Whole Foods Market - Is It Possible to Make Sound Business Decessions Without Market Research?

I believe that it is possible to make sound managerial decisions without business research.   One of the most marketable skills that a person can have is problem solving.  Over the years I have encountered numerous situations that required immediate attention and others that could be put on hold for a short period of time.  Rarely did I have the luxury of having data at my disposal to make decisions, including in the corporate environments.  

Whole Foods Market is the world’s leading retailer in the United States to offer products that are certified organic and naturally grown.  Whole Foods Markets has a philosophy of decentralized management, where upper level management shifts decision making to lower level Team Members at the store level.  In the prepared foods department, where I worked, weekly sales were over $225,000. It was my responsibility to decide which 130 Items would be put into production from a list of over 400. My decisions on what to put into the rotation were based on time constraints, what products where going out of date, the day of the week, seasonal /holidays and gut instinct.  While WFM is applauded for their innovative management style, the research that was done never trickled down to the lower levels, serving as an example of the research practice gap.  “The failure of organizations and managers to base practices on the best available evidence.” (Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. 2016)  

 I believe that if the business research is systematic  it will expand the knowledge of management, (Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. 2016). The business research should shift the decision making process from the intuitive nature of “shoot from the hip” to a systematic and objective analysis, that will lead to more informative decision making in all areas of the business with less risk.