Kudler Fine Foods: An Overview of Management

Kudler Fine Foods: An Overview of Management

Kudler Fine Foods provides an example of the processes and principals management. According to Gomez-Mejia and Balkin (2002), there are four processes of management: planning/strategizing, organizing, leading, and controlling. Like pieces of a puzzle, the four processes make up an image of proper management.

Four Processes of Management

Planning and Strategizing

Planning takes a step back to focus in on the big picture. At Kudler Fine Foods, this starts with Kathy Kudler, President and Founder of Kudler Fine Foods. For her, the big picture was creating a one stop establishment for gourmet foods. According to the company’s web site (2007), Kathy had to shop all over town in order to get the ingredients for her meals. Her vision of one enterprise to purchase all ingredients leads to the creation of Kudler Fine Foods. To be a visionary is an attribute of planning

An organization's strategies define a business’s market, employment for that business, and carrying out the company’s mission. With three stores in operation, Kathy employs three directors and three store managers to help at the corporate and store levels of management:

1. Harvey Stephens, Director of Finance and Accounting

2. Yvonne Reynolds, Director of Store Operations

3. Brenda Wagner, Director of Administration and Human Resources

4. Kent Vesper, La Jolla Store Manger

5. Laurie Priest, Del Mar Store Manger

6. Juanita Lopez, Encinitas Store Manger

With these three directors and managers, a team is formed to create and execute the game plan. Much like a baseball team, one person cannot teach hitting, pitching, and fielding by himself. A manager puts people in charge of those aspects of baseball. Kathy has in place managers around her in order to focus in on her team’s development.

Organizing

By organizing, a company is creating an internal structure. Gomez-Mejia and Balkin are quoted saying:

Organizing activities include defining roles for all players, delegating tasks, marshalling and allocating resources, clarifying procedures, and determining priorities. (p. 6)

Kathy’s three directors and three store managers place activities in motion by employing their own teams in order to narrow in on daily operations, both at the corporate level and store level. On the store level, each manger has two assistants who in turn have split the responsibility of managing the four department managers. Clerk, cashiers, stockers, and baggers report directly to either of the two assistant store managers. By having an organized employment tree, each person working for Kudler knows their specific role and responsibility. Furthermore, if a problem arises each employee knows who to report the problem to. To add, if this organization was not present employees would not know their specific roles which leads to inefficiencies and power struggles.

Leading

In order to have direction and harmony amongst the workforce, a manager has to lead. Leadership occurs at all levels of management and non-management. At the store level, the assistant store managers are responsible for leading the department managers and the baggers, stockers, cashiers, and clerks. Douglas McGregor formed a theory on leadership style called Theory X and Theory Y Assumptions (Gomez-Mejia and Balkin, 2002). According to McGregor, Theory X incorporates a leadership style that is both controlling and intimidating, using punishment and rewards to keep employees in order. Theory Y is just the opposite giving employees leeway and using encouragement for productivity. Depending on the individual, either theory can be utilized in order to get productivity. If an employee is slacking or creating costly mistakes, a Theory X approach may need to be taken whereas if an employee shows that they can self lead responsibly then a Theory Y approach may be taken.

Controlling

Control refers to the function of managing change and execution of various methodologies to cope with change. One aspect of control is mentioned in Chapter 16 of Management (Gomez-Mejia and Balkin, 2002). This aspect is management systems that allow for communication and decision making. If there is a change in the dairy market, Kudler has a system in place to deal with that change and to have the solution communicated amongst the organization. For Kudler, Harvey Stephens would oversee the physical management system with his computer