Influencing Individuals and Groups
In the hospitality industry, effective communication is paramount as it increases productivity, creates a suitable office atmosphere and decreases employee turnover (Pizam, 2005). Whole Food Market is committed to effective communication from the top down and to enhance organization by employing greater communication tools for use by managers and the employees. The communication philosophy at the organization takes pride in the fact that Whole Food Market has a mission.
Principally, the philosophy seeks to achieve quality products, customer satisfaction, supporting team member happiness as well as wealth creation through profits and growth. Moreover, the communication philosophy includes supporting communities, local involvement, and promotion of environmental stewardship and recognition of business associates. At Whole Food Market communication equals better understanding, and more trust Effective communication entails transparency and empowerment. Authentic communication is needed at Whole Food Market so as to instill a clear sense of interdependence among the various stakeholders in the organization.
Whole Foods communicates with its customers through core values of customer service, education, meaningful value, retail innovation and inviting store environment (Regani, 2006). The organization reaches its customers through its website, blogs, podcasts, videos, YouTube and news release. More so, Whole Foods uses annual reports, online pressroom, and its foundations for its external communication. The website includes information about the stores, investor relations, and information about the company, recipes, and new products. The website also communicates to customers about store specials, current issues, blogs and press releases. The press room at Whole Food Market is very organized, and it includes the latest company news. The company also uses social platforms like Twitter where customers give their feedback on their products. The company through its Foundation communicates its support for the community. The Animal Compassion Foundation seeks to improve the lives of animals and to educate farmers and ranchers so as to achieve a higher standard of animal welfare excellence. The Whole Planet Foundation partners with the poor in third world countries by offering financial aid for community projects. The communication strategies are geared to specific regions so that information reaches a more local audience. Each region has its calendar to communicate with the public about seminars and events about local produce.
The methods used at Whole Food Market are efficient. Through its foundations to support the community, the method positively affects the goodwill of the company as people will appreciate the good the foundations do and want to shop for a company that makes a difference (Pizam, 2005). This, in turn, brings in more customers. Moreover, the information about a particular product can be found by searching for the store on the company website. This is particularly useful to clients because not all Whole Foods stores are going to have the same prices or provide the same products all the time. The feedback from the customers is also helpful in assisting the firm to know which areas need improvements.
Communication Barrier
Inconsistencies arise in the company if communication is lacking, or when the delivery of information is late. The problem can be resolved through extensive collaboration with all upper management and training team members in that specific region or culture of the location of the store (Regani, 2006). Also, creating an impression early will help in the long run, for example, educating the young people about healthy nutrition will help them grow up with a health-conscious attitude.
Conflict and their impact on an Organization
When two or more people interact, conflict is inevitable. In an organization conflict can arise when resources are insufficient which leads to competition. The other type of conflict when it is unclear who is responsible for what area of a project or task and also conflict can be due to interpersonal relationships. Conflicts in the organization lead to low productivity in the firm and the process the success of any project is hampered.
References
Pizam, A. (2005). International encyclopedia of hospitality management. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann.
Regani, S. (2006). Whole Foods Market's unique work culture and practices.
