Whole Foods Market's Unique Work Culture and Practices
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Case Details:
Case Code:
HROB086
Case Length: 23 Pages
Period: 1978 -2006
Organization: Whole Foods Market
Pub Date: 2006
Teaching Note: Available
Countries: USA
Industry: Retail
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Please note:
This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
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"Whole Foods is a social system. It's not a hierarchy. We don't have lots of
rules handed down from headquarters in Austin. We have lots of self-examination
going on. Peer pressure substitutes for bureaucracy. Peer pressure enlists
loyalty in ways that bureaucracy doesn't." 1
- John Mackey, cofounder, Chairman and CEO of Whole Foods Market, in 1996.
"Customers experience the food and the space, but what they really experience
is the work culture. The true hidden secret of the company is the work culture.
That's what delivers the stores to the customers."2
- Chris Hitt, former President of Whole Foods Market, in 2004.
Whole Foods Walks the Talk
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In January 2006, Fortune, a prominent business magazine, published its annual
list of the '100 Best Companies to Work For' in the United States (US). Whole
Foods Market (WFM) featured at number 15 in the overall ranking, and at number
three among large companies, on this list.
It was the ninth consecutive time that Fortune had ranked WFM as one of the best
companies to work for, (WFM was also one of the few companies to have featured
on the list every year since Fortune started publishing it in 1998) (Refer to
Exhibit I for WFM's ranks on the list since 1998).
WFM was the world's largest natural foods retailer, and also carried several
products that were certified as organic 3.
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Natural and organic food was thought to be the fastest growing segment in the US
retail industry in the early 2000s (Refer to Exhibit II for a note on organic
food). WFM was among the fastest growing retailers in the US, and was known for
its high growth rate in an industry characterized by zero to negative same store
sales growth4. WFM was well known for its
employee-oriented work culture and team-based operations, which were thought to
be the main drivers of the company's success.
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"One of our
core values at Whole Foods Market is Team Member happiness and
excellence, and we believe our innovative and egalitarian work
environment is a major factor in our success as a company," said Walter
Robb, co-president and COO of WFM 5.
WFM has been called a 'radical experiment in democratic capitalism'
6.
According to analysts, several companies talked about teamwork,
autonomy, and empowerment, but very few actually put these ideals into
practice. WFM was considered by some to be one of those rare companies
that not only had a clear vision, but also the commitment to pursue it. |
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