Week 9 Final Project

Wal-Mart Paper

Axia College of UOP-online student

Organizational Behavior/MGT 245

June 22, 2007

Wal-Mart Paper

Wal-Mart has been in business since 1962. Founded by Sam Walton, the company only showed major success in the 1980's. Sam's club was opened in 1983, and the first Supercenter opened in 1988. Through it all, the company has maintained a positive image despite some opposition. This image is based on the respect for the individual, whether the person is an associate, supplier, or customer, service to the customer while continuing to strive for excellence. These beliefs are what help to promote and build the integrity and ethical conduct that is the foundation of Wal-Mart. In this paper we will discuss the reasons that make Wal-Mart a success.

Wal-Mart's Culture

Wal-Mart's culture is built upon three guiding principles. The principles are to respect the individual, service to the customers and strive for excellence. For most this is the most appealing aspect of the company. Every person desires to have respect from others and therefore is capable of giving respect where respect is due. Each individual, like Wal-Mart, should continue to strive for excellence in all that they set out to do.

Organizational culture characteristics

One of the most interesting organizational characteristic of Wal-Mart is its people orientation. Without taking into account the needs of the companies various employees, there would be no one to work at the company. Wal-Mart prides itself on how they respond to their employees. By being open 24 hours and 7 day a week, the company provides the option to work more accommodating shifts. This shows that the company is concerned too with employees that cannot work various hours due to other responsibilities. Another characteristic that stands out for Wal-Mart is its attention to outcome orientation. Although Wal-Mart is a structured company, it allows its employees to handle situations with customers that may arise in the best way possible. Sometimes this means simply to "handle it yourself". The result, whether done with management input or not, is based upon customer satisfaction. And for Wal-Mart that is the bottom line.

"Wal-Mart is a company that values human beings, a company that looks for the best in people. Wal-Mart is a company that really helps people grow and get a step up on the economic ladder of life. The culture of Wal-Mart is based on a key concept-family. The value system set in place shows major concern for each other. While there may be differences in points of views, the culture is still a vibrant part of the community. What counts is that at the end of the day, everyone is trying to make the company better, in their own individual way." (Benton County Daily Record)

Is the culture strong or weak?

Wal-Mart's culture is strong because of the attention that all employees, from top level management on down to the cart handlers, give to keeping the three principles described earlier. According to our text, a strong culture has a great influence on the behavior of its members because the high degree of sharedness and intensity creates an internal climate of high behavioral control. This intensity along with keeping the three principles is why the company is strong culturally. Because the culture is a strong one, it also demonstrates high agreement among its employees about what the organization stands for. Such unanimity of purpose builds cohesiveness, loyalty, and organizational commitment. For this reason, Wal-Mart's employee retention is stable.

Customer- Responsiveness

The culture of Wal-Mart is based on keeping the customers happy. This makes this culture customer- responsive. Based on the needs of the customer, the culture is internally adjusted. For instance, when there was a need for stores to be open longer hours, the company addressed this issue by allowing the store to remain open for 24 hours a day. Wal-Mart prides itself on maintaining the ten foot rule. This rule is that whenever an employee comes within 10 feet of a customer, the employee will look them in the eye, greet him, and ask if you can help them. The employees are happy and will help a customer with whatever problem there may be. The greeters are always smiling, and the overall atmosphere of the company is customer friendly. Management ensures that only customer friendly people will work for Wal-Mart by providing customer service training upon hiring. The company structure is set up that employees have more control over the departments in which they work. This leads to a sense of empowerment in which employees can make on the spot decisions in order to satisfy customer needs. This helps to improve customer satisfaction ratings. Management at Wal-Mart also recognizes employees for their hard work and dedication to customer service. This is done by posting the name of the employee around the store along with other incentives.

Wal-Mart has built its stores based on the needs of the people. Without people to work, and customers to buy, there would be no Wal-Mart. Customer service is the number one goal of the company. It is with this understanding of providing excellent customer service on which the organizational culture is based. Maybe, that is why it is still one of America's most successful retailers.

Diversity at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart's equality of opportunity policy states that "We will not tolerate any discrimination in employment based on race, national origin, color, sec, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity, religion, marital status, veteran status, or any other legally protected status." (Wal-Mart.com)

"With 1.8 million employees, thousands of diverse suppliers and hundreds of millions of customers worldwide, Wal-Mart has to embody a sense of strong commitment to diversity. The commitment to fairness and respect, to be the advocates, to be sensitive to their causes, to value their differences, and to serve them the best way possible, to both customers and associates ,has never changed. It's reflected in our "Store of the Community" program, which showcases products from local suppliers and mirrors the makeup and tastes of a local community, by often gearing itself specifically to the desires of our diverse customers;

It's seen in the hundreds of minority- and women-owned