KEEPING THINGS ORGANIC AT BEN AND JERRY’S

ADITHI SHETTY(19)MPMIR SEM IV

• Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are the Co-founders of the Company.

• First ice-cream shop opened in 1978 in a vacant gas station in Vermont.

• With a $12000 of investment( $4000 of it borrowed)

• Primary Goal was to make and sell super-premium ice-cream.

• The parlour grew to a $45 million company with 150 employees in just 10 yrs.

•It had a unique culture with emphasis on fun, charity and goodwill towards fellow workers up and down the line

Introduction

Board of Directors

Operations Social Mission

Business Development

Human Resources

Finance Marketing Sales

CEOJostein Solheim

Organizational Structure

Board of Directors Include:•Jeff Furman

•Pierre Ferrari

•Jennifer Henderson

•Terry Mollner

•Anuradha Mittal

•Kees Van der Graaf

•Bama Athreya

•Helen Jones

SWOTStrengths• High Quality product• Innovative Flavors• Marketing through social activity• High employee satisfaction• High customer loyalty• Employee involvement/strong team culture

Weakness• High Pricing• Lack of professionalism in its management• Focus only on social responsibility

SWOTOpportunities• Low fat, Low cholesterol ice-cream• New Flavors• New Market • Global growing premium ice-cream market

Threats• Rising price of products used for making the ice-creams.• Shifts in demand• Increased Competition• Rising health consciousness

Has Ben & Jerry’s been forced to grow? Explain

• The company doubled it’s size each year between 1978 to 1986.

• Growth was maintained for it’s survival.

• Maturing market for super premium ice-cream

• New Competitors

• The company had to grow to retain its position on super market shelves, there market share was declining.

• Another factor was the decision in 1985, to take the company public and sell stock in order to build a factory.

Is Ben & Jerry’s original culture now hindering the organization’s effectiveness?

• Unique original culture

• As organization grow larger the organization needed to be more rational and look towards the profit to sustain.

• Trying to maintain a balance between social aspects and growth of the organization.

• For example: The 5 to 1 salary ration was creating problem which made salary not competitive to market. Moreover meeting did not remain effective; employees were no longer privy to every decision management made.

Can Ben & Jerry’s maintain their original culture and , at the same time continue to grow?

• No. they can not grow with their original culture

• the original culture is more towards the social well being and

• for growth they need to make profit for which they required system which is more formalized.

• Too much sensitivity towards employees may not allow them to work rationally on making profits.

Ben and Jerry’s Early Structure:

Organic Structure:

•Flexible task Definition

•Decentralized or diverse control

•Lateral or Horizontal communication

•Low formalization (less rules & regulations)

Ben and Jerry’s Today’s structure:

Mechanistic structure:

•Low flexibility

•Departmentalization

•Rigid task allocation

•Centralization control

•One way (vertical) communication

•High Formulization (strict rules and regulations)

What type of structure did Ben & Jerry’s have in its early years? Today? What factors brought about this

change?

Factors Involved in change• Survival of the company

• Existence of new competitors in the market

• High demand for ice-creams which lead to high production.

• Growth rate slowed to 40% in 1987-1988.

• Company had to retain its position on the super market shelves.

If you were a management consultant, what advise would you give Ben Cohen

Recommendations

• A joyful work environment where people would work hard and have fun at the same time.

• Employees having role in decision making

• Organization must be more than a profit making venture.

• Donation towards social service

Thank You…!!!