This week’s case highlights a service-oriented and “socially responsible enterprise” (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011, p. 557) that has achieved monetary success without relying on the corporate capitalist approach, currently pervading the common market. The various key factors that contributed to the Whole Food Market’s success are as follows:
1. An altruistic leader who understands that his path of principle-based business could potentially create a profit margin that extends beyond the capitalist counterpart.
2. A business model that places a stronger emphasis on employees and customers over the shareholders. Nevertheless, the company strives to strike a balance by satisfying all stakeholders’ interests.
3. The company devotes …show more content…
The description of John Mackey’s Time Warner store elucidates a manager who understands the value of people and their output/contributions can be maximized through proper training/development. Moreover, John Mackey established a cooperative environment that sought a network of experts (“yogurt culture”) (p. 556). These experts contributed to the credibility of Whole Foods Market in supporting the customer’s needs. As our book states, performance is a “function of a person’s level of ability and motivation” (p. 159). This includes the psychological benefits that result from an employee that is confident in their skills and …show more content…
John Mackey branched out his business by collaborating with local vendors to maintain his organic and health food approach, while empowering local businesses to maintain a healthy environment. He completely understood that his altruistic behavior may not be profit oriented, but a long-term commitment eventually warrants higher stock prices and benefits all stakeholders. Additionally, John Mackey’s approach developing and promoting a team-based culture improved customer satisfaction and contributed to the proper allocation of employees for increased productivity and