Whole Foods Case Study

Do you believe that whole foods emphasis on teamwork is appropriate for the grocery industry?  why or why not?

Yes, I do believe that Whole Foods emphasis on teamwork is indeed appropriate for the grocery store industry. Firstly, teaming up at workplace creates a positive environment as every member feels important and heard, it has umpteen benefits as it fosters creativity, creates a comparatively bigger pool of ideas, blends strength, helps in and teaches conflict management and resolution which boosts quality and productivity. But the most important point that I noticed here in whole foods is that though these stores are autonomous, still these are somewhat centralized because of the teams. To be more precise, as there are teams at every level, the members have a team, then leaders at every level have a team, obviously the ideas, practices and experiences are shared. That in turn keeps all the stores in synch. Also competitions reveal the pros and cons that knowingly or unknowingly bring things in a similar system. Where the autonomy is providing the sense of ownership the teams are actually keeping around 350 stores synchronized.

2.  What is your opinion of Whole Foods practice of sharing team performance data with all company employees? Do you believe that this practice risks creating “too competitive” a spirit among the firms employees? Explain your answer  

Well, I think it a very healthy practice. This data acts as a performance monitor and the performance monitor always keeps the employees on toes as a practice of self assessment is imposed without the feeling of imposition. The competition with self brings out the best in an individual and continuous learning inclination, also as the food chain focuses on teamwork it will get better quality output from the team of self driven yet cooperative members. Further, there is also a competitive side of this comparison of data; it gives us an opportunity to learn from the achievers also redirects the attention where the team or member needs improvement.

No doubt it does create a risk of over competitive spirit but that is not that a big an issue as the Whole Foods is already experienced in that matter, it does and always can tone down the competition. Also the teams and members at individual level are mature enough to eventually understand the true reason and spirit of competition. In fact just like the teams the rewards can be at every level, I think that would be a good way to avoid it from becoming too competitive.

3. Would you enjoy working on a team at Whole Foods? Why or Why not?

Definitely, I would absolutely enjoy working at a place which enables its employees to feel individuality in joint action. Experience is said to be the best teacher and here at Whole Foods where one knows that from screening till the journey continues, every step of the way will be monitored from micro level all the way to the top, the individual will always give his best. The teamwork will not just help one gain experience of his own but also of the team he would be working with, the ideas that will be discussed would provide the much needed mental workout and improve a person intellectually. It will teach the lessons of healthy competition, conflict resolution, and so on. Most of all the team efforts for completing a task won’t put much pressure on the individual which is the real stress buster, as a stressful environment leads to drop in productivity of an individual. Beside the learning experience and a positive environment, which are most important, I would like to work for whole foods for health reasons as it is totally organic which I believe is the need of the day.