Corporate Culture in Walmart

3 Basic Beliefs

• Service for customers
• Respect for the individual
• Striving for excellent

Integrity

The beliefs are built on the foundation of integrity.

• Be honest by telling the truth and keeping words.
• Be fair by using business influence appropriately and creating an open environment for raising questions and concerns.
• Be objective by making decisions based on Walmart’s interests, rather than personal interests, and by avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.

In Walmart, customers are always right. They make sure that the customers are satisfied to their services. This causes the customers keep returning back. Walmart also treats the employees very well, so they can best serve their customers. 

The employees respect each other so that they can work harder as they work in as a team. They communicate by listening to all associates and sharing ideas and information. The key to success is constantly looking for ways to improve themselves and improve their business.They innovate by trying new ways of doing things and improving every day. They also pursue high expectation by model a positive example.

I think that this is a good corporate culture. Not only the employees can feel the corporate culture, even customers also can feel it. They make sure all the customers and employees are not left out. I think that working at Walmart isn't just a job, it's an opportunity to build a career. As Sam Walton said, “Our people make the difference.” They worked hard to build an environment that emphasizes integrity, respect, open communication and innovation. 

All the Walmart stores in the world are same. They use the same concept, beliefs and integrity. So it is an opportunity to work at Walmart and because of this corporate culture, they are succeeded. 

Motivation

 Motivation is the reason why people work, and it drives them to work better. Therefore, managers will try to seek what motivate their employees.

Ways to motivate

Financial Reward

The basic reason who people work for. For certain people, more rewards they get, more harder they work.

• Wages-extra pay
• Time rate
• Piece rate
• Commission
• Bonus

Non-financial Reward 

Giving things or rewards that are not financial purpose. It is just to satisfy the employee.

• Fringe Benefits- company's car, children's education
• Job satisfaction
• Job rotation
• Job enlargement
• Job enrichment

Maslow

Maslow created what is know as the hierarchy of needs. Each level of motivation must be achieved before going to the next level. Once one level of motivation is met, more of that will no longer motivate the employee. 

• Physiological needs: basic requirements for survival.
• Security needs: the need to by physically safe.
• Social needs: the need to belong and have good relationships with co-workers.
• Esteem needs: the need for self-respect and to be respected by others.
• Self-actualization needs: the need to reach your full potential and be promoted.

Herzberg

Humans have hygiene factors and motivation factors that we can grow psychologically. If the hygiene factors are not satisfied, they will act as demotivators. 

Hygiene factor

• Status
• Security
• Working condition
• Company policies
• Relationship with supervisor.
• Relationship with subordinates.
• Salary

Motivational factors

• Achievement.
• Recognition.
• Personal growth/development.
• Advancement/promotion.
• Job satisfaction

How does Walmart motivate their employees?

For employees like cashiers, salesmen, the more they can sell, the more commission they will get.

Walmart also make it fun for everyone. you could have won certain items for correctly guessing how much they sold in the previous weeks.  However, such events promote camaraderie and a sense of fun that define the working experience at Walmart.

For employees with higher position, Walmart will share them with the profit the stores earns. Walmart also wants their managers being respect. When the managers feel that they fulfill their esteem needs, they will give out all their effort, to run the store even better.


If I work in Walmart, it will definitely motivate me, even though I am a cashiers. It is fun to work in Walmart. It is not like the other jobs where you just face your computer for 8 hours. A lot of activities are held to make sure we do not feel bored. For managers, it is important that they feel they are respected. Managers will try their best to help their workers because they feel that they are needed.


To make their employees work even harder, Walmart have to gain their employees loyalty, fulfill their employees needs. Instead of paying the employees based on how long they work, Walmart can pay them how much they work. So they will put more effort. But this is for the workers with lower position. For managers, they have to give them recognition and power. As Walmart gives them high salary, money will not motivate them anymore. Walmart allows them to make more decision, enlarge the managers; job. 

Training

Training is a process that introduce a new process or equipment, improve efficiency, decrease supervision needed, improve the opportunity for internal promotion, decrease the chance of accidents of the employees. 

Benefits of training

• increase skills
• increase knowledge
• change attitude, raise awareness

On-the-job training

Employees are trained by watching professionals do a job. It is only suitable for unskilled jobs. It saves cost. The trainer's productiveness is decreased because he has to show things to the trainee.

Off-the-job training

Workers go to another place for training. Methods are varied and usually more complex. It costs a lot as they have to pay for the trainees. 

Walmart training program.

The Assistant Manager Training program for Walmart is a very helpful program to get a person ready to be in a position of authority. This program encompasses all duties and responsibilities one would have in this position and help them learn the job. 

On-the-job training

For unskilled employees such as cashiers and the hourly jobs. A trainer will be in the store and teach the trainee by showing them how to do it. 

Off-the-job training

For skilled employees such as store managers. Training programs include as Walmart cheer which is “Give me a W-A-L-M-A-R-T” Everyone will be given a Sam Walton's book, Sam Walton: Made in America. It lasts for 6 weeks. It includes development opportunities for management and hourly associates by hiring, training, mentoring, assigning duties, evaluating performance, providing recognition and ensuring diversity awareness.

Walmart also provides soft skills training, including including resume writing skills, career testing, and translating military skills to civilian language, mostly for veterans. They know that veterans return home as proven leaders who have demonstrated their work ethic and commitment to achieving results as part of a team.

Recruitment

Workers are needed when a business starts up, expands or an existing employee leaves. Businesses use the recruitment process to successfully employ the right people. The process normally is taken by the human resources department, but in small business, HR department does not exist.

Recruitment process

1. Number of vacancy increases
2. Job analysis- identifies the responsibilities and tasks of the job.
3. Job description- responsibilities and tasks to the candidates who apply for the position.
4. Job specification-  the required qualifications, expertise and experience of the candidates. 
5. Advertisement
6. Interview- To choose the best candidates.
7. Vacancy filled. 

Advertising the vacancy

Internal Recruitment- The vacancy can be filled by an employee already in the business. It might be suitable for employees seeking promotion.

Pros of internal recruitment:

• Saves time and money.
• The candidates' reliability, ability and potential are already known.
• The candidates know the expectations and rules of the company.
• Motivates other employees to work harder to get promoted too.

Cons of internal recruitment

• No new ideas or experience come into the business. 
• May create jealousy and rivalry between existing employees.

External Recruitment- Most vacancies are filled with external recruitment, which always involves advertising the vacancy. 

Examples of suitable media

• Local newspaper
• Magazines
• Recruitment agencies
• Internet
• Government job centers: Place where businesses can advertise their vacancies. These vacancies are usually for unskilled or semi-skilled workers.

Job Advertise

• What should be included.

1. Job description
2. Job specification

• Where the advertisement will be placed.
• Advertising budget.

Walmart Recruitment Process

1. The Application- Visit any Walmart store or online to get the application.
2. The Assessment Test- To get an idea of how you would deal with certain situations concerning customers, supervisors, co-workers, and problems in general. 
3. The First Interview- Walmart interview 3 candidates for every job to choose the best candidates. 
4. The Second Interview- They are interested in you from the first interview.
5. Orientation-  learning about Walmart, last for three days.

Here's the example of application form.

The advertisement does not reflect much on their corporate culture but I think that recruitment in Walmart is fair and equal opportunities. Every one has the opportunity to work there. Everyone has to go through the process. No one can skip it so that Walmart can choose the best candidate. Walmart also recruits a lot of veterans because veterans tend to find job harder. A lot of good comments from the workers that work in Walmart which cause even more people want to join Walmart. Managers are also kind and friendly to the workers because this is what Walmart wants.

For me, working in Walmart can gain a lot of experience. So if I have chance, I will work in there. I can choose a part time job in there.

Organizational structure

Any operating organization should have its own structure in order to operate efficiently. For an organization, the organizational structure is the stratum of people and its functions. It tells us the character of the organization and the value of it. Therefore it is important to get know of the company's organization structure that you are working for.

Organizational Structure Types

Bureaucratic Structures

• Pre-bureaucratic structure- This type of structure can be observed in small scale, start-up companies. Usually the structure is centralized and there is only one key decision maker.
• Bureaucratic structures- When the companies grow complex and large, it required for management. These structure are suitable for tall organizations
• Post-bureaucratic Structures-  it is still inherit the strict hierarchies, but open to more modern ideas and methodologies.

Divisional Structure

These types of organizations divide the functional areas of the organization. Each division has its own resources and function independently. Each division has not much relationship but they are working in the same company. The divisional structure of a business tends to increase flexibility as they are doing the same thing. Divisions work well because they allow a team to focus upon a single product or service, with a leadership structure that supports its major strategic objectives. But as they are working independently, one division will sometimes act to undermine another. Also, divisions can bring compartmentalization that can lead to incompatibilities.

Matrix Structure

It is used mainly in the management of large projects or product development processes, drawing employees from different functional disciplines for assignment to a team without removing them from their respective positions. Most of the employees are expert and they have to report more than one person.

Functional Structure

It is one of the most common organizational structures. Under this structure, the organization groups employees according to a specialized or similar set of roles or tasks. Employees tends to specialize in a skill so the productivity is high. But it has management issue. The flow of communication is too long, information may be misheard.

Conclusion

I think that every organization needs a structure in order to operate systematically. The organizational structures should be used by any organization if the structure fits into the nature or else it would be a mess. But most companies use pre-bureaucratic company when they had just started-up and end up with matrix organization.

Communication 

It is a method to interchange ideas, thought, opinions or information by speech, writing or signs. So organizational communication is the process by which activities of an organization are collected to reach the goals of both individuals and the organization.

The organizational chart in Walmart individual store

This is a tall organizational structure. Every store has their own managers which they will report to the headquarter. This is a division structure. Every store has different people in charge and they don't have to worry about the other store. The managers need to take care of their own stores only.

As this is a tall organization, message or information may be misheard but it thinks that it is still suited for Walmart. Because i think not much message can be passed from the headquarter as the managers can in charge on the stores themselves. So I think to make it better, Walmart has to recruit managers that are trustworthy and can enable to take responsibility.

Because of this organization structure, Walmart had trained a lot of employees which leadership quality. Every store's managers have experience to be a leader as they were trained in Walmart. The managers did not feel that they worked for them, they think that they are helping them. That's why they have responsibility in what they are doing.

Management styles 

There are many management styles in the world. Autocratic, democratic and laissez faire management style are the three widely accepted and discussed models of management used in organizations around the world today.

Autocratic

It is a leadership style which the leader individually controls over all the decisions. They make choices based on their judgments and ideas and rarely or not accept advises from their followers. Autocratic leadership involves absolute, authoritarian control over a group.

I think that autocratic management style should be used when the leader is experienced or the owner of the company. He can make wise decision and able to take the consequences. The leader is the most knowledgeable member of the group.

Democratic 

 The management will include the staff in the decision making process during group discussions, votes and staff meetings. Decisions are normally made upon by the majority. Manager will ask his or her staffs for their opinion while in the meeting instead of giving direct orders. But the manager has to make the final decision, based on the majority. 

I think that it should be used when the manager is still new. He or she can use the style to gain the reputation and confidence from the staff. If the manager is struggling for ideas,  it enables management to gather a large group of people together and gather new ideas to move the business forward.

Laissez faire

A management style which leaders are hands-off and allow group members to make the decisions. The leaders provide tools or items that are needed during work.

I think that it should be used when the group owns a lot of company. Leader cannot control all by himself as it is too broad. Each high position members control each department to help their leader.

Conclusion

But still there is no certain management style we have to follow. Advantages and disadvantages will occur in any style of management, so it’s important to be flexible and well rounded, being able to adapt your style to certain situations.

Are Leaders born or made?

I believe there is not exact answer. Everyone is born, so do the leaders. 
We are born genius, "gene-in-us" . We just have to discover it. The great leaders had discovered their gene, that's why they are successful. 

Sam Walton - founder of Walmart

He was the founder of Walmart, world's largest cooperation. He was the world's largest employer, over 2 million employee. His cooperation, Walmart is an multinational retail store. His family is one of the richest family in the world.


He was described as an industrious, ambitious boy who collected accomplishments as other boys collected toy cars. Sam's leadership style was popular among his employees and he founded some of the basic concepts that are still in use today. He believed that individuals don't win, teams do.   He also believed in community spirit and felt that each store should reflect his customer’s values and support the vision they held for their community. So he is a democratic leadership style leader.

He believe Walmart more than anything else. He tried to do the best he can. He believe in teamwork. He did not treat them as employees, but as partners. Money and ownership are not enough to motivate his partners, so he set a lot of goals, he also encouraged competition and he kept score. He liked to communicate with his partners. The more his partners know, the more they would understand, so Sam did not keep any secret from his partners. Before he passed away, he already made Walmart the largest cooperation in the world.

So I think that this is the leadership which a leader should have. Sam Walton set a very good example for us. Believing in team mates can make thing better. It is also important to know what your team mates feel, so that we can motivate them. 

What I admire him is his management in Walmart was very strong. He could control over two millions employees. He was a hard working person. He treated his customers well so that they don't lose faith in them. Most leaders tried to control most of the power in their cooperation but Sam Walton valued his partners and try to incorporate company performance with their compensation. I think his largest asset is his employees.