Industry and Market Competitiveness, Essay Example

In looking to interview an individual who would understand the importance of how the changes in an industry impacts compensation and benefits, the most logical choice was to choose someone that works for a large company. Wal-Mart is a billion dollar corporation that is the industry leader in retail, and employs over two million individuals in the United States and around the world. The individual chosen is a close friend of a relative, Bill Packer, Inventory Management Specialist at Wal-Mart. Here is an outline of the interview in which we discussed the overall industry and Wal-Mart’s HR strategy for his store, and their entire corporation.

Hello, so can you tell me what your role in Wal-Mart is?

“Hello, I am an inventory management specialist, which means I oversee the mastery list of inventory for all the merchandise in the store. I am in charge of ordering, storing, and monitoring inventory, equipment, and digital records used in inventory for the store. I have to constantly review, maintain, and establish relationships with outside service providers and vendors.”

Since you play a large role at Wal-Mart location, what do you think of your employer? 

“Wal-Mart is a great company to work for, although there have been several outside criticism in the media lately, Wal-Mart has always strove to take care of their associates. Wal-Mart provides adequate pay and benefits to each of its associates, and people love to work with the company.”

What can you tell me about the industry in which Wal-Mart is in?

“Wal-Mart is the market leader in the retail industry. They have a thousands of stores across the world, and are constantly looking for more opportunities in the market to open up new locations. The retail industry itself is very competitive, with a lot of the chains merging or forming strategic acquisitions in order to get to Wal-Mart’s level. However, Wal-Mart has a business strategy that can’t be matched…yet! If Wal-Mart continues to remain true to providing people with merchandise at marginal prices, it will continue to be the market leader for a long time.”

So you have good knowledge of the industry. What are thoughts on Wal-Mart’s HR strategy?

“Well, although I don’t work in HR, I do work heavily with HR. I am in charge of a lot of associates, and so I regularly have to meet with HR specialists in regards to job satisfactory, and opinions on how the organizational culture can improve, and so on. Wal-Mart’s overall HR strategy is to make sure that every manager and supervisor know that managing human resources is our responsibility. We are people company, and Wal-Mart places great emphasis on hiring the best, providing the best benefits and training, and make it good place to work.”

Do you feel that every person in higher position upholds this strategy?

“I believe that each manager is aware of what is expected of them, and they know to treat each associate in the way they would like to be treated. We all work together, and things will go a lot smoother if we were on the same page, and on good terms.”

In questioning Mr. Packer, it was clear that he took his position and the reputation of Wal-Mart seriously. He is in charge of an entire department and works with other managers to ensure that it runs smoothly. Gathered from the answers he gave, his position fits well into Wal-Mart’s HR Strategy. Wal-Mart prides itself on being a place that takes care of its employee. He did touch on outside criticism lately in the media that has shed light on how many employees do struggle financially. However, as a person that holds a higher position in the store, he regularly meets with human resources, so he is well aware of the importance of the factors of corporate culture and the importance of how a positive organizational culture can impact job satisfactory and employee retention. He is also trained on the principal that he must act as human resource specialist for his department, in addition to his many roles and responsibilities in the store.