Running head: SOBEYS ORGANIZATION DRIVING FORCE Sobeys Organization Driving Force Jeffrey Douglas Brown Dr. Valery Shumate Strayer University BUS322 - Organizational Behavior Date Due: Monday, April 24, 2017 1 SOBEYS ORGANIZATION DRIVING FORCE 2 Organizational profile The corporate culture of Sobeys is clear with a focus on excellence in fresh food, a commitment to customer service, and highly engaged employees. Sobeys owns and operates more than 1,800 corporate and franchise locations in the Canadian Market. These stores are across all regions of Canada and include numerous banners such as Sobeys, Price Choppers, and Thrifty Foods to name a few. These different banners allow Sobeys to deliver different strategies of having the right products at the right prices determined by whom they compete with such as Wal-Mart as a discounter or Loblaw as a conventional grocery retailer. Sobeys owns 41.6 of Crombie REIT as of 2014, which allows Sobeys to have a strong partnership with a real estate company and continue to develop areas of expansion through capital growth by adding square footage sales. (Binkley& Connor, 2008, p. 31). Evaluate the fundamental driving forces that shape the organizational environment of the selected company The main aim why individuals set up the business organization is to generate profits. Sobeys store has been able to conquer the market structure across Canada, and it can compete favorably with other stores including Walmart incorporations. Sobeys is the second largest food retailer in Canada having more than 260 supermarkets. The company is occasionally evolving as the technological landscape changes. Good management and the ability to retain customers has been one of the major focus of the Sobeys store and the secret of their success that spurns since the 20th century. The food industry is a very tricky industry to invest in, if the operations are not well connected, it can lead to massive losses. The regulations governing food industry are also many that the company is supposed to comply with. The authorities are very strict in implementing SOBEYS ORGANIZATION DRIVING FORCE 3 these regulations mainly because they have a direct impact on general human well-being (Pearce et.al, 2014, p.24). The company has been able to undergo successful transition over time while remaining a big market player. The foodstuffs that were preferred in the 20th century is different to the ones that are being consumed currently. It is always very difficult for a company that enjoyed success in previous years to change their strategy and remains relevant. Plans for future growth Sobeys Company is committed to continuing producing quality products to all of its 1296 stores in Canada. The company has plans to expand even further to reach international recognition as the best grocery retailer with highest customer satisfaction levels. Due to this fact, the company is entirely focused on improving the quality of their products, service delivery within each format by specifically realigning and renovating their current store base to meet the current regulations. The company has a strong market presence in Canada and is one of the companies that have greater market power (Binkley and Connor, 2008, p. 44). Sobeys Company is considering using its influence to incorporate new products in the market to boost its revenues levels. Having made a name by producing quality products in the market, incorporating new products to the market is likely to boost its relevancy and improve its adaptability standards. Many companies tend to avoid introducing new products to the market because of fear of the levels of customer satisfaction as it may influence other products in the market (Connor and Peterson, 2012, p.36). SOBEYS ORGANIZATION DRIVING FORCE 4 Maintaining market share Sobeys Company is considering closing up to 50 stores that are underperforming to tighten their grip on grocery industry that is currently being overcrowded with the emergence of new grocery company in the market because of high-profit levels that are involved. The high growth rate of the grocery business has resulted in an increase in competitive levels where business companies are employing every aspect to ensure that they remained relevant and accepted in the market (Connor and Peterson, 2012, p.39). Remaining competitive is always a priority for a company because customers tend to focus on companies that are relevant to shop in. The increasing competition levels are really pushing Sobeys Company to re-evaluate its strategies. The company evolved so fast in the late 20th century by opening many grocery stores mainly because back then, the competition was low that the current standards (Binkley and Connor, 2008, p. 53). Technological advancements can be cited for the increased struggles in the market; it, therefore, comes down to the logistics involved and the ability of a given company to use the latest technology to increase its market share. Sobeys has adapted to the new technology and carries out market studies to identify the best strategy that they can incorporate to have the upper hand on the market. Being unique as a business organization is important because the customer satisfaction levels cannot be matched with other competing firms (Connor and Peterson, 2012, p. 67). SOBEYS ORGANIZATION DRIVING FORCE 5 Examine the organization’s specific practices or policies and the influence of these practices on individual and organizational outcomes Simplicity Sobeys’s chain of stores is stocked with products that consumers easily relate to. The food industry is customer-based industry thus the need for customer feedback is very high. Without consumers, of course, the company will seize to exist. Ensuring customer satisfaction is one of the key priority of the Sobeys store. Customers always dictate what they want, and before opening a new store in a place, there is need to conduct effective market analysis to identify the basic preferences of the local individuals to avoid cases where produced food stuff are not consumed. In any given population, the number of individuals who prefer exploiting new options is usually very because most people consider their usual tastes and flavors (Pearce et.al, 2014, p.31). Offering differentiated products Sobeys stores are very much comparable to other companies regarding the services that are being delivered in the grocery. The Sobeys stores have thus highlighted the need for offering differentiated products, which are limited in the market. This has been a very positive strategy for the company especially with the increasing competition within the industry. Differentiated products are thus aimed to ensure that there is variety in the market for the consumers to choose from (Chevalier, 2015, p. 67). SOBEYS ORGANIZATION DRIVING FORCE 6 Determine which practices related to work attitudes in U.S. organizations are most strongly affected by diversity and how those effects could be addressed. Organizational culture is a key factor that has a significant influence on work attitude among much organization within the United States. Different organizations have thus varying organizational cultures and thus can be highly influenced by diversity. Organizational culture has to be effectively in line with regulations protecting the rights of employees as stipulated within the employment act. Therefore, developing an effective organization culture should be able to keep in mind the diversity consideration of the population. Employee engagement is an important consideration that needs to be significantly considered when developing a better environment where employees can significantly perform to the required standards (Connor & Peterson, 2012). SOBEYS ORGANIZATION DRIVING FORCE References Binkley, J. K., & Connor, J. M. (2008). Grocery market pricing and the new competitive environment. Journal of Retailing. Chevalier, J. A. (2015). Capital structure and product-market competition: Empirical evidence from the supermarket industry. The American Economic Review, 415-435. Connor, J. M., & Peterson, E. B. (2012). Market-structure determinants of national brandprivate label price differences of manufactured food products. The Journal of Industrial Economics. Pearce, J. A., Robinson, R. B., & Subramanian, R. (2014). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control. Columbus, OH: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Pickton, D. W., & Wright, S. (2008). What's swot in strategic analysis?. Strategic change. 7
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