Wal-Mart Read Attach File Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Read attach file Wal-Mart - NAFTA. Then: 1. give a 1.5-page opinion prove analyze topic. 2. Post TWO news sources (articles) a response Main Topic explain briefly (sentence) news stories bear topic Identification & analysis of the organization's problems Wal-Mart must tread carefully in its venture into Switzerland, particularly in the field of personnel management. It must learn from its past mistakes.

In 2005, Wal-Mart was forced to withdraw all operations from Germany, mainly because of the cultural difficulties it faced in assimilating into a nation with a profoundly different business culture that could not accept standard American corporate regulations upon employee behavior. Wal-Mart's stress upon cheerfulness was met with stony silence from German workers who were unaccustomed to being told how to behave every day at work (Wal-Mart: Struggling in Germany, 2005, Business Week). First and foremost, Wal-Mart must acknowledge the importance of personal privacy in Switzerland.

Instructing workers about their need to smile and have a continually upbeat attitude at all times would not be received well, given reserved Swiss attitudes. Despite the fact that Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer, it has also often been called the world's most parochial retailer in the manner in which it imposes its norms upon foreign companies and cultures and it must change this egocentric attitude in adapting to Switzerland. Switzerland as a nation encompasses both Italian, German, and French provinces and it at the center of Europe.

Famously neutral as a nation and also famously tight-knit as a society, because of its location it is intensely international in its outlook view (20th century, 2011, Swiss World.org). But there are some advantages for an American company in dealing with Swiss employees, in terms of the cultural dimensions expressed in Swiss businesses vs. other cultures. For example, like American culture the Swiss place great emphasis on punctuality, upon private rather than open meetings, and logic over emotions is prized (Adler 2001: 23).

These attitudes would likely foster some synergy between Americans and Swiss employees -- there are no expectations for holding long, rambling lunches, in Switzerland, unlike France and Italy. There is also a strong respect for rules and ethical behavior in Switzerland. Unlike American managers in the developing world (such as Latin America, Africa, and the Far and Near East), bribery and official corruption is not tolerated in Switzerland.

Also like Americans, the Swiss prefer to have formal beginnings and endings for meetings, rather than a loose and free-wheeling style of facilitation. Meetings must have a purpose, in the Swiss point-of-view (20th century, 2011, Swiss World.org). When communicating with Swiss workers, this need for structure and direction should be respected when giving orders. In fact, even more so than Americans, the Swiss like to keep a very closely-drawn line between private and public matters.

Although the Swiss enjoy entertaining and good food, frequent workplace outings such as softball and golfing outings are not common in Switzerland (Doing business in Switzerland, 2011, World Business Culture: Swiss Business Structure) However, American companies tend to be far more willing to take risks and to break with tradition, in contrast to the cautious nature of Swiss culture. Wal-Mart catapulted to the heights of world domination of the retail market from a relatively modest start as a business.

However, Switzerland has moved very slowly as a nation in accepting new cultures and outsiders. Swiss citizenship is nearly impossible to obtain. The nation is dependent upon a small, closely-knit band of citizen-soldiers for its defense. Socially, women were only given the right to vote in Switzerland in the second half of the 20th century, well after other nations. In other words, an American business manager must be prepared for a slower pace of decision making than he or she is accustomed (20th century, 2011, Swiss World.org).

While typically American corporate mission statements reflect a 5-10-year framework, in Switzerland, companies take an even longer point-of-view, and are even more resistant to organizational change (Adler 2001: 23). Certain stereotypes that Wal-Mart might confront in Switzerland might relate to the perception of Americans as overly focused on optimism and a false sense of teamwork. One common observation of Americans by foreigners is that they smile too much, and aspects of Wal-Mart corporate life that emphasize workplace attitude must be severely downplayed if the company is to succeed in Switzerland.

Wal-Mart's emphasis optimism at all will not be accepted plain-spoken and independent Switzerland (Doing business in Switzerland, 2011, World Business Culture: Teamwork). While the current suggested managerial format involves a manager supervising 5-6 employees, and some sense of unit cohesion is certainly required, forcing workers to conform to a certain workplace attitude be emphasized to the point that employees' sense of personal space feels violated.

Wal-Mart managers must avoid vague American corporate buzzwords that have little meaning, such as urging workers to show an upbeat attitude and to be positive at all costs. The Swiss respect formal directives regarding workplace performance and improvement. Presentations and employee rules should be clear and concise and relatively free of extraneous humor and other attention-getting devices.