One of the most successful grocery chains in America is on strike. Customers and employees are protesting the firing of its CEO. There are not many firms in America where that would happen today. This article on the Market Basket protests in New England has made it into the national press because it is unique. It flies in the face of the dominant business ethic in America which holds that maximizing shareholder value is the mission of the corporation. The deposed CEO has operated the successful firm based upon a strikingly different view of the corporate mission. He claims that the key to the firm's success has been building a link between its employees and its customers. While other firms, which often claim that "employees are their greatest asset", cut employee benefits and downsize in order to maximize shareholder value, Market Basket has demonstrated that the old fashioned ideas held by Market Basket's CEO can be a key to success in business. The owners of Market Basket have prospered under this form of management. A community of shared interest has been established between the employees and its customers.
The firing of the CEO at Market Basket has little to do with the firm's performance. There has been a long history of disputes between the members of the family which own Market Basket. One wing of the family gained control over the board and fired the leader of the other family wing. This kind of thing often happens in family held firms. The fired CEO is currently engaged in discussions with the other wing of the family about the price of a payout that is in the $1.5 billion range. Some members of the controlling family would like to take the money and run. They have little interest in running a business.
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