MGT 511 slp 3 Work-Life Issues WALMART - Essay Example

Running Head: MGT 511 SLP 3 WORK-LIFE ISSUES – WALMART MGT 511 SLP 3 Work-Life Issues – WalMart Submitted by: XXXXXXX Number: XXXXX Name: XXXXXX University of XXXXXX Date of Submission: XX – XX – 2011 Introduction: WalMart has been in the news for a number of different issues relating to their employees. This paper aims at discussing the work life policies of the company and to also discuss in brief the practices of the company. The paper will detail the pro and cons of the company’s work life policy and also the impact that it has on the employee effectiveness.

WalMart’s Work Life policies: The company’s website provides a wide and detailed explanation of the company’s focus and commitment on making work as flexible as possible for the employees (WalMart Diversity, 2011). However in the true sense, it has been noted that there have been a number of issues that have been brought out in terms of the company and the excessive work that the company puts on the employees. Employee complains have clearly been on the fact that the company forces employees to work overtime and also the pay provided by WalMart is also quite low.

This leads to a number of issues for the employees. There are a number of pros and cons for this approach of work life policy that the company uses. Firstly, the pros are that it proves to be beneficial for the company and helps the company increase the revenues of the company (Armstrong, 2006). However in the long run this can prove to be destructive for the company as it will only lead to higher employee attrition and this can prove to be very expensive for the company. The main cons for this method is that it leaves the employees dissatisfied and also leads to work life imbalance for the employees.

Based on the company website, it seems that the company plays a lot of attention to social responsibility and ethical work environment. However based on employees views, this seem to be the absolute opposite. Based on employee reviews and the latest news on the company, it is evident that WalMart does not pay a lot of attention to the overall work life balance. The impact of this is clearly seen on the employee motivation and has also been noted to impact the overall employee performance as well.

As has clearly been noted by Greenhouse, “”Henry Ford made sure he paid his workers enough so that they could afford to buy his cars,” said William McDonough, executive vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union. “Wal-Mart is doing the polar opposite of Henry Ford. Wal-Mart brags about how its low prices help poor Americans, but its low wages are helping increase the number of Americans in poverty”” (Greenhouse, 2005). Conclusions: In conclusion, it is evident that WalMart does not show any commitment to the employee work life balance and although the company claims to provide the employees with the best work environment, there is little that has been done for the employees in terms of developing work life balance as well as to provide employees with better work flexibility and working hours.

References Armstrong, M. (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page. Greenhouse, S. (2005). At Wal-Mart, Choosing Sides Over $9.68 an Hour. Retrieved February 07, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/04/business/04wages.html WalMart Diversity. (2011). Diversity. Retrieved January 29, 2011, from http://walmartstores.com/Diversity/299.aspx