The Good and Bad of Wal-Mart's Culture
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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
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"All associates work for the customers who buy our
merchandise. In fact, the customers can fire everybody in our company. And they
can do it by simply spending their money somewhere else. The greatest measure of
our success is how well we please the customer, 'Our Boss'. "
- Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart1
"Our commitment to meeting the needs of each individual
Customer can be fulfilled only by recruiting, developing and promoting the very
best people we can find around the world".
- John B. Menzer, Head, Wal-Mart International Division in
2003.2
"Our family is proud of the accomplishments of our
Wal-Mart Associates around the world. Without their dedication and commitment,
there would be no Wal-Mart."
Rob Walton, Chairman, Wal-Mart in 20033
'Good to Great'
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In 2003, with sales at a quarter of a trillion, a double digit growth rate, and
employees exceeding 1.3 million, Wal-Mart was one of the most successful
companies in the world. Not only was Wal-Mart the biggest retailer in the world,
it was also the biggest customer for companies like Disney, Proctor and Gamble,
Revlon, Campbell Soup, Gillette, etc. In addition to this, it was the biggest
seller of DVDs, CDs, groceries, guns, diamonds and a number of other products in
the US. Wal-Mart was a super-retailer where a customer could get whatever he
wanted under one roof. The company thrived on convenience and reasonably priced
products.
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Wal-Mart always gave more importance to volumes than margins and promised
customers the lowest prices on every kind of goods. Analysts believe that
culture is one of the most important determinants in making a good company a
'great' one.
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The success of Wal-Mart has long since been attributed to the
company's strong cultural base. Analyst Jim Collins4
observed that Wal-Mart had the kind of 'cult-like' culture that is
shared by all great companies. Even the employees of Wal-Mart were
sometimes referred to as "Walmartians" by outsiders, reflecting the
distinctiveness of the people who shared that culture. It was a
wonder that a company of such a huge size and scope could maintain
its entrepreneurial spirit so many decades after it first started,
besides achieving admirable growth rates which were poised to make
it the first trillion dollar company in the world. |
The Good and Bad of Wal-Mart's Culture
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