Whole Foods Market

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Whole Foods The mission of Whole Foods Market is "to offer the highest quality, least processed, most flavorful and naturally preserved foods" (Nelson and Quick 352). The company uses rational decision making in merchandising and operations by employing a decentralized business structure. This means that ideas can be thoroughly processed and analyzed because decisions are made by people who will actually see the results of changes made. In addition, Whole Foods uses a regional organizational structure which allows the company to make decisions based on what works well in each of their eight regions. This idea exemplifies a logical decision making process because differences in geographic locations can be accounted for. The textbook also communicates the rationality in decision making at Whole Foods by saying that "even though merchandising and operational differences exist among regions, all of them adhere to the company's core values that are manifested in its mission and vision" (Nelson and Quick 352). The theory of bounded rationality states "that there are limits to how rational a decision maker can actually be" (Nelson and Quick 319). Although Whole Foods Market seems to have a systematic process of making decisions, decision makers are sometimes limited in how rational they can be in developing resolutions. According to the theory of bounded rationality, managers are often forced to satisfice in situations that demand solutions with little time for analysis. If there was a produce festival at Whole Foods each weekend in the month of October and the head employee quits on September 30th, the supervisor of operations in that department would be forced to make a decision based on the next best alternative. This i... ... middle of paper ... ...st coffee beans. This brings business to coffee farmers and creates well-maintained, high quality farms. Thus, customers can depend on Whole Foods to supply products that remain consistent in quality. Whole Foods also incorporates ethical considerations into its operational strategy by providing small biographies of its local farmers. This makes the company's operations somewhat transparent to the public. Sometimes just hearing and seeing the word "organic" in reference to our food isn't enough proof for weary consumers. The miniature biographies are a way for Whole Foods to communicate to the public that the organization has nothing to hide in its operations. The company lives up to its mission statement by doing its best to supply the highest quality products, enforce a healthy work place for employees, and to promote the most environment-friendly products.

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