Kudler Fine Foods Companys Environmental Scan

Table of Contents

Introduction
Internal environment of Kudler Fine Foods
External Environment
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Efforts to survive and smoke away competition have compelled companies to analyze both internal and external environments that have the capacity to change the culture of an organization. Kudler fine foods has been left out of the bracket. This paper seeks at examining the both internal and external environments in regard to organizational structure, leadership style and a cocktail of external environment that influences its mode of operation.

Internal environment of Kudler Fine Foods

A rich source aspect that encompasses both environments of Kudler Fine Foods is in its mission statement and in their handbook. Its mission statement draws its basis on excellent customer service, professionalism, pride and loyalty in the company, and of course, a purveyor of fine foods (Kudler Intranet, 2005). The mission is a reflection of all aspects of Kudler Foods accompany that underlines its internal structure. According to Kudler Intranet (2005) The company has an organized structure and chain of command employees rank from executives to store baggers; however, despite this structure Kudler Fine Foods promotes open communication and interaction between all employees within the company.

The free and open communication offers an opportunity for employees to speak their minds, give their ideas and present their feedbacks to their managers and supervisors on ways to improve the organization. In the analysis of Sonnenfelds four types of organizational culture, Kudler Fine Foods internal environment would be perfectly described by club culture. According to Gomez-Mejia and Balkin (2002) the club culture seeks people who are loyal, committed to one organization, and need to fit into a group. In addition to the above, club culture enable employees render their services to an organization for a long time and at times for their entire career. Turban, Rainer and Potter, (2003) disposes this internal organizational characteristic by stating that organizational members prefer to spend their entire career in one organization; the organization in turn rewards them with job security, promotion from within, and slow progress after they prove their competence at each level.

In addition to the above, the recruitment culture within Kudler Fine Foods appreciates the role that has been played by the existing employees. This therefore involves a recruitment process that brings in employees at entry levels and promotes them with time in the company. This reinforces more commitment and the club culture as an integral internal environment of the company.

External Environment

In the analysis of the external environment, this food company culture of operations has mainly been influenced by competition in the food industry by major fast food houses such as MacDonalds. This has led to the development of the frequent shopper program using the electronic commerce. This has posed the external legal challenge in that the identification of the customer must be done to differentiate between the different types of the customers. To effectively track down the shopping patterns of particular customers at the individual levels must involve the customers themselves so that the provisions of the high value incentives are rewarded to the specific and right customer. In addition to the above, a list of legislations must be adequately put into consideration during the implementation of the electronic commerce aspects related to the development of the Kudler Fine Foods Frequent Shopper Program.

These include the privacy Act, electronic transactions Act, Spam Act and the various laws that apply to e- businesses. All these steps are aimed at protecting the customer from identity theft and fraud. Furthermore, the loyalty programs in partnership with the other service providers such as airlines and different stores that offer high end gift items means that a legal partnership must exist between the parties to enhance not only smooth operations but also avoid conflicts of business interests. These initiatives that come a long with external pressures to conform to high standards in the food industry have been necessitated by the desire to smoke away competition from competitors.

Conclusion

To drive up sales, increase revenue and win the trust and the loyalty of the frequent shoppers, Kudler Fine Foods must analyze both its internal and external environments. This will not only gain the confidence of the customers participating in the loyalty rewards but will also ensure that Kudler remains a strong brand in the market that has the capacity to achieve its targets and satisfy the demands of its customers.