Analysis of Wal-Mart’s Business Processes
[Institution Title]
Introduction
Majority of organizations are governed by business practices that are distinctly designed according to their priorities and personal beliefs. Among these practices includes policy relating to privacy, diversity, worker’s rights, environmental responsibility, marketing plan, products issues and intellectual property rights. Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailing chains in the United States with revenues amounting to US$ 485.651 billion for the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 . For several consecutive years, Wal-Mart has been named as the first amongst the Top Performing Company by Fortune 500 . The organization’s lead executives assert that they owe their consistently good standing on their specially designed business practices that compliments the organizational values and culture. This paper intends to analyze these businesses practice and conduct extensive review on the existing practices relative to the effectiveness of Wal-Mart’s approach on the issues confronting the organization. This analysis will be supported with researches and assessments which might not necessarily be connected with Wal-Mart but has similarities in relation to the contingencies that brought about the issues.
Discussion
Despite Wal-Mart’s successful stature and disposition, the organization has been involved in several issues and controversies that has significantly affected the morale and the reputation of the company. Thus, Wal-Mart tries to create policies that are distinctively designed for the specific needs and demands of the organization, as well as the industry in general. Among these policies are those involved in the following business practices-- privacy, diversity, worker’s rights, environmental responsibility, marketing plan, products issues and intellectual property rights.
Wal-Mart participate in one of the trendiest and most convenient form of business—the use of E-Commerce Technology. However, one of the biggest challenges of this practice is the issue on privacy. Most often than not, organizations that adapt this technology would require their customers to enter personal information to process their transaction. Given the delicate and sensitivity of these information which could result to fraud and identity theft, Wal-Mart needs to secure their customers that the information they shared with the company will not be utilized for self-serving reasons. More so, Wal-Mart’s Privacy Policy assures their customers of a more intricate process of safeguarding their personal information. This is because in events where clients would use their personal details, the Wal-Mart’s system will conduct verification checks that would authorize and authenticate the transaction. For example, when someone is attempting to use their client’s personal information to make a purchase, the identity of the customer needs to be verified by answering security questions. Similarly, special protocols are implemented in some delicate and sensitive transactions like purchasing a prescription from Wal-Mart’s Health and Wellness operations .
Diversity
One of Wal-Mart’s most developed business practices is its diversity and inclusion program. In fact, since Wal-Mart began operation in 1962 under the leadership of its founder Sam Walton, Wal-Mart has already made the concept of diversity as one of the organization’s core values and culture . Wal-Mart believed in looking beyond the superficial and focusing on what the individual player and bring into the company. This is why, Wal-Mart enforce a highly diversified workforce. As part of Wal-Mart’s campaign towards global responsibility, diversifying its labor force does not only foster an effective marketing strategy. It also allows the organization to deliver its founder’s advocacy to open its doors to people regardless of age, gender, race, color and religion. Wal-Mart believes that the best way to serve the customers is to have associates who understands their specific needs. There is no better way to do this but to hire people who shares the biggest similarities with their specific target market. Not only does sharing a common language in effective customer service, there is the feeling of being at home when you are being serviced by someone you feel connected with.
In Wal-Mart’s 2015 Diversity and Inclusion Report, it mentioned that at present Wal-Mart has over 1.3 million associates in the US alone. More than 255,000 of these are African-American while 169,000 are of Hispanic descents . Likewise, there are also 43,000 Asian and 6,000 Pacific Islanders who are currently under Wal-Mart’s payroll. Wal-Mart also included under their payroll 14,000 Native American Indians and Alaskans in 2014. Given the highly diversified workforce according to ethnicity, Wal-Mart is named one of the highest employing companies of foreign workers in the history of the United States.
Part of the diversification and inclusion program is hiring of female associates. In fact, out of the 1.3 million associates, 807,000 of them were women. That statistics reveal that women employees are still significantly higher in numbers compared to men. In addition, Wal-Mart does not discriminate employees based on gender and that includes promoting female associates whenever they are deserving. In fact, in 2012, Wal-Mart revealed that 54% of the hourly female associates were promoted because of their hard work and dedication.
Worker’s Rights
Perhaps one of the widely criticized program or plan of Wal-Mart is how it takes care and values their employees. Many critics of the company believed that Wal-Mart is not being true to the consumers, more so their employees every time they say that they value their people. In an online article that criticize how Wal-Mart handles its workforce argues that Wal-Mart has been exaggerating the picture but failed to actually deliver the truth when it reports its accomplishments. In the said article, the author criticizes how Wal-Mart brags having 2.1 million workers worldwide. Nevertheless, these is the number equivalent to 50 smallest countries combined together . The point that the contributors of the blog site were pointing at was the fact that in every new supercenter is believed to create 300 new jobs for people. However, while the figures are big the compensation are not sufficient. Wal-Mart merely relies on the summed up figure. While it may have been the case, many are not aware that every associate only receives $8.81 per hour. And when one would sum up how much a fulltime associate makes in a year, it will only amount to $15,500 a year and that means that many of Wal-Mart’s associates are living below poverty line based on the standards set by the IBIS World Report, a global business intelligence leader. Critics of Wal-Mart says further that the company is good at manipulating figures and painting a picture perfect story. In fact, many believed that while Wal-Mart amass in profit, their associates are kept to shoulder all the burden of making that quota. Wal-Mart is good at boosting ego but not feeding a family or sending someone to school. Wal-Mart does not know how to take care of its people except from making them smell good in the public eye. However, behind closed doors many are hungry and many are too tired from working long hours without just compensations.
Environmental Responsibility
Aside from Wal-Mart’s Diversity and Inclusion Program, the most developed program of the company refers to their obligations to the environment as included in the organization’s environmental responsibility programs. According to this sets of business practices, Wal-Mart has developed a campaign that would secure their role towards nation building. Wal-Mart refers to this this advocacy as their Duties towards Environmental Sustainability. Wal-Mart facilitates for the three sustainability goals referring to energy, waste and products.
Energy
As far as energy is concerned, Wal-Mart aims to have all of it stores and business unit be run and powered by 100% renewable energy. This means building more wind turbine to create wind energy or using solar panels to power the buildings. This comparatively cheaper and not to mention this is environment friendly too. Using renewable energy deters from burning and converting of energy. With Wal-Mart’s on-going 335 energy project, the company has been able to benefit 2.2 billion kWh of power annually.
Waste
Almost near impossibility, Wal-Mart hopes to facilitate a 100% zero waste management through recycling, smart repacking and reducing the use of plastic bags during shopping experiences. While this is 90% operational and effective in Japan and UK, and 70% effective in Canada and Mexico, this is still yet to be seen in the United States. There are other campaigns that prevents waste from accumulating like trading one’s worn out and dysfunction. The goal for this In addition, Wal-Mart also believe in the traditional process of preventing waste which is commonly referred to as the 3 R’s of sustainability--reduce, reuse and recycle . However, Wal-Mart innovated the system and incorporated a fourth component—rethink. The rethink campaign is done in close communication with Wal-Mart’s suppliers to facilitate the bigger, more conglomerated approach to including more people into the project.
Products
As far as products are concerned, Wal-Mart turns to organic products and encourage their suppliers and partners to develop means where their products can be convert to organic. Wal-Mart calls this Food Sustainability. The vision of this advocacy is to create a better and healthier customers and they thought that what better ways to do it that to convert majority of the food groups sold, purchased and consumed by the public. In addition, Wal-Mart also hopes to be able to meet up the bigger demand for healthy food as it is projected that by year 2025, there would be approximately 9 billion people into the planet that would necessarily be required to be fed with. However, in order to cater to this number production for food needs to be increased by 70%. Hence, Wal-Mart is finding means to augment the possible shortage in food supply.
Conclusion
While Wal-Mart’s existing business practices, programs and policies are appealing to the ear and offer a positive note, it is still best to evaluate and scrutinize this figures by a fraction that being to enamored by the combined and consolidated figure which may simply be just too overwhelming. Wal-Mart is trying to mask the truth by the appealing figures when in fact, there is something dysfunctional in the equation.
References
Top Performing Companies. (2015, June 25). Retrieved from Fortune 500 Website: http://fortune.com/fortune500/walmart-1/
US SEC. (2015, March 31). Wal-Mart: Form 10-K Annual Report. Retrieved from US Securities and Exchange Commisions: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000010416914000019/0000104169-14-000019-index.htm
Wal-Mart and Workers. (2015, May 3). Retrieved from Making Change at Wal-Mart Blogsite: http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/walmart-and-workers/
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2014, February 14). Wal-Mart 2014 Global Responsibility Result. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://www.corporatereport.com/walmart/2014/grr/compliance_global_audit.html
Wal-Mart, Inc. (2015, June 25). Diversity and Inclusion. Retrieved from Wal-Mart, Inc. Website: http://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/diversity-inclusion/
Wal-Mart, Inc. (2015, June 25). Environmental Sustainability: Waste. Retrieved from Wal-Mart, Inc.: http://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/environment-sustainability/waste
Wal-Mart, Inc. (2015, January 6). Health & Wellness Privacy Notice. Retrieved from Wal-Mart Corporate Website: http://corporate.walmart.com/privacy-security/notices/health-wellness
