Overview
Discussion: This discussion is about Chobani, the yogurt company founded by Turkish immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya in 2005. He had been looking for a business venture that he could take on and became aware of an abandoned yogurt factory in New Berlin, New York, a small town in the middle of Upstate New York’s dairy country. From humble beginnings, he has built the world’s leading provider of Greek style yogurt. His goals have always been less about profit than about building a values-driven company that cares for all of its stakeholders.
Read the following articles:
- Article: Ignatius, A. (2022). Chobani Founder Hamdi Ulukaya on the Journey from Abandoned Factory to Yogurt PowerhouseLinks to an external site.. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 1–18.
- Article: Lagorio-Chafkin, C. (2022). Chobani Founder: 'Innovation Doesn't Happen When You're Comfortable'Links to an external site.. Inc.
- Article: Blendhub Staff. (2023). The “Why” of Innovative CompaniesLinks to an external site.. Blendhub.
Reflect on your time so far in the MBA program. You've discussed and written about "values-based strategies" before. And there is a reason for that. Values-based strategies often work in business because they foster a strong company culture, attract and retain top talent, build customer loyalty by aligning with their personal values, improve employee engagement, and guide ethical decision-making, ultimately leading to a more positive brand image and stronger competitive advantage in the market. Given this, discuss the following questions:
- What is your first impression of the Chobani approach to strategy?
- Do you agree with Ulukaya that values drive performance? Or is this all a bunch of hogwash?
- Do you see any of this in your organization? Do you think it would work?
Assignment: The Coffee Shop is a simulation designed to teach about business and strategy. You will:
- Learn to formulate a strategy for their business,
- Implement the strategy through a range of operational decisions,
- Review the results and adapt the plans based on the results obtained and changing circumstances.
For some background on setting up a coffee shop you may want to check this out: Lilienthal, M. (2025). From $80 to $6,000 : How three small coffee shops got started.Links to an external site.
Access The Coffee Shop simulation located in your Harvard Coursepack. Complete all three levels of the simulation, then submit a 2 – 3 page paper that answers the following questions.
- How did you decide on your strategy, and how was your strategy translated into operational decisions?
- How did developments in the external and competitive impact decisions during the game?
- How did results and feedback received during the game impact future decisions?
- If you were not constrained by the parameters of the simulation, what would you do differently?