Whole Foods Case Essay Example

Whole Foods Case Essay CASE # 2 – WHOLE FOODS Assignment Questions 1. Do you think that company’s mission statement/motto â€Å"Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet† is reflected in what they do and is it an effective mission statement? †¢ yes, is seems to be withheld by and believed by the employees and executives †¢ it is short and catchy and encompasses the vision and core values of the corporation †¢ it describes all aspects of what they want to achieve, they seem to abide by it 2. Do the core values underlying the mission (case Exhibit 3) really matter at this company or are they just nice words and cosmetic window dressing? What evidence can you cite to support your answer? Have Whole Foods’ core values contributed to the company’s success? Why or why not? †¢ I think that the core values really do matter to this company, it seems that they have been trying to make it a team environment or family atmosphere that everyone is there for the same purpose. At the end of the day people are there for a pay cheque and shareholders are there for profit, but I think that they stay there because they believe in the cause and feel like they are making a difference. I really feel like were a part of making the world a better place. When I joined the company 17 years ago, we only had 4 stores. I have always loved as a customer and now as a Team Member the camaraderie, support for others, and progressive atmosphere at Whole Foods Market. Page C-24 †¢ Also, showing that the core values really do matter to the company is core value # 3 Team Member Happiness and Excellence this is shown by hav ing the employees draw up choices on the benefits that they need, and by creating an atmosphere where input is encouraged Core Value #1 Selling the highest Quality Natural and Organic Products Available/#5 Caring about our communities and Environment These were shown to actually matter to the corporation when they stopped selling lobster because the process of getting the lobster was not in line with their commitment and loans to farmers to help them produce high quality products. †¢ I think part of Whole Foods success can be attributed to their core values because it created an atmosphere where all employees are working for the same cause and that they try their best to serve the customer and make the customer loyal. . Describe the current (in the book and today) economic, social and demographic conditions that are affecting Whole Foods. What are the main driving forces? Evaluate the market and competitive conditions in the food retailing industry. What key success factors a re needed to be successful in the organic foods segment of this industry? †¢ Economic conditions affecting Whole Foods: income levels may be down due to recession and there could be loss of employment, there is more competition regular grocery stores are carrying their product Social condition affecting Whole Foods: people starting to be more cautious about what they eat, animal rights and hormones in food supply is more easily distributed so more people are aware, environmental concerns about growing practices †¢ Demographic conditions affecting Whole Foods: aging population with more disposable income, they have more awareness of what they should eat 4. What is the fundamental strategy or â€Å"value proposition† that Whole Foods Market is pursuing? Is Whole Foods’ fundamental strategy well matched to market conditions in the food retailing industry (one of the criteria for winning strategy discussed in Chapter 1)? †¢ I think that they made a good dec ision to switching from a growth strategy to a value strategy was a good decision. It enabled them to react to the current conditions while still serving their customers and maintaining their core values. Doing this helped them maintain their competitive ranking while riding out the recession. They adapted to match the market conditions. 5. Based on the financial statement data in case Exhibits 9, 10, and 11, how well is Whole Foods Market performing? We will write a custom essay sample on Whole Foods Case specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Whole Foods Case specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Whole Foods Case specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Use the financial ratio information in Table 4. 1 of Chapter 4 (pages 98-99) to assist you in calculating a revealing set of financial ratios and interpreting them. |Whole Foods Market Ratios | |   |2009 |2008 |2007 |2006 |2005 | |Gross Profit Margin |0. 34 |0. 34 |0. 35 |0. 35 |0. 35 | |Return on Total Assets |4. 85 |4. 6 |   |   |   | |Debt to Assets Ratio |0. 46 |0. 55 |   |   |   | |Debt to Equity Ratio |1. 07 |1. 24 |   |   |   | |Current Ratio |1. 54 |0. 93 |   |   |   | †¢ Whole Foods seems to be doing well. Although, there net income has declined they are still profitable. They have a positive return on assets that increased from 2008 2009. Their debt to equity indicates is high. However, we know that they have been expanding rapidly and have funded a lot of the expansion with debt. The same with the debt to asset ratio, it is high and this could cause problems if their creditors demanded repayment of the loans. In 2008 the current ratio was low. Their current liabilities were higher than their current assets, this also indicates that they may have trouble paying back creditors. In 2009 it changed to 1. 54 which is a more acceptable rate. 6. How well is Whole Foods Market performing from a strategic perspective? What are Whole Food’s competencies, and strengths? Does Whole Foods enjoy a competitive advantage over its 3 chief rivals — Fresh Market and Trader Joe’s? Does the company have a winning strategy? (Use the â€Å"Tests of Good Strategy†) †¢ I think that Whole Foods is performing well from a strategic perspective when they set their strategy they seem to follow it. For example when they concentrated on the growth strategy they pursued opening many stores and buying Wild Oats. Competencies and Strengths: they are large, they are number 1 in the market, they have good supplier relationships and supply chains for their product. They educate their employees to be knowledgeable, and are able to retain employees, they appeal to many different types of people (vegetarian, vegan, health conscious, gourmet chefs etc. ) They are known and involved in the community 7. Based on a SWOT analysis , do you think John Mackey has a good strategic vision for Whole Foods? Why or why not? †¢ Yes, he has been successful for the last 30 years and has continued to grow. He encompasses his vision into the strengths of the company. The weaknesses are that he seems to have gotten carried away during the acquisition and posted online messages that were not on par with his corporate core values. The current threats are that there is more competition and that organic food is more widely available. The competition seems to be expanding and taking away consumers that are more price conscious. John Mackey has responded to these threats by changing his strategy and creating more value items to keep the price conscious customers. I think that this is a good strategic vision because it opens the customer base. 8. What recommendations would you make to John Mackey regarding the actions that Whole Foods’ management needs to take to sustain the company’s growth and financial performance? †¢ I recommend that John Mackey should continue adding more value items to their inventory and continue to educate the community and employees. They may want to look into acquiring some of the smaller chains like Trader Joes or Fresh Market to ensure that they dont grow into bigger competition.

bio essays

bio essays Air is needed for most organisms to survive on Earth. Even though air is so vital to us, we are unable to maintain it. The air is composed of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, and Carbon Dioxide. Nitrogen make up about 78 percent, Oxygen about 21, Argon and Carbon dioxide which combines to form about 1 percent of the atmosphere on earth. When chemicals such as sulfuric acid are mix into the air they cause air pollution and have devastating effects on the environment. Air pollution is a general term for a variety of substances and gases in our air that poses a risk to our health. Air pollution can affect the way we live. It can deplete our ozone causing intense ultraviolet radiation to be transmitted on the earth which can cause human skin cancer eradicate off all the plants on earth. Air pollution is emitted by human activities that we are not even aware that we are doing. The burning of fossil fuels that supply us with electricity for our lights, televisions and computers is one of the leading contributors for air pollution because they emit large amounts of harmful compounds. . As we watch television at night we are adding harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. There are many solutions in dealing with pollutions in the air. Solutions such as using alternative methods in creating energy and the conservation of energy are great examples on way we can save our earth from pollution. Air pollution is a serious problem in the United States and has been because it can be sever enough to cause death. What effects does air pollution do to our environment and our bodies? Severe air pollution can result in major damages or in death in the human body. In 1880, 2,200 Londoners died in an incident when coal smoke from home heating and industry combined to form toxic smog of sulfur dioxide gas and airborne combustion particles. Air pollution does not just affect us but also affects our environment. Many health effects due to air pollutio...

Theology paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Theology paper - Essay Example The four noble truths are; The Nature of Suffering, Sufferings Origin, Sufferings Cessation, and The Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering. The path leading to cessation is an eight fold path set out by Buddha. These are related to faith, morality and meditation. The Heart Sutra emphasizes wisdom and emptiness. This sutra teaches us that the thing which looks like something much is nothing much. Form outside; it appears to be a lot, but there is really nothing behind. A swelled head as we know is an empty head (Conze, p.85). Heart Sutra reveals that most of the big things in this world are just like inflated balloons. From outside, the balloon may look like big, but we know that only air is inside the balloon. In other words, this sutra tries to educate us that whatever we perceive as big in this world are noting really meaningful. For example, many people may think that earning wealth and fame is a good achievement in this world. But according to Heart Sutra teachings, such things are just like inflated balloons. When we die, we cannot take anything with us and hence the physical achievements in this world are meaningless. According to Christian belief, salvation can be obtained only through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the son of God who has sacrificed his life for saving the life of sinners. All the people in the world are sinners according to Christian belief. As per the rules of God, death is the punishment for sinners. But the sin has arrived in this world because of Adam’s sin. In other words, we, the children of Adam, are sinners traditionally because of the sins committed by Adam. God has given the verdict that in order to wipe off the punishment of sin from the world, person without free from sins should sacrifice his life. But in this world no saints are there. So God has sent his only son Jesus to the world in order to sacrifice his life to save our lives. Jesus’ sacrifice enabled him to attain full control or authority over the human

Human Needs in Organizational Settings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Needs in Organizational Settings - Essay Example Personal qualities which are encouraged are punctuality, good individual organization, motivation, ability to deal ethically with people and leadership qualities. Any career success incorporates three variables - knowledge of the career desired, the ability to devise a plan and the motivation and devotion to put the plan into action. On the way along the career ladder, one needs to be confident, possess independent thinking and ability to solve problems and make decision-making. We expect the applicants to introduce themselves via competently produced CVs and exhibit their abilities in practical tasks offered by the Selection Board. We are going to assess an individual based on information about one’s abilities and skills, achievements and personality variables. We are also interested in person’s preferences and interests, values and attitudes. To obtain the picture of one’s professional competence we offer tests to see literacy or math level. A specific written or practical exam is also possible. At this pre-selection stage, a selection advisor will determine if an applicant can qualify to continue further selection procedure. At the next stage, we deem important to test applicants’ communication skills and personality. That’s why on the second stage of the assessment procedure prospective applicants are offered to have an interview. Since the company is interested in organizing people into a strong team, peer interviews can be the most suitable tool to use for the creation of this team.

Leonardo, Michelangelo and Titian Essay Example for Free

Leonardo, Michelangelo and Titian Essay His statement argues that the latest and unfinished works of the artist should be reassessed with more appreciation than the works completed during his mature period, as they enable the viewer to understand the trace of the under painting and the original intention of the artist, not necessarily because of the virtue of incompleteness and ultimo that they spellbound the viewer. Pliny the Elder’s statement seems to be valid explaining artists’ old-age style, especially for the ones who had a long career like Michelangelo and Titian. The old-age style is not necessarily limited to the aesthetic style, which the artists from the same period perhaps shared in common, but it also refers to the latest phase of the artistic career of the artists who were active for a long time. Therefore, each old-age style of them is obviously differentiated in terms of their perception, ideal, and background. However, Pliny’s statement is not thoroughly suitable, but sound feasible for reassessing their art historical values. He warns on the contradiction of giving the works the biased credits for only being latest and unfinished, which would be false impression on the contrary. Michelangelo and Titian, whose time frames partially overlap to each other, certainly built up the established fames based on the long artistic career incomparable to their contemporaries. The old-age style literally refers to the style of the artist in his old age, but we should not limit the meaning of this temporal phase as the word ‘old’ explicitly connotes. Apparently, the term gives a sense and expectation that those work will be somewhat less refined, polished, vital, perhaps aesthetically regress compared to the ‘mature’ style of the artist that established an honor to add the suffix ‘-schi’ to the end of their names. Although the works they created are static and permanent objects, their artistic styles that dominated the period are in flux. The old-age styles of the high Renaissance artists predict the forthcoming of the Maniera and Baroque generation, and demonstrate the senile sublime, freely emancipated from aesthetic vanity, emotionally touching, and revealing much enhanced psychological depth. The latest works of Michelangelo, the two frescoes at the Pollini chapel in Rome he worked for almost a decade, close the long painting career of him. Although these works were completed officially, they imply non-finito aspect enhanced by the medium, which began to be noticeable since the Last Judgment. The Conversion of Saul, executed first about two decades before his death, became the center of controversy immediately and got negative reception from the contemporaries. What Michelangelo depicted is far from the classical physical beauty and the artist engaged with his own perception to the episode. The vision of Christ is exclusively shown to the anti-Christian Saul, as he becomes temporarily blind and gains insight instead. The artist explicitly illustrated the very internal experience of Saul and placed it above the earthly space parallel to the troops who fear the unknown voice from the sky. A newly suggested diagonal along with light and darkness enhance the dramatic tension from the left top to the foreground center connected by the beam of the God. The compact figures shown in each zone are the continuation of Michelangelo’s terribilita. In the latter fresco, Crucifixion of Saint Peter begins to show the bold diagonal, which gives almost a proto Baroque aspect. Saint Peter with the upside down cross and the void surrounding him occupy the central picture plane. Although there is no strong suggestion of the light source other than sunset, the surrounding figures, especially their features, are in shade and less individualized. As they focus the center scene like mere spectators, the overall composition of the painting engages the viewer’s attention to be concentrated to the center as well. The heroic torso of Peter fights against the gravity by lifting himself up and delivers the pain caused by the four nails on each feet and hands. He throws a daring gaze to the outward, invites the viewers into the pictorial space. The shallow space, as if the figures would spill into our space, no more retains the high Renaissance balance and harmony, as well as the figures somber and gracelessness suggests the end of its era with the negation to the fixed beauty. The contrast of light and dark of Michelangelo is not as radical as the later phase of Leonardo foreshadowing the tenebroso of the next century but enough to inform that he as well acknowledge to the limit of the high Renaissance style and gradually shift to the new style. As these works are Michelangelo’s last effort in the art of painting finished about a decade before his death, they deserve Pliny the Elder’s statement as the example fits into the artist’s old-age style. Not necessarily the artist weakened physically, but crucial as the works suggest that the artist perhaps had reached the pinnacle of his mature style, being free from the obligation to maintain his signature style. Pieta, the last work of Titian, which was left unfinished due to the death of the artist in 1576, perhaps is more feasible for Pliny the Elder’s statement as the example which is unfinished, and delivers the ‘sorrow for the hand that perished at its work’ due to the physical deterioration of the artist. Titian’s mature style based on the Tuscan monumentality and Venetian colorito tradition enabled him to achieve international success from the early career. Titian’s figures, which were very palpable and articulated with sfumato begin to possess terribilita as he moves towards the later period, the tension and fear overwhelm in the pictorial space. His works executed in the last decade of his life, such as Flaying of Marsyas and Pieta, explicitly demonstrate the radical change in the artistic style. Despite the tragic subject, Titian narrates the scene without any pity. His brushstroke handling different textures are somewhat minimized, rather showing rough and hazy painterliness, and the conventional palette suggests the radical changed in its tonality, which is no longer vivid or individualized; these intense styles almost foreshadow the later style of Rubens and Rembrandt. The Pieta also conveys the same dramatic tension, not as much as overwhelming like the former work but represent the subdued grief and agony. Against the background architecture, marble nave with pediment, and two statues looking out of the pictorial space, four figures are arranged in almost like statues sculpted for a pediment. Moses and figures form a bold diagonal, balanced with a putto holding torchlight on the other side, yet conventional composition of Titian. Among the figures in a grief over the death of Christ, only Magdalena is stand out as a true protagonist whereas others are static and silent in subdued grief; she evokes the vivid drama into the painting with her explicit expression about to cry out and theatrical pose. However, the most striking changes in the latest Titian’s are the tonality and brushstrokes, which are totally different from the old-age style of Michelangelo in terms of its artistic style and later appear in the latest style of Rembrandt. Perhaps it is due to the old-age that caused the bold and hazy brush strokes and change in his palette. Nevertheless, Titian was able to sublime his physical defect into the artistic style that is more grandeur, and filled with dramatic tension. If Pliny’s ideal is the art in flux, these latest and unfinished works of old-aged masters should be praised more than the previous works in their oeuvre although the mature works reached the artistic pinnacle of the style of the time and the latest works with innovation suggested the foreshadowing of the later style. The artist’s work is a response to the style of the current and the great artists who we remember as old masters and whose styles never remained static. Their works suggest innovation, and the styles were in flux; they learned, influenced, and built their own styles. Especially Michelangelo and Titian had a long artistic career that enabled them to reach the pinnacle and experience limit of the high Renaissance style. We see the grace and virtue of the old-aged master, who lacks the strength to leave the refined brush strokes or represent the subtle tonality, but whose work is free from all the obligations of the long-time practiced convention.

Catching Them Early :: essays papers

Catching Them Early Richmond, California, is a predominately low-income city across the bay from San Francisco. In some of its hard-pressed neighborhoods, children are at high risk of gang involvement, drug abuse, and violence and teen pregnancy. But instead of relying only on law enforcement agencies to keep children safe, the people of Richmond have taken matters into their own hands. Community agencies and schools are working together to break the cycle of poverty and violence. "Catching Them Early" profiles the extraordinary efforts of Richmond's Lincoln Elementary School to ensure a bright future for its children. Ninety-nine percent of the kids attending Lincoln qualify for federal meal subsidies; many have family members in a gang. So the school makes special efforts, including the hiring of outreach workers, to provide the kind of support kids need to stay in class and do well. Teenagers in Richmond find support at Families Unites, an unusual community health organization that has made crime prevention part of its mission. Families Unites and its caseworkers like outreach worker Gonzalo Rucobo, who was himself once a gang member, help kids stay out of gangs and avoid conflicts that can lead to violence. "Catching Them Early" observes one teenager's struggle to remove himself from gang violence without alienating his old friends. "Two of my friends," he says, "have got shot down, [and] they were not banging' anymore. I'm just trying to stay out of trouble. I don't say I'm lucky until probably ten years from now. You never know who's going to come up behind you." "Catching Them Early" also explores how Richmond is responding to the growing tendency of teenage girls to become involved in violence and crime. Richmond targets teen mothers, providing them with training in child rearing and help in anticipating the difficulties they will encounter, and makes a special effort through programs like Head Start to make sure that young children get the support they need to become successful students. "Richmond is inspiring," says series writer/producer Roger Grief, "because it's a community under pressure that is challenging its youth crime problem without relying solely on cops, courts, and corrections.

Edwards’ Sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Essay

When first reading Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,† shocked readers how it started right in about the wrath of God and Hell. His diction and images create a tone of alarming immediacy – act now for your own good. â€Å"The bow of God’s wrath is bent†, the arrow ready to pierce the heart of a sinner. Edwards uses this frightening image to compare the power of God to the people. His point is that he wants to persuade sinners to repent. Edwards seems to feel a harsh tone is needed in this to get the point across that they need God to lead them out of the dreadful pit. Edwards’ word choices present a contradiction, saying that people who have a relationship with God can still go to Hell because there is only God’s hand holding us up from Hell. The word â€Å"obligation† implies that the arrow could pierce a sinner’s heart right now, during his sermon. Also, â€Å"everlasting destructionà ¢â‚¬  has a big impact, telling people that they can have life if they follow God, or be swallowed up by Hell. Edwards is didactic and harsh with the information he tries to convey to the congregation, scaring them he hopes, into salvation. He uses these tools to help the tone on the importance of knowing God and how people’s lives can be changed. He does this out of love, trying to tell them how it really is and wanting them to choose the right way. This frightening, bullying tone is a far cry from the 21st century sermons which emphasize God’s love for mankind as in the well known verse John 3:16.