&Pizza Case Study Analysis

&Pizza Case Study Analysis

            The concept of shared value refers to a set of organizational policies and practices that promotes competitiveness while simultaneously enhancing the social and economic conditions of its immediate environment such as the community (Porter & Kramer, 2019). Although the majority of organizations have dedicated departments dealing with corporate social responsibility, the aims and objectives differ with those of shared value. This is because shared value focuses on the simultaneous growth of both the organization and the community. Besides, Porter & Kramer (2019) state that in shared value, the community is a core aspect of the organization, while in corporate social responsibility considers societal issues as peripheral operations. Therefore, the central element of the shared value concept is to deliver value rather than benefits. &pizza, a fast-casual pizza company established in 2012, can be considered to have several opportunities of sharing value with its community. As described by Michael Lastoria, the co-founder of &Pizza, the organization aims to become the leading fast pizza place in the U.S. that considers both the immediate environment and its business objectives as similar milestones. The essence of this essay, therefore, is to describe several areas that &pizza can explore to achieve a value shared organization.

Developing value is one of the significant opportunities available to &pizza. As described by Porter & Kramer (2019), developing value in the shared value concept focuses on employees’ empowerment. Under the current management model of &pizza, employees are paid a minimum wage of $14 per hour, which is higher than the average $7.25 salary paid by the majority of fast-food players. However, the concept of shared value focuses on more than monetary benefits. Instead, the theory emphasizes value development which can be achieved through employee training sessions. In such a system, &pizza will be able to increase its capacity as trained employees are more efficient. On the other hand, trained employees are equipped to progress in their professional careers, which affects the community positively..

&Pizza should continually reconceive their products and markets. One of the significant value associated challenges in the fast-food industry is developing healthy products. In the past decade, the fast-food sector has been blamed for the increased obesity in the U.S. Therefore, unhealthy lifestyle has become a major topic in the community. To create a shared value concept, the management of &Pizza should introduce vegan and low carbs substitute products in their menu. Besides, information on the number of calories in every product should be provided to the customer through means such as labels. Such changes will increase the level of transparency in the organization, leading to customer loyalty.

The organization should redefine productivity in its supply chain. It is the role of the supply chain to coordinate the purchasing, storage, and supply of the organization’s products. Under the current business model, &Pizza incorporates less energy consumption in its cookers which consumes less power. However, the organization should consider moving towards green production, where less packaging materials are used. To achieve this objective, &Pizza should create more eating spaces that will encourage people to eat the food in the store rather than taking it away. Such changes will increase organization and customer interaction, less cost of packaging, and increased sales.

Shared value is a concept that focuses on both the organization and its community. In this system of management, the community is at the centre of the decision-makingprocess. Besides, the aim of the organization shifts from that of benefiting, to that of creating and spreading value. In the case of &Pizza, such value can be further enhanced by developing value, continually reconceive the products and markets, and by redefining productivity in its supply chain.

References

Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2019). Creating shared value. In Managing sustainable business (pp. 323-346). Springer, Dordrecht.