Company Q could also could work with other business owners and city government to makes changes to the area surrounding the store. These changes could include a well lit store front, friendly employees, and a well organized store. Company Q would have to make enough improvements to show their customers they care. This could have increased sales and possibly saved the company from closing the two stores. When asked about donating their day old food to the local food bank, the company refused and chose to throw away the food.
Social Responsibility EST1 Task 1 Company Q's current attitude toward social responsibility can best be described as nonexistent. While a business's ultimate goal is to create profit, businesses should enlist community friendly practices to strengthen both the company and the community as a whole. Three areas that Company Q needs to reevaluate are as follows; (1) closing down stores because of the crime rate in that specific part of town; (2) only offering high margin items that are health conscious; and (3) wasting food instead of donating it to local food banks. Company Q has recently closed a couple of stores due to a pattern of lost profits. These two stores were in high-crime-rate areas.
They also ask customers about what they would like to see in their stores or any other items that the company can improve on to make their business more enjoyable. In order for Kudler Fine Foods to keep a competitive edge they need to strengthen their marketing research. The company knows what consumers want know and what they like about their company at the current moment, but the company needs to do some research on business trends and forecasting. Kudler Fine Foods need to use secondary data in order to find this information out. The company needs to see how other companies similar to Kudler Fine Foods did throughout the years.
Company Q eventually listened and brought in a limited selection of products, but the customers found them to be to expensive to purchase. Knowing the economic status of the neighborhood their store was in, the customers did not feel that Company Q was being fair to them by supplying such high-margin items. Company Q’s was not socially responsible when they chose to allow their day-old food items to be thrown away instead of being donated to the local area food bank. They chose to show their distrust in their own employees, stating the possibility of the products to be stolen by their employees. Employees need to feel trusted and a valuable asset to the local grocery store chain.
The products are disposed of in a dumpster and that is the end of the products usefulness in Company Q's current viewpoint. The company, if paying by weight or volume, will incur greater disposal rates from the waste removal company for disposing of the unsellable product instead of donating it to the local food bank. The second concern with not donating product that would otherwise be thrown away is employees' attitudes. If we've communicated to our employees that we will not be socially conscience to those people in need in our community, what does that say to our employees since they are also a part of the local community. In our digitally connected society it would be foolhardy to not expect a socially aware employee to film the disposal of food that we may not be able to sell but which could be given away and used by those in need.
Kudler Fine Foods has shown the upscale of products not is important that customers see the product as such. If the product is not marketing the upscale quality of the décor sales can decline for store locations. Importance of Competitive Intelligence Competitive intelligence is an area within the company that may pose a challenge. Competitive intelligence is imported to Kudler Fine Foods to help show what will keep the company successful. It doesn’t appear that there is many other upscale specialty food stores in the areas, Kudler would have to look in other regions.
While Wal-Mart's methods are under scrutiny for the seeming forceful nature, but in reality they just have the power to push suppliers around and pressure small businesses to the brink. The retailer is brutally honest and straight forward about what they need and what they can get in their business ventures. Wal-Mart creates low prices by the threat of outsourcing and pitting suppliers against each other. If a supplier wants to change the terms of their agreement with Wal-Mart, they will simply be shoved aside and replaced by someone who will do what Wal-Mart wants. In order for small businesses to really gain an edge they have to diversify their products and exploit local suppliers, cash in on the advantage of a better enhanced customer experience, and with interaction within the nearby communities.
Kudler Foods will need to determine which strategic decisions will be useful in the future to improve the business without risk or little risk to the organization. Kudler Foods will need to look at competition and assess what the competition is doing and what Kudler Foods should be doing differently. Kudler Foods will need to actively research and identify opportunities for the organization. A limited numbers of fine food stores exist to compete with Kudler Foods; however, this should not make Kudler foods lazy in following the competition. Kudler Foods should monitor the competition daily to ensure prices are competitive and lowest.
In order to share helpful advice about Kudler’s Gourmet Food and what the writer would do if she could utilize her skills towards assisting with the growth. The writer has decided that she would change her business practices. Instead of dealing in perishable goods, the writer would make it so those perishables were not the only thing that were selling, and that each item within the store had some significant value to the homeowner. The best way to do this would be to have taste testers and give-away items so that the customers could experience first-hand other items besides those they are so familiar
Kudler’s has an inventory that consists predominantly of perishable goods that require replacement often. Kudler’s could cut costs and leave items on the shelf a day or two longer, but that would call into question their very reason for existence in being known for fresh foods. Reputation with customers can be lost with one poor decision. One way to counter that is to provide exceptional customer service. Kudler’s means of differentiating itself from the competition is its ability to provide the best products and the best customer service.