EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report focused on theoretical & conceptual analysis about the relevant Organizational
Behaviour concepts of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is one of the most
successful corporations worldwide. It is the largest company in world and has been ranked
number one on the Fortune 500 Index by Fortune Magazine. In this report we will focus on
the organizational behaviour inside Wal-Mart. The scope of this report includes the current
practices as well as relevant suggestions to improve the current scenario based on key
organizational behaviour theories covered in our ME 6000 course. In order to do so we have
analysed the current organizational structure, business process, organizational culture,
motivational approaches, job design process, evaluation, reward and feedback process,
groups and team dynamics, conflict, negotiation and power management and finally decision
making and communication process of Wal-Mart. Since Wal-Mart has been shaping up the
retail sector and setting standards in most cases as far as retail management is concerned, our
analysis reveals how on-going challenges can be better met by applying system theory,
conflict resolution theories, and motivation theories in various context of organizational
behaviour within Wal-Mart.
This report shall define what organizational behaviours main designs are and how Wal-Mart
exert them. The paper shall concentrate on Wal-Mart organizational practiced concepts.

Introduction:
An understanding of organizational behavior is necessary to decipher the needs of the
individuals and groups within the organization, and in order to exercise more effective
communication, decision-making processes, and leadership. Robbins and Judge (2008) stated
that organizations with strong cultures influence employee behavior, reducing turnover and
maintaining a high level of job satisfaction in the workplace.
Wal-Mart, founded by Sam Walton in 1962, is one of the world largest companies by market
capitalization and number of people employed and touching millions of customers every day.
There are more than 7,800 Wal-Mart stores and Sams Club locations in 16 markets
worldwide and there are more than 2 million associates serving more than 100 million
customers per year (About Us, n.d.) It is the largest grocery retailer in the United States with
an estimated market share of around 20% of the retail grocery and consumables business. To
be able to efficiently operate such a complex operation at such a large and do it consistently

would only be possible by the huge effort by Wal-Marts associates as its employees are
called. This papers looks at the human resources practices of Wal-Mart with a special focus
on group and team behavior, leadership, conflict and negotiation, human resource practices
and organizational culture and diversity within the company to understand them and also
provide some recommendations to make them better in the future.

, the long history of Walmart in succeeding and continually growing

internationally shows that the firms organizational structure and
organizational culture have been helpful in bringing competitive
advantage and success. Such organizational structure interacts with the
organizational culture to maintain the significant competitive advantage of
Walmart.
The report contains a detail analysis of organizational behaviour discussing organizations on
leadership behaviour, organizational effectiveness, organizational structures and human
resource management.
The report further analysed the structure and culture of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. with emphasis
on issues relating to risks and uncertainties in the companys decision making.
Recommendations are laid based on the study to address the companys issues and align
decision-making with the companys

Diversity
According to Luthans Diversity is much more than Ehnicity , gender , sexual . It
includes range of ages
Today, Walmart is one of the most diverse employers in the U.S. over the past
ten years. the percent of women in Walmart increased from 19 % to 31 %.
Our three strategic pillars are workforce, workplace and marketplace.
Workforce: Building a diverse global workforce to meet the rising expectations of
Walmarts Next Generation customer. Workplace: Nurturing an inclusive and
collaborative culture to retain our talent and maximize their potential.
Marketplace: Empowering our associates to make a difference in the lives of our
customers and in the communities we serve

Walmart is a great place for women to work. Walmart is a large employer of

women in this country; 815,000 of Walmarts associates or 57% of its US
workforce, are female. 2

Walmarts Organizational Culture

Walmarts organizational culture has four main components. These
components guide employees behaviors. The components are also
identified as Walmarts beliefs:
1.
Service to customers
2.
Respect for the individual
3.
Strive for excellence
4.
Action with integrity
In terms of service to customers, the company prioritizes customers in its
operations. Walmart also recognizes the contributions of each employee
to the success of the business. In addition, the firm strives for excellence
in the performance of individuals, teams, and the entire organization. In
terms of maintaining integrity, Walmart promotes the virtues of honesty,
fairness, and impartiality in decision-making

Recommendations on Walmarts
Organizational Culture and Structure
Walmarts organizational structure is ideal for the companys type of
business and global scope of operations. However, Walmart can improve
in applying its beliefs in the context of its organizational culture. These
beliefs are ideal. Still, the company is frequently criticized about its failure
to address employees concerns regarding low wages. Such criticisms
pointed to the difference between the belief of respect for individuals in

the organizations culture, and the actual treatment of the employees.

Thus, a suitable recommendation for Walmart is to implement more
effective measures for fulfilling therespect for the individual component of
the organizational culture.

Group and team behavior There has been a focus on achieving things together

as a team right from the days of Sam Walton. Sam Walton firmly believed that all the people
working in Wal-Mart are ordinary people and as a team they are able to do extraordinary
things, growing together and accomplishing much more than each of them could individually
(Teamwork, n.d.). This same spirit is ingrained even today into the day to day operations of
Wal-Mart all over the world, where they leverage team work to overcome obstacles as they
all work together to serve their customers the best. The manner in which they work as a team
and the single mindedness in which they serve their customer is given to them in the
guidelines that the employees follow to extract the maximum value out of working together.
Leadership To manage the complex operation of the huge number of super stores

across the world, there are store managers who are given complete ownership of store
operations and given a lot of data that in other companies would not be shared with the
middle management. This trust that management has in it increases their ownership in the
business and they are motivated to put in better performances and also motivate their team to
achieve their targets while ensuring complete customer satisfaction. The focus on the
customer is seen here also with the philosophy of Servant Leadership. As per this
philosophy, it is their strong belief that effective leaders dont lead from behind a desk and
that it is important to develop leaders who are servants to the customers, can work with
partners and who are able to motivate the team to perform well. Across stores all over the
world, the managers at Wal-Mart can be seen right on the floor working along with other
associates (Servant Leadership, n.d.). This enables leaders in Wal-Mart to lead by example
which is very motivating for the associates as well to put in their best effort.
Walmarts leadership position in the retail industry and its potential longterm success are linked to the beneficial combination of the companys
organizational structure and organizational culture.

Conflict Resolution - Wal-Mart also realizes the importance of free flowing

communication to being responsive to customer needs and actively encourages two way
communications across the organization both top down and bottom up. To encourage
associate to come up and speak with the management, Wal-Mart actively promoted the open
door policy where associates can walk up to many manager or leader and share suggestions,
ideas or raise any concerns that they might have (Open Door, n.d.). It is expected of the
leaders that they treat all discussions fairly without bias and with an open mind and in
confidence if required and work with the associate to resolve the issue or problems that they
might have. This again is a very good policy that helps Wal-Mart to fix problems or resolve
conflicts and issues quickly and focus on its purpose which is to serve its customers in the
best possible manner.
Human resource practices As described earlier, one of the most important

functions in Wal-Mart would be the human resources who have to come up with processes
and policies to manage the huge two million associates that are employed by the business.
The employees are treated as an integral part of the business and are called as associates
which makes them feel a part of the company and hence motivates them to give their best.
Wal-Mart also recognizes that it would not be able to achieve its mission without the support
of its associates and has got a variety of programs for the benefit of the employees. All
associates and their families are provided with health coverage and this program is being
implemented currently (Health & Wellness, n.d.). It also uses a lot of technology in its
operations such as cash registers being shut off automatically so that associates can take their
break and relax and also to account for accurately the amount of time that they had worked.
There is also a very open culture where people are encouraged to come up and resolve issues.
Though there have been a lot of criticism in the past of Wal-Mart being a bad employer, not
giving enough chances for women to get promoted, exploiting workers with very low wages,
(Miller, G. 2004) it seems that they appreciate these issues and are working on them to find a
solution.

Organizational culture Sam Walton had started the company based on strong

beliefs and values on how the business should be run and these rules and customs are strongly
instilled even today into the culture of Wal-Mart. In the company this is known as the three
basic beliefs and values and each and every associate is expected to adhere to at every
moment in Wal-Mart. The first of the three basic beliefs and values of Wal-Mart is respect for
the individual, for the customer, associates, and suppliers with a focus for building
relationships and most importantly treating each other with dignity, which helps Wal-Mart to
better serve its customers and the community it operates in (Culture, n.d.). The second
important belief is of service to Wal-Mart customers, as they believe that customers are the
reason why Wal-Mart exists and hence they should be given the best customer service
possible. Associates at Wal-Mart are encourages to look for every opportunity where they can
exceed customers expectations and put every effort in that direction. The third important
belief that guides employees at Wal-Mart is that they should never be satisfied with what they
have already accomplished but they should always extend their boundaries and strive to
achieve excellence. This passion for continuous improvement o serve their customers best
while saving them money (3 Basic Beliefs & Values, n.d.) hat, customer service is deeply
ingrained in the culture of the company, as can be seen from one of the many rules of Sam
Walton that they follow even today, called as the 10 Foot Rule. As per this rule, associates
have to pledge that whenever they come within 10 feet of a customer, they would look at
them in the eye, greet them and ask them if they require any assistance. Many similar rules of
customer service that are followed in the company help to form a culture that is built around
customer which helps the business achieve its long term strategy (1o Foot Rule, n.d.)
Organizational Diversity Of late Wal-Mart has been taking a lot of steps to

encourage and increase employee diversity in the organization with its pro diversity practices.
As an organization it says that it values diversity and fosters a working environment that
enriches the personal and professional experiences of our associates, promotes excellence,
and cultivates the intellectual and personal growth of the entire associate population. WalMart plans for diversity as they feel a global business like them needs to have employees
from various backgrounds and cultures to understand the customer better and operate a
successful global operation. Therefore from the management level, associates and also the
suppliers, Wal-Mart tries to create a diverse work environment and a culture of inclusion that

promotes diversity (Diversity, n.d.). To encourage and promote diversity in the organization,
Wal-Mart has established a Employment Practices Advisory Panel which will work with WalMart's senior management to develop and implement progressive enhancements to equal
employment opportunity and diversity initiatives for the company (Communities, 2006). In
addition to that all supervisors in Wal-Mart receive training on diversity issues which will
make them appreciate the diverse work environment and help them deal with people from
different cultures and backgrounds. Of late Wal-Mart has also started women in leadership
and mentoring programs to help female employees further their careers and more into
management roles (Retail Merchandiser, 2005). The above discussion shows that Wal-Mart
recognizes the need for a diverse and multi-cultural workforce and has taken many steps to
promote the same.
Recommendations Though Wal-Mart has taken many steps towards ensuring a highly

charged up, motivated and diverse work environment as can be seen from the analysis above,
there are still some areas where a lot of improvement is needed to make Wal-Mart a better
place to work for the associates and in the eyes of the customers. Over the years, Wal-Mart
has been in the news for many wrong reasons and a lot of negatives with regard to its
operations have been greatly highlighted in the press. It has been criticized by womens rights
groups and other community organizations and there are many high profile court cases
against it due to alleged discrimination against women employees in terms to lower wages
than their male counterparts and also with regard to promotions and management
opportunities (Drogin, 2003). This kind of bad press reflects very badly and there may be
truth in that as it has been endorsed by thousands of current and former Wal-Mart female
employees. In this regard Wal-Mart should take affirmative action and ensure that the amount
of managerial women employees reflects the actual percentage of women that are working in
Wal-Mart and also ensure that needs of women working are addressed.
Another criticism that has been alleged against Wal-Mart is that it pays relatively

lower wages for the amount of work that is done by its associates, and the associates have to
suffer due to its mission of constantly lowering its prices for its customers (Miller, G. 2004).
Wal-Mart is currently taking some steps in this regard like offering healthcare and wellness
benefits for its associates and having overtime pay, and also using advanced IT systems to
ensure that employees are paid accurately and in time for the amount of work that they are
doing. However Wal-Mart should understand that the associates, who work so hard to ensure

the high standards that have been set should be treated fairly and should try to rationalize
their wages or offer other benefits that would ensure that they are able to maintain a good
standard of living.
To manage an issue and prompt a very quick resolution, Wal-Mart has a open door policy
where an associate can walk up to an discuss with the store manager or supervisors any of the
problems that they are having. In addition to this, Wal-Mart should have outer outlets for
employees to address their concerns as some of the employees may not want to go through
this channel due to various reasons such as for the fear of being reprimanded or not having
confidence in the store management that they would resolve the issue. This can be one reason
why so many issues has escalated into the major problems that have gone outside Wal-Mart
and it receiving very bad publicity for it. Also as Wal-Mart is strictly opposed to unions, there
are no other outlets for employees to raise concerns or openly negotiate with the
management. Therefore it is recommended that in addition to the open door policy and the
direct communication channel, there must be a host of other communication channels both at
the store level and at the corporate that specifically looks at these issues and addresses them,
and this reduce employee grievances as soon as possible.
In addition to that, being a company the size of Wal-Mart it is very difficult to manage the
operations unless very well process have been designed for each and every organizational
activity and also control mechanisms to ensure that these processes are being adhered to.
Wal-Mart makes very heavy use of information technology and communication systems in
other parts of its business such as supply chain management and operation with a very good
deal of success. For the human relations functions as well, Wal-Mart should leverage
technology for many of its daily operations to track the effectiveness of its current processes
so that they can take remedial actions if necessary and achieve their goals faster.
Conclusion Wal-Mart without a doubt can be said to be one of the companies of the

century and a symbol of how one mans vision can make a great difference to the entire
world. It has got very well defined processes backed by technology that has enabled it to
scale up its business to become the worlds largest private enterprise. Even through it is not
the best paymaster, by creating a culture of customer service and high performance, and by
making them owners in the core business processes through trust, it is able to motivate its
employees to achieve greater things and strive for excellence. However, there are some areas

that Wal-Mart needs to concentrate on to achieve its goal of making Wal-Mart a great place to
work for its associates and provide them with a professional experience that will make them
better.

Motivation
Motivated employee are often the engine drive in moving an organisation forward, the Wal-Mart
Company often organise its employee into teams in carrying out there operations. This makes the
employee feel valuable within the team by contributing different ideas on proposed operations at the
same time by being innovative. The company by this strategy create a friendly and innovative culture,
which made it possible for the company to depend on its workforce in maintaining it brand reputation
globally. Furthermore, trust is being established as part of its culture. This is very important in every
relationship, as regards to the Walmart Company. Customers put their trust on the company to provide
good quality product and high level of attention to customers needs, bottling subordinates trust the
company to operate in the best interests of Walmart System and so also the employees trust their
voice will be heard and their various contributions are being valued.
An open free communication is belief to be a means to sustain culture, based on that the Wal-Mart
Company provide a good number of communication channels thus; monthly leadership team meetings
and workers team brief sessions, departmental team meetings holding on weekly basis, each region
have a consultative group with one European council representative and lastly, frequent surveys are
being sent out to monitor employees complains or suggestions.

References
About Us. (n.d.) Retrieved February 8, 2009, from Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Web site:
http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/

Read

more:

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/399599_assignment-1-human-

resources-practices-at-wal-mart-case-study#ixzz1xUIvk2TD

Culture
When new employees join your company, the way they behave is influenced by the
organizational culture. People are social beings and strive to fit in to the environment around
them. If your company culture encourages employees to speak up without fear of reprisal,
new employees will gain confidence in expressing their ideas, whereas if the culture is to
shoot the messenger, new employees will soon learn to keep their opinions to themselves.
You can influence company culture by being clear about your vision and values and putting
them into practice on a daily basis.

Motivation
While the need to earn a salary ensures people will show up for work, organizational
behavior suggests that employees need to be motivated to perform to the best of their ability.
Employees are most likely to be motivated when they see a clear link between the effort they
put in and the reward that they receive. Rewards must be seen as fair and equitable in order to
inspire employees to work hard. Managers can motivate employees by setting realistic,
achievable goals and measuring attainment. Achievement of these goals should be rewarded,
either through recognition from the manager or financially.
Related Reading: Management & Organizational Behavior Topics

Decision Making
Whether at the organizational or individual level, decisions are made by human beings.
Organizational behavior influences the decisions that people make. Companies with robust,
effective communication mechanisms enable managers and employees to make informed
decisions, because they understand the business context. The organization's approach to risk
will determine the extent to which managers and employees feel comfortable taking risks in
their decision making. Innovation and creativity are more likely to be stimulated in
organizations that encourage informed risk-taking.

Change Management

All companies must respond to changing markets, technical advances and customer demands
if they are to survive. However, employees often prefer the familiar ways of doing business,
making it difficult for them to change and adapt. Companies can manage change effectively
by understanding organizational behavior. The need for change should be openly discussed,
with the opportunity for employees to ask questions. Managers must be seen to buy in to the
change. Key employees who may be resistant to change should be sought out and persuaded
of the benefits of change.

The Coca-Cola Company is the world largest multinational beverage company at the same time the
world number one producers and marketers of soft beverages drinks and the company with the most
valuable and recognised brand globally. This success of the company rotates around five key factors,
which includes recognised brand, quality, marketing, availability and innovation.
The company is structured on a global level with flexible adjustment features so as to comply with its
regional markets sensitivity. The structure is not only based on its internal factors but it also includes
external factors that include their bottling subordinates.
The company produces syrups and concentrates which are being sold to the authorised bottling
companies that have the mandate to produce, market and distribute products to the final consumers,
this process is known and COCA-COLA SYSTEM. The external relationship with its bottling
subordinates is one of the companys key strength, the Coca-Cola company work hand in hand with
the bottling companies to ensure compliance with product requirements, quality and services.
Organisations may be structured on its function, product or process. The function reflect on its distinct
specialism be it in production, marketing, finance or distribution while the product reflect directly on
it product and the process could be in its manufacturing, packing, storing or delivering. However,
organisational structure is usually design in order to meets its aims. In this regards a structure should
be design to accommodate different ideas sharing within the organisation and flexible decisionmaking and a proper management control.

A multinational global organisation like the Coca-Cola Company has a flexible structure that not only
focused on product, marketing, distribution of finance but also profoundly encourages team work in
each of their innovations. In every product development example Coca-Cola Zero, the company
assemble an employee team of different specialities to analyse all the possibilities. In such teams,
marketing specialists is expected to shed light on the result of his/her market research in regards to the
new product, food technologies to clarify the changes and how feasible the new product is while the
financial expert is to give report on the financial implications as regards to the new product.
Aside from structure, an organisation is expected to have culture. An organisational culture describes
the norms and values of the organisation in its dealings with both internal and external subordinates.
The Coca-Cola Company also based its culture on enhancing and empowering its employee, this is so
because the company consider employee as its most valuable asset.
Motivated employee are often the engine drive in moving an organisation forward, the Coca-Cola
Company often organise its employee into teams in carrying out there operations. This makes the
employee feel valuable within the team by contributing different ideas on proposed operations at the
same time by being innovative. The company by this strategy create a friendly and innovative culture,
which made it possible for the company to depend on its workforce in maintaining it brand reputation
globally. Furthermore, trust is being established as part of its culture. This is very important in every
relationship, as regards to the Coca-Cola Company. Customers put their trust on the company to
provide good quality product and high level of attention to customers needs, bottling subordinates
trust the company to operate in the best interests of Coca-Cola System and so also the employees
trust their voice will be heard and their various contributions are being valued.
An open free communications is belief to be a means to sustain culture, based on that the Coca-Cola
Company provide a good number of communication channels thus; monthly leadership team meetings
and workers team brief sessions, departmental team meetings holding on weekly basis, each region
have a consultative group with one European council representative and lastly, frequent surveys are
being sent out to monitor employees complains or suggestions.

Approaches to organisational decision-making

According to Corneilssen (2008) Decision-making is a significant factor in every good and successful
organisation, the question still remain on how can good decision be made? one portion of the answer
is relevant information and good interpretation of the information. Consulting an expertise could also
be a good advantage so also ability to admit wrong. There exist various logical aids and approaches to
decision-making, which of these is the best?
The questions is not as simple as it sounds, there are many references that made a situational
suggestions on decision-making but still there has not been clear agreed best approach in this regards.
Version-led approach in this approach decision is precisely depends on the person with the vision, and
if for instance something went wrong he/she leaves the organisation that decision is likely to be
abandon. Plan-led approach is usually excessively dependent on the planners point of view; usually
one directional professional that might ignore some crucial factors and needs carry along the
stakeholders and politicians as well. Consensus-led approach is based on agreement and unless if the
agreement between the parties can be reach in short time, decision is likely to be delayed. This are
some of the reasons why most organisation adopt to work on mix approach, for example the united
kingdom use the mix approach in the sense that vision, problems and objectives decisions are based
on consultation while experience approach is being used in developing and reviewing strategies.
Hence, the best approach is relatively based on the situational circumstances.

Management approach to risks and uncertainty decision-making

The management of an organisation are often challenged with situations of uncertainty and risk.
Decision-making being a process to reduce or eliminate the tendency of ricks and uncertainties
occurring, with that being noted, its clear that decision managers are the driving force in eliminating
the extent to which an organisation faces ricks and uncertainty.

Ricks and uncertainties both play a significant role in decision-making but its important to note out
the difference, in decision-making uncertainty quite simple effect by slowing decision. Usually when
managers are confronted with such uncertain circumstances, they hold their decisions and put some
measures to reduce the uncertainty level before making a final decision, which clearly delayed the
decision-making. Risk on the other hand, is another form of uncertainty that involve loosing at
different level depending on the result yield by the decision.
Management approach to decision-making with ricks and uncertainty should involve some parameter
to identify and measure the level of ricks involves, this will allow the organisation to know the exact
business rick involve in the decision-making. Business ricks includes operational risk, legal ricks,
financial ricks and strategic ricks. After the management have identify the type of ricks involve, its
expected of the organisation to quantify the level of the rick. In this stage organisation should make
certain of the cost to be encounter if the risk prevail, this could be mathematical in some cases of
financial ricks. A general formula that is being used in calculating risk is as follows: Risk =
((probability of rick outcomes) * anticipated lost as result of outcomes).
In management decision-making it is highly required of the organisation or the management rather to
be able to manage, transfer and contain ricks, this will define the potential of the management in
handling and containing ricks.

Organisational decision in Coca-Cola Company

As studied by Taylor (2000) Coca-Cola Company organisation decision has to do with the board
members. The members of the board are being elected by the companys shareholders to assume
responsibility of protecting their interest and to ensure the success of the company. The board
members serve fundamentally as the ultimate business decision-making board of the company, only
for those decisions that needed the consultation of shareholders. The board are positioned to oversees
senior officers of the company and are being expected to guide and advice them in safeguarding

companys asset, maintaining absolute control with proper governance and following rule, regulations
and laws. Furthermore, in making decision the board member are expected to consider every single
factual details and possible circumstances before proceeding into conclusion.
One of the main responsibilities of a director on decisions is to exercise their absolute judgment and
to act in accordance to what they reasonably believe to be of best interest of the company as well as
the shareholders. The corporate level of the company involves five hierarchic levels, the team consist
of eight operating directors form various divisions, and this made it possible for the board to get wide
range of suggestions on decisions.

Conclusion and recommendations

The Coca-Cola Company has an organised structure that foster employee involvement in all its aspect
except for decision making which is considered to be a relatively inadequate decision-making practice
in a global company of that nature. The companys decision making practice does not match with any
of the companys practices, the company operate on a decentralized practices only for the decisionmaking.
The company can improve its decision-making practises firstly by frequent switch of directors to
handle relevant tasks, this will enable them to think outside the box in given suggestions to the board
on decisions. Secondly, the company should operate decision open door policy by involving
voluntarily employees in suggesting to their various line directors on their ideas on how to go about
solving a proposed problem and also to propose on possible problems that are about to erupt. This will
give decision-making board the ability to widen their possibilities on solutions and to tackle small
problems before growing bigger.