Organizational Culture at Wal-Mart

Abstract

Organizational culture is the persona of the organization; it is a shared meaning system within an organization that decides to a great extent, how employees act. The organizational culture is rooted in the beliefs, values, and principles that make up the roots of management system of an organization, in addition to the set of management procedures and behaviors that support those principles. Founder of Wal-Mart- Sam Walton, introduced some of the basic management concepts which are popular among Wal-Mart employees until the present. Although, the practices and culture of Wal-Mart are criticized too, however, on the other hand, it fosters such a culture too, which is creditworthy for a company of this scale to be capable to sustain its entrepreneurial spirit decade after decade.

Organizational Culture at Wal-Mart

Introduction

Walmart is the American multinational chain of discount and warehouse stores. It is the largest corporations in the world in terms of revenue. Walmart is involved in grocery and general merchandising retailing (Barbaro, 2007). The secret to Wal-Mart's success has long been attributed to its strong culture. Wal-Mart employees are referred to as "Walmartians" which is a mark of a distinctive culture shared by them. The company has been able to maintain its entrepreneurial spirit so long because of its organizational culture. The focus of this paper is to explain how viable employee relations practices have contributed to Wal-Mart's success as an employer; the benefits that may contribute to the success of Wal-Mart's employment practices; how the organizational culture and the use of performance criteria could affect the introduction of a union and the rationale behind the ineffective unionization of Wal-Mart over the years.

Discussion

Contribution of Employee Relations Practices to Wal-Mart's Success

Wal-Mart created the Employment Practices Advisory Panel in 2006 to evaluate and guide employment practices and diversity and inclusion initiatives. Employees ...