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Kudler Foods

In an effort to survive the ever changing business environment, companies need to evolve continuously and adapt over time. Kudler Fine Foods is no exception. This paper will examine Kudler Fine Foods' readiness for change by assessing the company's apparent culture, organizational structure, leadership style, as well as internal and external happenings that may drive such change.
The culture of Kudler Fine Foods can be found in their mission statement and throughout their handbook. The mission statement of Kudler Fine Foods is based on excellent customer service, professionalism, pride and loyalty in the company, and of course, a purveyor of fine foods. This mission statement is reflected in all aspects throughout the company. Kudler Fine Foods has an organized structure and chain of command employees rank from executives to store baggers; however, despite this structure Kudler Fine Foods promotes open communication and interaction between all employees within the company. Employees are encouraged to speak their ideas and give feedback to their managers regarding ways to improve Kudler Fine Foods.
Based on Jeffrey Sonnenfeld's 4 types of organizational cultures, Kudler Fine Foods best demonstrates the "club culture." The club culture seeks people who are loyal, committed to one organization, and need to fit into a group. Organizational members prefer to spend their entire career in one organization; the organization in turn rewards them with job security, promotion from within, and slow progress after they prove their competence at each level (Gomez-Mejia and Balkin, 2002). Kudler Fine Foods recruits employees from outside the organization for entry level jobs, and other positions, such as assistants and managers, are posted internally within each store, giving a chance for all employees to move up within the company. The benefit of having a club culture for the employees of Kudler Fine Foods is that Kudler is committed to the sucess of every employee, and...