This paper examines organizational behavior as practiced at Walmart, focusing on three core dimensions: employee motivation, corporate culture, and human resource policies. Drawing on annual reports, management commentary, and organizational behavior scholarship, the paper traces how Walmart has evolved from a lowest-price-only strategy to one that integrates staff development, employee empowerment, and community engagement. The analysis explores tools such as the Morning Cheer ritual, promotional advancement, training programs, and participative decision-making. A comparison with Kmart illustrates how leadership style and employee empowerment influence both organizational success and customer experience. The paper concludes that large organizations can successfully integrate these behavioral dimensions to achieve sustained corporate performance.
Over the past two decades, the business community has undergone a continuous process of modification and adaptation to new needs — a process that continues today. The changes that have occurred are varied and present at multiple levels, but the most significant shifts have taken place in internal operations and revolve around new approaches to organizational behavior. Organizational behavior "is a social science discipline — much like cultural anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. [...] The key points are that it is a science and that it has a history which, though short, has been quite turbulent. Although the exact boundaries of the discipline are somewhat fuzzy, the focus is clearly on the world of organizations. The concern is, first, with the behavior and nature of the people within organizations and, second, with the behavior and nature of organizations within their environments" (Miner, 2002).
The concept of organizational behavior is extremely broad and encompasses various work relationships inside and outside the company. It is instructive to see how these concepts function together to help an organization reach its overall goals. Three practices stand out in this context: the motivation of staff, the implementation of corporate culture, and the human resource policies developed and implemented by the organization. The central question posed here is whether a large organization can successfully integrate these features into its everyday operations in order to best satisfy its customers and employees, with the general purpose of achieving increased revenues.
Walmart was founded in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, by the late Sam Walton, and it quickly became a favorite destination for American consumers. The corporation operates a chain of large stores — primarily supermarkets, but also additional retail formats — on an international scale. The basic strategy implemented by Walmart's management was to offer customers the lowest possible prices on the market. The company's slogan is "Save money. Live better" (Official Website of Walmart, 2008).
Over the years, the multinational organization has been the target of both intense praise and fierce criticism, often culminating in lawsuits. The primary accusations brought against the retail giant revolved around unfair treatment of employees — not in the sense of discrimination, but rather in the sense of offering insufficient wages and benefits. More recently, Walmart has also been the subject of negative commentary from customers who, while desiring the lowest prices and continuing to shop there, also expect acceptable quality in the merchandise they purchase. They do not always receive it, because the company has been increasingly focused on offering the lowest prices and therefore cuts costs in other areas.
For instance, because employees generally receive low wages and limited benefits, they lack the motivation to improve their performance, and as a result the service they offer consumers is often poor. In terms of product quality, the stores import items from the cheapest available sources, and transport conditions are not always optimal, leading to lower quality products on shelves. Despite these complaints, the company emphasizes the benefits it provides to motivate employees, its strong corporate culture, and the human resource policies it implements to increase staff job satisfaction.
Motivating staff is crucial at Walmart, especially given that employees serve as the link between corporate management and end consumers. Regardless of low prices, there are other supermarket chains implementing similar strategies, and if those competitors offer customers additional incentives, they could easily draw shoppers away from Walmart. Therefore, offering the lowest price alone is not sufficient; the organization must also offer high-quality products and services. The latter are directly dependent on employee satisfaction and their level of commitment to the organization — hence the need to motivate them.
The day at an American Walmart store begins with the gathering of all staff for a Morning Cheer. Former chief executive David Glass was known for showing "the sales team how the well-known Walmart 'Morning Cheer' should be done. Allegedly, the ritual has proved more popular in the U.S. than it has with Walmart's staff in Germany" (Kliger and Tweraser). The Morning Cheer is a daily practice aimed at boosting the morale of the sales staff, keeping them upbeat and willing to help customers throughout the day. While the general concept of the Morning Cheer is sound in principle, it does not always occur in every store and sometimes fails to achieve the desired outcome.
Aside from the Morning Cheer, the organization offers a broad set of incentives designed to increase associates' on-the-job satisfaction. For instance, in 2007 the company "improved and aligned compensation, increased leadership development and created a store manager council to ensure greater visibility for grassroots feedback from our associates" (Walmart 2007 Annual Report). Another relevant strategy involves integrating staff into the decision-making process and granting them greater rights and responsibilities — a topic addressed more fully in the Human Resource Policies section.
The company also implements promotional advancement strategies, meaning that based on their performance, employees are eligible for promotion to higher and even managerial positions. "Today, our worldwide workforce consists of more than 1.9 million associates. In several countries, a majority of our management team is comprised of associates who have advanced through the ranks. It is this opportunity to move ahead that makes working for Walmart attractive to associates, as well as to external talent" (Walmart 2007 Annual Report). This strategy encourages associates to improve their performance, motivated by the prospect of a better-qualified and better-compensated position within the company. Additional incentives include celebrating employee diversity and offering training programs that support the professional development of associates.
"Stakeholder focus and cultural evolution at Walmart"
"Empowerment model and employee decision-making involvement"
"Walmart as a model of integrated organizational success"
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