The Maple Leaf Food case study, Essays (high school) of Organizational Structures and Procedures

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Case Analysis Unit 4: Maple Leaf Foods: Changing the System BUSI4133 Managing Organizational Change Bachelor of Business Administration Student ID: Professor Hamid Kazemi February 07, 2023

Introduction The Maple Leaf Food case study indicates that the company faced challenges back in 2008 when its food caused people illness and death. They had to recall all of its products and made a public speech to the community as such a big incident like this significantly hurt the company’s reputation and its future growth. On top of this, the company was required to meet environmental and public health policies. With professional expertise, Kuhn – the company’s Vice President, and her colleagues had to come up with a plan that could change the entire company’s operation. Throughout the paper, it will provide a detailed analysis along with potential recommendations for Maple Leaf Food and its management team. Company Background Maple Leaf Food is a Canadian company with a large diverse portfolio of several different food products with a history of over 100 years old. It mainly produces meat, poultry as well as other types of dairy foods for its customers. Recently, the company has been focusing on purchasing and acquiring other competitors. Two of them on the list are the bakery company – Pioneer French Bakery and the pasta company – Pasta Bella (Maple Leaf Foods, 2022). Going through many years of operation, the company now reported revenues of 4.5 billion in 2021 with over 14,000 employees. It is proudly considered the largest Canadian producer of cooked meat and poultry with about 21 manufacturing locations around the world. However, with the restricted policies of environmental and food safety legislation, it turns out to be a challenge for the company to ensure it meets all the requirements; especially after the huge incident in 2008 happened. Analysis of Case Study

standard electrical sources as well as solar power so that the firm reduces utility costs while not compromising productivity. For wood waste, an option is to find a way to turn the food waste into an actual product such as animal feed. When addressing food insecurity, the company has to address the availability of food as well as the price of food. The issue with resolving these issues comes from having to balance sustainability given that mass production of food can be credited to methods leaving a large carbon footprint. To address food insecurity while embracing sustainability, the company needs to be able to increase production, and become more efficient with changes to their day-to-day operation that leave a lower or reduced carbon footprint. This can come in either the form of powering production through more environmentally friendly means or expanding into food market segments that address the market demand for more protein where the emissions from production are lower. Alternatives Based on this analysis, Maple Leaf Food needs to have a strategy in place that can reduce carbon emissions without compromising profitability, reduce food waste, enter market segments that do not leave as big of a carbon footprint, and being able to increase production. This section will provide potential alternatives that the firm can use to meet its goals.

1. Tree plant program
2. Plant-based protein products
3. Operational overhaul Tree Plant Program

A program the company can incorporate is by planting a certain number of trees for every certain amount of products that get sold. Instead of having to overhaul its operations which can require a hefty investment, Maple Leaf Food can instead give back to the community by helping get trees planted to help offset the carbon emissions food production can do. Plant-based Protein Products Another alternative the company can use is by producing plant-based products. Plant-based products can produce fewer emissions than their popular meat products produce but may be more costly. The company should invest in R&D to make plant-based meat alternatives more cost competitive. This way they can provide more environmentally friendly food options while addressing food insecurity. Operational Overhaul Rather than change their product portfolio, the company can change how their operations are run to see how they can increase production while reducing their carbon footprint. This can be done by finding energy-saving alternatives to their food production or processing facilities. Examples of technology that they can include can be solar panels to reduce electricity consumption, water filtering systems, and direct air capture machinery that can increase co2 absorption in areas where the company produces the most carbon emissions. Recommendations The recommended alternative is the tree planting program. It gives back to the community, and helps combat climate change while requiring little change to the company's day to day operation.

Reference Maple Leaf Foods. (2022). The History. Retrieved from https://www.mapleleaffoods.com/about/history/