Whole Foods – Strategic Plan Essay Whole Foods Market, Inc. which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, is an American foods supermarket chain it was founded by John Mackey who currently serves as the CEO of Whole Foods. To sum up their mission and vision statement, Whole foods as a company strives to help out in promoting positive health and well-being of people, this includes team-members, customers and the whole planet in general. Some of their core values include: Selling the highest quality natural and organic products available Satisfying, delighting and nourishing our customers Supporting Team Member happiness and excellence Creating wealth through profits and growth Serving and supporting our local and global communities Whole foods market is known for being a supermarket chain that strictly prides itself in being the largest natural and organic foods supermarket chain. In addition to that Whole Foods is regarded as Americas first national certified organic grocer. Whole Foods Market now owns and operates 335 retail stores, of which 322 stores are located in the US and the District of Columbia, seven in Canada, and six in the UK. (Our Values and Mission, 2014). Whole Foods competitive advantage is its broad product offerings; it offers broad selection of perishable foods which is designed to appeal to both natural foods and gourmet shoppers. In addition to that the company prides itself in offering a wide variety range of products that include a range of produce, seafood, grocery, meat and poultry, bakery, prepared foods and catering, specialty (beer, wine and cheese), coffee and tea, nutritional supplements, vitamins, body care, educational products such as books, floral items, pet products and household products. Whole Foods ability to be able to offer these range of products at all its locations has enabled the company to continue to stay competitive and maintain a significant advantage over its competitors. In addition to Whole Foods Markets ability to continue to stay forerunner in the natural and organic grocer business, the company has also made remarkable contributions to its employees and the community. In 2009 the company received the Natural Products Associations ‘2009 Socially Responsible Retailer Award’, after which in 2010 Fortune magazine ranked Whole Foods Market at number 18 on its list of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For.’ During the same period, the company was recognized on the Ethisphere Institutes 2010 ‘Worlds Most Ethical Companies’ list. The International Association of Culinary Professionals named the company as ‘Culinary Youth Advocate of the Year’ for its effort to help improve school lunches for children nationwide with its ‘School Lunch Revolution’ campaign. The contributions discussed above has enabled the company to maintain a positive image in the community and more importantly among its own employees, I believe that these various contributions has enabled Whole Foods to remain a forerunner among its competitors. (Whole Foods, n.d). SWOT ANALYSIS Strength: Brand Recognition: This company is well known in the United States, As a result of which, anytime a whole-foods plans on opening up at a particular location, they will almost immediately start to develop a customer base. Unique Category: While organic food is creating quite a buzz worldwide, it still is fairly a new entrant in the produce world; and whole foods continues to be one of the only store that sells all organic products under one roof. Weaknesses: Lacks Global Integration: Whole-foods does well in the US, however, even though it has managed to open up a few stores in UK and Canada, it is still not as well-known elsewhere around the world. Organic Food : Even though organic food is beginning to gain popularity, I find that this is still a weakness for wholefoods, they only sell organic food items at their store, and not to mention organic food is usually more expensive than regular food we would get at the grocery store. Opportunities: International Market: Whole Foods is only in 2 other countries, UK and Canada. They always have the option of looking into some of the world’s faster growing markets or even the fact that they could look into expanding throughout UK and Canada. IT Influence: Competitors of Whole Foods and even some other grocery have been striving for various ways to enrich the customer experience at their stores, one such way, is the introduction of “self-checkoutsâ€, which enables the customer to spend less time waiting in line for a cashier. This is an area, where whole foods could look to capture the opportunity and excel in. Threats: Competitors: The list of competitors for Whole Foods keeps on increasing, most grocery stores are starting to introduce a section of organic/healthy foods section at their store, as a result of which this could begin to influence Whole Foods customer base. Gas Prices: When gas prices rise, the cost of shipping food rises, and when the cost of shipping the food rises, so does Whole Foods’s operating costs. (Whole Foods, 2014). Implementation of IT into the Whole Foods Business As discussed above with the SWOT Analysis of the company, Whole Foods certainly is a very financially sound and a major player in the organic food industry, however, it is important for Whole Foods, to continue striving upon increasing/ bettering the customer experience at all of its stores. Whole Foods, has a strong customer base, however, we need to make sure that they continue to retain the customers and take measures to grow its customer’s base. There are at least a couple IT implementations that could be integrated with our current business model, to increase Whole Food’s Customer Experience. Rewards Program: Most of Whole Foods customers currently have some type of rewards program for its customer. Consequently, if Whole Foods were to introduce this Whole Foods customers will be able to earn points that can be redeemed for discounts and store experiences, such as cooking classes, tickets to locally held Organic Trade Shows etc. (Turner, 2014). Self- Checkout Counters: Most grocery/retailers have started to have self- checkout registers, this would decrease customer wait time, and thereby, enhance the customer experience at the store. Furthermore, other advantages of self-checkout include, it takes up less space, it is estimated that up to six self-checkout kiosks, can take up to the same amount of space a single traditional checkout with a cashier would take. (BusinessBee, n.d.) IT’s assistance would be needed to implement the rewards program, we would first need to create a way that customers could access the Whole Foods Rewards Card using a mobile/tablet app, a physical card ( with barcode) and on the website. Customers could earn points/ coupons, for every dollar spent at Whole Foods, you would earn 1 “Organic Pointâ€, after you have accumulated a certain number of “Organic Pointsâ€, it could be redeemed for various different things at the store, some of which include, tickets to Whole Foods Quarterly Organic Trade Shows, Cooking classes, Discounts/coupons at the store etc. Whole Foods as a company continues to excel, although we need to ensure that we as a company are staying ahead of our times and continuing to keep our focus on enriching our customer’s experience when they visit their local Whole Food’s store. References BusinessBee-The Pros and Cons of Using Self-Checkouts (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2014. Company Info. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/company-info Our Values and Mission. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/careers/our -values-and-mission Turner, N. (2014, September 15). Whole Foods to Test Rewards Program as Competition Grows. Retrieved September 20, 2014. Whole Foods Market: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2014.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Acknowledgements The author gratefully acknowledges those people who helped in the research and writing of Bloodsucking Fiends: Mark Joseph and Mark Anderson for help with research in the Bay Area. Rachelle Stambal, Jean Brody, Liz Ziemska, and Dee Dee Leichtfuss for their careful reads and thoughtful suggestions. My editors, Michael Korda and Chuck Adams, for their clean hands and composure. And my agent, Nick Ellison, for his patience, guidance, friendship, and hard work. In memory of my father: Jack Davis Moore Part I Fledgling Chapter 1 Death Sundown painted purple across the great Pyramid while the Emperor enjoyed a steaming whiz against a dumpster in the alley below. A low fog worked its way up from the bay, snaked around columns and over concrete lions to wash against the towers where the West's money was moved. The financial district: an hour ago it ran with rivers of men in gray wool and women in heels; now the streets, built on sunken ships and gold-rush garbage, were deserted – quiet except for a foghorn that lowed across the bay like a lonesome cow. The Emperor shook his scepter to clear the last few drops, shivered, then zipped up and turned to the royal hounds who waited at his heels. “The foghorn sounds especially sad this evening, don't you think?†The smaller of the dogs, a Boston terrier, dipped his head and licked his chops. “Bummer, you are so simple. My city is decaying before your eyes. The air is thick with poison, the children are shooting each other in the street, and now this plague, this horrible plague is killing my people by the thousands, and all you think about is food.†The Emperor nodded to the larger dog, a golden retriever. “Lazarus knows the weight of our responsibility. Does one have to die to find dignity? I wonder.†Lazarus lowered his ears and growled. “Have I offended you, my friend?†Bummer began growling and backing away from the dumpster. The Emperor turned to see the lid of the dumpster being slowly lifted by a pale hand. Bummer barked a warning. A figure stood up in the dumpster, his hair dark and wild and speckled with trash, skin white as bone. He vaulted out of the dumpster and hissed at the little dog, showing long white fangs. Bummer yelped and cowered behind the Emperor's leg. “That will be quite enough of that,†the Emperor commanded, puffing himself up and tucking his thumbs under the lapels of his worn overcoat. The vampire brushed a bit of rotted lettuce from his black shirt and grinned. “I'll let you live,†he said, his voice like a file on ancient rusted metal. “That's your punishment.†The Emperor's eyes went wide with terror, but he held his ground. The vampire laughed, then turned and walked away. The Emperor felt a chill run up his neck as the vampire disappeared into the fog. He hung his head and thought, Not this. My city is dying of poison and plague and now this – this creature – stalks the streets. The responsibility is suffocating. Emperor or not, I am only a man. I am weak as water: an entire empire to save and right now I would sell my soul for a bucket of the Colonel's crispy-fried chicken. Ah, but I must be strong for the troops. It could be worse, I suppose. I could be the Emperor of Oakland. “Chins up, boys,†the Emperor said to his hounds. “If we are to battle this monster, we will need our strength. There is a bakery in North Beach that will presently be dumping the day-old. Let's be off.†He shuffled away thinking, Nero fiddled while his empire went to ashes; I shall eat leathery pastries. As the Emperor trudged up California Street, trying to balance the impotence of power with the promise of a powdered-sugar doughnut, Jody was leaving the Pyramid. She was twenty-six and pretty in a way that made men want to tuck her into flannel sheets and kiss her on the forehead before leaving the room; cute but not beautiful. As she passed under the Pyramid's massive concrete buttresses she caught herself limping from a panty-hose injury. It didn't hurt, exactly, the run that striped the back of her leg from heel to knee, the result of a surly metal file drawer (Claims, X-Y-Z) that had leaped out and snagged her ankle; but she was limping nonetheless, from the psychological damage. She thought, My closet is starting to look like an ostrich hatchery. I've either got to start throwing out L'eggs eggs or get a tan on my legs and quit wearing nylons. She'd never had a tan, couldn't get one, really. She was a milk-white, green-eyed redhead who burned and freckled with sun. When she was half a block from her bus stop, the wind-driven fog won and Jody experienced total hair-spray failure. Neat waist-length waves frizzed to a wild red cape of curl and tangle. Great, she thought, once again I'll get home looking like Death eating a cracker. Kurt will be so pleased. She pulled her jacket closer around her shoulders against the chill, tucked her briefcase under her breasts like a schoolgirl carrying books, and limped on. Ahead of her on the sidewalk she saw someone standing by the glass door of a brokerage office. Green light from the CRTs inside silhouetted him in the fog. She thought about crossing the street to avoid him, but she'd have to cross back again in a few feet to catch her bus. She thought, I'm done working late. It's not worth it. No eye contact, that's the plan. As she passed the man, she looked down at her running shoes (her heels were in her briefcase). That's it. Just a couple more steps… A hand caught in her hair and jerked her off her feet, her briefcase went skittering across the sidewalk and she started to scream. Another hand clamped over her mouth and she was dragged off the street into an alley. She kicked and flailed, but he was too strong, immovable. The smell of rotten meat filled her nostrils and she gagged even while trying to scream. Her attacker spun her around and yanked on her hair, pulling her head back until she thought her neck would snap. Then she felt a sharp pain on the side of her throat and the strength to fight seemed to evaporate. Across the alley she could see a soda can and an old Wall Street Journal, a wad of bubble gum stuck to the bricks, a “No Parking†sign: details, strangely slowed down and significant. Her vision began to tunnel dark, like an iris closing, and she thought, These will be the last things I see. The voice in her head was calm, resolved. As everything went dark, her attacker slapped her across the face and she opened her eyes and saw the thin white face before her. He was speaking to her. “Drink,†he said. Something warm and wet was shoved into her mouth. She tasted warm iron and salt and gagged again. It's his arm. He's shoved his arm in my mouth and my teeth have broken. I'm tasting blood. “Drink!†A hand clamped over her nose. She struggled, tried to breathe, tried to pull his arm out of her mouth to get air, sucked for air and nearly choked on blood. Suddenly she found herself sucking, drinking hungrily. When he tried to pull his arm away she clutched at it. He tore it from her mouth, twisted her around and bit her throat again. After a moment, she felt herself fall. The attacker was tearing at her clothes, but she had nothing left to fight with. She felt a roughness against the skin of her breasts and belly, then he was off her. “You'll need that,†he said, and his voice echoed in her head as if he had shouted down a canyon. “Now you can die.†Jody felt a remote sense of gratitude. With his permission, she gave up. Her heart slowed, lugged, and stopped.
Analysis of Emily Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" In regard to Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,†Critic Eunice Glenn says: “In the first two lines Death, personified as a carriage driver, stops for one who could not stop for him. The word ‘kindly’ is particularly meaningful, for it instantly characterizes Death. This comes with surprise, too, since death is more often considered grim and terrible†(Glenn). Critic Charles R. Anderson says, “Death, usually rude, sudden, and impersonal, has been transformed into a kindly and leisurely gentleman†(Anderson). Both critics seem to agree on the significance of the word “kindly†in the first two lines of the poem. “Because I could not stop for Death— / He kindly stopped for me—†(1-2). They take the word “kindly†for its most common definitions—agreeable, pleasant, benevolent, etc. With further research, however, alternative, as well as more enlightening, definitions become available. The Oxford English Dictionary defines kindly as: “In accordance with nature; naturally; by natural disposition; characteristically†and “In the way suitable or appropriate to the nature of the thing; properly, fittingly†(“Kindlyâ€). These definitions add new insight to the poem. In the superficial sense, Death seemingly performed a charitable act by stopping for the speaker; in application of these less common definitions, however, Death stopping for the speaker was necessary and proper. It was following after the natural course of things. Rather than merely suggesting the Death was a charming, courteous carriage driver, the speaker implies that Death was obligated to stop for her; she is unable to stop for him. It is inter... ...s of conducting mortals into eternity. —JAIME SORENSEN, Brigham Young University, Idaho Works Cited Anderson, Charles R. Modern American Poetry. 1 Jan 2002. University of Illinois. 13 Sept. 2005 uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/dickinson/712.htm>. Dickinson, Emily. “Because I Could Not Stop for Death.†The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. Ed. Thomas H. Johnson. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard UP, 1960. Engle, Patricia. “Dickinson’s ‘Because I Could Not Stop For Death.’†The Explicator 60(2002): 72-75. Glenn, Eunice. Modern American Poetry. 1 Jan 2002. University of Illinois. 13 Sept. 2005 /poets/a_f/dickinson/712.htm>. Kennedy, X.J., Dana Gioia, and Mark Bauerlein. Handbook of Literary Terms. Chelmsford: Courier Corp.,2005.“Kindly.†Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.
12/5/2019 0 Comments Reflection on Diversity EssayI used to have a colleague in college who happens to be born into a royal family but was very humble and down to earth. She never wanted to be treated like the princess that she was and did everything possible to fit in and be like every normal student. Most people couldn’t stand her because they felt she was misusing her opportunity and others were jealous of her and as a result of this most people started to avoid her and criticize everything she did and tried to make her life miserable by playing pranks on her and calling her names but she never retaliated because she was different from the rest of us. Instead she treated everyone nicely even when they treated her bad. This made me sympathize with her because I couldn’t understand how some people can afford to dislike somebody else so much just because she was different in a good way. It made me realize that no matter how good we are and treat others well, we shouldn’t expect to be treated nicely by everyone else because at the end of the day, what really matters is that we have a clear conscience.
From the article “To Be Asian in Americaâ€, when the Asians arrive America they began to realize that they are different. “Identities get challenged and they have to deal with what it means to be American or resident Alienâ€, says John Kuo Wei Tchen, the founding director of the A/P/A Studies Program and Institute at New York University. Some Asian Americans relied on assimilation (a process where some of the majority group’s cultural aspects are absorbed in such a manner that the home cultural aspects get lost or mitigated) as a means of blending in with American society as an attempt to escape anti-Asian sentiments that heightened during World War 11. “The question about how much they wanted to or did assimilate is a question of how much they were permitted to assimilateâ€, says Gary Okihiro, director of the center for the study of Ethnicity and Race and a professor of International and public affairs at Columbia University. Today, ties to home remain strong for new Asian immigrants; however , many families experience acculturation- the process of assimilating new ideas into an existing cognitive structure – with U.S.- born generations. “Parents would like to think their children are going to be very embracive and very welcoming of their of the parents’ own cultureâ€, says Franklin Ng, a professor in the anthropology department of California state University – Fresno. “Parents may have these kinds of supportive mechanisms, encouraging them to go to a temple, or ethnic church, so their children will become familiar with their ethnic culture but the youth are having their own trajectory. Looking at Social Class: The fiction of Meritocracy, The most popular measures of class are income and wealth. It is also measured by educational achievement and occupational prestige. Classism results from prejudices based on false assumptions. Despite widely held perceptions, social class mobility in the United States is far from fluid. Those born with few resources face serious obstacles in their efforts to achieve higher economic and social status. Those born into privilege are given a head start in life with many extra boosts along the way. Once it is recognized that merit has only a small role in determining one’s place on the social ladder, the foundation of classroom crumbles. References Harvey, C. P., & Allard, M. J. (2012). Understanding and managing diversity: Readings, cases, and exercises (5th ed.). Upper saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Devry University (2014). Week 3 Lecture: Identity and Difference SOCS-350N. Retrieved from www.devry.net |