Whole Foods Market Expansion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Whole Foods Market Expansion - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Whole Foods Market Inc. is a natural food chain store founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas. Four local businesspersons namely, Renee Lawson Hardy and John Mackey owners of Safer Way Natural Foods, and Mark Skiles and Craig Weller, who were owners of Clarksville Natural Grocery came together to start the chain store. They were brought together by the idea that a supermarket that specialized in natural foods was necessary if they were to exploit the market fully. As it turns out, the group’s idea was right as the store gained success immediately after its opening. This has seen the company grow leaps and bounds from a single store to a multi-shop franchise with shops all over the United States. The growth stemmed from the fact that the success from the start saw the company gain strength that enabled its partaking in a series of acquisitions and mergers that were carefully chosen. The growth was so immense that the company took its op erations internationally just after the turn if the new millennium with expansion into Canada in 2002 and the United Kingdom in 2004. However, the exploitation of mainland Europe is yet to occur with the company planning to do this in its next phase of expansion. It is common knowledge that the values held by Americans and Europeans differ greatly. Even the English is spoken in the two countries differs. As such, the approach used to explore the mainland Europe market needs to take into account the nuances arising from the social-cultural differences outlined below. The first nuance has to do with language. The American English is filled with idioms and expressions as well as structures that are not common in the European scene. Although English is the most widely used spoken language in the business world, it has a standard known as â€Å"international English†. This means that the market exploitation needs to adopt a language that will need rephrasing to avoid misunderstand ings. Then there is the issue that not all European nations understand English. As such, depending on the nation that the company is seeking to expand into, it is necessary to have interpreters for the smooth running of operations.

Personal assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Personal assessment - Essay Example Though he sometimes fails to identify a problem, he has always more than 1 solution for it. He goes step by step when faced with a problem. When faced with a complex or a difficult problem that does not have an easy solution When trying to foster more creativity and innovation among those with whom he works, he is very supportive and appreciates ideas coming out of people. He knows how to motivate people to get the best out of them. Therefore I agree with his abilities in this respect. In a situation where it is important to obtain more power , my colleague keeps himself involved in events and activities. He tries to improve himself and tries to think out of the box in order in order to generate creative ideas. He refuses to come under anyone’s influence and does not agree to other people’s terms. When someone needs to be motivated, he does not believe in rewarding people, though he is always there to help them out. He takes charge of the situation when productivity is insufficient. He does compliment those who deserve it. When he sees someone doing something that needs correcting, he is not one of those who sit back after giving their views. He is always encouraging people to challenge his perspective and ask him questions. I slightly disagree with the fact that he cannot take the criticism into account in situations when someone complains about something he has done. In fact, he asks the other person to adjust his behavior. With respect to situation in which he desires to make my team perform well, regardless of whether he is a leader or member, I disagree slightly with his competence in doing so. He does not encourage his team enough to make some serious innovation and achieve the best possible results. With regard to his ability to lead change, I disagree with his abilities, because when he is leading change he does not keep any track of things that go wrong. It would be a lot better if he was more