Case Study: H.J. Heinz Company - Assignment Example

Apart from ketchup, Heinz also distributes sauces, infant meals and snacks. The company has segmented its operations into five segments: Europe, Asia/Pacific, North American consumer products, U.S and the rest of the world. William R. Johnson, who is the CEO of the H.J Heinz Company, rose from a general marketing manager to the CEO. Johnson managed the Heinz Pet Foods as the CEO and later managed its StarKist tuna Unit. Johnson, like many other achievers has a degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and an MBA from the University of Texas.

Planning William R. Johnson, as the CEO of the firm has steered his company forward by formulating both short term and long-term goals. The company has a set of strategic long-term goals that must be satisfied by short-term goal. His strong execution plan is proving to be successful. It consists of four major principles: Accelerating growth in emerging markets, expanding the core portfolio, strengthening and leveraging global scale and making talent an advantage. The company will accelerate growth through mergers and acquisitions of similar companies and using science innovatively.

By growing through health and wellness, the company will in the end, expand its core portfolio. Innovation, sustainability and global procurement are just but a few strategies that Johnson will use to strengthen and leverage global scale (Shell, 2003, p.24). The plan of making talent an advantage will work towards strengthening the organizations relationship with its employees. This will be implemented by providing right incentives and creating autonomy of leadership within the organization. Organizing Organizing is the process departmentalizing duties so that a specialist heads each department.

This creates division of labor, which eases coordination in the organization. William R. Johnson has managed to subdivide his company into smaller manageable departments to facilitate faster penetration to other markets. By placing a manager as the head of each department, external and internal programs run smoothly. Departments like the CSR and Funzone, are aimed at improving interactions between the company and the community (Dive, 2008, p.15). Directing Directing is the process of giving instructions to employees or subordinates by motivating and guiding towards achievement of organizational goals.

According to published reports, in the year 2011, Heinz made $10.7 billion driven by 12% from emerging markets. By explaining, what the company intends to achieve as short term goals, the employees are able to concentrate fully on achieving these goals (Hron, 2001, p.27). Without direction and motivation from the CEO, the employees are likely to perform poorly since their tasks lack excitement. Staffing Staffing is the process of recruiting and hiring the right kind of employees to perform specific roles within the organization.

As demonstrated by CEO William R. Johnson, employees are the most important resource within the organization because they determine success or failure of the company. Johnston provides an employment platform where responsibility blends with visibility in order to challenge employees’ innovation techniques. Employees are able to share their ideas with talented people globally. Furthermore, his plan of “making talent an advantage” will motivate employees. This will ensure employee satisfaction, which in turn, reduces employee turnover.

Controlling Controlling is the process of making sure that execution of activities follows the outlined plans. It involves comparing the desired output with actual results and taking corrective measures (Hentz, 1994, p.25). “Food safety and transparency”