Taking a Look at Ben and Jerry

About everyone at some age, at some point or another, and in some country has gotten a sample of American's symbol for fast food through the golden arches of McDonald's. This report will attempt to analyze the external and internal sectors that affect the company's success. The external analysis will provide opportunities and threats while the internal analysis will show indicators of strength and weakness. It will then follow up with critical issues, strategic alternatives, recommendations and implementation. The case studied is found in Appendix 2 of Mary Coulter's "Strategic Management in Action" book.

The relationship between an organization’s strategy and structure are extremely important because it “directly impacts a firm’s performance” (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 309). Also, as an organization grows, it should reevaluate the current strategy and structure to ensure that it remains the optimal choice for the organization (Rothaermel, 2013). The four types of organizational structures, listed in order of least to most complex according to Rothaermel (2013), are: (1) simple, (2)

Organizational structure indicates the company's formal reporting relationships, procedures, controls and authority, & decisions making process. An organisation's strategy is its plan for the whole business that sets out how the organisation will use its major resources. An organisation's structure is the way the pieces of the business fit together internally. It also covers the links with external factors such as partners and other parties. For the company to deliver its plans, the component of the structure must cooperate with each other

Product strategy involves its product variation, product design and product packaging. Firstly, we will compare the product variation. Ben and Jerry’s has 20 pint flavours, 18 scoop flavours, 7 mini cup flavours and 10 topping choices. While the competitor Haagen Dazs has 24 pint flavours, 20 scoop flavours, 7 mini cup flavours and also 10 topping choices. Although it

Structure is the basis through which an organization seeks to create control the direction of an organization. This is completed through clear definitions of the allocation of work, differentiation, and the coordination of having those responsibilities working together towards the efforts of the organization, integration (Bolman & Deal, 1993, pp). Through these methods, the organization is able to devise a division of labor that collaborates to bring about the missions and goals of an organization. The structure that comes about from this can be varied in their rigidness and flexibility it allows, and to an extent this is a great contribution to its success.

Success of any businesses organization is determined by factors such as financial, management & operational. Financial factors address use of capital in business and flow of cash through various processes within the organization. Management factors are linked to organizational structure of the enterprise. Whereas operational factors address how available resources are used to achieve objective of the organization. Apart from these three factors, environmental factors like competition also determine success of any business organization. This paper explores transformation that Rogers’ Chocolate Company has undergone since its establishment. The paper also investigates competitive strategy of the company against its close

Ben & Jerry’s is an ice cream brand that started in Vermont in 1979 by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Originally started as a small parlour business, it saw steady expansion in its distribution over time. Its acquisition by Unilever in 2000 allowed the brand to undergo worldwide distribution through tapping on the conglomerate’s logistics and distribution expertise. Faced with an ever changing business environment and dynamic consumer preferences, Ben & Jerry’s has adopted unique strategies to boost its competitiveness.

Organisations must organise a structure so that their objectives can be achieved. A company will have different departments and procedures with each one having a special function. All of these organised departments and procedures are linked so the company can run efficiently. For many organisation this can be very complex has they will have offices in international countries around the world.

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream began as a small “scoop shop” in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont.   From the company’s inception more than thirty years ago, their plan was to provide quality ice cream while also creating a company that was socially conscious about the world and its environment.  Within only a few years of opening, the demand for their ice cream grew and the company started making deliveries to local grocery stores and restaurants. In 1983, their first out-of-state franchise opened in Portland, Maine and they began to distribute ice cream in Boston, as well.  By 1985, they were expanding outside of New England and decided to establish the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation.  The company provided 7.5 percent of their pre-tax profits to

An organizational structure is a framework set for certain activities at the work place like coordination of activities, supervision of employees and task allocation to be organised (Mills, 2005).

According to Miles et al. (1978, p. 547), an organization is both its purpose and the mechanism constructed to achieve the purpose. It means that the concept of organization is embracing both goals and all the elements that represent unique combination. Miles et al. (1978, p. 553) draws the conclusion that structure and the processes taking place inside the organization are closely aligned; it is hard to speak about one without mentioning the other. It is important to understand the conclusion drawn by Miles et al. (1978). It illustrates how the

Organizational structure is a system that consists of explicit and implicit institutional rules and policies designed to outline how various work roles and responsibilities are delegated, controlled and coordinated. Organizational structure also determines how information flows from level to level within the company (investopedia.com, 2017). If one level or department does not undertake its function accurately the entire business suffers, because all the departments interrelated to each other. There are generally four types of organizational structure:

Although it is obvious that Ben and Jerry's must transform into an organization which is "networked", it will not be enough to make their business functional because they need to brace for viable re-establishment in the long run. Therefore it is necessary that they adopt a complete strategy, and accompany the reorganization by a clear redefinition of the missions. At this stage, we have two alternatives: Either we decide to set up a strategy of which the core mission is the financial viability of the company, or we try to preserve the core mission centered on the values of the company without compromise.

Ben and Jerry’s, founded in 1978, is a market leading distributor of super-premium ice creams, frozen yogurts, and sorbets, and has built a reputation on being a socially minded company. They were pioneers in the policy of “caring capitalism” and place heavy importance on the concept of social responsibility, a practice which many companies have since adopted. They have enjoyed long-term success as a result of their progressive methods of doing business and novel ideology regarding how a company should be ran. However, due to increased competitive pressure and declining financial performance, they have now been confronted by the threat of a takeover. Recently four

Organizational structure is a system that consists of explicit and implicit institutional rules and policies designed to outline how various work roles and responsibilities are delegated, controlled and coordinated. (Investopedia, 2017) , It determines the guidelines of activities such as task distribution, coordination, and supervision to reach and achieve organizational objectives. The organization can be structured in various ways, depending on its objectives.