History of Wegmans Culture - Essay Example

Wegman’s Culture Organizations, corporations, and companies are like society. There is a particular culture about them that define their mission, values, and method of operation. Without such a structure and guiding force, it would be difficult to function, much less thrive. It is important for an organization to define who they are as a company and why they exist. This allows them to portray an image to their stakeholders, and larger society, that will hopefully cause others to support them and keep them around for years to come. Such organizational culture can either be positive or negative, and that ultimately determines that possibility of long range success. As culture determines the way of life existent within in a society, it also serves to determine the methods under which daily operations are carried out in any given company around the world, no matter how big or small they may be. In order to illustrate this important principle, this paper will take a look at the Wegmans corporation. The companies mission, values, and corporate culture will be analyzed and explained. History of Wegman’s Wegmans dates way back to 1916, when John Wegman opened the Fruit and Vegetable company in Rochester, New York. With his brother joining him a year later, this was truly a family oriented business that has withstood the test of time. The company has a long and proud history trough the Northeastern United States, as stores have been opened throughout New York State, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, among others. Entering into the 21st Century, Wegmans had risen to the level of being recognized as one of the top 100 best companies to work for in the United States, demonstrating their commitment to treeing all employees like members of the family (Wegmans 2013). Most notably, Wegmans is noted to be a regional supermarket chain in the United States, and has become one of the largest private companies in all of America. From its inception, the management of the corporation has focused on creating a supermarket that is known to provide an enhanced shopping experience when compared to competitors. They do this by striving to provide better quality good, with an abundance of different choices for the consumer, and by making available truly restaurant quality prepared food that shoppers can take home to their families. In addition, all stores are kept beautiful and modern, employees receive tremendous training in corporate culture in order to provide ready and knowledgeable assistance to all shoppers that come through the doors. While prices have obviously increased since 1916, Wegmans has worked hard to provide low prices to neighborhood shoppers in comparison to other choices in a give geographical area. Their goal in doing this is to prevent creating a situation where shoppers feel they need to go all over town buying different products at different prices (Wegmans 2013). They want the shopper to stop at Wegmans and not feel the need to go anywhere else because, on average, they will save on their total grocery bill by doing so. While Wegmans might be nearly 100 years old, the management has always attempted to integrate the latest technology into their stores. This can be demonstrated by the fact that they were the first supermarket in the country to introduce bar-code scanning back in 1974, and they were one of the first to incorporate the technology that allowed them to provide shoppers with electronic discounts back in 1990. In addition, Wegmans has consistently strived to be a solid and productive member of the community. They exceed expectations in terms of charitable contributions. Their focus in on helping to reduce hunger, providing young people with opportunities to be successful in life, promoting healthy eating and fitness habits, and strengthening local neighborhoods. All of this can be shown in the fact that, as an organization, they gave food banks over 16 million pounds of food during the course of 2012 (Wegmans 2013). Organizational Objectives and Philosophy Over the years of its operations, Wegmans has attempted to stay true to its founding principles. Today there are five main objectives that serve to define the culture of Wegmans. The first among these is that they care about the well-being and success of every person. This applies to both the shopper and the thousands of employees that work for the company. A second organizational objective is reflective of the companies belief that high standards are a way of life. They strive to pursue excellence in everything that they do. This means that Wegmans does not just want to meet industry guidelines in the safety and cleanliness of their stores, for example. They strive to exceed them. Their focus, naturally, is on customer retention. More than that, however, they appear to be motivated to provide the very best shopping experience that they can for all people that walk through the doors. They want each of their stores to be extremely organized, clean, and shopper friendly. They want all staff, no matter what their position in the company may be, to be exceptionally trained and motivated to provide the best shopping experience possible and to feel that they each play a role in making that happen. A third stated organizational objective is the the company makes every effort to make a real difference in the each community that they operate a store in and serve. As mentioned previously, this reflective in their charitable contributions to the area, particularly in terms of helping to ease the problem of hunger, and providing scholarship for university students. In this regard, it is also important that an effective organization look out for the well being of its own people. The fourth organizational objective is that Wegmans pledges to not only respect, but to listen to their people. Each employee at Wegmans has a voice and management strives to listen and implement changes when feasible. In addition, if there is something that needs to be corrected in terms of employee relations, the organization certain pledges to do so. Finally, Wegmans states that will empower their people to make decisions that improve their own work, and serve to benefit the customer and the company as a whole. This entails giving the employees the power to handle customer relation issues without having to involve other personal. Whenever possible, the company wants employees to truly feel that they have a stake in the success of the company. One primary way to accomplish this is to trust them to do the right thing. If a customer complaint, for example, is received, then staff should be equipped with the tools and authority to do whatever they can to correct the situation. This feeling of empowerment has turned the organization into one of the best companies to work for over the past decade, and creates an environment that allows employees to thrive. This has all contributed to one the highest retention rates of staff in the industry. The philosophy at Wegmans, simply stated is: “At Wegmans, we believe that good people, working toward a common goal, can accomplish anything they set out to do” (Wegmans 2013). From its humble beginnings as a small company in Rochester, through to its current position at one of the largest private companies in the country, the corporation has lived and breathed this philosophy. They do not just seek profit. They try to make the community a better place through the products they offer, the way that they treat people, and through the lives that they try to encourage everyone involved in the company to live. They follow through on their stated beliefs and goals by setting a goal to be the very best chain of stores in terms of serving the needs of their customers. While those needs have certainly changed over the years, particularly when compared to the early 1900s, the objective has not. People want to feel valued and cherished, and that is at the core of Wegmans culture. Every action that they take as a company, no matter how major or minor it may seem to be, is done with this object and the forefront of decision making. Furthermore, they believe that they can accomplish their stated goals if they seek to fulfill the needs of their own people. They pledge to their customer that they will see continuous improvement in the way that they operate. They commit to that, and state the everyday, every customer will get the best that the Wegman community has to offer. One of the concepts that has evolved over the years, and one that separates the supermarket from others in the region, is the method of creating an open-air market that has a European feel to it. They have gone to great lengths to revamp their produce sections to create ‘dazzling displays’ (Wegmans 2013). They also produce fresh artisan breads, in addition to other baked goods, that come fresh from the oven several times a day. In addition, they sell freshly caught seafood, and recently butchered and created meat, deli products, imported cheeses, and various types of international foods. This variety, and the plethora of choices that abound throughout the store, has worked well for the company over the years, and positions it for continued expansion in the future. Finally, on aspect of the culture at Wegmans can be summed up in the adage that ‘bigger is better’. They have stores that are larger than most supermarkets, ranging in size from 80,000 to 140,000 square foot. They believe in providing shoppers with a variety of choices, and they work hard to make that happen by having many varieties of different products on offer. This necessitates large stores, but they are well laid out and employees are on hand to help shoppers find exactly what they are looking for. Shoppers, in turn, have remarked that choice is one of the many factors influencing them to be a loyal Wegmans customer. Conclusion The organizational culture has been a guiding force behind its existence, and its ability to flourish in a highly competitive industry. This culture has initiated expansion and encouraged a loyal customer following. The values and beliefs have not changed in substance in nearly a century, which has contributed to its longevity. Just like human civilization, the ability of a company to survive for a long period of time depends on this type of commitment to values and ethics. Wegmans has sought to be above reproach in all that they do, and to serve their customers, employees, and the community with integrity. If they continue to do this, they should be well positioned for the future. Works Cited “Wegmans - About US.” Wegmans. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2013. Read More