So I was 27 years old and I was in between jobs. And I started thinking about,

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So I was 27 years old and I was in between jobs. And I started thinking about, you know, what I wanted to do. And I didn't really have an idea of exactly what I wanted to do. So I took a temp job at the Fairmont Hotel in the business center, downstairs in the basement. And I was working for a 19-year-old guy who would, you know, call me "fax boy." You're looking at it going, "I'm working in this crumby job making $9.50 an hour. You know, my boss is 19-year-old and I'm 27. And I'm supposed to be on a career path. And my wife is pregnant. And how am I going to support my family?" My name is Chris Mittlestaedt, and I'm the founder and CEO of The FruitGuys. When I started FruitGuys, I always had this sort of idyllic image of, you know, a company that was compassionate, and that was thoughtful, and that was more than just sort of the nuts and bolts of buying and selling something and doing a transaction. When I think back on even being a kid, you know, all of the games I used to play, they were always sort of organizing games, you know? You know, and trying to get people to work together and trying to sort of effect some greater change, you know? And there have been examples like when I was working at the Fairmont Hotel where I've realized that I'm working for somebody that, you know, that I didn't feel was giving me fair treatment or was being treated in a way that I didn't feel was honoring, you know, a discussion about what the right solution was. I mean, there's examples of that throughout my life and I think most people's lives. So what we wanted to really build here at FruitGuys is something that takes people's opinions into great account, and you know, thinks about solutions all the time, and is brave in addressing problems. The idea was very simple in the beginning. It was we were just trying to replace junk food in office break rooms with healthy food. We offer consumer's choice, so we have an organic product that sort of is our premiere product that we promote. We have a conventional product that people can also buy if they'd like to. But then even in our conventional products we try to fit in as much locally-grown, sustainable, and organically-harvested produce that we can. That's caveated with "in season" because each region -- east coast, central -- are going to be different than, say, the west coast of California. I mean, I think in a small business you always wrestle with the HR component because in a small company you can put your resources to things that you think have a faster return like salespeople or, you know, things that are going to get you an immediate result to grow. For us, HR is more than having an HR executive who's going to, like, hire and manage sort of the benefits of people; it's really creating a culture. And how you create that culture is really, you know, that's your HR department in my mind. So I think we've done a good job at creating a strong culture here with limited HR structure and budget. Very exciting, actually. Rebecca, great job on the mixes. I think we had a hundred order increase just in one day.

>> Yes.

>> So very exciting.

>> Bring it. Keep them coming. My name is Rebecca North. I've been working here for four years. You know, Chris has always been very, very supportive and inspiring. You know, he, I think, leaves a lot of room for people to bring their own passions and their own investments into the company in various ways. We're not just employees. I don't feel like that. I feel like he genuinely wants us as people to be good people and do a good job for ourselves and for the company, too.

>> I believe personally that, you know, people like to be part of something bigger than themselves. They want to know that their work contributes to something that is a bigger movement or is something that's going to have a greater influence than just their individual daily work. And that's something that we try to make sure we explain to people in their jobs and that we are talking to people about all the time so that they understand the effect that they have on, you know, the groups -- whether it's vendors, or society, or the farmers we're working with, you know -- we want people to understand that.

>> This is Gabriel Farm, and we are Asian pear and apple growers. And we're organic. And we sell to The FruitGuys. Well, The FruitGuys is a completely new model in the produce world. The old produce model is: The produce buyer calls you up or you call them, and they try to beat you down in price. And they say, "Oh, I'm sorry. That's way too high, that price. Couldn't you go a little bit lower?" And of course, since you need to sell your product, often you do end up going down. The new model, which I'm happy to say has arrived on the scene with people like Chris Mittlestaedt and The FruitGuys, is, "How can we support our growers and make sure that they are able to survive and get the price they need for their produce?" So it's a really wonderful new model. It's respecting the growers and working in cooperation with them. And I think The FruitGuys probably takes that model to even another level because they sort of befriend you as a grower. They gave us a bunch of beehives one year, and they bring people up here for events and spread the word about us. And we likewise spread the word about The FruitGuys. So it's, I believe, just a wonderful business model; and one that's ethical, one that sort of fits the idea of sustainability. So we've very much enjoyed working with them. So does our relation with The FruitGuys impact how we treat our employees? I think we're one of the farms that does pay very well just because we want it to be a living wage also. My ethic in terms of workers is: I would never ask anyone to do anything that I wouldn't do myself. So all of the jobs that they do are jobs that we can do and do on a regular basis. And so, yeah, I guess there's similarities.

>> The farmers we work with we have relationships with. I mean, I think that's the way we've always done it and we want to continue to do it.

>> Well, it's not always warm and fuzzy. Don't be deceived. You know? I mean, there's a lot of work, and negotiating, and edge that comes along with, like, building those relationships and finding the people that work out, you know? I mean, we've met loads of farmers, and I've visited and been to many farms where, you know, their agricultural practices and methodology may not be in line with what I or the company feels is acceptable. So we won't deal with them. You know, we're very thoughtful about who we work with and how we work with them.

>> I do recognize that I have to be the boss, and I have to say difficult things sometimes, and I have to, you know, make sure things are on the right path, and I have to, you know, hire people and fire people and all those things. But there is, you know, I think people at least know that I'm coming from a place of honesty. I'm always honest with people and upfront. I don't hide anything from anybody. I don't have other agendas. And I think by doing that and being upfront about those things, it makes me being able to kind of have two heads -- both the boss and somebody that people get along with as friends -- I think that makes it okay.

Answers Questions:

1) As the head Fruit Guy, Chris Mittelstaedt wants to treat everyone—employees, customers, and suppliers—fairly. The idea that people are motivated to obtain and preserve equitable treatment for themselves stems from

equity theory.

expectancy theory.

motivation-hygiene theory.

goal-setting theory.

scientific management.

2) Like all companies, The Fruit Guys need to be concerned that employees have an internal process that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior in a way that helps the firm achieve its goals. This is best described as

need.

morale.

motive.

motivation.

satisfaction.

3) When developing the human relations function at The Fruit Guys, Chris Mittelstaedt drew from his own unsatisfying experiences as an hourly employee trying to build a career and support a family. Consequently, he wanted his company to value employees’ opinions and to treat and reward them well. Which of the following theories does he most likely follow?

Theory A

Theory X

Scientific management

Theory Y

Motivation Theory

4) The Fruit Guys supply other companies with fresh fruit for their office break rooms. For those companies, the perk of fresh fruit may serve as a(n)_______, according to Frederick Herzberg.

esteem factor

motivation factor

hygiene factor

dissatisfier

safety factor

5) Gabriel Farms, one of The Fruit Guys’ vendors, believes in paying its employees a “living wage,” which is higher than a typical minimum wage. Which of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is satisfied by a living wage?

Social needs

Physiological needs

Self-actualization needs

Esteem needs

Safety needs