Whole Foods Case Study

McGregor’s Theory within Whole Foods
One may ask the question, why do certain individuals enjoy going to work, and performing at 100% while others require constant supervision? McGregor’s theory indicates that management and employees fall under two categories; Theory X or Theory Y. Individuals within the X category dislike work, avoid responsibility, are micromanaged, and enticed to accomplish a task. Individuals within the Y category are contradictory to the behaviors of X. Groups in the Y are highly motived, accomplish their goals, thrive having the responsibility, require no supervision, and enjoy working. They do not view work as a task, but as a natural part of life; therefore, management displaying Y behaviors will assume employees are capable of performing their assigned duties to their best of their abilities while taking pride in their work. Theory Y does not imply participative managers or any other kind of
John Mackey, Cofounder, and Co-CEO of Whole Foods employs managers and employees exhibiting Y characteristics. These individuals take initiative and strive to make their organization successful, “work” is not the primary goal. Learning, developing, and being a humanitarian are significate to Whole Foods. Sure making a profit is the ultimate goal of every business; however, with Whole Foods everyone takes pride in each team members success and its greater impact on the world. Whole Foods abides by practicing the system of Conscious Capitalism. The idea of Conscious Capital goes considerably beyond being “virtuosos” or seeking to “do well by doing good”. It creates an entirely new super structure for business and its reason for existing (Sisodia, 2011). There are four major componets that factor into this type of capitalism. Higher Purpose, Stakeholder Orientation, Conscious Leadership, and Conscious Culture all of which John Mackey has demonstrated to be a highly effective