9), even if general stream planning and decision making is still largely centralized, being undertaken at the Wal-Mart Headquarters in Arkansas (for elements such as type of products to be sold, stores to be opened or closed, financial results and objectives, etc.), for issues regarding how to battle the local competition and better respond to customer needs, planning and decision making takes place at store level, as mentioned before in the "Functions and roles of managers" chapter.
Managing by objectives is a very much used practice within Wal-Mart, regional objectives being cascaded to store level. As is to be expected, the number one objective at store level and beyond is to reduce costs as much as possible.
Human Resource Management is still largely based on the ideas of its founder regarding the relationship between the employees and the organization.
Consequently, all Wal-Mart employees, from the executive level down to the clerks, are being called "Associates."
The relationship between the employees and Wal-Mart is based upon respect, close communication, high expectation and efficient incentives. The associates receive a significant degree of autonomy and they also receive continuous feedback regarding their performance within the company and regarding the operations of the stores (Wal-Mart, 2009).
Changes at Wal-Mart and adapting to the 21st century
Even against its size, Wal-Mart has demonstrated its capacity to change and adapt in a world dynamic environment. This has been proven by the various technical inventions and initiatives undertaken through the years (e.g. The implementation of the bar code systems= and continues today through the environmental sustainability actions taken by the company once such elements became of high importance both for social but also economic and politic purposes. Another change was necessary to be undertaken by the company in its strive for globalization, where adapting its culture to the local reality was a must (e.g. modification of its customer greeting practices or renouncing to the "Morning Cheer" in countries such as China or Germany, etc.) (Towers, 2004, p. 5-8).
Communication at Wal-Mart
Today, it is widely known that Wal-Mart has been confronted with important communication and PR problems, as its brand has been taking public hits for years, even being the cause of public websites exclusively dedicated to criticize it, such as www.wakeupwalmart.com.
Millions of critical posting regarding the company, some of it fair and some not, are mostly due to the poor communication strategy undertaken by the company in the past decade. As Wal-mart ignored criticism (related mostly to its hiring practices unfair to minorities and their terrible track record of promoting and hiring women) until it reached the boiling point, and media reports had appeared about possible illegal operations of surveillance within Wal-Mart,...
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HRM Challenges in Today's Organizations All organizations require employees to make them a success and this function is considered as important as finance, machinery and land for running the organization successfully. The important point to note here is that individuals all have different temperaments and working methods, and some people in the organization are responsible for making them all work together. This is the job of the human resources department which
Corporate Governance: Philanthropy and Social Responsibility Corporate philanthropy is a form of CSR where a corporation extends monetary or non-monetary support to the community for the sake of improving its welfare and the quality of life. Despite its inherent benefits, corporate philanthropy still remains a subject of debate. This text examines the arguments presented by both sides, and examines how Wal-Mart's philanthropic program has been able to reconcile both views, and
I do not approve of reading so many books. The method of examination is a method of dealing with the enemy. It is most harmful and should be stopped" (Johnson 1992:552). Mao wanted control of China's destiny -- and he wanted that destiny out of the hands of the religionists, whose doctrine was not formulated by him but by an outside body. Thus, places like Sacred Heart convent in
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