Mba 502

Organizational Behavior: Kudler Foods

Group B

University of Phoenix

Organizational Behavior: Kudler Foods

Within all organizations, there is a very specific organic behavior that occurs. Kudler Fine Foods (Kudler’s) exhibits many different processes in the organization of the business. The following will present a review of Kudler’s to assess for current trends in the organization. The purpose of this analysis is to identify certain aspects of the company to assess if they need to be changed, the areas for analysis are as follows: the apparent organizational culture of Kudler’s, to breakdown the organizational structure, identify leadership styles, and identify environmental forces that will drive change with Kudler Fine Foods.

Organizational Culture

“Organizational culture is a system of shared values, assumptions, beliefs, and norms that unite the members of an organization” (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 2002, p.108). The apparent organizational culture at Kudler’s is the club culture. According to Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a leadership expert, a keystone to the club culture is loyalty (Gomez-Meija & Balkin, 2002). Loyalty is rewarded by promotion from within, job security, and bonuses for experience. Kudler’s offers promotion from within by offering current employees promotions before looking elsewhere “openings for department managers, assistant store managers and store managers are posted internally to see if current employees may be interested” (University of Phoenix, 2008). This also contributes to job security being that the employee can be assured that they are considered first rather than an outsider. Kudler’s also has a bonus plan for employees if the quotas for selling are met. There is an opportunity to earn an extra 7% on top of the salary that Kudler’s employees are already getting paid if the quarterly quotas are met (University of Phoenix, 2004).

Since customers of Kudler’s expect courteous and knowledgeable associates in order for employees undergo extensive training and have opportunities for further professional development. Keeping with loyalty, Kudler’s offers this training so that the customer will remain loyal and buy from Kudler’s. Additionally, regular workshops and product training is offered at each store. If an individual is hired into a supervisory role, additional workshops are offered in the areas of interviewing guidelines, motivating employees for performance, and interpersonal skills. This further illustrates the commitment that Kudler’s has to providing the club culture. By investing in employees, Kudler’s is creating a sense of loyalty in their employees, which will in turn, translate to the customers.

Organizational Structure

“Organizational structure is a formal system of relationships that determines lines of authority (who reports to whom) and the tasks assigned to individuals and units (who does what task and with which department)” (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 2002, p. 232). There are two dimensions of organizational structure: vertical and horizontal dimension, they are as follows:

1. vertical dimension: looks at who has the authority to make decisions.

2. horizontal dimension: looks at dividing the task to the appropriate departments and teams.

Both dimensions must coincide in order ensure success within a business.

Span of control is the critical feature of the vertical structure. It determines the number of managers and the number of levels of management necessary within an organization. Kudler’s is extensively vertically organized. Everything starts with Kathy Kudler, the President of the company, it is then broken down to the departments in the administration, it is further departmentalized to include all three stores, finally, there is extensive breakdown within the stores. In this respect, Kudler’s organizational hierarchy is centralized. Centralized organization means that all decisions come from one place and there is a clear delineation of power (Gomez-Meija & Balkin, 2002).

Horizontal organization implies that everything is on the same level. The horizontal dimension is apparent in the way that the stores are organized. Within each of the stores, there are four departments to serve the customer. Each of these departments is on a level field with the other, as opposed to the vertical structure of the business. For example, an employee of the produce deparment is no higher than an employee of the bakery.

Leadership Style and Employee Motivation

Leadership styles are an important part of any business. Without properly placed leadership employees can neither be motivated nor understand what it is that they are working to accomplish (Gomez-Meija, & Balkin, 2002). There are two types of leadership that are apparent at Kudler’s, they are autocratic and democratic and are described by the following:

1. autocratic leader: “Leaders who use autocratic style makes decisions on their own and announce them as a done deal” (Gomez-Meija, & Balkin, 2002, p. 290).

2. democratic leader: “A democratic leader actively tries to solicit the input of subordinates, often requiring consensus or a majority vote before making a final decision” (Gomez-Meija, & Balkin, 2002, p. 290).

The Autocratic style is apparent in that Kathy, the President of Kudler’s

will make a decision and tell all of the lower level managers to follow that decision without argument. This is illustrated by the hire of Tara Emiliano (University of Phoenix, 2004). In lieu of hiring a professional to analyze her business and prepare a strategic plan, she hires this intern and tells her managers that she will be working at Kudler’s and to show her everything that she needs (University of Phoenix, 2004). Kathy did not consult with any of her managers about this, she simply make the decision and autocratically relayed the information to her store managers via e-mail.

The democratic leadership style can be seen on the store manager level. There is a lot of freedom that is expressed by the individual