Assignment: Homework - 10% WAL –
MART’S WORLD
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
BUSI2311: Principles Of Management
Fall 2012
Lecturer: Kumarashvari SUBRAMANIAM
Section 203
Group
Members
ID
Nouf Alnaami
201000479
Maryam Al-Zayer
200801457
Hanan Allam
200901765
Hana Al-Mofarej
200800438
Eman Alharbi
200600559
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
BUSI2311: Principles Of Management
Fall 2012
Lecturer: Kumarashvari SUBRAMANIAM
Section 203
Assignment: Homework - 10%
WAL – MART’S WORLD
Table of Contents
Executive Summary_____________________________________________________ii
Introduction____________________________________________________________1
Question1______________________________________________________________2
Question2______________________________________________________________3
Question3______________________________________________________________4
Question4______________________________________________________________5
Question 5_____________________________________________________________6
Question 6_____________________________________________________________7
Conclusion ____________________________________________________________8
Bibliography___________________________________________________________9
i
Executive Summary
Wal-mart is a great company and such as this company cant reach to that highest level
without having specific characteristics and these characteristics considered as the path of
the company. There are seven primary characteristics were applied by Sam Walton, the
founder and they are Attention to detail, Innovative and risk taking, Stability,
Aggressiveness, Team orientation, People orientation and Outcome orientation. WalMart’s culture characterize as a strong culture because, it’s applying the seven primary
characteristics and its keeping on developing. Wal-Mart’s culture contributes to its longterm performance because of their great system of there culture organizational.
Identifying knowledge, skills and abilities in order to improve the selection process, set
an employee of the month computation and be a good example to my employee; that
what I will do to enhance the culture of Wal-Mart. Although the strong and unique
culture that Wal-Mare have, now a day that culture dose not work effectively. The idea of
trusting the entire employee by allowed them to add any item that they thing it would
have high rate of sailing somewhat conflicting with the new economy. Why that
considered as a disadvantage? Briefly, the economic is like a chain every thing will be
affected by the other and every single zero added have a specific rule. Although the great
idea that Wal-Mart comes up with since the company established, as any company they
face problems and mistakes in the internal organization. Wal-Mart put its reputation at
the top of their priorities list; based on that any mistake that happen from any employee
could destroy their reputation the employee bears the responsibility. The best solutions
are training for the new comers, awareness of the mangers of falling in these mistakes
and improve the company rules. Wal-Mart’s organizational structure considered as
decentralized because individuals can drive it. On other hand, the employee would be
more concern about them work and they will seek for improvement will help in having a
positive and better attitude during work.
ii
Introduction
Sam Walton’s management culture displaying hands-on-management style made WalMart what it is today – a retail empire with over US$ 288 billion in global sales as early
as in 2004. (According to http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/ )
Saturday Morning Meeting infused in the employee’s high sense of belonging, which
encouraged them to invest their 100% best efforts in winning the hearts and minds of
Wal-Mart’s growing customer base. Employees respectfully addressed as associates
could never feel as a hired individual.
Sam Walton’s business vision in treating
employees with respect, encouraging participatory management, listening to other’s
viewpoints, showing care and concern were unique management styles which
distinguishes
Wal
Mart
from
others
in
the
industry.
(According
to
http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/working-at-walmart/culture )
Encouraging participatory decision-making motivates employees to develop leadership
skills. Wal-Mart offers rich grounds for employee education, learning and knowledge
acquisition. Teamwork is culture enables employees to work together as family members
overriding personal and professional prejudices. Efforts dedicated to acquire and
maintain cost-effective operations strengthen Wal-Mart’s competitive advantages over
Sears and Kmart etc.
Wal-Mart due to their size and fastest growth is right in the center of the public eye. WalMart deals with this situation by established a code of ethical behavior among employees
to avoid sexual harassments and rights violations.
Down-to-earth personality displayed by Sam Walton like driving in a modest pick-up
behind the coach carrying the executives for a business meeting makes him an innovative
business leader who spares no efforts in making his employees sleep and relax – such
attitudes strongly shows Walton’s attention, care and concern for his associate’s well
being.
1
Question 1
According to the textbook, there are seven primary characteristics that capture the
essence of an organization’s culture. How would you describe Wal-Mart’s culture
using these seven characteristics?
In organization’s culture, there are seven primary characteristics, which are
attention to detail; innovative and risk taking; stability; aggressiveness; team orientation;
people orientation; and outcome orientation. Wal-Mart as the world’s largest company,
they use most of the characteristics into their organization that applied by Sam Walton,
the founder.
1- Attention to detail: the company is very attentive to small details like when Paul
Busby, regional vice president for the North-eastern United States, was focusing
about a poker table that Kmart sell it but Wal-Mart does not.
2- Innovative and risk taking: when Sam Walton, the founder introduced the Saturday
morning meeting with his associated. The purpose of this meeting share with his
worker which items are a good selling product and what items should put on sale.
3- Stability: in the beginning was stable but when the Saturday morning meeting
grew into a large number of workers and resulting in boredom, they lose their
stability.
4- Aggressiveness: Sam Walton’s great trust in his stuff to make the right decision
increased their confident; in the seam time he makes them avoid aggressiveness.
5- Team orientation: In Wal-Mart, employees don't call staffs rather partners. Every
employee can take part in the management decision. Team decision makes many
good ideas to make progress of Wal-Mart.
6- People orientation: every employee should know the rules and they must get along
well with customers. If all of them know how the management decisions come
from and affect, so they will do their jobs in a good way.
7- Outcome orientation: Wal-Mart company focus on the techniques and the ways to
improve the outcomes. (According to scribd.com document, 2010)
2
Question 2
Based on this case, would you characterize Wal-Mart’s culture as strong or weak?
Why? How might Wal-Mart’s culture contribute to its long-term performance?
I would like to say that Wal-Mart culture is strong, Wal-Mart has most of the seven
characteristics of organizational culture and it is shows that the lower employee turnover
is a result of a strong culture. The sustainment of competitive advantage over competitors
is what Wal-Mart's culture contributes to the company's long-term performance. (Pacma ,
2011)
3
Question 3
As an upper manager of Wal-Mart, what steps could you take to
either maintain or enhance the culture of Wal-Mart?
To enhance the Wal-Mart culture I will improve the selection process to identify who
have the knowledge, skills and abilities to improve the job. I will encourage the workers
to establish their names on the honor table at the end of each month. I will be a good
example to the employees. So, I will create a good environment to the workers especially
to the new one. I would try to make all employees to feel comfortable working in WalMart and they will understand the culture fully.
4
Question 4
What are some aspects of Wal-Mart’s culture that have persevered, but yet may be
disadvantageous in today economy?
Wall Mart enables its employee to take decisions and execute them because they trust
their employees and enhancing their ownership attitude, this can help in having fast
corrections, making your business more dynamic leading to more growth and profits.
However it also can lead to a catastrophic situations because of today’s economy and
supply chain organizations structure considering the source availabilities would require to
have a validated and qualified decisions that does not make conflicts with other
requirements already in place.
It is no much easy to add new item on the shelf without knowing the logistics needs
behind it! Weather your available source/cost will be fulfilling your decision without
affecting others! Or without studying the cash flow affect for this new item! Also what
would be happening if number of managers took similar actions, they might not be able
to execute all their decisions as expected! It can lead to conflicts between managers!
5
Question 5
How might Wal-Mart’s negative press affect employee moral, job satisfaction, and
organizational commitment? As manager, what steps would you take to improve
employee attitudes?
As it happens in all companies and places where people works there will always be some
mistakes. Once these mistakes are under focus and lead to reputation damages, managers
will be very sensitive to protect their reputation and start to consider the mistakes as an
individual mistakes rather that company way of life. This affect the job security feelings
for the employees and start thinking for having another job, and once you have high
turnover rate in your organization it will affect the quality and professional standard of
the work.
You can easily overcome this issue by having a strong onboarding and training for the
new comers and ongoing training for all individuals. Making sure all are at the top of the
company standards and avoiding these mistakes. Enhancing the company rules by
continues internal feedback having the good things appreciated and the wrong things
highlighted.
6
Question 6
Characterize Wal-Mart’s organizational structure. Is it mechanistic or organic?
Does it have a high degree of centralization or decentralization? How might WalMart’s structure affect its employees in terms of their productivity and job
attitudes?
“Wal-Mart’s organizational structure is organic model because Wal-Mart’s structure is
flat, uses cross-hierarchical and cross-functional team, possesses a comprehensive
information network (using lateral and upward communication as well as downward),
and involves high participation in decision making” (Martha, 2007). Wall mart is a
combination of the individual talent and contribution in an organizational hierarchy. The
people control and driving force for being the best is driven centrally, however the
reactions are decentralized and can be driven by individuals. In such a way of doing
things, people will be eager to do their best since they will be under a continues focus and
improvement requested by their company and their correction actions will be shown and
appreciated which will help in having a positive and better attitude during work.
7
Conclusion
The analysis of Wal-Mart as to its organizational structure and culture has given students
of organizations and their cultures some lessons about being how it is to be a giant in the
retail industry but yet has a strong culture. Or maybe we can say that this strong culture
has helped in making Wal-Mart a giant in its own right in its industry’s sector. WalMart’s founder Sam Walton has devised this culture from the start. He envisioned a
company whose organizational culture is as strong as a family and treat customers as part
of it. Wal-Mart’s organizational culture passed the test of a culture’s seven primary
characteristics that includes: attention to detail, innovative and risk taking, stability,
aggressiveness, team orientation, people orientation and outcome orientation. This strong
culture has brought Wal-Mart to its strong position in the retail market. The
organizational culture is very important in keeping competitive advantage of a business
organization because it is a common way where employees work as a group to earn
profits for the business, for example, Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart’s organizational culture
controls the way its employees behave among themselves and with their clients and their
suppliers. I believe that Wal-Mart’s culture will continue to go strong because of the
acculturation that the management do for their new recruits. The principle about
organizational culture is if the newcomers who cannot take the organization’s culture as
his or her own would be bound to leave the organization. Wal-Mart should choose to
reward those that have been loyal employees because they keep Wal-Mart’s culture alive.
8
Bibliography
Walmart story, culture, 2012 http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/working-atwalmart/culture
Walmart, Our story, 2012 http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/
Pacma , A. (2011). Human behavior in an organization. Retrieved from
http://www.scribd.com/doc/58689911/Wal-Mart-s-World
(scribd.com, 2010) http://www.scribd.com/doc/26149557/wal-mart-doc
Martha, R. (2007). Wal-mart case. Retrieved from
http://www.eportfolio.lagcc.cuny.edu/scholars/doc_fa07/Ruth.Martha/WALMART
CASE.HTM
9