Business Process Case Study: Mrs. Fields' Cookies

Mrs. Fields’ Cookies

1. Would you describe Mrs. Fields’ Cookies as more of a functional hierarchy structured along traditional functional lines or more of an IT-enabled network consisting of tailored business processes? I would describe Mrs. Fields’ Cookies as more of an IT-enabled network. In the text it says the Fields’ believed that the less hierarchy the better and they acted upon that. There weren’t a lot of employees who had to answer to different managers. They kept it pretty simple with managers and district managers making sure the business did not get too large so it was easier to manage the business process. 2. What role does IT play in the Mrs. Fields’ organizational structure? 0 IT played a very important role in the Mrs. Fields’ organizational structure. The systems were a way that Randy believed the organization could grow without increasing the number of staff members. The managers of individual stores could utilize the IT functions of the computers to provide projections of how many cookies/sales should be made per hour and recommendations if sales were down. The IT functions could generate orders for supplies and helped managers communicate easier. Debbi was easily involved in all of the stores even though she wasn’t always present at them through the help of IT functions. 3. What challenges does Mrs. Fields Cookies face in the next five years? How well positioned is the company to meet 
these challenges? Mrs. Fields’ Cookies faces the challenge of creating a combination store of both cookies and bakery products. The organization is well positioned to meet these challenges according to the article, which states “recent market analysis suggest demographically driven growth in the popularity of baked goods wouldn’t be affected by the fluctuation in the economy”. Meaning, the organization wouldn’t be hurt by the suffering economy if they keep their IT and business strategies in line with one another. 4. What advice would you have given Debbi and Randy Fields in 1988? Some advice I would have given the Fields’ is to not go public and pay off banks just yet and to use the money to invest more in the stores’ and organization’s IT functions. This would have funded future growth with more money and allowed them to not have to close stores and plants.