Walmart: Organizing Funtion of Management Essay Example
Walmart: Organizing Funtion of Management Essay Example

Walmart: Organizing Funtion of Management Essay Example

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  • Pages: 4 (847 words)
  • Published: January 2, 2017
  • Type: Case Study
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Organizing is defined as the assembly and coordination of the human, financial, physical, informational, and other resources needed to achieve goals. (Bateman & Snell, 2009, pg. 20) This function is also referred to as the function used to build a dynamic organization. (Bateman & Snell, 2009, pg. 20) When looking at the organization process Sam Walton the founder of Wal-Mart made sure from the very beginning to keep up with his competitors. In 1972 Kmart expanded and at that time there were 15 Wal-Mart stores and Sam Walton could not afford to expand by building so he offered Wal-Mart stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

Due to the large profit that occurred because of the sales of stock Wal-Mart could expand and by the 1980s they had 276 stores. Organizing is comprised of several organizational resources: physical assets, knowledge, money, and human resour

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ces. Resources are organized effectively by the use of tools such as charts and or graphs. These tools will present the various functions of management for instance human resources activities and responsibilities, employee duties and responsibilities, recording relationships amongst upper and lower management. (Bateman & Snell, 2009, pg. 90)

Within each department there are specific methods being used which helps them in managing the resources provided to them. For example accounting and finance departments commonly use Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets and software such as QuickBooks. Wal-Mart’s Organizing Function: Human Resources The management and maintaining of the human resources department is vital when evaluating the effectiveness of the organizing function. “People are assets not commodities”. (Bateman & Snell, 2009, pg. 337) Managers as well as their companies must work togethe

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to hire the right individuals for the job.

Human resource management is responsible for staffing, training, performance appraisals, rewards, labor relations, wages, and benefits. (Bateman & Snell, 2009, pg. 354) Worldwide Wal-Mart employs about 2. 1 million associates, and depending on the size of the store there can be about 225 to 350 more associates in each store. According to Fortune Magazine 2010 reported that Wal-Mart ranked first on their list of most admired companies. This favorable rating is due to their sustainability leadership, corporate compassion, and employment opportunity. Wal-Mart’s taff practices the three basic beliefs and values established by Sam Walton in 1962.

They are respect for individuals, services to our customers, and striving for excellence. Micromanaging is kept to a minimum and teamwork is highly encouraged by a style of leadership implemented back in the days of Mr. Walton called “servant leadership” where leaders work together with their employees. Wal-Mart also has an open door policy any issues which are questionable whether they ethical or immoral are brought to the attention of the store manager, market manager, and or the human resources department.

In the past years Wal-Mart has faced several lawsuits in which their ethics has been questioned. Their policies of hiring, promoting, and equality have all been questioned in cases like the sexual discrimination of women in June 2001. Wal-Mart business practices article of 2010 reported that a survey conducted by Wal-Mart indicated a rapid turnover of 70 % of employees that leave the company within the first year of employment and stated that it is attributed to the lack of recognition and inadequate pay of the employees.

(Business Practices, para. 5)

Despite these various issues that Wal-Mart has been faced with and the speculation that the human resources department does a poor job is just that. Wal-Mart in fact aims to take very good care of their employees. They claim that their organization is one of the best to workplaces, which offers various health and wellness benefits. Wal-Mart offers 80 % coverage on to its eligible employees.

Health care benefits such as doctor’s visits and annual checkups, pharmacy benefits, dental, business travel accident insurance, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage (Walmartstores. om, 2010) Monetary Resources Wal-Mart like many other organizations is affected by many factors such as competitive pressures, insurance costs, market trends, economic conditions, cost of goods and services, and unemployment. (Walmartstores. com, 2010) Yet another issue they are constantly faced with is their wages. Average Wal-Mart employees make anywhere from $ 12,000 to $ 17,000 which causes them to have to turn to the state for public assistance. Further reports show that employees on average take home less than $250 a week.

Business Practices, 2010) Full time employees make between $6 and $7. 50 an hour and work from 28-40 hour weeks. According to Business Practices 2010 this pay scale indicates that employees of Wal-Mart with dependents are below the poverty line. As mentioned previously the foreign exchange rate is a factor that Wal-Mart as a large retailer must beware of when maintaining their monetary and financial resources. Wal-Mart reported that fiscal year 2009 foreign exchange rates had a negative effect on international net sales by 2. 3 billion.

Walmartstores. com, 2010) When compared to

overall company net sales there was still a slight increase indicated despite the negative affect. Wal-Mart also offer its employees various financial benefits to compensate stock option plans, employee’s discounts, profit sharing (401k plan), retirement accounts, and holiday and when determining the success of an organization. Being mindful and utilizing the organizing function will help not only determine and maintain current success but will aid in future and in preventing failure.

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