Walmart 's Case Study
Introduction
Wal-Mart is an American based supermarket which has its operation in all over the world. The US based supermarket chain, deals in food, clothing, toys, general merchandise and financial services. The company promotes itself as low priced supermarket catering to the large chunk of market segment. The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, since then he made major acquisition in different countries and running successfully. The company has expanded tremendously over the period of time by operating chain of large discount department a “real Wal-Mart” for them. The practice continued by Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, whose leadership has given a new edge to the company in global financial crises of 2008.
Answer # 1
Elucidative Leadership style
The most impressive and eminent factor behind Wal-Mart’s success lies in its leadership. Leaders at Wal-Mart always inspire encourage their employees to take initiatives on their own. Transformational leadership style is the core of Wal-Mart, which significantly added to the success of Wal-Mart across the nations. Through his leadership style Sam Walton aimed at transforming the lives of people by enabling them to make smart choices. He instilled his vision so profoundly in his management which is well reflected in Lee Scott managing style. The CEO has created a good balance between control and freedom where store manager is free to setup and stock the store. Wal-Mart success depends upon its
1. In the broader context (not specific to Dollar General), what is KKR’s investment strategy? What are the challenges KKR will encounter to make its investment in Dollar General successful? How could KKR add value to Dollar General?
He shared this leadership style has been effective for him building rapport, respect, and camaraderie amongst his subordinates. He says the best way to enter a team is to learn the team you are leading before you commit to one style of leadership. Inquire the needs of the men and women and establish the leadership that is effective for you. Don’t be tied down by have one style and being the definition of a traditional leader. Like most things, we adapt and sometimes fall into different areas of leadership as needed.
“Is Wal-Mart Good For America?” affords viewers a thoughtful analysis into the dubious ethical methodologies employed by the Wal-Mart Corporation. Unquestionably, Wal-Mart is not infallible and their strict adherence to low prices has pushed other companies out of business. For example, Rubbermaid, as mentioned in the documentary, fell into Wal-Mart’s paradoxical low pricing trap and forfeited into a merger with a competitor.
‘Is Wal-Mart Good for America?’ On PBS Frontline, May 11, 2015 ‘Is Wal-Mart Good for America?’ is a documentary that examines the relationship between Wal-Mart’s rapid growth and its impact on the US economy ever since it blossomed in trade productivity in the mid 20th century. The documentary, published on February 2014 by PBS Frontline, conveys a deep understanding of how Wal-Mart changed the living standards of many Americans and took consumerism and retail logistics in the U.S. to another level; by cutting costs through offshore outsourcing to China and employing cheap Chinese labor. The documentary focuses on the changing relationship between big retailers and manufacturers and the transition in pricing and decision-making.
Walmart was founded in the summer of 1962 by Kingfisher, Oklahoma native Sam Walton. Although Walton’s original vision for the store was relatively modest, the half century since its founding has seen Walmart morph into one of the biggest companies in the world. Today headed by one Doug McMillon, Walmart boasts more than 5000 stores in the United States of America alone and employs more than 1.5 million people. Walmart is undoubtedly an American institution, yet each Walmart store feels like its own little country. Walmart seems to have its own laws and customs and the people who shop their on a regular basis appear almost primitive in their behavior as they go about raiding the store’s shelves and wrestling with fellow customers for discount flat screen televisions and bulk packages of two-ply toilet paper.
New opportunities mainly come from power of suppliers and inter-firm rivalry. Wal-Mart should utilize its bargaining power with suppliers to lower its costs. In that way, it may provide high quality products for its consumers. It may also grow stronger and more unique through competition between firms in the same industry.
Their philosophy is “whatever-it takes” and delegates the frontline managers to lead “it is your business, your division, your market, your stores, your aisle and your customers (Home Depot 2009).” Finally , transformational leaders by definition seek to transform. Sometime when a organization does not transform it’s, employees become unhappy and leaders will
Transformational Approach Transformational leadership style work towards high levels of communication from a management to meet goals. Leaders are meant to motivate employees and augment productivity and efficiency through communication and high visibility. This style of leadership really does need the involvement of management to meet goals. Leaders focus on the big picture within an organization and delegate smaller tasks to the team to accomplish goals. Transformational leadership proves to be efficient not only in business, but in all other sectors where it is used.
Walmart Case Study This case study involves America’s largest and most recognizable retail chains. Walmart steadily grew from its founding in 1962 as a small Arkansas based retail store into the multi-national giant that it is today. One of the issues that Walmart’s unprecedented growth has raised is how it can maintain the ethical standards and principles held by its founder, Sam Walton, when it has grown past its humble roots and continues to grow in an ever more competitive and hectic world.
Sam Walton was able to shift a rural company into a worth billions of dollar corporation through hard work and dedication. His Strong leadership capability was the essential component that drove Wal-Mart into becoming a successful corporation. Sam Walton had many characteristics that made up a strong leader. The main characteristic that made Sam Walton successful in business were trait approach, style approach, skills approach, situational approach, and leader-member exchange theory. There are numerous characteristics that Sam Walton showed through his career, but the most important characteristics for him is the Trait Approach.
In conclusion, Mr. Walton transformed the retail shopping industry. He possessed many leadership traits that help him to be successful both in his business and relation to his employees. His secret of success was to treat your employees like your family and live by the company motto, “Save Money, Live Better.” to provide customer and staff to spend less for more. His vision of volume over profit is notable, and his leadership style is remarkable, he takes care of his employees,
INTRODUCTION Human resource management is the strategic approach to the management of an organization 's most valued assets - the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the goals of the business (Armstrong, M., 2006). In other words, human resource management is a to work with employees, and for the employees, to help them solve their problems. Therefore, human resource is a complicate department, as they deal with people who already work there, they also deal with several issues which happen among new employees, such as recruitment, selection and so on. Nowadays, employee retention becomes one of the most significant issue in the organizations, and managers are aiming to find the best employees
Q. 2. Recent development in Technology has enabled huge global organizations to avail information easily in their premises for smooth functioning of various departments within an organization. Much of a company's success comes down to its Supply Chain Management and logistics. The development of Information Systems in SCM helps in cost reductions, customer satisfaction and productivity.
Segment 1 – Wal-Mart’s Revolutionary Power 1. How much was Wal-Mart’s sales figure quoted in the beginning of the segment? Wal-Mart recorded $256 Billion in sales and is the first company in the world to record such a figure on sales. 2. How many Americans stream into Wal-Mart on a weekly basis?
Walmart has succeeded in achieving the leading position in the retail industry. Walmart now stands as the biggest retailer in the world. However, the external factors constitute pressure on the company that must be address carefully. By analyzing the five forces of external factors we will define the nature and power of our rival power in the market. The five factors are competitors from rival, potential new entrants, substitute products, supplier bargaining power and customer bargaining power all of these competitive forces affecting Walmart position.