Summary
Originally Wal-Mart Stores, Walmart Inc. is one of the global highest businesses by turnover and personnel count. Sam Walton created Wal-Mart in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, and concentrated its early expansion in remote regions, avoiding unnecessary confrontation with merchandising behemoths Sears and Kmart (Neebe, 2020). As the business expanded, it introduced new shopping models, such as Sam’s Club discount (1983), storage facilities (1983), and Wal-Mart Hypermarkets (1988) (Neebe, 2020). Walmart’s concentration on consumer service, price transparency, and supply chain optimizations enabled it to become the leading retailer in the USA in 1990 (Neebe, 2020). The corporation, which employs millions of individuals, is a model of successful personnel management. Walmart’s corporate mission and vision statements articulate the company’s essential guiding values. In this aspect, the organization’s success is contingent upon its ability to carry out its vision and goal effectively. This paper aims at discussing the above organization in light of the below-mentioned aspects as discussed throughout the paper.
The organizational aim of Walmart Inc. is to save individuals money so they can live comfortably. This phrase embodies the corporation’s inventor, Sam Walton’s, principles (Neebe, 2020). The firm’s strategic choices reflect this purpose statement, consistent with the corporation’s motto, “Save money. Live better” (Neebe, 2020). According to this declaration, Walmart’s marketing techniques include using pricing as a compelling element to draw potential clients (Neebe, 2020). The importance of this selling feature is shown in numerous corporate strategies. Walmart satisfies the mission declaration “save customers money” element through its reduced selling cost. For instance, shoppers save money by purchasing merchandise from the firm’s stores rather than luxury stores.
Walmart Inc.’s corporate objective is to be the one-stop market for consumers looking to save money regardless of purchasing. This objective was made public during the business organization’s 2017 investor public hearing (Pandey et al., 2021). The prior vision statement stated that the corporation’s goal was to be the leading company in the eyes and thoughts of customers and staff. The shift in the company’s vision highlights Walmart’s strategy shifts in reaction to alterations in the competitive market conditions and the general outlook of the retail sector (Pandey et al., 2021). Previously, the firm aimed to become the sector’s dominating force. Walmart’s vision currently incorporates the same objective but focuses on the corporation’s adaptability in serving customers. For instance, regardless of how customers shop, the institution’s strategic goal is to gain supremacy in conventional brick-and-mortar and electronic purchases.
Description of the Problem
Managerial Decision Making
Decision-making is a vital function of every company. Decisions may be made following months of data acquisition and thought, or they may be made with no contemplation. Individuals may make decisions independently, collaborating with other appropriate individuals in the business or in interactive teams. At Walmart Inc., decision-making is typically delegated to those at the top of the organizational structure, but collaborations are also used to make choices. Walmart Inc. has a terrible track record of decision-making across a variety of operations. First, Walmart Inc. failed to comprehend the German market and hence could not compete with local enterprises, forcing it to exit the country (Tsui-Auch & Chow, 2019). Second, in Mexico, the firm constructed Hige US-style driveways without understanding that the majority of Mexicans lack vehicles and that subway stations were inaccessible to the majority of buyers (Tsui-Auch & Chow, 2019). Finally, the corporation made terrible choices in Bangladesh by employing child labor (Islam et al., 2021). These decisions made by the company’s top management affected the firm’s reputation, leading to reduced customer attraction and thus decreased realized annual profits.
Leadership Styles
Walmart operates on a centralized control structure, and often, the company’s personnel have minimal experience and chance to exchange thoughts regarding work difficulties and other matters with their bosses. The difficulties experienced by the employees are a repercussion of the authoritative management style (Robson & Pitt, 2018). Further, it has been observed that interaction among supervisors and personnel is a concern, as employees feel overburdened and poorly represented in leadership (Robson & Pitt, 2018). Furthermore, inadequate talent advancement and change have hampered personnel and corporate progression (Robson & Pitt, 2018). Walmart prohibits the creation of worker unions and has been known to penalize employees by closing activities when they attempt to form labor unions.
The suggestion mentioned significantly explicates the autocratic atmosphere in Walmart, which makes it demanding for it to maintain staff trust and commitment. The mentality has adversely impacted the conduct of individuals as they suffer numerous sorts of intolerance. The prejudice that stems from the aggressive management style in Walmart is a severe concern in the organization. However, other sorts of prejudice, such as gender, are considered essential to the company’s lousy leadership approaches (Robson & Pitt, 2018). For instance, although women comprise significant corporation personnel, they are often compensated lesser earnings than males (Robson & Pitt, 2018). Undoubtedly, the absence of essential motivator variables such as acknowledgment and career progression among the female population has led to low work engagement. Walmart’s retail-level executives are under pressure to boost the effectiveness of middle management, employees, and shelf stackers due to the autocratic atmosphere. Numerous issues have occurred due to Walmart’s hyper-centralized administration. Due to the working environment, employees are unable to express their views.
Motivation Mechanisms and Rewards
Walmart recruits millions of people, ranking it as one of the largest global employers. However, surveys and comparative evaluations with comparable firms indicate that its compensation rate is remarkably low. Walmart workers must be dependent on government aid to pay rent and maintain a livable standard of living. As a result, employee unhappiness has shown itself in underappreciated employees. Since its establishment, the corporation has been opposed to forming personnel unions and has even shuttered stores due to such formations. Given that Walmart’s CEO earns heftily annually, workforce unhappiness caused by minimal pay per hour immediately poses an organizational behavior challenge. The firm is more concerned with its activities than with its personnel.
Personality Typology of Walmart CEO
McMillon’s management style is also characterized by negative affectivity that manifests through predisposition by articulating negative thoughts such as victimization, frustration, depression, and tension. As a result, it is a characteristic that is negatively correlated with management. An incident that occurred in McMillon’s duties involves the corporation’s logistics operations. The organization received a last-minute transportation order request that needed to be dispatched the very same day. Therefore, this required him and his workers to make additional time sacrifices to satisfy the consumer’s order request, such as skipping breaks, having personnel work overtime, and closing late. The neuroticism personality manifests itself through mood changes, tension, impatience, and sorrow. It draws away employees from the leader and becomes challenging to articulate issues affecting them within the organization.
Performance Evaluation Issues
Performance appraisal includes personnel well-being, assessment accompanied by frequent mentoring, and technology to enhance productivity. At Walmart, performance is assessed after three months and then annually on the hire date. This approach was integrated into the more extensive business calendar, as Walmart’s business objectives are attained by alignment of performance evaluation with the company’s overarching business objectives (Pulakos et al., 2019). As a result, establishing a relationship between employee effectiveness and organizational productivity is challenging. Thus, this indicates that if the evaluation process is not conducted correctly, there may be negative consequences for the business. Additionally, it may be unsuccessful if the evaluation tool is not aligned with the institution’s culture and structure. Walmart’s performance evaluation system identifies performance issues as decreased productivity owing to tardiness and absenteeism, errors in documentation or accounting, and distrust in customer contacts.
Team Conflicting Issues
The principal team conflicting problem that Walmart Inc. faces is gender and sex discrimination among the employees. Substantive team conflicts have been evident at Walmart over objectives, responsibilities, and distribution of resources. As a result, prejudices based on ethnic, economic, ideological, and religious ties are unavoidable in the workplace. Segregation of this type affects executives, employees, and users alike. Additionally, conflicts between the employees and the human resource manager over long working hours with low pay have seen unrest.
Suggested Solutions and Recommendations
Creating a positive working environment is critical for promoting effective corporate behavior and, hence improving organizational effectiveness. The following suggestions may be examined to provide acceptable answers to the Walmart Inc. organization’s difficulties mentioned above. First, given that wages are a significant motivator for employees, Walmart should adopt a consistent salary structure that fully meets their psychological demands. The objective, as mentioned earlier, might be accomplished by adhering to standard salary rules in its operating nations. Second, the organization should adopt a more motivational leadership style to communicate successfully between supervisors and workers.
As a result, Walmart will be able to foster inclusion and expand personnel career development. Third, Walmart’s processes and practices should be revised to account for inclusiveness. As a result, racial, sexual, ethnic, economic, ideological, and religious partiality can be minimized. The company’s administration should educate managers and staff on improving interactions, particularly in varied cultural circumstances. Fourth, more notably, Walmart should permit the creation of labor unions, which are critical for career advancement, increased employee commitment and loyalty, and improved worker effectiveness. Fifth, adopting a behavior-based methodology review is the most excellent method since it enables executives to comprehend each employee’s unique demands. Recognizing a firm’s personnel needs facilitates interaction, emphasizes personality, management, and motivation, and fosters employee proficiency and belief.
Walmart’s performance will increase as a result of the behaviorist perspective. Therefore, it bridges the divide between business concepts and ideas and worker demands. As a result, an atmosphere that is focused, competent, and healthy is formed. While Walmart has an anti-union stance, unions assist set specifications for skill levels, salary rates, and labor conditions in today’s workforce. Simultaneously, they contribute significantly to improving individuals’ working circumstances and creating a favorable workplace setting for both the corporation and the personnel.
Lastly, taking appropriate decision-making strategies to implement its business activities would reduce losses and boost profitability. Devising necessary and well-researched marketing strategies would enable it to fit and compete favorably in new market environments to avoid incidents like that in Germany. Additionally, effective decision-making by the top management would see the engagement of the employees. When individuals actively engage in the company’s decision-making process, they are unrestricted in presenting their innovative ideas. Therefore, none of them is personally accountable for any failures; instead, the entire group is held responsible.
References
Neebe, K. (2020). Sustainability at Walmart: Success over the long haul. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 32(2), 64-71. Web.
Pandey, R., Dillip, D., Jayant, J., Vashishth, K., Nikhil, N., Qi, T. J., Mei, T.C., Xin, R.Y., & Qhi, L. Y. (2021). Factors influencing organization success: A case study of Walmart. International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality in Asia Pacific, 4(2), 112-123. Web.
Tsui-Auch, L. S., & Chow, D. (2019). MNEs’ agency within institutional contexts: A study of Walmart’s post-acquisition practices in Mexico, Germany, and Japan. Journal of International Management, 25(2), 100655. Web.
Islam, M. A., Deegan, C., & Haque, S. (2021). Corporate human rights performance and moral power: A study of retail MNCs’ supply chains in Bangladesh. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 74, 102163. Web.
Robson, K., & Pitt, L. (2018). People of Walmart: Targeting the world’s largest retailer and its customers. SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals.
Pulakos, E. D., Mueller-Hanson, R., & Arad, S. (2019). The evolution of performance management: Searching for value. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 6, 249-271. Web.