doing the job in just an autocratic way, unlike with the red bead Deming’s experiment; where there was no other approach  besides the way the boss wanted it to be done, which is impractical in today’s advanced technological age.

Rufer says that this model of doing business is “Quite good, high-performing people love it here, and they flourish,” and it is their competitive advantage in the market. So why don’t more companies follow this model? With traditional models becoming obsolete, our generation needs to figure out other ways to conduct business, in order to distinguish ourselves from the rest. This method of organizational structure is not fit for all businesses, but it is certainly a new and inventive system of increasing productivity, quality and overall well-being in the organization.

There is a saying that people don’t necessarily quit their jobs, but actually quit on their bosses. So, what if you worked at a company where there was no boss to quit on, do you think you would be happier? And therefore, be more productive, and result in products and services having better quality that could be beneficial to everyone?


http://www.inc.com/audacious-companies/leigh-buchanan/morning-star.html

http://morningstarco.com/index.cgi?Page=Self-Management

Video http://www.smithsonianmag.com/multimedia/videos/A-Tomato-Trail.html