The Good and Bad of Wal-Mart's Culture
|
|
ICMR HOME | Case Studies Collection
Case Details:
Case Code : HROB037
Case Length : 17 Pages
Period : 1943 - 2003
Pub Date : 2003
Teaching Note : Available
Organization : Wal-Mart
Industry : Retailing
Countries : USA
To download The Good and Bad of Wal-Mart's Culture case study
(Case Code: HROB037) click on the button below, and select the case from the list of available cases:
Price:
For delivery in electronic format: Rs. 500;
For delivery through courier (within India): Rs. 500 + Rs. 25 for Shipping & Handling Charges
»
Human Resource, Organization Behavior Case Studies
» HRM Short Case Studies
» View Detailed Pricing Info
» How To Order This Case
» Business Case Studies
» Area Specific Case Studies
» Industry Wise Case Studies
» Company Wise Case Studies
Please note:
This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.
Chat with us
Please leave your feedback
|
|
<< Previous
Excerpts Contd...
The Darker Side of Walmart's Culture
|
In spite of being generally applauded for its culture, Wal-Mart was also
severely criticized for certain aspects of its culture.
Overtime Woes
Although Wal-Mart had a very strict policy on overtime and the company's rules
forbade it, it was observed that, at most of the stores, employees worked
between 5 and 15 hours overtime per week. (The company had a 40 hour work week).
Since the company was very strict about not allowing overtime (there were
instances where store managers who paid overtime were demoted and in cases, even
dismissed), it was usually done on an unofficial basis.
|
|
Since overtime was not allowed, store managers often asked workers to clock
out after their shift was over and then continue working. Sometimes workers
were put to work as soon as they came to the stores at the start of the
shift, even before they could clock in.
This way, employees sometimes worked a couple of hours before they clocked
in. One employee recollected an instance when she had worked for 3 hours in
a store before she officially clocked in.
Another tactic employed was to lock the doors of the store at the end of a
shift (ostensibly to prevent theft) to prevent employees from leaving at the
scheduled time. This often enraged employees as well as their families and
created a poor image of Wal-Mart.
Sometimes the time cards were also edited by the people in charge of payroll
to show that employees worked only 40 hours per week. When people clocked in
more than 40 hours the additional hours were deleted from the records. This
was a regular practice at the stores to control the expenditure on salaries...
|
|
Towards a Better Walmart
The problem with Wal-Mart was that, as the largest company in the
world, it had three times the number of employees that the second
largest company behind it had. Analysts felt that the size of the
company itself suggested that the scope of problems was likely to be
higher. It was not practically possible for the headquarters or the
top management to keep track of everything going on at the store
level. Therefore, some stores deviated considerably from the
corporate principles. |
In view of the flak it received, Wal-Mart began some change
programs in its stores. It developed a posting system for all management jobs so
that all the employees could be informed about them and be given the chance to
apply for promotions...
Exhibits
Exhibit I: The Walmart Cheer
Exhibit II: Sam Walton's Ten Rules for Building a Business
Exhibit III: Annual Financials
Exhibit IV: Number of International Stores at the End of Fiscal 2003
Exhibit V: Recent Awards and Recognition
|
|
