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Which grocery store chain comes to mind when you think of high quality natural and organic foods? Chances are the answer to this question is Whole Foods. Founded in 1980, Whole Foods is now a Fortune 500 company, with sales of nearly $15 billion generated from its 460 stores and 87,000 employees. Even if there's not a Whole Foods market located near you, or you could care less about whether your food has hydrogenated fats or artificial colors and preservatives, you may be familiar with the company because of accolades and coverage from news and business publications. As examples, the company has been named to Fortune's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" each year since the list's inception in 1998. It's also one of Fortune's "World's Most Admired Companies," and has appeared on Newsweek's list of "Top Green Companies in the U.S.," and Forbes' list of "100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America." So, what accounts for Whole Foods' tremendous growth and reputation? To sum it up in one word, the answer may be "teams." The original idea behind Whole Foods was that the world was ready for a natural foods supermarket. However, the company's success has been driven largely by a strong set of values that are enacted through teams and supportive team practices. The company believes that teams not only result in the type of collective learning and intelligence that promotes incremental progress, but also that teams reinforce a sense of community and dedication to the company, customers, and other stakeholders in society. Although many companies claim that they value and rely on teams, Whole Foods' belief in teams is all- encompassing. Each store is structured around 8 to 10 teams, and because these teams are largely self- managed, they are teams in the true sense of the word. Team members not only work together to carry out the responsibilities of their department, but they also meet regularly to discuss issues, make decisions, and solve problems. Team members are also given feedback about how well their team is performing relative to historical standards and to other teams, and their compensation is tied to the performance of their team as well. Because the fate of team members is shared at Whole Foods, employees are motivated to work cooperatively, and this maximizes the chance that the interests of everyone are satisfied Teams are taken very seriously at Whole Foods. Not only are company employees referred to as "team members," but teams are given a great deal of freedom to make important decisions. For example, teams help decide what items to order and sell, and how to price and promote them. Although it might not seem all that unusual for a company to give teams the liberty to make decisions so they can carry out their core functional responsibilities, Whole Foods goes much further in providing autonomy to their teams. Perhaps there is no better example of this than how new team members are hired at the company In most organizations, individuals seeking employment fill out an application form or submit a rsum. Those with qualifications that are judged to match a job description are interviewed by human resource personnel or a manager to make sure the applicant fits with the job and organization. At Whole Foods, the process is quite different and much more involved. Applicants not only fill out an application and have one-on-one interviews with managers, but they also have interviews with panels composed of recruiters, managers, and select team members. But that's not all. An applicant who makes it through this process is placed on a team for a 30-day trial period, after which the team votes for whether or not to accept the applicant on their team. Applicants who don't get a two-thirds vote are out of that team. They may be placed on a new team, where the trial process begins anew, or they leave the company. This hiring process typically takes about 60 days and is applied at all levels of the organization, "from cashiers on checkout teams to financial analysts in the home office." Whole Foods believes that hiring decisions should be made by the team members, in part, because they're the ones who are most directly affected by the choices that are made. A new hire who ends up hurting a team's performance will reduce bonuses paid to team members, whereas the opposite would be true of a hire that ends up promoting a team's performance. Whole Foods also believes that the team members themselves are the best judges of who might fit within their team. Finally, involving team members in the hiring process promotes a sense of ownership for the decision, and following from this, team members may be more inclined to help a new hire who is struggling to catch on. 1. What label would best describe the type of team that Whole Foods uses in its stores? Explain. 2. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of Whole Foods' hiring process with respect to managing team composition. 3. What steps could Whole Foods take to mitigate potential disadvantages of their hiring process