Kudler Fine Foods Case Study
Current Ethical Issues
Lynn Summers
Axia College of University of Phoenix Kudler Fine Foods is a market that offers a variety of gourmet breads, cheeses, wines and many other things from many different countries. Founded in 1998 by Kathy Kudler, the store has been successful and has grown into two additional stores. While on the surface, Kudler Fine Foods works like a well oiled machine, but many problems face the business behind the scenes, both economically and ethically.
The first ethical and moral issue facing the company is the use of their legal advisor. The legal advisor that is used by Kudler Fine Foods is Kathy Kudler’s sister-in-law. Kudler does not pay her sister-in-law for her legal advice and her sister-in-law is not …show more content…
even a lawyer, she is in accounting. The only time Kudler’s sister-in-law is paid is when she comes in for meetings with Kudler’s Insurance Company.
Kudler is also the only one that has contact with her sister-in-law and usually speaks with her in non-formal conversations over the phone. The other managers do not have access to Kudler’s legal counsel and if problems arise, have to go to Kudler and advise her of the situation. Kudler is not informed of all legal problems, but problems that management feels are necessary to inform her of.
This is a moral and ethical issue as with any business you need to have a legal counsel in place that will advise you on any issue you have, not just a family member available by phone.
You also need to have a legal council that is informed of all situations and that can be free to speak to other members of the company, not just the owner. If an employee has a legal issue, the company needs to be able to supply that employee with some counsel they can go to for advice that will be able to speak with them in a professional setting and not just off the cuff. This will alleviate many problems for Kudler if a major issue comes up with ether a customer or an …show more content…
employee.
It would be recommended that Kudler hires a legal team directly for her business who are actually lawyers and not accountants. It would also be preferred that they are not family as family and business do not always mix the best, especially in legal situations.
Another moral and ethical issue that Kudler Fine Foods is facing is that their strategic plan for 2003 was done by a college student that they were using as an “intern” and paying under the table to save money.
This creates many problems as a professional who deals in strategic plans should be the one that should do the research and write up a correct strategic plan for the business.
Saving money is always good for the business, but when you cut back on a strategic plan for the company, it could cost a lot more than you save.
The first thing that is unethical is paying an intern to do work for you. An intern is to view your business and work hands-on in order to get experience in the field they are working on getting their degree in. Paying a student to “intern” but actually do your strategic business plan is not only hurting the student but it is hurting your business. If others find out that you do things under the table, the trust of your company could be shattered and employees and customers will soon no longer be associated with your company.
A strategic plan is an important thing to have for your business and though this college student did a fine job with the plan, there is no plan listed as far as ethical issues or work issues such as harassment or discrimination. Any strategic plan for a business should have a strong plan on what the company’s statement is on ethical and moral issues and what their stance is against harassment, discrimination, drugs or any ethical issue that the company could possibly
face.
The best thing for Kudler Fine Foods to do is to hire a professional who works in the field of strategic plans and has advanced knowledge of this business information. Have them make up a plan for Kudler Fine Foods that is more in-depth and well researched. The money you will spend is only a small amount of the money you will save in the long-run.
Kudler Fine Foods has other areas that they need to tackle as far as organization and inventory and payroll, but they need to first get two major areas in line before moving on. They need to have a professional strategic plan that is laid out in front of them that they can follow and abide by and they also need a legal team in place for any issues they encounter.
Working on these two areas will bring the employees and management of Kudler Fine Foods together and make them more organized so they can tackle the other economical issues that they face. Kudler Fine Foods will not just work as a well oiled machine on the surface, but behind the scenes as well.
References
Axia College of University of Phoenix. (2010). Virtual Organizations. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from Axia College, Week six reading, aXcess, XMGT/216 – Organizational Ethics and Social Responsibility Web site.
Lynn Summers
Axia College of University of Phoenix Kudler Fine Foods is a market that offers a variety of gourmet breads, cheeses, wines and many other things from many different countries. Founded in 1998 by Kathy Kudler, the store has been successful and has grown into two additional stores. While on the surface, Kudler Fine Foods works like a well oiled machine, but many problems face the business behind the scenes, both economically and ethically.
The first ethical and moral issue facing the company is the use of their legal advisor. The legal advisor that is used by Kudler Fine Foods is Kathy Kudler’s sister-in-law. Kudler does not pay her sister-in-law for her legal advice and her sister-in-law is not …show more content…
even a lawyer, she is in accounting. The only time Kudler’s sister-in-law is paid is when she comes in for meetings with Kudler’s Insurance Company.
Kudler is also the only one that has contact with her sister-in-law and usually speaks with her in non-formal conversations over the phone. The other managers do not have access to Kudler’s legal counsel and if problems arise, have to go to Kudler and advise her of the situation. Kudler is not informed of all legal problems, but problems that management feels are necessary to inform her of.
This is a moral and ethical issue as with any business you need to have a legal counsel in place that will advise you on any issue you have, not just a family member available by phone.
You also need to have a legal council that is informed of all situations and that can be free to speak to other members of the company, not just the owner. If an employee has a legal issue, the company needs to be able to supply that employee with some counsel they can go to for advice that will be able to speak with them in a professional setting and not just off the cuff. This will alleviate many problems for Kudler if a major issue comes up with ether a customer or an …show more content…
employee.
It would be recommended that Kudler hires a legal team directly for her business who are actually lawyers and not accountants. It would also be preferred that they are not family as family and business do not always mix the best, especially in legal situations.
Another moral and ethical issue that Kudler Fine Foods is facing is that their strategic plan for 2003 was done by a college student that they were using as an “intern” and paying under the table to save money.
This creates many problems as a professional who deals in strategic plans should be the one that should do the research and write up a correct strategic plan for the business.
Saving money is always good for the business, but when you cut back on a strategic plan for the company, it could cost a lot more than you save.
The first thing that is unethical is paying an intern to do work for you. An intern is to view your business and work hands-on in order to get experience in the field they are working on getting their degree in. Paying a student to “intern” but actually do your strategic business plan is not only hurting the student but it is hurting your business. If others find out that you do things under the table, the trust of your company could be shattered and employees and customers will soon no longer be associated with your company.
A strategic plan is an important thing to have for your business and though this college student did a fine job with the plan, there is no plan listed as far as ethical issues or work issues such as harassment or discrimination. Any strategic plan for a business should have a strong plan on what the company’s statement is on ethical and moral issues and what their stance is against harassment, discrimination, drugs or any ethical issue that the company could possibly
face.
The best thing for Kudler Fine Foods to do is to hire a professional who works in the field of strategic plans and has advanced knowledge of this business information. Have them make up a plan for Kudler Fine Foods that is more in-depth and well researched. The money you will spend is only a small amount of the money you will save in the long-run.
Kudler Fine Foods has other areas that they need to tackle as far as organization and inventory and payroll, but they need to first get two major areas in line before moving on. They need to have a professional strategic plan that is laid out in front of them that they can follow and abide by and they also need a legal team in place for any issues they encounter.
Working on these two areas will bring the employees and management of Kudler Fine Foods together and make them more organized so they can tackle the other economical issues that they face. Kudler Fine Foods will not just work as a well oiled machine on the surface, but behind the scenes as well.
References
Axia College of University of Phoenix. (2010). Virtual Organizations. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from Axia College, Week six reading, aXcess, XMGT/216 – Organizational Ethics and Social Responsibility Web site.