Family Business-Cadbury (Chocolate) Essay

The Cadbury company is known for its chocolate-covered Cadbury Crà ©me Eggs, one of its many confectionary products.   Cadbury Chocolates hold a formidale 10% of the total market share of confectionary industry, making it the second-largest candy maker in the world next only to   Mars. Other candy brands produced by Cadbury are Dairy Milk, Flake, Trebor and Bassett, and Green & Black’s (Answers, 2009). I.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Organisational Structure Cadbury is a leading global confectionery company with an outstanding portfolio of chocolate, gum and candy brands. The company employs around 45,000 people and operate directly in more than 60 countries. Cadbury dates back to 1824, or 185 years and counting.   John Cadbury, the original owner, first opened shop in Birmingham, UK.   The first products sold were tea and cocoa. In 1831, Cadbury produced drinking chocolate and cocoa. In 1969, Cadbury merged with Schweppes and became Cadbury Schweppes. In 2003, Cadbury acquired Adams Confectionery which owned the Trident and Halls brands. On 7 May 2008, a demerging of Cadbury Schweppes occurred. Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc takes care of American beverages business and Cadbury takes care of the chocolate and confectionary business. The type of organisational structure being implemented in Cadbury is hierarchical structure. In a hierarchical structure, the chain of command starts from Managing director down to the Clerical Support assistants.   The top management makes the decision for the company.   These decisions are passed down to its staffs.   In this kind of organisational structure, the procedures and roles are clearly delineated.   This way the accountabilities are openly identified (Coursework Info, 2003). Cadbury organisation is being run based on the principles of democracy. Decisions are arrived at by conferring with several members of the company giving them a chance to voice their opinions before decisions are finalized (Coursework Info, 2003). Ideas are being discussed and given much thought as a group. The entire Cadbury organisation is built on Democratic structure because Cadbury wants all members to know and understand the importance of roles they are assuming.   Individuals are also given the chance to demonstrate their initiative, at the same time, and they are required to work as a team (Coursework Info, 2003). Cadbury remained a family business all throughout its operation.   Even when it merged wtih the Schweppes, Cadbury chairman must be a direct descendant of original owner John Cadbury and majority of its shares of stock are owned by family members or trusts. The Schweppes Limited however is never family-oriented.   For almost 200 years since its inception, the top management does not belong to a Schweppe (Answers, 2009). Current Cadbury Top Management Roger Carr, Chairman He became the Chairman in July 2008 replacing Sir John Sunderland. He became part of the Board of Directors in January 2001 and assumed the role Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Non-executive Director in May 2003. He is also the Chairman of Centrica plc (Cadbury, 2009). Todd Stitzer, Chief Executive Officer He became part of the Board in March 2000 and CEO in May 2003. He was Chief Strategy Officer between March 2000 and May 2003. Prior to this he was President & CEO of Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. between 1997 and 2000 (Cadbury, 2009). Andrew Bonfield, Chief Financial Officer Designate Became CFO Designate in February 2009 and CFO in April 2009. II.   Four Non-Core Elements a. Production United Kingdom Cadbury UK owns Trebor Bassett, Fry’s, Maynard’s and Halls. The confectionery company in the UK is Cadbury Trebor Bassett.   In August 2004, Cadbury UK had eight factories and 3,000 staff. Biscuits under Cadbury brand, such as Cadbury Fingers, are using the licence of Burton’s Foods. Ice cream using Cadbury products, is made by Frederick’s Dairies. Cadbury’s cakes and chocolate spread are made by Premier Foods. United States Cadbury plc’s in the United States owns confectionery unit Cadbury Adams, which produces gum and mints not chocolates. Hershey’s bought the chocolate business from Cadbury’s in 1988. The chocolate products may bear the Cadbury name but the chocolates are actually manufactured by Hershey’s and are being sold in Hershey’s chocolate stores. This has led to a marked distinct taste of the Cadbury products such as Whole Nut sold in the United States.   The chocolate is less sweet compared to those sold in the United Kingdom (Hersheys, 2009). In line with the production of Cadbury chocolates using cocoa for its main ingredients, the company forged ties with government bodies to promote the welfare of its cocoa farmers.   In January 2008, Cadbury formed the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership with the United Nations Development Programme, local governments, farmers and communities (Cadbury, 2009). This aims to promote sustainability of cocoa-producing areas such as the farmers in Ghana, India, Indonesia and in the Caribbean.   Cadbury intends to put up  £45 million to finance activities that would (Cadbury, 2009): †¢ increase incomes of the cocoa farmer †¢ find alternative sources of rural income †¢ invest in programs that promote the community †¢ to create partnerships Production activities of Cadbury have been aimed at producing the best chocolates at reasonable prices. By taking care of the welfare of the farmers, they are assured that they qualities of the main ingredient in their chocolates – cocoa – are not compromised. By making the farmers happy, they in turn, reaped benefits from it.