Strategic HR and Walmart, Research Paper Example

Walmart is the largest retailer in both the U.S. and the world. In the U.S. the company operates 4,177 stores in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and employs something on the order of 1.4 million people (NY Job Source, 2014; Gustafson, 2014). However, the company is also one of the country’s most controversial employers, with a long history of legal disputes with employees, many of which the company has lost (Griswold, 2014; Rosenberg, 2014). Walmart has also drawn a great deal of criticism for its low wages, which force many associates to rely on public assistance (O’Connor, 2014). Clearly, there is a great need for Walmart to adopt better strategic human resources management (SHRM) practices in order to improve relations with its employees and appreciate the rewards of enhanced productivity.

The purpose of this research, then, is to establish how Walmart can make use of SHRM to improve its relationships with its associates, and also to ascertain the likely consequences of the company doing so. Walmart’s current labor policies rely on hiring large numbers of low-wage workers and not allowing them to organize (O’Connor, 2014; Griswold, 2014; Rosenberg, 2014). There is evidence, however, that SHRM can make a profound difference in increasing affective employee commitment to an organization (Birdi et al., 2008). Employees who are empowered through training, given a supportive environment, and involved in an organizational culture and identity will be more committed to the organization (Birdi et al., 2008). Training employees and empowering them to carry out tasks and exercise responsibility is a significant part of this (De Grip & Sieben, 2005; Allen, Ericksen, & Collins, 2013). Employment security, hiring good people, giving teams room to manage themselves, promoting information-sharing, and compensating employees appropriately have all yielded positive results as well (Hassan, Hagen, &Daigs, 2005). Better SHRM is not only good business ethics, it is simply good business, and the research is expected to confirm this.

References 

Allen, M. R., Ericksen, J., & Collins, C. J. (2013). Human resource management, employee exchange relationships, and performance in small businesses. Human Resource Management, 52(2), pp. 153-173. DOI: 10.1002/hrm.21523

Birdi, K., et al. (2008). The impact of human resource and operational management practices on company productivity: A longitudinal study. Personnel Psychology, 61(3), pp. 467-501. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.00120.x

De Grip, A., & Sieben, I. (2005). The effects of human resource management on small firms’ productivity and employees’ wages. Applied Economics, 37(9), pp. 1047-1054. DOI: 10.1080/00036840500092074

Griswold, A. (2014, December 16). Court rules Walmart must pay up for inadequately compensating workers. MoneyBox. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/12/16/walmart_class_action_pennsylvania_supreme_court_rules_against_walmart_in.html

Gustafson, K. (2014, January 31). Time to close Wal-Mart stores? Analysts think so. CNBC. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/101380735#.

Hassan, M., Hagen, A., &Daigs, I. (2005). Treating human resources as valuable assets is a strategic weapon for enhancing labor productivity: Empirical evidence. Competition Forum, 3(1), pp. 317-327.

NY Job Source. (2014). Wal-Mart. NY Job Source. Retrieved from http://nyjobsource.com/walmart.html

O’Connor, C. (2014, April 15). Report: Walmart workers cost taxpayers $6.2 billion in public assistance. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/04/15/report-walmart-workers-cost-taxpayers-6-2-billion-in-public-assistance/

Ramona, T., & Anca, S. (2013). Human resource management—from function to strategic partner. Annals of the University of Oradea, 22(2), pp. 631-638.

Rosenberg, M. (2014, December 10). Walmart threatened works for trying to organize, judge rules. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/