STEP-1: RELATED FACTS OF CASE

Vision

The company’s vision was customer’s satisfaction & after acquisition the vision turns in to profit. So, this type of diversification is not acceptable by the firm. The good vision makes good direction. So, improper change in vision is not acceptable. The company should have a clear vision for future.

Fields' Cookies perceived as a business that could grow. The point wasn't to make money, the point was to bake great cookies, and we sacrificed for that principle.

Mission

The Mrs. Cookies wanted to provide feel good factor in their cookies but after the equitation, the firm tried to generate more profit instead of quality. In his whole period the feel good factor was lost somewhere. So, it is a cause for the problem. The firm adopted the customer quality as their main objective.

Core competence`

Mrs. Fields' Cookies as the upscale brown, red, and white retail outlets that dispensed hot, fresh, chewy cookies like grandmother used to bake.

Staff receives a salary which is competitive with other retail food store managers and also eligible for a bonus if they meet their sales forecasts. Mrs. Fields' Cookies as the upscale brown, red, and white retail outlets that dispensed hot, fresh, chewy cookies like grandmother used to bake.

Mrs. Fields' at the level of the friendly, inviting retail outlets located in high-density Shopping areas around the world.

No. of employees are 8000 & No. of retail outlet are 416 in more than 5 different country, 14 varieties of cookies were cater to customer and 80% output is depend on malls.

Management information system was used for decision making purpose.

Plan

All baked products were made on premises in the individual stores and were to be sold within a specified time. Cookies not sold within two hours, for example, were discarded usually given to the local Red Cross or other charity.

Some preliminary research, the company formed Mrs. Fields ‘international and targeted Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.

Mrs. Fields cookies refused to franchises their stores because she viewed franchising as a loss of control over the end product and loss of touch with the customer.

She followed flat structure because she thought that higher the hierarchy more manager turn to handled people and less on core business processes.

After diversification field’s cookies acquired another retail cookie chain, the famous chocolate chip company, in 1984.

Core Elements

We can classify the core elements as follows.

Delegation of authority

Employees as customers

Flat structure

Customer feel good feeling

Refused to give franchise

Strength and Weakness

Strength

Mrs. Cookies must know about their strong points. the fields were rule in the market because of their delicious cookies, but they loss their advantage after expansion. They must stick on their strong quality point which makes them ahead from their competitor’s .instead of profit, they must consider their values and vision of making good cookies.

Weakness

The firm’s weakness is about their structure. The fields were believed to control whole organization without giving authority to anyone. After expansion it is necessary to redesign the structure and made some changes regarding the needs. The fields were failure in their decision. It is important for a firm to identify their problem and find a ways to solve it.

Opportunity

Opportunity creates chances for a firm to achieve good results. But in this case

the fields take opportunity but diversify from their vision. Instead of quality, the profit

became their vision. So, in this way, an opportunity is totally wasted by the firm. So, a

film should analyze that to make advantage of the opportunity which steps a firm take.

Threats

The firm should be aware about what to do in changing situation. it should be considered that which constrains make the effect on the whole organization. so, this point should be noted in whole process.

STEP- 2: IDENTIFY THE PROBLEMS

Apparent problem

The Fields searched for a Japanese partner, Prospective partners warned Debbi and Randy that the cookies would have to be changed to appeal to the Japanese palate, specifically, that the spices and physical scale of the cookies were wrong. "Agreement was universal that these cookies were all wrong for the Japanese taste," Debbi recalled, "and yet in less than a minute, there wasn't a crumb to be seen." Although that was the end of the partnership, the actions of these executives convinced the Fields that they could sell cookies in Japan, and they opened several stores without a partner.

Real problem

Cookies store managers are on average 20 to 25 years old and have one to two years of college education. It believes they are split 50/50 between males and females. The turnover of store managers is about 100% per year, although many work in that job 12 to 14 months. When they leave, they usually return to college. It thinks their turnover is above average for this kind of business.

Quotas, which determined the amount of bonus a store manager could make, were set by the district sales manager. They were based on year-to-year trends. The DSM considered each store separately, looking at past trends, the maturity of the market sewed by the store, and future projections of how the store could grow. The DSM then forecast how much or how little additional sales could be made at that store and set the quota.

They were set on volumes would tell the manager: "At 8 a.m. mix 31 batches of cookies. Use the dough from 10 a.m. to 3 p. m. At that time the dough is no longer up to our standards, so discard any remaining dough. At 1 p.m. mix 7 batches of dough for use from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m." this shows that they were became more dependent on computer based process, which had reduce employee’s creativity.

Environment scanning

A store manager's day began in the back room at the personal computer. After entering workday characteristics, such as day of the week, school day or holiday, weather conditions, etc. the manager answered a series of questions that caused the system to access a specific mathematical model for computing the day's schedule. The manager was subsequently advised how many cookies to bake per hour and what the projected sales per hour was. The manager would enter the types of cookies to be made that day and the system would respond with the number of batches to mix and when to mix them.

STEP-3: ESTABLISH THE PROBLEM

The second Mrs. Fields' store raised a host of new issues for Debbi, who recognized that she could not be in two places at one time, yet historically had resisted delegating authority. Randy wanted to pay for future expansion with profits, and he was convinced that the greater profits generated by the combination stores would enable them to open more new stores

The fields install a MIS system for the control but in firm, Mrs. Field doesn’t want to give authority to anyone. There is no formalization there. So, when MIS started working in firm, the firm cannot utilize the profit of the MIS system. The employee needs to be trained in proper way, so that they can gain more advantages of the system. There was lack of maximum use of MIS become problem for the firm. If information treated well way, it leads to batter decision making.

The firm’s owner diversifies themselves from their vision. Their vision is to give consumers a ‘feel good’ factor. But after the acquidition with La petite Boulangerie (LPB), the owner diversify themselves with their vision.Instead of Quality, they belives that profit could be earned by exantion.they proved wrong and made loss.Mrs.fields faced problem with their work to provide batter quality.

The owner faced management dilemmas of a growing business. When expansion created in firm it needed possible changes in organization and financial structure and size. The changes not be made as per the requirement. So, the firm faced problem in many fields including MIS. The flat structure arise problems. When the expansion made, there should be changed in strategy too. But in Mrs. Fields’ the all requirements were missing and so, the original concept lost somewhere.

The owner of the firm thinking in a different way. Mr. Field believed in making profit and Mrs. Field give first preference to quality. The installation of MIS also no useful when an owner don’t won’t to delegate the authority to the employee. Debbi had created the business, Randy had devised a corporate structure fit to be wed to an information system. So, it created big problems.

Mrs. Field lost the control over the firm. She cannot make herself comfortable with change made after the expansion. It created the problem with business. Another thing is that the firm’s MIS system covers too many information that make problems. There were information which is useful and some is not. They had more Information available than people could act upon. The firm also reduced the number of employees, which become harmful for the firm. So, these are the main problems which create loss and problems for the Mrs. Fields’ cookies.

Fields cookies were not ready to delegate authority it was forced, kicking and screaming, to delegate authority because it believed that that was the only way the business could grow.

STEP- 4: DEFINE OBJECTIVE

The owners believed that less people and small groups can make quick decision. This same formula cannot be applicable when expansion is created in firm. The span of control is limited under the owner. No formalization in firm. It is shown that if size increases, the flat structure is less effective.

STEP-5: DEVELOP /GENERTE ALTERNATIVE

Company has to rework on organization structure and should support decentralization strategy.

They should give franchisee to other. As company has not sufficient financial resources, it should go for franchisees.

Give authority to individual store manager to take decision.

Give formal training to employee so that they work effectively and so in future with expansion of business and product diversification they handled situation very rapidly.

Field had resisted to delegating authority and the Field had consistently refused to give franchisee because she thought that the their motive “Feel Good” diverted to profit motive and viewed as a loss of control over the end product and loss the touch with customer.

It should look for strong quality product which lead it to customer satisfaction and consider their values and vision of making good cookies.

While going for international business it should concentrate more on sampling as well as peoples’ preference and also look for a partner in particular nation.

Company should focus on its employee turnover ratio.

Company should hire knowledge staff as well as maintain good relation with staff so they stay with company for a long

Company has to rework on organization structure and should support decentralization strategy.

STEP-6: DEVELOPS CRITERIA

In 1987, Mrs. Fields' Inc. had profits of $17.6 million on revenue of $113.9 million, a 34% increase from 1986 revenue, and a 9.3% increase from 1986 net income In 1988, a write off of $19.9 million on revenues of $133.1 million for store and plant closings left Mrs. Fields' with an after tax loss of $18.5 million.

In April 1987, Mrs. Fields' Holdings Inc. acquired from PepsiCo a 119 store French bakery/sandwich chain, La Petite Boulangerie (LPB). The company had acquired another retail cookie chain, the Famous Chocolate Chip Company, in 1987.

STEP-7: EVALUATE ALTERNATIVES

When ‘misfields cookies’ adopted new and leave the old one is required an art of management. This Art is helped a firm to gain more from the change. Applying new concept need the process of organization. The 14 principles of management By Henry faeol should apply. The process of management including planning, organization, staffing, leading and controlling should be applied in Mrs. Fields cookies.

STEP-8: PRIORITIZE ALTERNATIVE

Field had resisted to delegating authority and the Field had consistently refused to give franchisee because she thought that the their motive “Feel Good” diverted to profit motive and viewed as a loss of control over the end product and loss the touch with customer.