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Market Basket

Rachel Roth

STC

Instructor

Issues in Organizational Leadership

6-24-2021
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Market Basket

Market Basket was highly different from its competitors in business. The organization

has always had one step ahead of its rival company, something which made it unique and gained

popularity among the populace in all its years in existence. The Market Basket is not a typical

organization focused on only serving the customers. The company has developed a community

and a big family with the relationship between the workers, management, customers, and

vendors. Management has a massive influence in creating an organization that supports one

another through happy and challenging times (Ton, Zochan & Reavis, 2015). Developing an

excellent relationship with the community and learning the immediate culture has earned the

organization a place in the customer’s hearts. The company is designed in a system where clients

identify with the management, which strives extremely hard to ensuring contentment. With such

a strategy, the company is bound to be ahead of all its rivals. It takes massive efforts to identify

with clients manipulating that opportunity and converting it to profitability.

Market Basket had a business model that focused on the people, debt avoidance and

selling entities at low profitable prices. The model was highly successful under Arthur T’s

leadership and management. Arthur T. Demoulas built his fervent loyalty mostly by being a

good guy and a consistent leader, he ran Market Basket with a people-first philosophy, offering

some of the best benefits in the industry to his workers (Himelstein, 2020). The first concept on

people extended to the clients, employees, suppliers, and vendors are working towards Market

Basket’s growth. The organization ensured that employees were excellently trained in customer

relations. They comprehended the significance of establishing a close relationship with clients as

the basis for overall success and the objective for the company formation (Ton et al., 2015). The

model focused on understanding client culture and incorporating it within the business premises.
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Clients love places where they are accorded importance, and Market Basket dwelled on that

strategy as the selling focal point. Workers were well trained on handling client requirements and

ensuring satisfaction to captivate their loyalty and receive referrals to family and friends. The

employees were well trained on their etiquette and communication techniques to ensure there are

minimal behavioral complaints. The management ensured every worker was given a platform to

disseminate their expertise. Therefore, they were motivated to give their best chances in

increasing production and sales to secure massive profits after compiling end year business

reports and performance.

The debt avoidance concept is part of the successful Market Business strategies. Debt is

hugely discouraged since it lags the organization behind. For instance, the company cannot

maximize its profits and is forced to pay off the impending debts. Such loopholes were

eradicated in Market Basket. They maximized the available capital multiplying the profits,

ensuring that its growth and development were not based on acquiring debts from financial

institutions. That policy ensured that the company minimized their usage and focused on

acquiring essential products requested by the clientele population (Ton et al., 2015). The

management invested in the employees’ capabilities to winning more customer loyalty, ensuring

that they doubled profits within a business year and used the excess amount in expounding

market business. The organization thrived on being debt-free. The mechanism was another factor

that helped them maintain their top position in the business charts. Most organizations run for

debts to salvage the faced situation forgetting that they will have to pay for such debts for an

extended period.

Additionally, clients are attracted to Market Basket since they acquire their products at

lower prices than other companies. It might not be an exceptionally well-laid-out plan without
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diving deep into the details. The management focused on developing solid vendor and supplier

connections. They ensured that they had a high bargaining power over the vendors and acquired

products at desired prices. Therefore, the strategy ensured that despite selling affordable products

and attracting clients, the organization still made massive profits. Moreover, Market Basket

ensured that local vendors were encouraged to sell their entities to it. The firm has a well-laid out

market structure that facilitated massive research in understanding the target population, ensuring

that they acquire the right products from the vendors. The strategy helped them in gaining client

trust since the products are obtained from trusted sources. The management ensured to develop

excellent relations with the vendors and maintained acquisition of products at affordable prices

(Ton et al., 2015). Moreover, suppliers distributed products to customers and ensured positive

and positive feedback, which facilitated contentment. The management ensures they created a

diverse community inclusive of both the young and old, thus deriving belongingness.

However, the stakeholder committee was not impressed by Arthur T’s leadership and

management strategies, thus firing him from his occupational post. The stakeholder board

speculated that his low-price commodity selling would cause stagnation on the profit margin.

The suitable solution was firing and making essential changes within the premises. However, the

news was not well received by the employees, customers, and vendors. They rebelled and urged

all clients to boycott Market Basket stores (Ton et al., 2015). Arthur T had been the best leader,

and the organization experienced massive growth and expansion in the local region. Eradicating

such leadership will introduce another system that will not be fair to them. Moreover, Arthur has

worked in the organization for over fifty years and eliminating his presence will stagnate the

business. The workers and the vendors speculate that the new changes might include selling the

company. That action will negatively implicate the community that Arthur T strived to build. It
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is pretty absurd that the committee realizes how his leadership will stall the business after over

fifty years of services. Therefore, the boycotts and rebellion purposely fought for his rights and

ensured he was reinstated for accessible business running.

Something that made the collective workers’ action work is the determination to helping

their CEO get back his rightful position. Arthur had been supported throughout the years when

most workers began working within that premises. They have been well trained and successfully

upgraded their skills. He ensured that promotions were an inside job, and no outside worker was

given a position when anybody on the premises had enough capability to assume that position.

Some employees have all their family working within the premises, and a new leader will review

and change the policy (Ton et al., 2015). Arthur has been available and participated in

community activities, thus developed an excellent relationship with everybody working in

Market Basket. Every leader has their strategy they see fit for an organization, and eradicating

Arthur means that a lot at stake is bound to change. Moreover, the workers will lose some of the

work benefits and inclusion in profit distribution.

The new leaders might think of lowering their wages and increasing their work hours.

But, instead, the workers analyzed all of the positivity they experienced when working with

Arthur T and collaborated to ensure that he is back (Ton et al., 2015). Despite the massive risk of

losing their jobs, it was worth it since most of their experiences had been shaped by Arthur T,

and they are obligated to show their love and support. Eventually, the worker’s efforts were

successful after long boycott weeks, and Arthur T was reinstated to his rightful position in

Market Basket. Thus, despite the new structure, his previous leadership system will be a total

success considering the massive support he received from the workers, customers, and vendors.
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Reference

Himelstein, C. (2022). Market basket: Leadership over ownership. HALO. Retrieved

August 27, 2022, from https://halo.com/market-basket-leadership-over-ownership/

Ton, Z., Kochan, T. A., & Reavis, C. (2015). We are Market Basket. Case. In: MIT Sloan

Management Case Collection.