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The Organizational Behavior of Kudler Fine Foods
Kudler Fine Foods is a triplex of successful gourmet food stores nestled in the San Diego metropolitan area of southern California. The gourmet food store is a one-stop shop for the freshest ingredients and most unique tools serving the most discriminating cooks. Kathy Kudler, the President, who had tired of her marketing position with a large defense contractor as it involved constant travel and pressures typical of corporate life, founded the company in 1998. The mission of Kudler’s is to provide a delightful shopping experience for customers through exceptional worldwide epicurean product selection and a knowledgeable and helpful staff. The Kudler Fine Foods organizational culture, structure, leadership influences on motivation, as well as internal and external drivers for change will be analyzed throughout this paper.
Kudler Fine Foods Organizational Culture
The Kudler Fine Foods visual culture is apparent in the first sentence of the mission statement. “Kudler Fine Foods mission is to provide our customers the finest in selected foodstuffs, wines, and related needs in an unparalleled consumer environment” (University of Phoenix, 2004). All stores are 16,000 square feet and are located in fashionable shopping centers in upscale neighborhoods. Employee performance measures reflect multiple areas of the visual culture, such as, courteous interactions with customers and coworkers, remembering frequent shopper’s names. For example, Ledonna Avery the Assistant Bakery and Pastries Manager at the Del Mar location was given an exceeds expectations in her 2004 performance review for making files ...