Principals of Management - Kraft Foods

Principles of Management

Kraft Foods, Inc.

I choose Kraft Foods Inc., ranked at number 53 of the top 100 Fortune companies, as my case analysis because as an avid cook, I am familiar with several of Kraft Foods products and enjoy cooking with their online network of recipes and products. While preparing this research, I am learning the history of the company, including business structure, corporate strategies, analyzing the external industry influences, the legal history, and ethical perspective. Kraft Foods, Inc. is the No. 1 food company in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world. Its North America unit makes the world's largest cheese brands (its namesake), among other popular brands like Nabisco, Oreos, Planters Nuts, Oscar Mayer, and Cool Whip. Kraft's international unit offers most of the U.S. brands, plus local favorites. (Yamasaki). Through effective communication, management has advanced the company to this level.

James L. Kraft began the wholesale cheese business in 1903, in Chicago, Illinois. Incorporated as J.L. Kraft Bros. & Co. in 1909, it prospered by selling processed cheese to the U.S. Army during World War I (Answers). Over the years, purchases, acquisitions, and new products along their timeline include:

Year Product/Company Type

1923 Vegemite Australian yeast spread

1924 Kraft Cheese Company Name change & first shares traded

1928 Phenix Cheese Corp. Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese

1928 Velveeta Processed cheese food introduced

1930 National Dairy Corp Purchases KraftPhenix

1937 Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner enters market

1945 Kraft Foods Co Name Change

1950 Kraft Delux Cheese slices packaged

1952 Cheez Whiz Introduced in test markets

1988 Philip Morris Co. Purchases Kraft

1989 Kraft & General Foods Merge Kraft General Foods - gaining Oscar Mayer, Tang

1990 Jacobs Suchard AG Acquires Milka, Toblerone, Jacobs coffee, and others

1991 Capri Sun Fruit drinks acquired

1993 Freia Marabou Confectionary company

1995 Kraft Foods Inc Changed name

2000 Nabisco Holdings Corp Philip Morris Co. acquires and integrates into KF.

2003 Rainforest Alliance Partners on sustainable coffee initiative

2007 Altria Group Inc Diverged from parent group, fully independent

2007 Group Danone Global biscuit business acquired

2008 Post cereal Divested

2010 DiGiorno Pizza Divested

2010 Cadbury Acquired

Coinciding with new management in 2007, Kraft Foods created a new strategy to re-define its corporate purpose, values and vision, by opening up the process to both consumers and employees. Co-creating this process with Promise as a partner, lead to beginning of 'Project Pathway' (Peters). This procedure helped find out what the customer wants, develop new ideas through employee networking and the implementation of these goals. The philosophy of creating the new Kraft Foods includes its higher purpose, its vision, its values, and to do this in a way that was both highly effective and as symbol of the new company to make foods that you can feel good about, that are wholesome and delicious

The geographic structure of Kraft foods is comprised of three main territories, North America, Europe, and Developing Markets. The main product structures include confectionery, snacks, beverages, cheese, convenient meals, and grocery. The major brands, which are utilized to bring delicious, quality and convenience to customers, currently owned by Kraft Foods Inc. are Kraft, Jacobs, LU, Maxwell House, Cadbury, Trident, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Back to Nature, Oscar Meyer, Cote D'Or, Jello-O, Kool-Aid, Toblerone, Ritz, Cracker Barrel, Tang, Crystal Light, Halls, Planters, A1, Polly-O, Gevalia, Royal, Breadkstone's CapriSun, Carte Noire, Tassimo, Starbucks Coffee, Stride gum, Trident, Dentyne, and Grey Poupon.

With the new management structure at the corporate level, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Irene Rosenfeld is leading this company on the journey to work to build a better world with a delicious difference.

The organizational structure at the company level not only consists of professional positions but also hourly position in manufacturing, distribution, and sales departments. Finance, human resources, information systems, marketing, marketing services, sales, and research development and quality, are the functional departments that make up this functional structure. By using strategies for growth, management has been able to build a high performing organization, reframe the categories, exploit the sales capabilities and drive down costs without compromising quality.

Over the past four years, Kraft Foods employees reduced net waste from manufacturing plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels, exceeding a goal of a 15 percent reduction by 2011. Employees are constantly raising the bar - improving efficiency, changing behavior, business practices and culture - and creating new partnerships to turn waste into something of value. "Employees took our aggressive waste reduction goal and ran with it," said Steve Yucknut, Vice President, Sustainability. "Not only did they meet our goal two years early, they simply crushed it by doubling our performance with a 30 percent reduction. Their enthusiasm has made a huge impact. In fact, we now recycle or reuse 90 percent of our manufacturing waste." (Buino)

Making today delicious and building a better world. This is Kraft Foods new mission. The vision encases areas of concentration through which Kraft Foods maintains compliance, integrity, and responsibility. These seven areas start with sustainability. By preserving the world's land, air, water and people with sustainable agriculture, reducing the environmental impact of the company and addressing the climate change, they have been able to improve their efforts. Hunger and affordable nutrition responsibilities include providing direct aid, developing and marketing affordable nutrition products, supporting sustainable