W2A 590 Whole foods - Essay Example

Running Head: Business Strategy: A Case Study of Whole Foods Market. Describe how Whole Foods uses human capital as a course of competitive advantage. One enviable source of competitive edge for Whole Foods Market among peers is its regard for human resources. Associates at every store are member of teams and are empowered with the necessary training and skills they need to execute their duties in a manner that is not only professional but also customer centric. They are also empowered with the autonomy to voice their contributions in terms of ideas on suggestions product and service lines.

At the same time Whole Foods Market believes in a democratic workplace where every person’s contribution is respected and valued. The welfare of employees in terms health insurance cover, compensation and development are well taken care of. Associates even contribute in the recruitment process for their potential colleagues and the recruitment process aims at tapping top talent. With such autonomy, independence and great teamwork the associates are motivated and this translates into exceptional customer service. 2. Identify the aspects of high-involvement management contained in Whole Foods approach to managing its associates.

Top management at Whole Foods Market strongly believes in building a shared identity where all team members participate. Management therefore encourage all associates to take part in the daily decision making process at all business levels. Employees are empowered to contribute to decisions on the benefit options. The company has also adopted an open-book policy approach where every associate is allowed access to company financial information including compensation all employees. Transparency is regarded highly the management stresses company values such as collaboration and decentralization.

At the store levels, associates are members of teams and engage with their team leaders proactively to voice their contributions on product lines and the leaders take that into consideration. Associates re given the authority to participate in the vetting potential employees before they are confirmed. The approach has seen the company attract associates sharing their core values maintain and reward a workforce that is engaged and highly productive.3. How could Whole Foods democratic model of selection interfere with the development or continuance of a diverse workforce?

What should it do to prevent such difficulties? One potential risk of the company’s democratic model of selecting new associates is that it could interfere with the development of a diverse workforce. With the direct involvement of every employee there always come issues such as bias and favouritism. Some of the store leaders or influential employees could recommend potential employees on personal considerations and therefore bit the logic of tapping talent whilst at the same time maintaining diversity.

However this should not be a major problem if the HR function implements strategies aimed at alleviating biasness in the selection process. The first stage of recruitment should always be made by the HR team after which new the selected associates are randomly forwarded to the different stores for training. This way it will be extremely difficult for the process to be biased as the different teams will mostly receive people they don’t know about hence will not be influenced.4. How do you think globalization will affect Whole Foods over time?

Please explain several ways it could affect the company’s operationsWith globalisation, the company could be affected in a number of different ways. Firstly, globalisation presents an opportunity for the company to expand into international territories in search for more business opportunities. This should present challenges with the management of human resources considering cultural and regulatory influences. On the other hand globalisation presents huge competition as other brands in the industry will also want to expand and secure a share of the company’s market.