4/25/2020 Whole Foods Market’s Organizational Structure Analysis - Panmore Institute

P a n m o re I n s t i t u te

BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT

Whole Foods Market’s Organizational Structure

Analysis
UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2018 BY NATHANIEL SMITHSON

Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure facilitates

Whole Foods Market signage in Unionville, Ontario, Canada.
Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure addresses
variations in regional markets and consumer preferences.
(Photo: Public Domain)
the company’s effectiveness to satisfy market demands.
The characteristics of a corporation’s organizational
structure in uences business capabilities. In Whole Foods
Market’s case, the organizational structure enables the
enterprise to ensure that its systems or arrangement of
resources and activities support business goals. Whole
Foods Market’s organizational structure is a design or
pattern that de nes the interactions among workers and
components of the establishment. With more than 400
locations in North America and the U.K., Whole Foods
Market maintains an organizational structure that
empowers the rm to exibly address changes and
differences in markets.

UN Global Market Supplier

A Group of Excellent Technical Engineers to Ensure
Quality of Install
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Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure is based on differences in market conditions across the United
States, Canada, and the U.K. Also, business functions and products de ne Whole Foods Market’s
corporate structure.

Features of Whole Foods Market’s Organizational Structure

Whole Foods Market has a divisional organizational structure. In addition, each division has a functional
organizational structure. The following are the main characteristics of Whole Foods Market’s organizational
structure:

1. Four-tier hierarchy
2. Geographic divisions
3. Functional structure in each division
4. Teams

UN Global Market Supplier

A Group of Excellent Technical
Engineers to Ensure Quality of
Install and After-sales.

Four-tier hierarchy. Whole Foods Market has a global hierarchy in its organizational structure. In this hierarchy,
there are four main levels or tiers, namely, (a) global headquarters, (b) regional of ces, (c) facilities, and (d) stores.
This aspect of Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure has vertical lines of authority, command and
communication. For example, facility managers report to regional presidents, and regional presidents report to the
global headquarters. This hierarchy in Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure supports corporate
monitoring and control over the entire enterprise.

Geographic divisions. Whole Foods Market currently has 12 geographic divisions for its operations in the U.S.,
Canada and the U.K. This aspect of the company’s organizational structure involves regional of ces. Each regional
division of ce is responsible for adjusting business activities to regional market conditions. Thus, through
geographic divisions, Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure maintains suf cient exibility to address
differences among regional markets.

Functional structure in each division. In each geographic division of its organizational structure, Whole Foods
Market uses a functional structure. This functional organizational structure corresponds to business functions. For
example, each regional division has a president and regional administrators, such as a human resource manager
and a marketing manager. This aspect of Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure maximizes exibility of
regional operations because each regional administrative team implements mandates based on regional market
conditions.
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Teams. Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure also involves teams. While the company uses teams in
various areas and levels of its organization, the store teams are the most notable. Each Whole Foods Market store
has sales teams for different product lines and business functions. In some stores, teams compete in generating
revenues. This aspect of Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure supports business pro tability through
sales talk and retail service directly provided to customers.

Analysis of Whole Foods Market’s Organizational Structure

Whole Foods Market’s organizational structure is suitable for supporting global business. The exibility of the
geographic divisions allows the company to adjust its business to varying regional markets. In this way, Whole
Foods Market optimizes its supply chain and store operations. This organizational structure also enables the rm
to optimize the ability to satisfy the preferences of its target consumers. Furthermore, because of the exibility
based on its organizational structure, Whole Foods Market minimizes waste and spoilage by offering only the
products that target consumers want.

References

Child, J. (1972). Organizational structure, environment and performance: The role of strategic
choice. Sociology, 6(1), 1-22.
Johnston, J. (2008). The citizen-consumer hybrid: ideological tensions and the case of Whole Foods
Market. Theory and Society, 37(3), 229-270.
Johnston, J., & Szabo, M. (2011). Re exivity and the Whole Foods Market consumer: the lived experience of
shopping for change. Agriculture and Human Values, 28(3), 303-319.
Mackey, J. (2010). Creating the High Trust Organization – Whole Foods Market.
Markides, C. C., & Williamson, P. J. (1996). Corporate diversi cation and organizational structure: A resource-
based view. Academy of Management journal, 39(2), 340-367.
Martin, R., Muuls, M., de Preux, L. B., & Wagner, U. J. (2012). Anatomy of a paradox: Management practices,
organizational structure and energy ef ciency. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 63(2),
208-223.
Corporate Governance – Whole Foods Market.

TA G S :   C A S E S T U D Y & C A S E A N A LY S I S , O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L D E S I G N , O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L S T R U C T U R E , R E TA I L
I N D U S T RY , W H O L E FO O D S M A R K E T

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