Mrs. Field`s Cookies

Essay by lcrzoexUniversity, Master'sA+, March 2004

download word file, 3 pages 4.0

Some brief facts about the company.

· Debbi Sivyer Fields began baking cookies as a teenager. She perfected her recipe and began selling them at community events in her town and then at a local department store.

· August 1977, within a year of being married to economist Randy Fields, Debbi aged 19, opened her first cookie store in Palo Alto, California. After one year she opened her second store.

· By 1981 the company had 14 Stores.

· In 1982 Mrs. Fields company changed to Mrs. Fields International in order to target the foreign markets.

· Franchising:

The Fields viewed franchising as a loss of control over the end product and loss of touch with the customer.

· Organization:

The organization was a flat structure.

· Staff:

Staff turnover especially within store managers was high, average turnover of store managers every 12 months. The average age of staff was between 20- 25 years old.

· Control:

District Sales manager, managed 6 district managers. Each district manager manages 6 stores as well as their own store. Responsibility for store management fell to store controllers, who reported to Debbi through a vice president of operations. The controllers each of whom managed between 35 and 75 stores. After one business day Debbi was able to see store controller reports at an aggregate level.

· Management Information System:

The objective of MIS was to be able to run each store as Debbi ran the first store. The strategic goal was to free managers for doing more important things.

· Diversification:

In 1984 Mrs. Fields Cookies acquired the Famous Chocolate Chip Company. In 1987 Mrs. Fields Cookies acquired La Petite Boulangerie (LPB), a 119 store French bakery/sandwich chain.

Recommendation of standards (hard/soft) to the company.

Soft standards:

1. To be more affable and...