In September of 2004, four months after the settlement of the justice Department’s lawsuit, Cracker Barrel reached a settlement in the lawsuits involving 42 plaintiffs, one of which was the NAACP. The allegations included, but were not limited to unwarranted extended wait times to be seated, segregated seating: in the back by the kitchen or in the smoking area, being served food out of the trash, racial slurs, and inferior service. These law suits resulted in several mandates being imposed by the U.S. Justice Department forcing Cracker Barrel to undergo and employ the necessary changes that they had been so resolutely avoiding.
OD EFFORTS ENFORCED UPON CRACKER BARREL
In 2004, a consent order required Cracker Barrel to hire an outside auditor to oversee the implementation of non-discrimination policies, procedures, and training programs. This was not a voluntary effort on behalf of the company. In the same year, the company agreed t change its training and management practices to prevent discrimination against African American customers, though the company denied the allegations (listed in the approximately 100 lawsuits) made
…show more content…
has consistently been the subject of negative publicity for well over two decades. If reviewing the vision, mission, and information regarding Cracker Barrel’s internal structure and efforts, it appears that the company has a solid and sound internal structure. Reviewing external information such as complaints, court cases, and reports, however, provided a picture of a company with a severely debilitated organizational culture and structure desperately in need of Organization Development intervention. Cracker Barrel appears to have neglected some of the major fundamental components of a positive organization culture such as allowing employees to have an influence or impact on the organization and environment, and other humanistic vales that are the core concentration of Organization
The Tucker vs. Walgreen Company was a nationwide known class action case. It fell into the category of race discrimination. This cases was brought to the attention of the law by African Americans who were employed at this retail and pharmacy store. This pledged that they were being discriminated to by the following acts:failure to move up in positions (promotion), dieing them the opportunity to apply for assistant manager and manager, and being assigned to an undesirable store for an extended period of time compared to whites. They filed a class action lawsuit with the demand of compensatory and punitive damages and declaratory and injunctive relief. Along with these demands, the plaintiffs desired class certification for those who have been previously affected by the defendant’s discriminatory acts as well as any who will suffer from them in the future.
The main consumer characteristic that Cracker Barrel Old Country Store sets their standards on is “Pleasing people”. (Etzel, Walker, Stanton. 2001 pg. 204) A review of the Cracker Barrel Old Country store states, “This restaurant has a combo of good food, good service, and atmosphere. The gift shop is trendy, and affords one a place to browse. Do your browsing after the meal, for service is fast and efficient. One dines among country antiques that serve as decor. The country plates are a delight, and one must try the daily specials. Don't order dessert if you're not hungry. The blackberry cobbler and lemon icebox pie are superb. This is home cooking with affordable prices and great atmosphere.” (http://stlouis.citysearch.com/profile/3855636) Cracker Barrel stores appeal to both the traveler and the local customer and have consistently been a consumer favorite. Cracker Barrel was ranked as the top family dining chain for the eleventh consecutive year in the 2000 Restaurants & Institutions magazine "Choice in Chains" annual customer survey. It was also named “Best Family Dining” restaurant by Restaurant & Institutions magazine for the tenth consecutive year. The R&I award is based on a national consumer survey that evaluates chains on seven separate attributes: food quality, menu variety, value, service, atmosphere, cleanliness, and convenience. For 2000, Cracker Barrel scored highest among family dining establishments on every one of the attributes.
Companies that do not take steps to ensure appropriate associate conduct will be penalized by their constituents and erode public confidence in our free enterprise system” (Kroger, 2014, p. 1). Therefore, as one of the largest retail grocers in the country, they are sincere about their obligation to follow the law and ensure transparency in their operations. Additionally, their core values support the goal of maintaining an ethical workplace, which includes: honesty, integrity, respect, diversity, safety, and
On April 4, 2008 Goldman, Sachs & Co. submitted a prepared prospectus for Dollar General Corporation. According to the prospectus, Dollar General is the largest discount retailer in the United States by number of stores. They serve a broad customer base and majority of products are priced at $10 or less and approximately 30% of products are price at $1 or less. They believe that their combination of value and convenience is what has kept them ahead of their competitors since opening in 1955. Dollar General has had substantial growth in recent years, growing their number of stores from 5,540 as of February 1, 2002 to 8,229 as of February 2, 2007. This growth encouraged Richard Dreiling,
Tierney, Mike. Suits filed v. waffle house; racial bias alleged in four states. (2005, January 19). Atlanta-Journal Constitution. p. 1C. Retrieved March 25, 2005 from LexisNexis.
The success of Au Bon Pain continued even further upon the acquisition of the Saint Louis Bread Company in 1993. For several years Au Bon Pain’s management studied Saint Louis Bread Company’s operations as well as watched the habits of their consumer base. Eventually, Au Bon Pain’s management realized the business habits of their new acquisition had the capability to lead them even further down the road of success. For the next several years Au Bon Pain focused much of its time, effort, and capital on the successful expansion of their café style Saint Louis Bread stores, al...
Each organization big or small has its own values, ways of doing things and assumption that it operates in. The principles and ethics that exist in each of these companies are the baseline through which the company operates its affairs. This is what can be called as that organization’s culture. The culture in existence has an impact on the productivity, effectiveness and efficiency (Keyton, 2011). The basis of setting the most appropriate culture of a company is not only to move or increase the profitability but also to make the stakeholders happy and satisfied. One aspect of that is the employee or the human resource the firm who put their expertise in the firm and add a bit of creativity and innovativeness to move the products. Chick-Fil-A operates in a competitive industry thus it requires all the stakeholders.
In the Summer of 1960 at three stores in downtown Fredericksburg, eight black high school students participated in the sit-ins. They were trained to not touch any store products so they could not be arrested for stealing. These were peaceful demonstrations where the black students sat at the lunch counters and prevented the white customers from eating. The students rotated between the three different stores Woolworth’s, W. T. Grants, and People’s Drug Store. By July 30 Woolworth’s and Grants both black and white people were allowed to eat at the lunch counters. People’s Drugs Store wouldn’t let any blacks in until a few months later.
When I consider Cracker Barrel, the main thing that strikes my mind is the warm southern family setting. This is one of their most noteworthy qualities. Cracker Barrel offers a family feasting setting, similar to no other place I can consider. To finish that off they are combined with an exquisite stocked store in the front region of every one of their areas. Cracker Barrel offers breakfast, lunch and supper throughout the day. They additionally have an exceptionally broad children menu, to satisfy the pickiest of eaters. I for one make the most of their chicken and dumpling
This article is about Harrah’s Entertainment; one of the largest casino entertainments made a decision to move away from being a product based company to a strategic marketing company geared towards customer satisfaction by implementing a customer focused rewards program. Bill Harrah, the founder of the company established the company’s reputation on the premise of pride of the employees working for “the best in the business” while given more attention to the condition of the properties. However, when Gary Loveman joined the company as the new Chief operating officer, he made a move towards customer service. Gary Loveman hired Marilyn Winn, the head of Human Resources, to change how the company engaged in people development. Winn came up with a strategic plan to develop Harrah’s human capital. As a result, Winn is faced with the difficult task of improving employee motivation and job satisfaction in a rough economy after 9/11, which changed our nation forever. Although, the company gained market share it did not quite meet the company’s projected level.
The Home Depot learned the hard way that you must hire a leader that will stay true to the core values. The leader’s ethics and values will play a huge role in determining if the company will succeed or fail. The founders of The Home Depot built a culture on the foundation of respect, integrity, and compassion. The culture and customer service under the influence of the admired founders prospered.
Business growth general is assumed to be good; bigger is assumed to be better (Hess, 2011), but if the proper planning is not in place it can lead to a business failure. Beginning a business based on something she loved, and needed in her life Susan Feller made the brave decision to build a successful business by baking and selling gluten-free cakes and desserts. After her retirement she focused on her dream and solving her own issue, finding food safe and healthy to eat for those, like herself, with Celiac disease and gluten allergies, but they also had to be delicious. Feller had some tough decisions to make as a small business owner, would she be able to keep up with the demand, how can she grow her business and what if she decided she had had enough and wanted to close the business? These are all decisions any business owner have to face at one point or another.
A strong upward and downward communication chain underscores the management and organizational style adopted by Trader Joe's. This means fostering a belief that the store group operates as a team and that individual opinions are valued, rather than an environment where people speak out and are either not heard or have their opinions suppressed (Workforce, 2005). (Schermerhorn, 2012) The company applies its pursuit of value to every facet of its operations” (p.W-99).
Success of the plan In Kraft’s Food Corporation the planning analyst and the other business departments work together in close communication. This aids in the development of a system that allows business activities to align with the corporate goals and targets. The company is also building its performance around successful people by assuring that the plan is tied with the system that involves the use of practically tested strategies. Shared decisions of all the departments including finance and production departments help adding value to the business by improving its competitive place in the market.
Coca-cola is the world’s biggest beverage company that manufacturers, retails, and markets nonalcoholic beverages. The company is headquartered at Atlanta, Georgia. The company was famed for its beverage Coca-cola which was invented in 1986. Coca-cola Company operates a franchise that distributes its products throughout the world. Its distribution chains and established territories have seen the company remain the most competitive beverage company in the world. At one point, Coca-cola was a monopoly in the world beverage market. However, there are various challenges that the company faces as it strives to maintain its exploits in the beverage industry. One of the challenges that are OD related is the accusations of worker intimidation throughout the world. The company has also been accused of seeking to stifle the operations of trade unions in the world. These issues are grave and have far reaching effects on Coca-Cola’s Organization Development. This essay examines this OD related problem and provides recommendations to this issue using the models and diagnostic instruments developed in previous O.D sessions.