Introduction
The business assessment seems interesting. Different organizations, depending on the nature of the business, run the business operations differently. From leadership in conflict resolution, everything is triggered by planning. The purpose of the business assessment is to derive several insights regarding business and assess different concepts that it applies. Several concepts, which are to be navigated, are leadership, conflict management, performance teams, emotional intelligence, change management, culture & climate, decision making, strategic planning, and communication. It looks at the whole business assessment, which covers several concepts. However, before starting the assessment, there is a need for a comprehensive company background.
Company Background
Kroger is a largest American retail company, which is dealing with an immense range of products and services for customers. The company contains supermarkets and superstores in the United States of America. It is the largest firm by revenue. Regarding revenue streams, it is just behind Wal-Mart. The company was founded in 1883 by Bernard Kroger. According to 2017 financial reports, the revenue of the company is US$122.66 billion. Kroger is the third largest employer in the country. It manages 443,000 employees in the whole country. In 2017, the management of the company announced to hire over 10,000 permanent employees.
The growth and business expansion of the company is due to effective mergers and acquisitions. The management believes in business expansion and enables people to develop with time. Therefore, it has established a remarkable internal culture and management system to deal with different issues.
Kroger applies management concepts effectively, and the elaboration is as below.
Leadership Fundamentals: Leadership Styles & Traits
Kroger’s leadership is based on the core value. It is a fact that every individual in the company is accountable for showing leadership behavior every day. The efforts of the leadership teams have been streamlined by the company. The leadership depicts the democratic leadership style. In the decision making, store managers, sales representatives and all other key stakeholders will participate. The leadership team streamlines different ideas and concerns. It has been revealed that the Democratic leadership works well when solving different complex problems or concerns in this retail giant. Streamlining ideas and reservations helps to find the fine decision at the end (Orgel, 2010).
The Democratic leadership has enabled honesty in the workplace. The Kroger leadership can communicate the situation accurately to different teams. Thus, based on the valuable feedback, the firm is in the best position to make the decisions. The democratic leadership style is one of the prominent fundamentals of the leadership in this retail company. Diverse opinions or ideas regarding retail operations ensure the creative process (Lussier & Achua, 2012). On the other hand, dominance has become a prominent and valuable leadership trait. For Instance, Rodney McMullen, Chief Executive Officer of Kroger Company, dominates due to its leadership style. He has always intended to take initiatives and effectively contribute to the company. Kroger believes in social engagement. Social boldness has become a pertinent leadership trait. The internal environment has been shaped by integrating social values. It has ensured the employees and work sustainability. Also, the leadership team is committed to portraying corporate social responsibility (Orgel, 2010).
Emotional Intelligence
Kroger has a strong corporate culture, and emotional intelligence is a prominent factor in this regard. In Kroger, emotional intelligence contains significance. Major elements are self-awareness, self-regulation, internal motivation, empathy, and social skills. The management of the company usually creates emotional and sentimental attachments with employees. His firm, the management has shaped the culture in which employees develop the ability to understand or recognize their moods and emotions. Obviously, these moods and emotions create an impact on the workplace and other stakeholders.
Internal motivation and self-regulation have helped people to take control of their emotions. Conversely, the Kroger management plays its role in creating a work environment that is triggered by these emotions and mood. People working in this organization are like a family. People are emotionally attached to each other that enhances the visibility of better communication. Kroger connects with the feelings and thoughts of employees in different regions. Remarkably, the change resistance in this firm is less than other companies due to emotional intelligence. People understand the culture and need and embrace the need to grow alongside the firm. Kroger management is looking to drive more self-awareness in the company, as far as the employee contribution is concerned.
For instance, people usually take feedback from other people and identify strengths and weaknesses. They take feedback positive, and it increases the assertiveness to enhance their contribution. In Kroger, employees and management can contain emotional attachments. Compassion is quite visible, which creates a strong binding among people. Emotional intelligence has not only adapted for motivational awareness and self-regulation. It has increased the leadership capabilities of employees with time. Kroger management understands human nature and creates the impact on the bottom line (Driscoll, 2018).
Managing Change
Bringing and managing the change in an organization is important to enhance growth and profitability. Kroger intends to identify the need for change regularly and take different initiatives. For Instance, the firm is looking to expand the business and make the grocery products available to customers at different locations. Also, the increase of the beverage product line, store space optimization, and improvements in the online shopping services are some recent changes in the company (Filby, 2017).
Kotter’s eight-step change model is in the limelight in this firm to bring the change. For Instance, a, to make the change, Kroger creates the change urgency and creates the powerful coalition in the first two phases. The company always likes to communicate the need for change to its employees to rationalize the change. The clear vision is streamlined to understand the need for the change in the third step. In the fourth step, the firm intends to communicate the vision in different training programs and other organization events (Bradberry, Greaves, & Lencioni, 2009). Now, the company takes necessary actions or implements strategies in the fifth step. Kroger always comes up with an excellent implementation plan when executing the change. It usually improvises in the process to enable efficiency. Instead of bringing major change, the firm creates the short-term wins (Kotter, 2012).
For Instance, Kroger management gives the victory taste to employees early in the change process. It increases motivation and reduces resistance as well. Kroger effectively builds the change because it does not declare victory immediately. It creates the space for continuous improvement in the competitive retail industry. The last step is anchoring the change. Kroger depicts the habit of changing things, and it has become a core of the organization culture (Driscoll, 2018).
Strategic Planning
The strategic planning process is also in the limelight in this company. The company implements different phases of the strategic planning to attain the long-term goals and objectives. It seems like a comprehensive strategic planning process, which is based on market data. Kroger streamlines different strategic plans. For Instance, in the competitive retail market of the United States of America, this firm is looking to redefine American eating habits and create the value for customers and shareholders (The Kroger Co, 2017).
It seems a long-term strategy, and the firm needs a comprehensive strategic plan. The first step is collecting and synthesizing the data. The data are to be collected from the retail market. Based on the data collected from the retail market, the firm is shaped the strategic direction. The administration communicates this strategic direction to all key stakeholders. To meet strategic goals, Kroger recruits the action planning teams and trains them. It is a fact that all action planning teams present different actions to the strategic action planning committee. After it, the committee submits the full action plan to the board of directors. Prioritizing the planning process is also an important part of the strategic planning process. The management finally creates the schedule of the implementation and opens the feedback loops. These are some key steps of this strategic process. Interestingly, due to changing trends and spikes in the retail market, an IP strategy may emerge to mold or modify some action plans. The new strategic plan of the company is to redefine the food experience, the transformation of the technology, drive sales and revenues and accelerate growth. Kroger is committed to executing all these phases, Kroger is focusing on these efforts to make outputs predictable and gain the sustainable competitive advantage (Progressivegrocer.com, 2016).
High Performing Teams
It has been revealed that Kroger aims to improve the grocery store shopping experience. To meet this purpose, the firm has to strengthen teams. High performing teams can help the company gain a competitive advantage and sustain the business for the long run. Kroger has implemented several steps to create high-performance teams in grocery stores. Interestingly, in the grocery store, Kroger management trains employees to become team leaders. These team leaders inspire the team members and create energy and enthusiasm. Enthusiasm and energy are two important elements to create a high performing team. It increases the assertiveness of team members to achieve customer service and sales goals. In Kroger’s grocery stores, the management combines the efforts of seniors and junior team members. Most of the conflicts are solved by mature people (Kununu.com, 2017).
However, conflict resolution strategies are applied to resolve conflicts and enhance cooperation. Work stability and consistency are important for teams and organizations. Setting the stretch goals is a better approach to derive the extraordinary result. Team leaders enable the internal drive for team members to achieve the impossible. The human resource department plays an important role in this regard. For Instance, on the job training, attractive incentives, and manageable diversity are some action plans, which are workable. The major goal of the firm is to shape the behavior of teams to meet long-term organizational goals. So far, the company is successful regarding team performance (Higgins, 2018).
Organizational Culture and Climate
Effective organizational culture is a backbone of any organization, and Kroger understands it. Working at Kroger is a wonderful experience for employees. The organizational culture of the company is based on three major pillars. These major pillars are transparency, cultural fit hiring, and people’s belongings. It has been revealed that the Kroger Company considers its corporate culture as a key business strategy. Senior leaders and other important stakeholders are engaged in the decision-making process. The democratic approach comes into life again. People are engaged, supported, and developed in this culture. In this purpose-driven culture of the firm, people love to help each other. Employees are trained for multitasking. There is minimum space between employees and the management. Effective listening behavior is appreciated. People are socialized effectively.
Another aspect of the corporate culture is the visibility of the different communication patterns. These communication patterns enable the open discussion policy for employees. Clarity and productivity have been encouraged in this culture. Kroger management has established the culture of feedback. People are open to discussing everything. For Instance, through 360 feedback system, people know their strengths and weaknesses and contain improvements with the time. Open communication is the biggest element of the Kroger’s culture. Being the third largest employer in the country, it embraces diversity. It is another important element of effective culture. People’s efforts are combined, despite having different cultural values. People respect different cultural values, and it makes the whole company different as compared to other retail chains.
The organizational climate is also favorable. The firm has created some values, which created the impact on the behavior of employees. The employee perception is positive, and it is a big achievement of the company in this contemporary and competitive era. For Instance, the firm wants to impose the responsibility on individuals along with the huge support and appreciation. The work delegation has created an effective climate, which has made the whole workplace interesting for people.
Problem Management and Decision Making
Due to an effective problem management approach, the firm can find problems immediately. This retail giant defines the management role to find problems, reduce the impact and come up with pertinent solutions. For Instance, Kroger detects the problem in the system and accordingly classifies it. Logging has become the main focus of the company to streamline the issue and create the urgency of the change or solution. The second phase of the problem management approach is the investigation and diagnosis. What is the problem? When it occurred? What is its impact? What is the significance? These are some key questions, which are to be considered in the investigation (Lutz, 2015).
Usually, the company updates the record of the known error. The problem-solving team analyzes the whole data and tries to find some key causes. Kroger does not work on the single solution. Problem management approach includes multiple options or alternatives in the form of different solutions. Teams test the proposed or most appropriate solution and submit the request for the change to the top management. Thus, Kroger contains a systematic way of identifying and solving problems. Therefore, problems are less impactful. Finally, the firm executes the solution. It is necessary to create some measures to justify the effectiveness or workability of the solution. The firm ensures the removal of error. Along with the problem prevention activities, the problem resolution information is to be shared and updated (Vena, 2017).
The problem closure documentation can be maintained at the end. Kroger defines roles for the process owner, problem manager, and problem analyst. These are key people in the problem management procedure. These three people adopt the democratic approach and come up with the collaborative decision-making process (Markoff, 2017).
Managing Conflict
Kroger faces two types of conflicts. These are business conflicts, employee conflicts. However, several ways have been adopted by the company. For instance, the best way of the company is to understand the emotional response of people in the company. As elaborated above, the firm contains effective emotional intelligence. Therefore, the element of the emotional response cannot be ignored here. The conflict resolution procedure is straightforward. The conflict management, which is assigned to eliminate conflicts, considers or navigates the views of both parties. By listing different perspectives, Kroger’s conflict management team identifies the cause of the issue (Karst, 2018).
The solution is based on a pertinent rationale, which creates the win-win situation at the end. In Kroger’s culture, timing is a big factor. Resolving the conflict at the right time saves firms from different uncertainties. Everyone in the firm knows his boundaries. The conflict management team communicates the limitations to everyone to move towards effective conflict resolution. Remarkably, the culture of respect helps to respect the differences. In Kroger, the management removes conflicts through understanding the different point of views of different people. Kroger, being a large retail chain in the country, seems responsible regarding conflict handling. It knows how to avoid the same conflicts in the future (Markoff, 2017).
Communication
Kroger has an effective employee communication program. The purpose is to boost the internal communication process. The firm has already adopted an integrated management system to communicate internally and externally. The firm has expanded in the whole United States, and an integrated system quite helps to enable an effective flow of the information. However, some traditional traits are embraced by the time. For instance, Kroger has a good communication strategy. There is an open communication policy in the company. The process of communication is quite simple. The communication system depends on two major phases. These phases are the transmission phase and the feedback phase. If a retail or grocery store wants to communicate with other stores, it has to create the message first and use the medium introduced by the company. These mediums are video conferencing, telephone, emails, virtual meetings, and written memos. Face-to-face communication can also be held in open discussion in the store or meetings at the head office. After receiving the message, the receiver becomes the sender and uses the same process to respond. The internal communication system has helped the company gain many benefits such as employee engagement, crises handling, work reports, and work progress (Price, 2016).
Conclusion
In the end, it is to conclude that Kroger, a large retail chain in the country, has implemented all these concepts. The firm has a systematic way of doing different things, and it is working in this modern era. From leadership to the communication process, every individual is assigned roles and responsibilities. In this comprehensive business assessment, several insights have been elaborated. However, it is imperative to evolve with time to align with new trends in the competitive retail market.
References
Bradberry, T., Greaves, J., & Lencioni, P. M. (2009). Emotional Intelligence 2.0 Hardcover. Talent Smart.
Driscoll, K. (2018, May 29). 5 surprising ways Kroger is changing stores in 2018. Retrieved from https://www.daytondailynews.com/business/surprising-ways-kroger-changing-stores-2018/EKr5JjWkEVV6Rny64z6d8M/
Filby, M. (2017, October 18). 5 big changes Kroger is bringing to area stores. Retrieved from https://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/big-changes-kroger-bringing-area-stores/fUNQ6Cwh6VJfgmfO21nGVP/
Higgins, M. (2018, January 18). The Four Fundamentals Of Building A High-Performance Team. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/01/18/the-four-fundamentals-of-building-a-high-performance-team/#702aac076081
Karst, T. (2018, June 20). Does Kroger’s new payment policy conflict with PACA? Retrieved from https://www.produceretailer.com/article/news-article/does-krogers-new-payment-policy-conflict-paca
Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading Change, With a New Preface by the Author. Harvard Business Review Press.
Kununu.com. (2017, December 7). “High Performance Work System” is the downfall of this plant. Blames the employees instead of fixing the issues. Retrieved from https://www.kununu.com/us/kroger/a/SkRqUV99ew%3D%3D
Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2012). Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development. Cengage Learning.
Lutz, A. (2015, March 5). A grocery chain no one talks about is becoming Whole Foods’ biggest threat. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/krogers-strategy-to-take-over-grocery-stores-2015-3
Markoff, A. (2017, July 6). Subjective Market Values: Does Kroger Do Anything Well? Retrieved from https://www.the-mcorp.com/subjective-market-values-kroger-anything-well/
Orgel, D. (2010, July 19). How Kroger, Supervalu, Wal-Mart CEOs View Leadership. Retrieved from https://www.supermarketnews.com/blog/how-kroger-supervalu-wal-mart-ceos-view-leadership
Price, J. (2016, November 27). Top 10 best practices for effective store communication. Retrieved from https://www.storiq.net/top-10-best-practices-effective-store-communication/
Progressivegrocer.com. (2016, December 5). Kroger Outlines Focus, Strategy to Stockholders. Retrieved from https://progressivegrocer.com/kroger-outlines-focus-strategy-stockholders
The Kroger Co. (2017, October 11). Kroger Outlines Plan to Redefine the Way America Eats and to Deliver Value for Customers & Shareholders. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kroger-outlines-plan-to-redefine-the-way-america-eats-and-to-deliver-value-for-customers–shareholders-300534819.html
Vena, D. (2017, June 23). Kroger Has Bigger Problems — Amazon Is Buying Whole Foods. Retrieved from https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/23/kroger-has-bigger-problems-amazon-is-buying-whole.aspx
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