Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior

Change in the workplace is not always met with open arms, at Kudler Fine Foods a decision not to change can cause the organization to become stagnant and unsuccessful in the market. As the business strategizes for the next change, Brenda Wagner, human resources manager for Kudler Fine Foods has asked Team C to review personnel files and other documents in order to assess readiness for change. Making a proper assessment means ascertaining the organizational culture. This paper discusses the organizational structure and provide a synopsis of how leadership style lends to organizational performance. Additionally, the team will describe how leadership style can affect employee motivation. The paper will also include external factors that drive change for Kudler Fine Foods.

Organizational Culture

" Organizational culture is a system of shared values, assumptions, beliefs, and norms that unite the members of an organization" (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 2002, para. 10). The organizational culture of a company is described as the framework that an organization uses to create policy and meet organizational objectives. At Kudler Fine Foods, Kathy Kudler, is not only responsible for the vision of the organization, but is also responsible for the organizational culture (University of Phoenix, 2009). The organizational culture at Kudler Fine Foods is a mixture of different cultures; club culture is one way to describe Kudler's organizational culture. Organizations with a club culture seek the right person for the job and tend to promote from within the company (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin). Kudler Fine Foods is extremely selective throughout the hiring process and usually offers open positions to internal candidates before the job is available to the public. (University of Phoenix). Academy culture is another form of culture that may be apparent at Kudler Fine Foods. The academy culture promotes long-lasting relationships with employees and allows employees to become specialized (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin). Kudler Fine Foods is a gourmet food store that boasts a wide variety of cheeses and wine with a Wine Steward and other specialists to assist the customer with his or her gourmet cooking needs (University of Phoenix).

Organizational Structure

An organization's structure refers to the relationships and the authority of employees in an organization throughout the company, sections of authority may be broken down into departments or sections (Gomez-Mejia & Balkin, 2009). Organizations illustrate the company's organizational culture through an organizational chart, also referred to as an org chart (see table 1). The organizational structure at Kudler Fine Foods has both vertical and horizontal dimensions. Kathy Kudler is the president and holds the top position of the organizational chart. Kathy is extremely involved with the direction of her company; although Kathy would prefer to spend most of her time in the stores visiting with her customers to listen to valuable feedback. Kathy has expanded her staff to make management decisions and focus on potential expansion opportunities (University of Phoenix, 2009).

Kathy has two directors who report directly to her; however, they each oversee their respective sections (University of Phoenix, 2009). Brenda Wagner is the director of administration and human resources. Brenda is responsible for recruiting practices, remaining current on local and federal employment regulations, and forecasting job potentials for the company. Harvey Stephens is the director of finance and accounting. Harvey is responsible for company budgets, payroll, among other fiscal responsibilities for Kudler. Brenda and Harvey both have subordinate employees whom they delegate responsibilities and must hold employees accountable. The two departments are equally important to the operation of the company, but the directors are on an even keel.

The stores do not fall under the direction of either administration and human resources or finance and accounting. Kathy hired a store manager for each of the Kudler Fine Food stores. The store managers oversee the day-to-day operations and convey the vision and new initiatives to the store