Overview of Management - Primary Functions of Management - Kudler Fine Foods

Abstract

This paper primarily deals with the overview of management for the company Kudler Fine Foods. Kudler is a food store chain in California with three locations that specializes in stocking the ingredients used for gourmet cooking. This paper discusses the primary functions of management and how they relate to Kudler Fine Foods, covers the intranet and how Kudler Fine Foods' management team uses it to the company's advantage, and how the five forces from Porter's model applies to Kudler Fine Foods.

Overview of Management

Primary Functions of Management

Proper management is the key to success for any business venture. Regardless of what field or market the business venture belongs to, the primary functions of the management process are the same. Gomez-Mejia (2002) states that the primary functions of the management process are planning and strategizing, organizing, leading and controlling, and decision making. Even though how a company approaches each process may be different, all four of these functions are a part of the management process for any business including Kudler Fine Foods.

Planning and Strategizing

Planning is how a company "assesses the management environment to set future objectives and map out activities necessary to achieve those objectives" (Gomez-Mejia, 2002, p.5). In larger companies, there is typically a management team that is responsible for planning and strategizing. Kudler Fine Foods a small company still run by the original owner, Kathy Kudler. The 2003 strategic plan for Kudler Fine Foods states that since the beginning, "Kathy has handled all of the buying for the stores" (Kudler Fine Foods, 2003, p.4). She visits every store to get a feel for what they need and stocks the stores as she sees fit. She has two managers at each store but they are primarily responsible for the day to day activities of the store operations.

Organizing

Organizing is how a company handles "the deployment of resources to achieve strategic goals" (Gomez-Mejia, 2002, p.6). Kathy Kudler is once again the one person who primarily bears the majority of the responsibility for setting the goals and developing the road map to get there. She is intimately a part of the day to day operations for the stores and for the upper level decision making.

Leading

Kathy Kudler is the president for Kudler Fine Foods and the company prospers off of her ability to energize the employees of the company. Kudler Fine Foods is a small company with only a couple of levels of management. Kathy was a part of the selection process for the key employees in the company. Her staff includes other people that share a passion for gourmet foods. The company is driven by the passion Kathy has for gourmet foods and the vision of being able to buy all the ingredients for gourmet recipes in one place. Kathy's leadership and decision making are largely responsible for the success of Kudler Fine Foods.

Controlling

Controlling is how a company "measures performance, compares it to objectives, implements necessary changes, and monitors progress" (Gomez-Mejia, 2002, p.5). Even though Kathy Kudler is makes most of the management decisions, she does have several key employees that help with different aspects of controlling. Kathy has six direct reports that fill managerial positions. Each store has a manager responsible for the day to day operations for each store. Brenda Wagner handles human resource management and administration, Harvey Stephens oversees the financials for Kudler Fine Foods, and Yvonne Reynolds is the Director of Store Operations. Each of these employees has a responsibility to the company for controlling the processes relevant to their roles of responsibility.

Use of Technology and the Internet

Kudler Fine Foods is a relatively small company but their public website does not give you the feel of a small company with a small budget. The internet website has information about store locations, company news, and different categories of gourmet ingredients accessible by strategically links on the main page. While the website does give an overview of different categories for gourmet