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WALMART

INTRODUCTION

Walmart Stores, Inc. (branded as Walmart) is an American public corporation that runs a chain oflarge, discount department stores. It is the world's largest public corporation by revenue, according to

the 2008 Fortune Global 500.[4] The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated onOctober 31, 1969, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. Wal-Mart is the largest private

employer[5]

and the largest grocery retailer in the United States. It also owns and operates the Sam'sClub retail warehouses in North America.

Walmart operates in Mexico as Walmex, in the United Kingdom as Asda, and in Japan as Seiyu. It has

wholly owned operations in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Wal-Mart's investments outsideNorth America have had mixed results: its operations in South America and China are highly successful,

while it was forced to pull out of Germany and South Korea when ventures there were unsuccessful.

WHY SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATION PUT PEOPLE FIRST ?

Successful Organizations Put People First

by Stephen P. RobbinsIntel does it. So does Microsoft, Motorola, W.L.Gore & Associates, Southwest Airlines, Ben & Jerry's

Homemade, Hewlett-Packard, Lincoln Electric,and Starbucks. What is it? These companies pursue"people-first" strategies.

There is an increasing amount of evidence that successful organizations put people first. Why? Astutemanagers have come to learn that their organization's employees are its only true competitive advantage.

Competitors can match most organizations' products, processes, locations, distribution channels,and thelike. What's far more difficult to emulate is a workforce made up of highly knowledgeable and

motivated people. The characteristic that differentiates successful companies from their less successfulcounterparts in almost every industry is the quality of the people they're able to get and keep.

What kind of practices differentiate people-first organizations? We can list at least four:

(1)They value cultural diversity. They actively seek a diverse workforce based on age, gender, and race.

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(2)They are family friendly. They help employees balance work and personal responsibilities throughprograms such as flexible work schedules and on-site child care facilities.

(3)They invest in employee training. These organizations spend heavily to make sure employee skill

levels are kept current. This not only ensures that employees can handle the latest technologies andprocesses for the organization but that employees will be marketable to other employers.

(4)People-first organizations empower their employees. They push authority and responsibility down to

the lowest levels.Organizations that put people first have a more dedicated and commited workforce. This, in turn,

translates into hither employee productivity and satisfaction. These employees are willing to put forththe extra effortto do whatever is necessary to see that their jobs are done properly and completely.

People-first strategies also lead to organizations being able to recruit smarter, more conscientious, andmore loyal employees.

WALMART CULTUREy Wal-Mart was the biggest company in the world. With sales at a quarter of a trillion and over 1.3

million employees, it was the biggest retailing success ever. A lot of Wal-Mart's success was

attributed to the strong and pervasive culture at the company, which was developed and nurturedby founder Sam Walton. In over four decades of operation, Wal-Mart managed to retain most of

the elements of culture it had when it first started out, as well as the entrepreneurial spirit whichoften drives startup companies to success. The fact that the company's growth rate was often in

double digits bears this out. Wal-Mart's culture was characterized by an orientation towardscustomer service and providing the best value at the lowest prices.

y Employee well being was also given a lot of importance and the company tried to project animage of a socially responsible entity.

y However, despite the positive aspects and strength of the culture, there were a number of issueson which Wal-Mart was severely criticized. In the light of the number of law suits filed against

the company, the top management realized that there were drawbacks in the culture of the

company and began taking steps towards correcting them.

y Wal-Mart always gave more importance to volumes than margins and promised customers the lowestprices on every kind of goods. Analysts believe that culture is one of the most important determinants in

making a good company a 'great' one.

y The success of Wal-Mart has long since been attributed to the company's strong cultural base. AnalystJim Collins4 observed that Wal-Mart had the kind of 'cult-like' culture that is shared by all great

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companies. Even the employees of Wal-Mart were sometimes referred to as "Walmartians" by outsiders,

reflecting the distinctiveness of the people who shared that culture. It was a wonder that a company of

such a huge size and scope could maintain its entrepreneurial spirit so many decades after it first started,

besides achieving admirable growth rates which were poised to make it the first trillion dollar company in

the world.

-Rob Walton, Chairman,

Walmart's Culture - Supporting Success

Analysts attribute Wal-Mart's success to its strong and pervasive culture. In spite of its huge size and tremendous

growth rate, the company retained most of the cultural elements which contributed to its success in the early

years. Walton believed that happy and satisfied employees performed well and were responsible for happy

customers.

Towards this end, he store to create a culture which encouraged employees to contribute their best. It also ensured

discipline and uniformity in an organization that was growing at such a rapid pace and had been operating for

over 40 years.

y Wal-Mart's culture was essentially customer-centric and service-oriented. It embodied Walton's dream ofcreating a store which provided the best value at the lowest prices. A unity of purpose and a spirit of

oneness was created and maintained across the organization.

y Some unique features bound the people associated with Wal-Mart together, one of these being that Wal-Mart followed a separate calendar which was based on 'Wal-Mart time', i.e. 'week 1' in the calendar was

the first week of the company's fiscal year that started on February 1st every year.

y Wal-Mart's culture was built on three basic beliefs or tenets established by Walton in 1962, when Wal-Mart was first set up. These tenets constituted the foundation of its culture in later years. They were...

Human Resource Culture

HOW WALMART PUT PEOPLE (EMPLOYEE) FIRST

y Wal-Mart realized that employees played a very important role in the success of a retailbusiness and gave considerable importance to them. To instill a spirit of equality and

oneness among employees, the company adopted the practice of terming employees

'associates', thus creating in them a sense of belonging and involvement in Wal-Mart's

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activities and success. Walton believed that if he took care of the employees, they would

take care of the customers in the same manner.

y He tried to create a positive and cheerful atmosphere in the company. Wal-Mart was oneof the first companies to introduce profit sharing and stock options for its employees.

After it went public Wal-Mart began its "Profit Sharing Plan". The plan offered anopportunity to its employees to improve their income depending on the profitability of

the store. Employees were also offered stock options and store discounts.

y This was to motivate them to take an active interest in the working of the company. Asystem of performance linked compensation and bonus also ensured that employees

contributed their best to the organization. One of the unique features of Wal-Mart's

human resource policy was that the company did not authorize overtime work. It did not

allow store managers to overburden employees with work.y SAM WALTONs philosophy and perspective on walmarts people, calledassociates,

emphasized their importance to business success :

The more you share profits with your associates-whether itss in salaries or

incentives or bonuses or stock discounts-the more profit will accrue to the

company .why ? because the way management treats the associate is exactly

how the associates will treat the customers. And if the associates treats the

customer well the customer will return again and again,and that is where thereal profit lies,not trying to drag strangers into your stores for one time

purchases based on splashy sales or expensive advertising.

HOW WALMART PUT PEOPLE (CUSTOMER) FIRST

y "All associates work for the customers who buy our merchandise. In fact, the customers can fireeverybody in our company. And they can do it by simply spending their money somewhere else. The

greatest measure of our success is how well we please the customer, 'Our Boss'. "

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- Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart1

y "Our commitment to meeting the needs of each individual Customer can be fulfilled only by recruiting,developing and promoting the very best people we can find around the world".

- John B. Menzer, Head, Wal-Mart International Division in 2003.2

y "Our family is proud of the accomplishments of our Wal-Mart Associates around the world. Without theirdedication and commitment, there would be no Wal-Mart."

WHAT WALMART DOES FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

y Customer-oriented vision that is clearly defined and communicated.y Customer-oriented culture that embeds customer satisfaction

throughout organizational practices.

y Focus on the total customer experience.y Customer service standards and accountability.y Satisfaction with client-worker interaction, whether in-person, by phone,

or by mail.

y Timeliness and conveniencey Personal attention,y Reliability and dependability,y Employee competence and professionalismy Empathyy Responsivenessy Assurancey Availability andy tangibles such as physical facilities and equipment

and the appearance of the personnel.