Executive Summary
Kraft Foods Group is one of the largest food companies in the world. The company has had its success due to a number of factors. For instance, the company has one of the best human resources. It respects its employees and encourages them to give the best to the organization. The culture of Kraft Foods Group also gives the company a competitive advantage.
Its mission statement, vision and values, as well as the strategies are all in line with the company’s business. They have also been vital to its success. Kraft Foods Group has a culture whereby it is always committed to its social responsibility and ensuring that the community gets a good lifestyle. In doing so, it offers food stuffs that are healthy and of high quality.
The company also treats its employees and customers the best way possible. Kraft can improve on its current strategies to make it much better.
This report will focus on how the current organization design, system and culture contribute to the implementation of its strategies and whether they fit the mission statement. The paper will then give recommendations on changes that can be made to improve the performance of Kraft Foods Group.
Organizational design
An organization should ensure that it has a design that facilitates the running of its business. It is important to note that the organizational design contributes to its success (Luca, 2009). For instance, a good organizational design is important in improving communication among customers, employees, managers and other stakeholders.
In addition, communication is a key factor to the success of an organization. Kraft Foods Group has an organizational design that is usually decentralized. There are various divisions, each of which is headed by a director. The overall organization is headed by the CEO. The CEO communicates to the country directors who then communicate with the division managers.
Division managers then communicate to the employees. However, decision making is centralized. This is important in that it ensures fast decision making. It saves on time and costs associated with decision making. The organizational design of this company helps it in implementing its strategies in that each division director is given a chance to make his or her contribution regarding their divisions.
The director presents the issues of their divisions to the planning committee. Strategic plans are then made on how to improve business in the various divisions (Garrow & Hirsh, 2008). It is important to note that each division has its own business issues that should be addressed differently.
Systems, on the other hand, also play an important role in implementing the organization’s strategies. Effective systems ensure that strategies are implemented effectively and that this is done in the right way. For instance, some money might be needed for strategies to be effective. Therefore, the systems used in budget preparation should provide the required cash to ensure that the strategy becomes successful.
In addition, the systems are also effective in ensuring that employees get the best treatment from the organization. It is imperative to note that the employees are the ones who contribute to the success of the organization. An organization can never move forward without employees.
Therefore, there should be better performance appraisal systems that will help in motivating employees. Once employees are motivated, they will support the strategies and make it easy for the strategies to be implemented (Heneman, Fisher & Dixon, 2001).
Human resources are the most important resources in any organization. They are assets to an organization and they facilitate its success. No organization can succeed without the right human resource in place. Kraft Foods Group respects its human resource capital and recognizes that it is because of the people that it has been able to reach where it is today.
The quality of its employees, their knowledge and expertise are crucial factors to successful strategy implementation. The company is, therefore, usually committed to ensure that all its employees are treated well.
This makes the employees feel comfortable, satisfied and able to give their all to the organization. Therefore, human resources have a positive effect on the implementation of Kraft Foods Group strategies (Garrow & Hirsh, 2008).
Culture is another factor that cannot be ignored when a company wants to implement a new strategy. There are cultures that are rigid, while others are flexible. Today, the business environment is highly dynamic and organizations should have cultures that embrace change to be able to implement strategies that would facilitate success.
Kraft Foods Group has a culture that encourages diversity. In addition, its culture is committed to ensuring the wellbeing of customers. Diversity has the ability to bring success to an organization. For instance, hiring different people will increase the chances of innovative ideas being brought forward.
Further, a diverse workforce will bring together a wide pool of knowledge, thus more and better strategies can be proposed and implemented. Kraft’s concern about the community and the wellbeing of its customers has created a loyal consumer base. When customers are loyal to an organization’s products and services, they easily support any proposed strategies and ease the implementation process (Pryor et al. 2009).
Fit or the lack of fit between the company’s mission, strategy, and organizational components crucial to implementation
The mission of Kraft Foods Group is: “to be North America’s Best Food & Beverage Company” (Kraft, 2013). For the company to be the best, it has to implement the best strategies and be composed of the best organizational components. Kraft aims at providing high quality foods to customers, as well as offering the best services.
The company is concerned about the health of customers by ensuring that its foods are good for consumers’ health. It is expected that all the activities and strategies carried out by the company should be in line with this mission. There is a fit between the mission, strategy and organizational components at Kraft Foods Group. The company implements strategies that are aimed at ensuring high quality foods and services.
For instance, it hires employees who are highly qualified. Such employees are able to produce high quality foods since they have the knowledge and skills to do so. In addition, they are in a better position to offer high quality services.
One of the ways that a company can become the best is by building a strong brand image. Kraft Foods Group has been in the frontline in building a strong brand image through its corporate social responsibility (CSR). This is a strategy that is highly effective in winning the trust of customers and making the company the best.
Kraft Foods Group helps in the fight against hunger and at the same time promotes good and healthy lifestyles amongst the people. Kraft Foods Group is committed to eradicating food insecurity. It does this by offering its expertise to create recipes that are affordable to any person (Kraft, 2013).
The company has also been working with organizations that fight against hunger in order to give its helping hand. Kraft Foods Group is a neighbor that the community can look upon in times of disasters.
Through this strategy, it has been able to create a good brand image and live to its mission of becoming the best in North America. The CSR components complement the strategies since they have contributed to the success of Kraft Foods Group. Over the recent past, the company has been working on changing its culture in order to make it better and more successful in the current business environment (Kraft, 2013).
Recommendations/ changes I would make as a CEO
Kraft Foods Group has been at the top of the industry in America and in other parts of the world. Its strategies have complemented its business and have been the key to its success. The company has had the best human resource; its organization structure is favorable and has systems that positively impact its business.
Kraft Foods Group strives to become the best in North America and the rest of the world. The strategies set and those being set facilitate this course. However, as a CEO there are some few things I would do differently to make the company much better. Some of the changes I would make are discussed below.
The organization structure is decentralized. However, the decision making process is centralized. I would decentralize the decision making process if I were the CEO of Kraft Foods Group. The company is committed to diversity and employs people from different ethnicities and races. This increases the chances of hiring an employee base that has a wide pool of knowledge and ideas.
In addition, the company hires employees who have high qualifications, knowledge and expertise. Therefore, there are chances that better decisions would be made if the decision making process is decentralized. The process might take time, but the end result will be worth the time. The various knowledge and skills will be brought together and come up with better solutions to problems.
The directors of various divisions should be involved in the process. They should also be given the mandate to make decisions related to their divisions. Employees should be involved too.
This would not only facilitate better decisions, but it would also motivate the employees. Employees would be in a better position to support the decisions that they are involved in making. At the same time, they would feel they are part of the organization.
Another change that I would make is that I would introduce products and services that favor all classes of people. The company is currently known for producing high quality foods that are costly. I would add a low cost strategy to the current differentiation strategy to attract all classes of people. The company will be producing quality products but at a relatively low cost under the low cost strategy.
Such products would not be of high quality like the differentiated products, but they would also be worth the relatively lower cost. I would, therefore, change the differentiation strategy and make it a focus strategy. In this regard, the company would focus on various market segments and produce goods depending on the needs of those customers.
References
Garrow, V., & Hirsh, W. (2008). Talent management: Issues of focus and fit. Public Personnel Management, 37(4), 389-403.
Heneman, R. L., Fisher, M. M., & Dixon, K. E. (2001). Reward and organizational systems alignment: An expert system. Compensation & Benefits Review, 33(6), 18-29.
Kraft (2013). Web.
Luca, A., M. (2006). Organizational design. Web.
Pryor, M. G, Singleton, L. P., Taneja, S., & Toobs, L. A. (2009). Teaming as a strategic and tactical tool: An analysis with recommendations. International Journal of Management, 26(2), 320-334.