Walmart Organizing Function, Essay Example

Abstract

The four functions of management are organizing, planning, controlling and leading. These functions are significant to managers as well as companies across the globe. Planning function of management flows from senior executives down to the entire management personnel, organizing the company’s resources. It is a vital component in providing the requisite action. Specifically, organization of physical assets, knowledge management, human resources, as well as technology is key components to organize.

Introduction

The organizing function of management is creating the organization’s internal organizational structure. Its focus is on the division of labor, control of responsibilities, coordination and the flow of information in the organization. It also entails arranging the requisite resources to achieve its plan. The organizing function of management is the process of establishing structure, relationships, as well as allocating resources towards the accomplishment of the organization’s goals (Bateman & Snell 2009). This paper posits to evaluate the organization function of management as relates to human resources and technology in Wal-Mart.

Human Resources in Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart adopted a policy whereby, its employees are referred to as associates. This policy instills a spirit of oneness and equality among the employees. This policy has also created in the employees, a sense of belonging and association in Wal-Mart‘s activities as well as success. Walton, Wal-Mart’s founder was of the opinion that if the company takes good care of its employees, the employees would, in similar fashion, mind the welfare of the clientele. Wal-Mart is on record as one of the pioneering organization in introducing profit sharing as well as stock option schemes for its employees. The scheme offered prospects to the employees to improve on their income in relation to the profitability of Wal-Mart. The company offered the employees stock options as well as store discounts. This motivated the employees to take pro-active interest in the operations of the organization. A system of that linked employee performance with compensation as well as bonus also guaranteed that employees utilized the best of their abilities toward the interests of the company. A unique characteristic of the company’s human resource policy is that the company does sanction overtime work for its employees. The company does not sanction overburdening of employees by store managers with extra work. Wal-Mart has realized a high retention rate for its employees. As high many as 60% of Wal-Mart’s employees have stated that they prefer working at Wal-Mart due to the fact that the benefits accrued facilitate them to take good care of their families (Wal-Mart, 2010).

Wal-Mart is also committed to enhancing the prospects for career progression of its employees. Looking at the company’s human resource management, one of the central aspects is the company’s career progression program.  Approximately 65% of Wal-Mart’s managers began as hourly workers, such as cashiers (Wal-Mart, 2010). It implements a system of recruiting a number of its workers in managerial positions from the ranks of the hourly workforce in stores. Among Wal-Mart’s human resource activities is employee recruitment from universities, employee development, and employee training and progression. While most organizations have slowed down recruitment of new employees, Wal-Mart has devised new techniques to attract employees in compensation for its further expansion over the coming years. The availability of prospects of advancement from the lowly hourly wage jobs is evidently a contributing factor in Wal-Mart being voted among Fortune magazine’s most trendy organizations and was distinguished as among the companies with the best human resource policies in the U.S (Wal-Mart, 2010).

Technology in Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart has grown largely by leveraging on information systems in an extent that has been unprecedented in the retail industry any where in the world. Technology firmly organizes the value chain at Wal-Mart from top to bottom. Wal-Mart information systems present a mineable information asset that’s unparalleled in U.S. retail industry. The company’s overall efficiencies have been reported as responsible for at least 12% of the gains in productivity in the total U.S. economy (Wal-Mart, 2010). The company’s capability as an innovator of information systems is highly respected in the global retail market (Deango, 2001). Several of the senior IT executives at Wal-Mart have been offered senior roles in IT companies such as Dell, Amazon, HP as well as Microsoft.

The Wal-Mart information technology efficiency started with a proprietary system known as Retail Link. This information system was initially developed in 1991. It has since undergone upgrading phases and every time a Wal-Mart cash register scans an item, Retail Link records the transaction and automatically generates inventory re-ordering, scheduling, as well as delivery. This process helps in keeping the shelves at Wal-Mart stores always stocked, while eliminating unnecessary inventories. There is also the back-office scanners that track inventory as shipments from suppliers come in. Suppliers at Wal-Mart are rated on the basis of punctuality of deliveries. Deliveries at Wal-Mart are choreographed to land at intervals of less than ten minutes apart. Wal-Mart has acted as a catalyst for the adoption of technology amongst its suppliers. The company is at present in the lead in the adoption initiatives that requires allies to leverage Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to keep track as well as coordinate inventories. A recent P&G assessment demonstrated that RFID improved sales by approximately 20% by guarantying that inventory appropriately located in the right shelves at the location (Wal-Mart, 2010).

Conclusion

The concept of management includes a lot of other issues and concepts. It is applicable to several facets of society, such as marketing and retail business, as is the case with Wal-Mart. The functions of management include setting of organization’s goals, organizing, planning, communicating, staffing as well as controlling. These functions impact on the processes of Wal-Mart as an organization in diverse ways. The organizing function of management, in particular, impacts the organizational resources required by an organization, in this case Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart requires resources, such as knowledge, monetary and physical assets, technology as well as human resources. As it has been evaluated in the literature above, these resources must be appropriately allocated for the effective functioning of Wal-Mart, as an organization. These unique approaches in its core business have largely influenced Wal-Mart’s position in the domestic and international market (Wal-Mart, 2010).

References

Bateman & Snell, (2009). Management: Leading and Collaborating in a Competitive World. (8^th Edition) McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Deango. B., (2001). With New Technology, Wal-Mart Could Gain Edge over Competitors Massive Hardware Upgrade IBM is big winner in deal, beating out Hitachi, EMC for $40 million contract. (Internet & Technology). Retrieved on July 16, 2011 from: http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-106013810/new-technology-wal-mart.html

Walmart.com. (2009). Wal-Mart. Retrieved July 16, 2011, from http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=121828&fromPageCatId=549073