Case Analysis: John Mackey, Whole Foods Market
Eric Smith
Christine Hill
Organizational behavior
January 24, 2013
Case Analysis: John Mackey, Whole Foods Market
1. What role, if any, does McGregor’s Theory Y play at Whole Foods? Explain. According to Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) McGregor contrasted two views on human nature by insisting that Theory Y assumes that people are more positive at work, and believed managers could accomplish more by viewing employees as such (p.9). The other outdated theory, is Theory X, which is a more negative and pessimistic assumption about workers. Given the statements from John Mackey, it is his vision to create a positive working environment and Theory Y plays somewhat of a role at Whole Foods. Although Whole Foods wants to grow into this company in which its managers only hire good, well trained people who flourish in the workplace, however; “research on employee engagement, McGregors Theory Y is still a distant vision in the workplace” (Kreitner and Kinicki 2013). There is a difference between an engaged employee and a happy employee. Happy deals more with the satisfaction and contentment on the job. Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) say that engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company (p.9). Employees basically value what it takes for a company to be successful, and are willing to do what it takes to help the business get there and stay there. To be truly engaged Whole Foods needs to keep its employees engaged and not just “feeling” heroic or happy.
2. How does Whole Foods build human and social capital? Human capital is important for any business, because humans need to be productive and knowledgeable to be successful. John Mackey says he hires happy employees, encourages employees to flourish, and ensures that they are well trained. He is not only creating a conscious culture, but he envisions a culture of engagement through leadership. Some ways that they can increase human capital is by
Christine Hill
Organizational behavior
January 24, 2013
Case Analysis: John Mackey, Whole Foods Market
1. What role, if any, does McGregor’s Theory Y play at Whole Foods? Explain. According to Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) McGregor contrasted two views on human nature by insisting that Theory Y assumes that people are more positive at work, and believed managers could accomplish more by viewing employees as such (p.9). The other outdated theory, is Theory X, which is a more negative and pessimistic assumption about workers. Given the statements from John Mackey, it is his vision to create a positive working environment and Theory Y plays somewhat of a role at Whole Foods. Although Whole Foods wants to grow into this company in which its managers only hire good, well trained people who flourish in the workplace, however; “research on employee engagement, McGregors Theory Y is still a distant vision in the workplace” (Kreitner and Kinicki 2013). There is a difference between an engaged employee and a happy employee. Happy deals more with the satisfaction and contentment on the job. Kreitner and Kinicki (2013) say that engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company (p.9). Employees basically value what it takes for a company to be successful, and are willing to do what it takes to help the business get there and stay there. To be truly engaged Whole Foods needs to keep its employees engaged and not just “feeling” heroic or happy.
2. How does Whole Foods build human and social capital? Human capital is important for any business, because humans need to be productive and knowledgeable to be successful. John Mackey says he hires happy employees, encourages employees to flourish, and ensures that they are well trained. He is not only creating a conscious culture, but he envisions a culture of engagement through leadership. Some ways that they can increase human capital is by
References: Albano, T. (2010). Conscious of capitalism at Whole Foods. Chicago: Peoples World. Kreitner/Kinicki. (2013). Organizational Behavior. New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. Mohammad, S. (2009). OUTRAGE IN AISLE 7. Canadian Business, Vol. 82 Issue 16, p63-64. NATHANS, A. (2003, May 24). New York Times. Retrieved from Business Day: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/24/business/love-the-worker-not-the-union-a-store-says-as-some-organize.html Robins, R. (2011, May 12). Does Corporate Social Responsibility Increase Profits? Retrieved from business-ethics: http://business-ethics.com/2011/05/12/does-corporate-social-responsibility-increase-profits/ Whole Foods Market. (2013). whole Foods Market. Retrieved from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/careers/why-work-here AON Hewit (2012) 2012 Trends in Global Employee Engagement Retrieved from http://www.aon.com/attachments/human-capital- consulting/2012_TrendsInGlobalEngagement_Final_v11.pdf p. 22