Ben & Jerry Case
Executive Summary – Ben & Jerry’s Case
Current Situation: Ben & Jerry’s Company is in the business of making different flavors of ice creams in USA with sales of $75 million in 1990. It is ranked # 2 in super-premium ice cream market and is 5th largest ice cream maker of any type nationwide. It has experienced explosive growth in the US market primarily through entry into new geographic markets and flavor differentiation. Ben Cohen, one of the founders is the majority shareholder. Chuck Lacy is going to take over the company from Chick Lager – the current CEO. Ben and Jerry’s has become big and complex organization but does not have well organized systems to run the company efficiently. Lots of its senior management positions are vacant primarily due to its 5:1 rule of pay, which limits its ability to attract and retain best talent. Board of the company is going to decide on 5:1 rule soon. Chuck Lacy will have to make some key decisions to run the company in a way that maintains profitable growth and aligns with its product, social and economic mission. He also needs to develop innovative marketing strategies that highlight company’s image of a socially responsible company.
Recommendations: Hiring top talent is a priority and prerequisite to manage and grow the company and compensation is a big element of its ability to attract that talent. It should dissolve the 5:1 rule of compensation and pay per market rates for every position. For its marketing strategy, it should highlight its image of being a socially responsible company since research has shown that customers prefer to buy products and pay higher prices for products from such companies. It also aligns with Ben’s philosophy of doing well and doing good. It should stick to its strategy of flavor differentiation and launch new products with lower fat content targeting health conscious people. It should get management information system to streamline its operations which will enable it to respond
Current Situation: Ben & Jerry’s Company is in the business of making different flavors of ice creams in USA with sales of $75 million in 1990. It is ranked # 2 in super-premium ice cream market and is 5th largest ice cream maker of any type nationwide. It has experienced explosive growth in the US market primarily through entry into new geographic markets and flavor differentiation. Ben Cohen, one of the founders is the majority shareholder. Chuck Lacy is going to take over the company from Chick Lager – the current CEO. Ben and Jerry’s has become big and complex organization but does not have well organized systems to run the company efficiently. Lots of its senior management positions are vacant primarily due to its 5:1 rule of pay, which limits its ability to attract and retain best talent. Board of the company is going to decide on 5:1 rule soon. Chuck Lacy will have to make some key decisions to run the company in a way that maintains profitable growth and aligns with its product, social and economic mission. He also needs to develop innovative marketing strategies that highlight company’s image of a socially responsible company.
Recommendations: Hiring top talent is a priority and prerequisite to manage and grow the company and compensation is a big element of its ability to attract that talent. It should dissolve the 5:1 rule of compensation and pay per market rates for every position. For its marketing strategy, it should highlight its image of being a socially responsible company since research has shown that customers prefer to buy products and pay higher prices for products from such companies. It also aligns with Ben’s philosophy of doing well and doing good. It should stick to its strategy of flavor differentiation and launch new products with lower fat content targeting health conscious people. It should get management information system to streamline its operations which will enable it to respond