Organizational Behavior in Walmart - Essay Example

Introduction Every successful organization has an efficient responsible group of employees behind it. In defining an organization we could say that it is a hardworking group of people who are assigned to specific responsibilities and who work in unison with one another to achieve a predetermined and specific goal. These goals or purposes may vary in its character of progress depending upon the management and workers who run it. In this paper we are going to discuss about the organizational behavior in Wal-Mart and try to analyze the progress of the company and the success it has seen over the years. Establishment of Wal-Mart How has Wal-Mart evolved over time and has Sam Walton’s vision been fulfilled? Sam Walton, the visionary of Wal-Mart did not have an easygoing when he owned a small chain a variety stores in the 1950’s because of the tough competition from a number of other regional stores in the market. Long before the inception of Wal-Mart, Sam Walton toured across the country and making a study of everything he came across that was related to discount retailing. The more he studied about it he was increasingly convinced that consumers in America needed a different kind of store. Therefore, Sam trusted his instincts and together with his wife Helen, pumped in about 95% of the money in Rogers, Ark for his very first Wal-Mart store in 1962 and by 1972, there were a total of 15 Wal-Mart stores across the country. In fact, it was in 1972 that Wal-Mart stock began for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange. By the end of the decade the company expanded to 276 stores scattered over 11 states. This growth was primarily due to the infusion of capital over the years. In 1983, the Wal-Mart store came of age as it expanded into “Sam’s Club member’s warehouse. In 1988, the first Wal-Mart supercenter was established, a complete grocery store comprising of 36 separate departments for general merchandise. Employment at Wal-Mart By the year 1989, the Wal-Mart business boomed by way of 1402 stores and 123 locations for Sam’s Clubs. The rate of employment escalated 10 fold as the growth of sales shot up from $1 billion during the 1980’s to $ 26 billion in the years that followed. Currently, Wal-Mart is considered to be one among the world’s best and most successful retailers of the 21st century, with approximately 8,100 stores employing around 2.1 million employees and associates who serve approximately 176 million customers each year. From what we know of the history of Wal-Mart, that is not doubt that it could be a perfect example in portraying how the company manages its growth by always keeping its values insight. The underlying key value of Wal-Mart is “Customer service.” According to Sam in his autobiography, he states that “if you think about it from the point of view of the customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; and a pleasant shopping experience.” (Sam Walton, Walmart) Wal-Mart, the discount store, is undoubtedly the largest company that serves us with almost everything essential spreading over many countries owes its success to the employees who are treated equally well and instilled with the feeling of oneness which happens to be a crucial part of the organizational behavior. Organizational Behavior within Wal-Mart What is the Organizational Climate at Wal-Mart? The chain of discount stores has gained immense success and popularity, the cause being their philosophy, vision, mission and goals. Wal-Mart, one of the largest companies in the world had a huge number of employees and this demanded a lot of attention including specific techniques to keep the employees interested in working for the company beyond their own self satisfactions. The success of the company over decades has been carried on without any deterioration because of its employees who were termed as “associates” by Walton. The enthusiasm and cheer that filled the employers made it easy for them to give their absolute commitment towards bringing out the best result. Work motivation theories and research have tended to focus either on individual motivation, ignoring contextual influences of team process on individuals. [Gilad Chen and Ruth Kanfer, 2006] When the individuals are treated as the most important cause for the success of the company and they are made to realize it, the success prolongs. Primarily, Wal-Mart utilizes three important organizational techniques or concepts that contribute to the organizational behavior within the company. These are- 1) Organizational culture, 2) Good communication and 3) Practices in human resources. These organizational concepts have helped the company to move from strength to strength, sometimes successful but at other times not so successful. It is a game of trial and error which has evolved over time and has improved efficiency and consistency in their operations. Wal-Mart’s “culture of control” strategy has helped them to have an easy control over their employees ensuring the best results. At times, Wal-Mart’s reputation was at stake when they faced snags in organizational behavior. Nevertheless, the company has come a long way in spite of the adverse criticism. Another good move of the Wal-Mart organization is that it promised all their employees a part of their profit according to the “Profit Sharing Plan” that created a positive attitude among them and encouraged each one to earn more for one’s own self in turn helping in the betterment of the company. In spite of the great progress Wal-Mart has made, yet it continues in its endeavors of research in the field. The research and testing takes place in the RFID Laboratory, in addition to testing different equipment in Texas. The eight participating suppliers were “Gillette, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft Foods, Nestlé Purina PetCare Co., Procter & Gamble and Unilever.” (Mark Roberti, RFID News) In passing her comments about the testing Linda Dillman, the CIO of Wal-Mart stated that, "It isn't easy being a pioneer . . . But that's how progress is made and these eight companies are at the forefront of revolutionizing the way we do business." (Mark Roberti, RFID News) Though Wal-Mart is known for its unwavering success for decades now, its flaws are not negligible. Wal-Mart had strict policies against working overtime and those mangers who encouraged it were eventually dismissed. Yet, some employers did work overtime which were off records as it happened before and after the employees clocked in and clocked out. Not many were aware about this to conclude negativities about the company but it surely created a bad image among those who discovered this truth. Wal-Mart engages in a philosophy of global operations and this in turn has a great impact on the communities closely associated with it in their own neighborhoods in the form of loyal customers. Wal-Mart is also associated in helping communities across the world but providing financial and volunteer support to scores of community based organizations another charitable trusts and by providing opportunities for the associates as well as the customers to give back something to the community they live in. in this respect, Wal-Mart Stores are shining example of a generous organization that creates a great impact not only on its employers and customers that also on a worldwide level. It also lends great support the field of education by coming up with the “New Teacher Rewards Program, by giving incentives to teachers who purchase classroom supplies on a regular basis. Wal-Mart has clear-cut strategy and direction and the progressive outcome and expansion of its outlets is proof enough of its organizational skills. The desired future of a company is their vision or strategic intent. According to Lynch (2000) Effective strategies leverage relative organizational strengths against relevant market opportunities and either negate or correct relative organizational weaknesses against likely market threats. The stakeholders are indispensable to the company and at the same time depend on it. In fact, the relationship is mutual. As (Johnson & Scholes (2002) p206) state, “Stakeholders are individual or groups who depend upon the organization to fulfill their own goals and on whom, in turn, the organization depends.” Conclusion Every organization has its own unique attributes and specific goals towards which the management and employees work hard to achieve. Managers who are in charge of different groups of employees are constantly under pressure because they are minutely scrutinized by the employees who look up to them to keep up with the ethical norms of the organization. Behavior within the organization is of utmost importance. Respect and proper communication is mutual and maintaining cordial relationships with everyone is an art that has to be cultivated because it works out to be an indispensable component of any good organization. The tried and tested Concepts and techniques of organizational behavior and its attitude to adapt to changes has resulted in paving the path for greater success of the company which has made itself a name to reckon with not only on the home front but on a global level. Even though its founder Sam Walton left Helen a widow when he passed away on April 19th, 2007, the company has moved on to greater success. References Johnson, G; Scholes, K. & Whittington, R. (2008) Exploring Corporate Strategy (text and cases). 8th ed. London: Prentice Hall Lynch, R. (2000) Corporate Strategy. 2nd ed. London: Pitman Organizational Behavior at Wal-Mart www.academictermpapers.com/.../ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAVIOR_AT_WALMART_.html Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. History www.walmartstores.com/AboutUs/297.aspx Mark Roberti, RFID News/ Wal-Mart Begins RFID Rollout- RFID Journal www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/926/1/1 Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE) www.walmartstores.com The Good and Bad of Wal-Mart's Culture http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Human%20Resource%20and%20Organization%20Behavior/Good%20and%20Bad%20of%20Wal-Mart%20Culture-Human%20Resource%20Management%20Case%20Studies.htm Research in Organizational Behavior: An Annual Series of Analytical Essays http://books.google.com/books?id=RKkxJnn73UoC&pg=PA216&dq=journals+on+organizational+behavior#v=onepage&q=&f=false Read More