BACKGROUND: XCG THE EXCELLENT CONSULTING GROUP Communication from S.M. Art Espance: Welcometo...

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BACKGROUND: XCG THE EXCELLENT CONSULTING GROUP Communication from S.M. Art Espance: Welcometo this project. ABC Company and Whole Foods Marketare expecting us to provide them with top notch advice on...

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BACKGROUND:

XCG

THE EXCELLENT CONSULTING GROUP

Communication from S.M. Art Espance:

Welcometo this project. ABC Company and Whole Foods Marketare expecting us to provide them with top notch advice on how to integrateWhole Foodsinto ABC Company. I will be working on analyzing ABC Company.You will be working on analyzing Whole Foods Market. I expect you todoexcellent work (after all, is the notion of "excellence" notthekey word in the name of our consulting firm?).

I would like for you to review as much information as you can on the Whole Food Market website, particularly that in the "Investor Relations" section. At a minimum, I need for you to review the following materials in preparation for your report/analysis:

REQUIRED READING:

Outline of contents of the report to guide you-click here

Reuters Company Profile: Whole Foods Market.Retrieved on November 7, 2012 -click here

Case study:http://pnphillip.asp.radford.edu/whole%20Foods%20Case.pdf (be sure that you do not rely on this document as your primary source of information - but be sure that you have synthesized information from multiple sources). Retrieved on November 7, 2012.

Article:Business Analysis:Whole Foods Market Retrieved onNovember 7, 2012 (again,do notrely on this document as primary source of information - be sure that you have synthesized information from multiple sources).

WholeFoods Marketwebsite:http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/Retrieved on November 7, 2012.

Whole Foods Market(about the company)Whole Foods MarketRetrieved on November 7, 2012.

Whole FoodsMarket- Annual Stakeholders Report, 2011 -click hereRetrieved on November 7, 2012.

Review Case Analysissince it is so important in this final course. The purpose of a Case is to show that you have thought critically about the subject matter that you are learning AND to make an argument for aClaimabout the specific situation in the Case assignment. Stephen Toulmin has developed an Argument Methodology that is very useful inMaking a Case. To review Case Analysis and Toulmin's Argument Methodology, go toMaking a Casepage.

CASE1 ASSIGNMENT:

First, you need to do a strategic analysis of Whole Foods Market. The executives are looking for us to give them an independent, objective view of Whole Foods Market's current strategic position. They want to get full information ofWhole Foods Market's mission, vision and values. They want to identify its current set of strategic goals, andacriticalassessment of the competition and the competitive environment(remote andoperating environments).Also,they want to see the opportunities and threatsWholeFoodsis presently facing, and they needa general idea ofthe company'sstrengths and weaknesses. Whole Foods Market andABCCompanywant to know if we think they should make any strategic changes or continue with the status quo instead.You need tosynthesizeeverything you'velearned, provide afinal recommendation, and justify your reasoning.

KEYS TO THE ASSIGNMENT:

Do diligent research on Whole Foods Market. I have included links to various websites above.
As an MBA, you must perform additional research to find information on competition and general trends for opportunities and threats. For the competitive analysis, identify a minimum of three of the top competitive companies and their best-selling services or products - and justify why each is a viable competitor.
Your report should follow closely the outline that I have given you. You need to be thorough and complete. The final section is the most important section. I expect you to useexcellentlogic and sharp argumentation skills to make your case.

The report must be5-7pagesminimum -and no more than 10 pages maximum.

ASSIGNMENT EXPECTATIONS:

Your paper will be evaluated on the following seven (7) points:

Precision - Does the paper address the question(s) or task(s)?
Breadth - Is the full breadth of the subject, i.e., the Keys to the Assignment, addressed?
Depth - Does the paper address the topic in sufficient depth and include the background readings and other background resources as references?
Critical thinking - Is the subject thought about critically, i.e., accurately, logically, relevantly, and precisely?
Clarity - Is the writing clear and are the concepts articulated properly? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the questions or are points conveyed through excessive use of quotations?
Organization - Is the paper well written?Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriatefor graduate-level work? Are headings included in all papers longer thantwo pages?
Referencing (citations and references) - Does the paperinclude citations and quotation marks where appropriate? Are the references from the background readings and assignment present and properly cited? Are all the references listed in the bibliographypresent and referred to via citation?

005_3oqa5k-34olmvj3.docx

Answered Same Day Dec 21, 2021

David · Accepted Answer

Strategy 
1 

Strategic review 
Case study 
Whole foods
Strategy 
2 
 
Introduction and background 
Whole foods market, a chain of super markets in the domain of natural and organic food 
operate with 311 stores in USA and UK. It's operations are focused on functions of costing, 
procurement and marketing. The Business of whole foods market is based on the concept of 
provision of value to consumers. It is essential for the business to be competitive as there is a 
significant level of competition which requires competency development and change in strategy 
for the purpose of business development (tainted-ink.net, 2013).  
Strategic analysis of Whole foods market  
The present market and demographics based analysis shows that health and nutrition are 
an important factor that the consumer considers. Healthy food is considered as an important 
factor that can help improve the present day lifestyle of all of the people and so the strategy of 
Whole foods market should be based on health  factors (pnphillip.asp.radford.edu, 2013).  
Mission, vision and values 
The mission and vision of whole foods market is to "qualify as a market leader" in the 
whole foods market and to "achieve high quality food procurement structure" in order to provide 
higher value to consumers. The value system of Whole foods market include the following: 
 To provide highest value to consumers 
 To provide foods of high quality and nutrition 
 To ensure that the procurement and costing is done with the best possible 
resources and technology. 
Strategy 
3 
 
Strategic goals and competitive environment  
The strategic goals of Whole foods market is that the firm needs to achieve efficiency in 
the procurement, marketing and other aspects along with provision of organic foods and 
nutritious food that can help consumers achieve higher value. Achieving of cost efficiency and 
better quality can provide whole foods market better levels of competitiveness (Debbie Thorne 
McAlister, Linda Ferrell, 2002).  
This helps them reach out masses of customers and providing a range of food products 
can help them achieve customer loyalty as well. The competitive environment of Whole foods 
market is highly dynamic and competitive with new players mushrooming and old players 
expanding. The markets are growing with population growth and economic expansion as well as 
globalization.  
Wal-Mart, Spencer's and K Mart are some of the most popular players in the Whole 
foods industry. They are popular in terms of branding and marketing along with factors like 
variety of food products and high quality foods. In order to ensure popularity as well as 
maintaining of better quality, they have also partnered with several of their suppliers and given 
better benefits to loyal customers thus ensuring appropriate change and development in strategies 
as well (tainted-ink.net, 2013).  
The industry environment is nothing but the macro-environment pertaining to a particular 
industry that consists of forces which is likely to influence almost all firms in the industry. The 
whole foods sector is one where there is a very high levels of competition. In case of the 
competitive environment, the present day customer has multiple choice and looks at convenience 
as one of the major criteria in case of choosing or selecting the store for purchasing whole foods. 
Strategy 
4 
 
They are also comfortable using the online options. In this way there is a need for exploring all 
of these options also. These factors should be considered by Whole foods market in order to 
benefit its customers. They should focus on inclusion of online options in their strategy.  
SWOT 
The SWOT analysis of Whole foods market and ABC Company are as follows:  
Strengths 
The strengths of ABC Ltd. include expertise in the field of Whole foods market and an 
exclusive store for it which provides it with an advantage over supermarkets where only a 
limited section is possible.

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