Kathy Kudler’s Gourmet Market –
Organizational Behavior Paper
Teanna Ross
University of Phoenix
MGT 521 Management
Group: PA08MBA07F
Instructor: Dean Tripodes
October 20, 2008
Workshop 4
Established in 1998 by Kathy Kudler, Kudler Fine Foods is a gourmet grocery store selling upscale specialty foods with several locations throughout the San Diego metropolitan area. Kathy’s passion for gourmet cooking and her frustration at not having a one-stop shop to buy gourmet ingredients, she realized that there was an opportunity for an upscale epicurean food shop in La Jolla. Opening the first store in La Jolla became an instant success, and since then Kudler Fine Foods has expanded with two additional locations Del Mar, and Encintas with more expansion plans set in place for the future in Carlsbad. The culture and organizational structure at Kudler Fine Foods will be discussed as well as the leadership style and organizational performance and how they both reflect employee performance and motivation.
Edgar Schein (1999) says that organizational culture is developed over time as people in the organization learn to deal successfully with problems of external adaptation and internal integration. It becomes the common language and the common background. The culture of an organization starts with leadership based on various assumptions and values. These assumptions and values are taught to new employees as to how to think, feel, behave, and expect others to behave within the organization. These written and unwritten standards relate to procedures and how they normally take place as well as the personality of the overall company. The culture of an organization also relies on these three stages: the visible culture, esposed values, and the core beliefs. The visible culture can easily be observed by consumers. This allows customers and potential customers to observe the characteristics and individuality of the company which includes dress code, store...