Case study analysis of New Frontier Fresh Foods Supermarkets workforce management

Fresh Foods Supermarkets:

Fresh Foods Supermarket is a chain of grocery store that was initiated about two decades ago in the Southeast of the United States. Since its inception, this chain of grocery stores has continued to grow forcing the firm to adapt new expansion strategies. The strategies have enabled Fresh Foods Supermarkets to open new stores in various areas including Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. While the company has been currently unable to reach the northern New England States, its management has decided to focus on the Southwest because of the population growth in this region. As part of its initiative to expand to Arizona, the company has asked the manager of its stores in Atlanta to relocate to this region. This has provided a new frontier for Fresh Foods Supermarket that seeks to include diversity initiatives into its corporate culture.

History, Corporate Structure, and Growth of Fresh Foods Supermarket:

The history of this company can be traced back to 20 years ago when it established its operations in the Southeast through opening its first store along the eastern seaboard. The company has continued to be successful because of its corporate strategy that supports growth initiatives. The corporate structure at Fresh Foods Supermarkets consists of the top management team who supervise the overall operations of the firm and regional heads managing the firm's stores in various areas. Since its inception, the company has continued to expand gradually to other regions in America depending on certain underlying factors. For instance, its increased focus on and expansion in the Southwest region is due to the region's population growth.

Strengths and Weaknesses within Fresh Foods Supermarket:

As Fresh Foods Supermarket has started its expansion initiatives to open a new store in Arizona, there are various strengths and weaknesses in relation to its diversity initiatives. One of the major strengths of its diversity initiatives is that the firm's top management supports the hiring of a workforce that reflects the surrounding community. This is a major strength because Arizona is an area with people from diverse cultures and backgrounds who will become part of the company. The other strength of the supermarket's diversity initiatives is that it's ready to include popular ethnic brands into its selection of some food products. On the contrary, some of the weaknesses of its diversity initiatives include the lack of a recruitment and selection criteria for a diverse workforce and likelihood of employees to experience prejudice.

Opportunities and Threats within Fresh Foods Supermarket:

In relation to its diversity initiatives, there are two major opportunities within the supermarkets external environment i.e. The huge population of customers to be reached and the possibility of offering a diverse selection of foods beyond its current brands. However, these opportunities may be threatened by the lack of a manufacturing process for the diverse foods and the possible failure of hiring bilingual workers.

Recruiting and Developing a Diverse Workforce:

As Vivian Noble has accepted to open and manage the supermarket's store in Arizona, she will experience various challenges. The major challenge is the need to recruit and develop a diverse workforce since the business will be located in an area with people from different cultural backgrounds. There are various steps that Noble can take to hire and develop employees from Hispanic and Native American roots including:

Developing a Strong Corporate Image and Employee Referral Programs:

Prior to setting foot in a job fair, one of the most successful methods of recruiting a diverse workforce is developing a strong corporate image (Ruiz, 2006). This is largely because the job fair circuit method is not normally fruitful endeavor and requires additional support. Noble can develop the strong corporate image through grass-roots initiatives and strengthening partnerships with ethnic communities. The company can develop a strong corporate image by establishing relationships with diverse community organizations and creating awareness about the available opportunities (Lieberman, n.d.). Employee referral programs provide beneficial measures for recruiting a diverse workforce since they provide guidance to the company.

Centralized Mentoring and Career Development Programs:

The development of the diverse workforce can be through centralized mentoring programs and career advancement initiatives. Apart from helping in the dynamics of blending employees, mentoring programs provide support to the development of employees. Career advancement programs not only reduce high turnover rates but also result in employee growth.

Community Outreach and Benefits of Expansion:

In addition to enabling the company to hire a diverse workforce and provide popular ethnic brands within the region, Noble can help Fresh Foods Supermarket to reach out to the community through additional ways. This includes the use of new advertisements strategies as well as sponsoring and participating of special events in the community. Successful expansion strategies by a company normally results in advantages like economies of scale, huge customer base, and increased brand recognition (Rinaldi, 2009). For Fresh Foods Supermarket, successful expansion to Arizona will provide benefits like exposure to a huge and new customer base, increased brand recognition and more profit because of reaching out to a diverse population.