Overview of Managment Assessment

University of Phoenix

April 21,2008

Kathy Kudler decided to open her own gourmet food shop. Her vision was to create one store that would stock a wide selection of the freshest ingredients as well as all the tools a gourmet cook could ever want. Kathy was certain that combining the convenience of one-stop shopping with reasonable prices would be a recipe for success. Kathy's vision became a reality in 1998 with the opening of the La Jolla store. Her concept was an immediate success and in two years Kudler's expanded with the opening of the Del Mar location. Our latest store opened in Encinitas in 2003 and they are already looking for another location open another shop (Apollo Group Inc).

Kudler Fine Foods mission is to provide their customers with the finest selection of the very best foods and wines so that individual’s own culinary visions can come true. In order to achieve their goal management is key. The four functions of management are planning, strategizing, organizing, leading, and controlling. In planning and strategizing for an organization future goals and objectives are set. Kathy Kudler is responsible for the creation of Kudler Foods. It was her frustration having to travel all over town to gather the ingredients for one simple meal that gave her the idea to start this shop. Kathy is responsible for planning and strategizing for Kudler Fine Foods but she doesn’t do it alone.

Each department store has its own store manager who is responsible for his or her own store and reporting back to Kathy with any issues. Each of the three department managers in each store determines requirements for the items his or her department sells and places purchase orders directly with suppliers using a purchase order form that is standard between the three stores. The responsibility of the Department Managers is to obtain the best price, quality, and delivery possible. They also receive and verify all orders in terms of if they received the correct items and quantities and in undamaged conditions. Store managers also supervise employees, plan and prepare work schedules, answer customer complaints, and manage their own personal store budget. Together these individuals come up with ideas and plans appropriate for each of the three locations (Apollo Group Inc.).

The second function of management is organizing which involves how a business’s human, financial, physical, informational, and technical resources are arranged and coordinated to achieved goals and objectives (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin). Yvonne Reynolds is the Director of Operation for Kudler Fine Foods and functions as the organizer. As a director she is in charge of developing policies, procedures, budgets, and pricing structures. These resources help maintain order within Kudler Fine Foods. Leading involves energizing, inspiring and motivating employees to contribute their best. I think both Kathy, and store managers are responsible for leading their own employees.

Controlling is the final function of management that measures performance, implements any changes necessary, and monitors progress (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin). An individual that may exemplify this is Brenda Wagner. Brenda is the Director of Administration and Human Resources. Brenda is responsible for developing training on company policies, analyzes wages salary reports, and develops recruitment plans.

In reviewing the Kudler Fine Food site, the company uses the internet simply to introduce different areas within the facility. For example, the Kudler site goes into brief description about their bakery, meat, seafood, produce, cheese, dairy, and wine. Each section provides information on where the food is either made or location of where the food was purchased. This helps management to promote their individual locations and helps increase sales. In reference to technology the use of it within Kudler Fine Foods was not clear to me. Kudler does use a database for customer, inventory, supplies, and previous order information. This can help management in not overstocking in specific items and finding out what sells best.

In Porter’s competitive forces model, the model has been used to develop strategies for companies to increase their competitive edge. Porter has identified five major