Pages:

10

Academic Level:

University

Paper Type:

Argumentative Essay

Discipline:

Management

TMGT 7153 – Management Paper Requirements - Assignment Overview – Final Paper

The overall objective of this assignment is for you to explore the various topics and functions from a management
perspective of the organization you select. You will select an organization listed on the Fortune 100 Top
Performing Company in the field of Management. The research can be found at the link on Bb under assignments.
The paper should be typed, a minimum of 10 pages in length and double-spaced. Cover sheet, table of contents,
endnotes and a bibliography are also to be included. You need a minimum of 10 sources and less than half of the
resources should be pulled from the Internet, the remaining sources must be from documented sources. These
documented, refereed sources will provide the framework for your topic paper. If you do not meet these minimum
requirements it will severely affect your grade. I will also be grading for grammar, punctuation, and format. It
needs to look professional. I will hand out requirement sheets for the papers and presentation.

Topic Paper Contents
Minimally, the following sections should be addressed as they relate specifically to the organization that you
selected and how their managers/leaders address these issues from a planning, strategy, team, and/or individual
basis – This is only a suggested a minimal outline. You may certainly choose to add other elements.
I. Introduction on the Company You Selected and Why
II. Overview of the Company and Management Philosophy
III. Organizational Culture & SWOT/ Internal & External Environments
IV. Managerial Decision making/Ethics
V. Planning & Strategy
VI. Organizational Structures
VII. Entrepreneurship
VIII. Organizational Agility
IX. Human Resource Management
X. International Management/Global Issues/Diversity in Their Workforce
XI. Leadership
XII. Motivation
XIII. Teams
XIV. Managerial Control
XV. Learning & Change Management
XVI. Wrap Up – Lessons Learned

Other requirements:
● APA Style - Selected References/Bibliography/Embedded citations
● Introduction and Summary Sections; Why you Selected the Organization, & Your Key Learnings

The Management of Wegmans Food Markets

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Code and Name

Instructor’s Name

Date

Table of Contents

Introduction. 3

Company Overview and Management Philosophy. 3

Organizational Culture. 4

SWOT Analysis. 5

Managerial Decision Making. 5

Planning and Strategy. 6

Organizational Structure. 7

Entrepreneurship. 7

Organizational Agility. 8

Human Resource Management 8

International Management 9

Workforce Diversity. 9

Leadership. 10

Motivation. 10

Teams. 11

Managerial Control 12

Learning and Change Management 12

Wrap-Up/Conclusion. 13

References. 14

The Management of Wegmans Food Markets

Introduction

In the United States, many sellers and buyers exist in the food market with adequate information about the quality and price of food and agricultural products. As a result of the increased number of sellers and buyers in the sector, the markets are perfectly competitive, making companies adopt innovative and inventive strategies that will help maintain their competitive advantage. Wegmans is an American supermarket chain that offers a wide range of products, from groceries to specialty snacks and even good value basics. Wegmans' inclusion in Fortune magazine's list of the top companies to work for in 2022 serves as the primary justification for choosing it (Company overview, 2022). The degree to which managers achieve their targets with the assistance of organizational resources at Wegmans is high and can be identified by following a pattern of basic assumptions like employee appreciation, inclusion in decision-making, timely feedback, and employee safety.

Company Overview and Management Philosophy

Wegmans is a family-owned company that operates over a hundred stores within the United States, intending to improve the customers' shopping experience. According to the Company overview (2022), Wegmans has 52,000 employees with an annual sale of $11.2 billion in 2021. In all its stores, customers benefit from over 50,000 product choices, such as imported cheeses, artisan bread, international foods, and household items, as the Company overview (2022) elaborates. Wegmans’ core values include making a difference in every community they serve, empowering the community to make decisions that improve its work, and respecting and listening to its customers. Lastly, Wegmans strives to be the greatest at meeting the needs and wants of its customers because it believes in uniting for a shared cause.

Wegmans’ management philosophy lies in its commitment slogan, “Every Day You Get our Best.” This slogan means the company aims to provide customers with the freshest ingredients daily. Wegmans’ managers encourage and continuously empower employees to work creatively and autonomously to meet organizational goals and fulfill customers' needs. Managers at Wegmans increasingly collaborate with employees to develop new innovative strategies that enable them to maintain the company’s competitive position, increasing problem-solving possibilities. According to Kohler (2016), creating room for employees to be creative and innovative leads to new ways of accomplishing tasks and efficiently running the business. Wegmans’ management philosophy has contributed to achieving various global distinctions that increase its popularity and public reputation.

Organizational Culture

Wegmans organizational culture is a culture of inclusion, belonging, and diversity. Its organizational culture is easily observable based on employees' work and how they interact with customers. Additionally, resulting from its management philosophy, managers at Wegmans offer servant leadership which encourages supporting employees to ensure that every employee grows and accesses the available opportunities. Moreover, employees at Wegmans are from different cultural backgrounds, which is a key factor in bringing them together. The key to a successful, thriving workplace and a fair work culture is diversity because it allows management to recognize the abilities and potential of every person (Haas & Mortensen, 2016). Compared to similarly sized companies in the United States, Wegmans’ organizational culture is vital for its success.

SWOT Analysis

Wegmans’ major strength is its financial position. For example, the Company overview (2022) states that in 2021, Wegmans’ annual sales were $11.2 billion. This gives Wegmans an advantage over its rivals if it plans to expand its market target. Additionally, employees at Wegmans are experienced and constantly participate in producing unique products that provide freshness to customers. Wegmans brand is an intangible asset that creates value, retaining and attracting more customers. In the recent past, Wegmans has been ranked as the best grocery store, which has attracted more customers enabling it to dominate the U.S. grocery market. However, Wegmans' major weakness is that it offers products with higher prices than other supermarkets, which might limit the target group from increasingly retaining their loyalty. Due to its strong financial situation, Wegmans has the chance to grow its network by adding more stores worldwide. Also, Wegmans has a chance to improve products such as availing more ready-to-eat foods, increasing the purchasing power parity. On the other hand, Wegmans faces intense competition from grocery stores, supermarkets, and corner stores. Also, Wegmans faces increased threats from robbers that might damage the company's properties and employees.

Managerial Decision Making

Every organization has a unique process followed when passing decisions affecting the workforce and production. At Wegmans, division managers are responsible for enforcing any strategy or approach that will guarantee the company increased sales and revenues at the moment and in the future. However, before making the optimal decision regarding a topic, managers are encouraged to discuss it with employee representatives to review all available alternatives. Abubakar et al. (2019) discuss that organizations should facilitate ethical decision-making that recognizes all the available options, eliminating unethical views and choosing the best decision that benefits the majority. Wegmans’ top management evaluates and chooses alternatives consistent with ethical principles, promoting the public good.

In the process of discussing and reviewing all available alternatives, employee representatives are chosen from every work subgroup to play a role in decision-making. Employee participation in decision-making encourages idea-sharing, mutual learning, and collaboration in pursuing a common objective (Abubakar et al., 2019). Wegmans fosters a collaborative environment by engaging employees in providing alternatives to choose from when making an important decision. As a result of the ethical decision-making process, Wegmans can effectively accomplish its organizational goals within the stipulated timeline, saving on budget, coaching, and planning aspects.

Planning and Strategy

Strategic planning is the process by which organizations define their vision for the future and identify achievable goals and objectives. Wegmans' vision statement is “Helping you live a healthier, better lives through food” (Wegmans Mission and Vision Statements Analysis, n.d.). This statement is vital for Wegmans by providing the vision for the company for the future and identifying the goals and objectives that will help realize the vision. In order to achieve the vision, Wegmans utilizes a low-pricing strategy that reinforces its ability to serve multiple customer segments (Zwanka, 2018). Wegman's managers and employees are aware of the company’s strategic planning and are encouraged to be innovative and creative in developing strategies that will help the company maintain the strategy while maximizing its revenue. In the long run, the low pricing strategy has enabled Wegmans to drive up sales volume, strengthening the company financially.

Organizational Structure

As discussed earlier, Wegmans allows employees to participate in providing alternatives for decision-making, but the top management is responsible for making the final decision and ensuring its implementation. Therefore, Wegmans' organizational structure is centralized, indicating that it relies heavily on top-down decision-making (Waldron et al., 2022). After the top management makes the ultimate decision, the management is responsible for communicating the decisions to employees. The top-down decision-making process enables Wegmans to have a clear, well-organized process that leaves little room for confusion. As much as employees were involved in providing alternatives, leaving the decision to the top management ensures that communication flows in one direction and employees are aware of their roles and responsibilities in implementing the decision. Wegmans' organizational structure leaves no room for mix-ups and misunderstandings among employees in different departments.

Entrepreneurship

Wegmans knows what it wants for its customers through its vision statement. Wegmans emphasizes healthy eating lifestyles for its customers and offers interactive tools that support wholesome eating routines. In its vision, Wegmans illustrates that it is able and ready to develop and run the business into the future. Additionally, Wegmans has created a conducive working condition that creates opportunities for employees to be innovative and creative. In turn, the company benefits from increased creative ideas guaranteeing its growth. Lastly, Wegmans utilizes different communication channels to communicate with its employees and customers. In turn, the communication techniques enable Wegmans to come close to its employees and customers, enabling the management to understand their different needs and develop strategies to fulfill them.

Organizational Agility

Wegmans can adapt and change quickly in a rapidly changing environment due to its engaging environment. First, Wegmans has a pro-employee setting that relies on employees as the best resource. In doing so, employees are encouraged to be innovative and creative, a great aspect that helps Wegmans stay afloat during changes. Saha et al. (2017) describe organizational agility as the ability of a firm to renew itself and succeed in a turbulent environment. The commitment Wegmans invests in training its staff members is another element that enables it to respond to a fast-changing environment. Wegmans trains and pays scholarships for its employees to learn new approaches to adapt to environmental and technological changes to maintain its competitive position (Saha et al., 2017). By training and educating employees, Wegmans encourages autonomy and flexible scheduling, an aspect uncommon in the retail sector, to create a work-life balance for its employees. In the long run, employees have reduced stress and increased energy to handle complex tasks and remain innovative in times of massive changes.

Human Resource Management

Wegmans' human resource department helps the company meet its business needs by managing the employee lifecycle. In every organization, human resources are tasked with five primary roles: training and development, talent management, compensation and employee benefits, workplace safety, and compliance, as Ahammad (2017) emphasizes. Wegmans recruits the right candidates from different cultural backgrounds with the ability to form emotional bonds with customers. Forming positive emotional connections with customers guarantees their satisfaction and helps a brand build lasting relationships (Stamps & Lovetro, 2020). Also, Wegmans' human resource department empowers its employees to make the right decisions critical for the company’s success. For example, employees are given the right to be innovative and creative in ways that will bring value to the company.

Wegmans primarily uses coaching as a tool for training and development, where managers are encouraged to work directly with staff to mentor them and assist them in managing complex duties, freeing up time that may be used in other areas. Because of Wegmans' supportive organizational culture, workers frequently express a desire to take on new responsibilities as opportunities arise within the company. Finally, according to Burrell et al. (2022), Wegmans has one of the highest staff retention rates in the American supermarket sector. This can be attributed to the level of diversity that the company promotes. Promoting diversity in the workplace is a technique that organizations use to bring their employees together and create a successful, thriving workplace. Wegmans human resource management acknowledges the benefits of a diverse workforce and utilizes it to be the leading food market in America.

International Management

Although Wegmans does not increasingly serve foreign markets, it adequately meets the needs of all Americans, irrespective of their cultural backgrounds, by selling imported cheeses and international foods. This means that African Americans and other minority populations living in Texas and Austin, among other cities where Wegmans operates, benefit from their cultural food products. However, if foreign customers need household supplies from the store, they can purchase them through e-commerce companies like Amazon and eBay.

Workforce Diversity

As discussed in the “organizational culture” and “human resource management” subtopics, Wegmans hiring practices emphasize diversity to create excellence. During the recruitment process, the human resource department searches for people with unique perspectives to integrate a diversity of thought into everything that is done within the organization. Welcoming, encouraging, and supporting views from its diverse workforce, Wegmans fuels innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Additionally, Wegmans can provide the greatest service to its consumers and foster a positive working environment for all stakeholders by employing and keeping a diverse team.

Leadership

The Wegmans executive team comprises 50% male and 50% female, with Colleen Wegman as its Chief Executive Officer. In the management positions, 77% are White, 12% African American, and 7% Hispanic or Latino (Wegmans Food Markets CEO and Leadership, n.d.). Wegmans expects its leaders to employ a servant leadership style by meeting the highest priority needs of the employees and setting aside their desires. In maintaining and executing the servant leadership style, leaders at Wegmans are expected to respect and listen to their employees, strive to make a difference in communities, empower employees to make decisions, and accomplish any goal that is set to encourage healthy eating among its customers. In order for Wegmans to maintain its market position and continue creating a conducive environment for its employees, servant leadership has greatly delivered the desired outcomes.

Motivation

According to a study by Zhang (2018) on employee motivation at Wegmans, most participants claimed that they love working in the company for reasons such as flexibility and career mobility. Flexibility means that employees are experiencing great benefits and true family atmospheres that make them feel appreciated and recognized. Careerwise, employees are exposed to increased organizational opportunities for promotion and innovativeness. As employees get promoted and increasingly establish creative ideas that enable the company to reduce its operational costs, they get more benefits, such as health insurance, that motivates them to work for the company for extended periods.

Teams

Wegmans has a Service Team Leader program that aims at enabling employees to reach their next career level as well as get all the necessary tools they need to advance. In the Service Team Leader program, team members create a dynamic retail environment that is growing that has increased opportunities to enhance their skills as they start new career chapters. Katzenbach and Smith (2015) discuss that teamwork promotes strong working relationships that create trust among team members, enabling them effectively communicate, motivate each other, and work cooperatively. At Wegmans, teamwork is the backbone of effective communication, allowing the teams to complete projects using the available resources within the stipulated timeline.

As more employees subscribe to the Service Team Leader program, the organization benefits from having effective leaders with a deep understanding of its values and business standards, and measures. Continuously learning through the program enables employees to unleash their innate leadership qualities, bringing out the best skills that enable them to work together to accomplish a shared goal (Katzenbach & Smith, 2015). Employees can make well-informed judgments about tasks and operations that are essential for the expansion and development of the company, even in the absence of their managers. Empowering employees to be leaders instills greater trust in leadership, enhances greater creativity, encourages employee motivation, and improves employee retention. In the long run, Wegmans maintains its competitive position by valuing the important stakeholders that create a conducive consumer environment.

Managerial Control

Wegmans executive management operates three control systems: output, clan, and behavioral. Output control is the measurable results within an organization. At Wegmans, the management is responsible for deciding the acceptable performance level, communicating expectations to employees, tracking performance, and making necessary changes. These functions are undertaken to ensure that Wegmans is successful and retains and attracts new customers all over the United States. Next, clan control involves shared expectations, traditions, norms, and values to lead employees toward the common good (Kanwal et al., 2017). At Wegmans, managers are trained and expected to work closely with employees to ensure that they perform their tasks as desired to meet the set organizational goals. This is most observable in Wegmans' organizational culture, which encourages creativity and innovativeness among its employees.

Finally, behavioral control falls under human resource management. Behavioral control aims to control the actions leading to the final expected results. The human resource department at Wegmans is responsible for setting rules and procedures that employees ought to follow to meet organizational goals and expected working behaviors. For example, managers at Wegmans are expected to collaborate with employees to complete projects or suggest alternatives to a problem. Another example of behavioral control is dress codes. Dress codes are a great reflection of the culture of the company. Also, employees wearing uniforms are easily identifiable by customers, creating an atmosphere of professionalism.

Learning and Change Management

At Wegmans, learning is a continuous process characterized by training and coaching employees get from the managers daily. Training and coaching enable employees to acquire new or improve existing skills and knowledge. Additionally, Wegmans' organizational culture encourages employees to be creative and innovative in developing approaches to problems and new ways the company can reach new markets or satisfy the needs of its existing target markets. Also, as discussed earlier, employees, through their representatives, are given an opportunity to provide alternative solutions for decision-making regarding a certain topic or issue affecting the organization. Increasingly encouraging employees to be creative and innovative and suggesting alternative solutions to problems enables them to adapt, change quickly, and succeed in a rapidly changing or turbulent environment.

Wrap-Up/Conclusion

Wegmans' organizational culture has contributed to its success by creating a conducive environment where managers collaborate with employees to accomplish tasks and projects on time. I have learned that managers and leaders play a crucial role in developing an organization’s agility. This means that leaders need to empower, train, and coach employees to be creative and innovative, which will positively impact their work and the organization's success in a rapidly changing and turbulent environment. Also, I have learned that creating a diverse workplace brings employees together, which is the secret to a successful, thriving workplace and a fair work culture. I have learned that it's critical for businesses to consider their workers as their most valuable assets and to give them the tools they need to get the job done in today's uncertain economy. In turn, similar to Wegmans, organizations that value their employees' input will be great places to work and retain and improve their competitive advantage.

References

Abubakar, A. M., Elrehail, H., Alatailat, M. A., & Elçi, A. (2019). Knowledge management, decision-making style, and organizational performance. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 4(2), 104-114. doi:10.1016/j.jik.2017.07.003

Ahammad, T. (2017). Personnel management to human resource management (HRM): How HRM functions. Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing, 13(9), 412-420. doi:10.17265/1548-6583/2017.09.004

Burrell, D. N., Bradley-Swanson, O. T., Aridi, A. S., & Lewis, E. J. (2022). The Organizational and Social Complexities of Managing and Retaining Generation Z Employees in the United States Retail Industry. International Journal of Public Sociology and Sociotherapy (IJPSS), 2(1), 1-14. doi:10.4018/IJPSS.297202

Company overview. (2022, November 10). Wegmans. www.wegmans.com/about-us/company-overview/#1553692162293-7a8001dc-a560

Haas, M., & Mortensen, M. (2016). The secrets of great teamwork. Harvard business review, 94(6), 70-76.

Kanwal, N., Zafar, M. S., & Bashir, S. (2017). The combined effects of managerial control, resource commitment, and top management support on the successful delivery of information systems projects. International Journal of Project Management, 35(8), 1459-1465. doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2017.08.007

Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (2015). The wisdom of teams: Creating the high-performance organization. Harvard Business Review Press.

Kohler, T. (2016). Corporate accelerators: Building bridges between corporations and startups. Business Horizons, 59(3), 347-357. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2016.01.008

Saha, N., Gregar, A., & Sáha, P. (2017). Organizational agility and HRM strategy: Do they really enhance firms’ competitiveness? International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 6, 323-334.

Stamps, D. C., & Lovetro, C. (2020). Building community partnerships through targeted workforce development. Nursing Management, 51(7), 38-44. doi:10.1097/01.NUMA.0000662668.86271.81

Waldron, T. L., Navis, C., Karam, E. P., & Markman, G. D. (2022). Toward a theory of activist‐driven responsible innovation: How activists pressure firms to adopt more responsible practices. Journal of Management Studies, 59(1), 163-193. doi:10.1111/joms.12548

Wegmans Food Markets CEO and Leadership. (n.d.). zippia. www.zippia.com/wegmans-food-markets-careers-44217/executives/

Wegmans Mission and Vision Statements Analysis. (n.d.). Mission Statement. mission-statement.com/wegmans/#:~:text=Wegmans%20vision%20statement%20is%20%E2%80%9Chelping,components%20expound%20on%20this%20vision.&text=Other%20than%20simply%20selling%20its,that%20support%20healthy%20eating%20routines

Zhang, T. (2018). Employee wellness innovations in hospitality workplaces: Learning from high-tech corporations. Journal of Global Business Insights, 3(2), 52-66. doi:10.5038/2640-6489.3.2.1003

Zwanka, R. J. (2018). Everyday low pricing: A private brand growth strategy in traditional food retailers. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 24(4), 373-391. doi:10.1080/10454446.2017.1266563