True, the company has a highly cohesive ethic, regarding the environmentally friendly and ethically produced nature of its products. However, one problem that a supermarket chain will inevitably run across is that different areas of the nation have different tastes. This is why allowing self-governance is so important on a store-by-store basis for this chain. A Whole Foods in New York City might have more convenience vegan food, for busy apartment dwellers, while a Whole Foods located in a suburb might have more bulk items, for consumers who shop less frequently, prepare more goods at home, and have larger families. Different employee teams, of which there are eleven subdivisions in each store, are also able to devote their attention to regional trends regarding specific goods. There is also intense communication with customers about what they want and a willingness to think out of the box. Thus Whole Foods Market, although not a democracy, attempts to draw upon the most effective features of participatory democracy to make good decisions. Question

How does Whole Foods Market incorporate ethical considerations into its decision-making?

Consumers are not simply buying goods when they enter Whole Foods. They are buying into the Whole Foods ethos. In light of this, the company's stated vision runs contrary to the Wal-Mart ethos of simply providing lower prices, ethics be damned. Whole Foods goods may cost more, but,...

Also, it pays its employees higher salaries with good benefits, in comparison to other grocery chains, to retain invest in their farms, and higher and retain the best employees. "Shateema Dillard typifies the loyalty of many workers. After two years, the Manhattan employee is a supervisor and boasts of her two stock option grants. Never mind that her investment may be worth less than $200 and she's not unionized" (Brady, 2005). Locally grown produce may cost more as well, but concern about leaving a minimal environmental footprint is also a preoccupation of the profile of some Whole Foods customers, and such local goods, because they are shipped less far, result in less harm done to the environment. Finally, Whole Foods does not offer infinite choice, so it can streamline its inventory, as well as focus on the types of brands that have defined it since its inception. It does not offer many major brands, which is a comfort for families not wishing to place their hard-earned dollars in the pockets of executives who profit off of marketing junk food to children or factory farming.
Works Cited

Brady, Diane, with Adrienne Carter & Sarah Lacy. (2005). "Eating Too Fast at Whole

Foods." BusinessWeek. Retrieved 3 Apr 2007 at http://yahoo.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/05_43/b3956106.htm?chan=gl