Mrs. Fields' Cookies Case Study

Topics: Strategic management, Management, Business process Pages: 6 (1641 words) Published: September 6, 2008
Question#1
Describe a typical day at work at Mrs. Fields’ Cookies for Store manager, District manager, Regional director of operations, Store controller and for Debbi and Randy Fields. Answer to question#1
Store manager performs the following tasks at work:
➢Enters workday characteristics for the system to structure overall tasks. ➢Schedules production, including inventory management.
➢Hires new employees.
District manager performs the following tasks at work:
➢Manages 6 stores (6 store managers are reporting to him/her). ➢Reviews 50 pages of store reports.
➢Reviews and set quotas (amount of bonus a store manager could make) for each of his/her 6 stores. ➢Involves in local marketing decisions.
Regional director of operations performs the following tasks at work: ➢Manages 6 district managers, who each cover 6 stores (total of 36 stores). ➢May also manage a store directly, in addition to 36 stores. ➢Works with Controller in Utah to discuss any accounting differences. ➢Involves in local marketing decisions.

➢Reviews 300 pages of store reports.
Store controller performs the following tasks at work:
➢Manages between 35 and 75 stores.
➢Reviews daily reports summarizing overall sales.
➢Monitors and manages unusual activities.
Debbi and Randy Fields performs the following tasks at work: ➢Debbi is in charge of all operations including store operations, product development, human resources, and public relations. ➢Randy is in charge of business strategies including information system and technology, finance, real estate and growth opportunities. Question#2

What type of strategy is in place at Mrs. Fields’ Cookies? Answer to question#2
There are 3 types of strategy in place at Mrs. Fields’ Cookies. They are: ➢Business strategy. Mrs. Fields’ Cookies chose to use “differentiation”. ➢Organizational strategy. Mrs. Fields’ Cookies chose to have non-hierarchy organizational. More specifically, it was mentioned in the case study that, “there was no official organization chart”. ➢Information system (IS) strategy. Obviously, it showed in this case study that Mrs. Fields’ Cookies used management information system (MIS) well. Question#3

Describe the value chain of Mrs. Fields’ Cookies
Answer to question#3
Primary activities – according to Porter’s model
Inbound
Logistics➢The system computes projections, prepares, and generates orders for supplies. Operations➢The system computes and generates production schedule each day. ➢Employees bake new cookies according to schedule and keep it for sales for the maximum of 2 hours. Outbound

Logistics➢There is no outbound logistics involved. Cookies are only sold in store.
Marketing and
Sales➢The system periodically suggests sales strategy after sales information was entered. ➢Product: Focus on fresh products. Cookies not sold within 2 hours of being baked were given away or discarded. ➢Price: There is no information on price in the case study. ➢Promotion: Passing out free sample. Making sure that free sample is easily accessible. Another aspect that was focused on is food hygiene to attract more customers. ➢Place: Store is strategically located outside the food court, normally near department or clothing stores to target impulse buyers. Service➢Treat employees as important as customers.

➢Encourage employees to be “wacky” and personable so that customers feel comfortable purchasing cookies.

Support activities – according to Porter’s model
Organization➢Believed in “The less hierarchy, the better…” which means focusing on managing internal customers would take them away from managing the key business processes. Human Resources➢Place high value on employees by using “promote from within” strategy. ➢Employees are rewarded for their performance with a bonus system. Technology➢ Believed in “Demeaning for people to do what machines can do” which means employing technologies to free managers from tedious tasks that a computer can do....
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