Kellogg Conflict Management Role Conflict Between Marketing

KELLOGG Conflict management Role conflict between marketing and production departments Kellogg has insufficient communication between its product development and marketing departments. Increasingly, Americans are trying to eat more healthfully, which includes consuming fresher, sustainable, and unprocessed foods. Kellogg is a noted purveyor of cereals, including sugary cereals.

A desire for less carbohydrate and sugar-dense breakfast options and the greater diversification of American tastes in general could mean that the company may face long-term demand-related problems later on."Kellogg, which had revenue of nearly $13 billion last year, is the world's largest cereal maker by sales as well as a leading producer of cookies, crackers, frozen waffles and toaster pastries" (Carey 2010). It must strive to retain this market base and cannot rest on its current laurels of success. Kellogg is insufficiently diversified in the healthy cereal market.

However, there is a clear conflict between the missions of the marketing and production departments -- the marketing department wishes to 'sell' the product to consumers based upon popular health claims, while the production department is creating foods that remain sugary, unhealthy and tasty.

2.2 -- Horizontal conflict: production staff does not acknowledge changes in the law regarding marketing to children Kellogg has advertised many of its children's cereals as part of a healthy breakfast, including its Rice Krispies' cereals However, "on packages, Kellogg claimed Rice Krispies 'now helps support your child's immunity' with '25% daily value of antioxidants and nutrients -- vitamins A, B, C and E.' The back of boxes stated that Rice Krispies 'has been improved to include antioxidants and nutrients that your family needs to help them stay healthy'" (Carey 2010).

In 2009, Kellogg was cited for a violation of truthful advertising laws by the FTC for its Frosted Mini-Wheats and forced to change the claims on the packaging. Kellogg must strive to more realistically promote these core products, else it garner more bad publicity but there is resistance to doing so amongst marketing staff.

2.3 -- Vertical conflict -- insufficient communication between Kellogg and suppliers There are also concerns about contamination problems at Kellogg, after a 2010 recall of cereals was necessitated because of a strange odour emanating from the boxes that was linked to a chemical involved in the processing of the interior lining of the boxes that could cause nausea and diarrhea (Pepitone 2010). This suggests conflict between Kellogg and its suppliers of packaging. 2.5 -- Recommendations Use genuine, scientifically-substantiated nutritional claims when marketing products.

For example, one recent study by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Growth Health Study found that "eating cereal at breakfast was associated with increased consumption of fibre and carbohydrates and decreased consumption of fats throughout the day; and greater physical activity was also associated with cereal breakfast" (Albertson et al. 2008). To facilitate this, marketing staff and product development teams must work together to ensure there is coherence between reasonable claims that can be made by the product development teams in advertising.

Kellogg must move beyond the cereal market and introduce more nutritionally-fortified tarts, bars, shakes, and other breakfast goods that are higher in protein and lower in sugar to suit American's changing tastes. New products should also reflect America's greater ethnic diversity (including flavours such as mango, dulce la leche, and other flavours deemed to be of interest in specific, demographic or regional markets). Kellogg must incorporate greater regional and ethnic diversity into its product development teams.

When marketing products with minimal nutritional value, like sweet cereals and frosted Pop Tarts, rather than try to make health claims, the company should stress the fun aspect of these foods as treats. Consumer demand is still high for these products, and marketing.