Whole Foods Market, Inc. is a company selling organic groceries, with a chain of stores located in multiple US locations. The following is the SWOT of the company:
- Strengths: highest standards of quality, favorable trends of the food industry, positive public relations image, cooperation with local farmers, the absence of artificial and processed foods.
- Weaknesses: high prices, negative perception for overpriced products, dependence on the US market, few locations compared to other stores, profit drops, and controversial labor practices (Sainato, 2018).
- Opportunities: new store format with Amazon, the potential to lower prices, expansion of areas in the US, international expansion, reduction of production costs.
- Threats: competition from Costco, Sprouts Farmers Market, Wal-Mart, and Kroger; threats from online retailers, the lack of customer support, negative publicity, and overcharging of clients.
A SWOT analysis can be a useful tool for strategic planning of businesses through identifying areas for improvement, thus leading to the development of concrete steps that the management can follow to overcome weaknesses and threats (Bull et al., 2016). The strengths and opportunities identified during analysis are helpful for improving the position in the marketplace that other companies may be unable to copy. Innovation is usually the main tool used for capitalizing on opportunities and developing a strategy that leads to success.
Four functions of management include the planning of processes, organizing them, leading an organization, and controlling outcomes. The function of planning implies the setting of future goals, while organizing is associated with the coordination of available resources and activities (Griffin, 2017). Leading is the function of influencing people for them to reach a goal while controlling refers to evaluating and monitoring tasks. These four functions play an important role in the strategic decision-making process because they regulate the accomplishment of certain organizational goals.
References
Bull, J., Jobstvogt, N., Böhnke-Henrichs, A., Mascarenhas, A., Sitas, N., Baulcomb, C., … Koss, R. (2016). Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats: A SWOT analysis of the ecosystem services framework. Ecosystem Services, 17, 99-111.
Griffin, R. (2017). Management (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Sainato, M. (2016). ‘They want us to be robots’: Whole Foods workers fear Amazon’s changes. The Guardian. Web.