Kudler Fine Foods

Kudler Fine Foods

Residents of the San Diego metropolitan area are fortunate to be able to patronize the local specialty food store known as Kudler Fine Foods. Founded by Kathy Kudler in June of 1998, Kudler Fine Foods is now three stores strong.

Kudler Fine Foods are located in elite shopping centers. Guests will find the best and freshest domestic and imported gourmet items from the following categories: bakery and pastries, produce, meat and seafood, condiments and packaged foods, cheese and dairy and wine.

KFF has a defined organizational chart that identifies the administrative team of the company. The human resource department has created job descriptions for each job category that aid the management team in leading the company. Many of the employees are involved in the day to day planning of the company operations, but the responsibility of setting future objectives and determining the activities necessary to meet those objectives falls on Kathy Kudler, Harvey Stephens, Yvonne Reynolds and Brenda Wagner.

At KFF, organizing is handled by many people. Brenda Wagner, Director of Administration and Human Resources develops policies and directs and coordinates administrative and human resource activities pertaining to employment, compensation, labor relations, benefits, training and employee services ( Apollo Group, Inc. 2007). Harvey Stephens, Director of Finance and Accounting for KFF is the primary person responsible for planning and directing the financial and accounting activities. Harvey develops and implements goals that relate to the financial management of the company. Harvey is responsible for preparing budgets, financial reports, and payroll in accordance with GAP and California law. Yvonne Reynolds, Director of Store Operations, marshals and allocates resources such as inventory and delegates purchasing, maintenance, security and compliance to the purchasing manager and inventory manager. Kathy Kudler organizes the advertising, researches and acquires new products. Kathy delegates purchasing of the store inventory to the store managers and handles unique or capital items herself. Forecasting is handled by Kathy and her department managers using historical data.

Leadership at KFF is carried out through the entire organization. Leading is accomplished through effective communication, inspiration, motivating and guiding. KFF implements effective guidance from inception of employment by assigning a “buddy” co-worker to each new employee for the first 60 days of employment. KFF also uses an incentive program that is tied to overall store performance to motivate and inspire employees.

Controlling at KFF is primarily handled at the upper management levels. Harvey Stephens is the primary controller of the financial aspects of the company. Mr. Stephens is responsible for preparing and examining the financial reports that measure the income and expenses of the organization. Yvonne Reynolds is responsible for controlling product mix, store designs, staffing levels and pricing structures and for reviewing store performance (Apollo Group, Inc. 2007). Brenda Wagner controls the administration department and human resources by maintaining a HR system that meets top management information needs and keeps the company in compliance with state, local and federal labor laws.

KFF relies heavily on technology and the internet to remain competitive and efficient. Mr. Stephens uses an accounting software package known as QuickBooks to facilitate the financial reporting aspects of the company. The accounting data is collected by the point-of-sale terminals and reports are submitted electronically daily. The point-of-sale software is also used to track customer purchases in order to target market more accurately. QuickBooks software is used to place purchase orders and to receive orders. This allows the purchasing managers to communicate electronically with the accounting department.

Payroll is outsourced to Intuit, employees manually complete weekly time sheets, which are then reviewed and approved by various managers. Employees then receive their wages through direct deposit. This system is not cost effective and leaves the company wide open to employee theft of time. Mr. Stephens needs to incorporate a time and attendance payroll system that is compatible