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Daniela Gonzalez
Professor Funk
MNGT 370
12/3/20
Walmart Organization
Introduction
Over the past decades, the universal exchange of goods and services has surged from 30
percent to 60 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) (Bosma, Sanders and Stam
489). Due to globalization, the universal supply chain automatically connects the suppliers of
manufacturers' resources and components, thus fueling the economic engine of universal
economic activities. One of the renowned multinational companies is Walmart, the giant retail
organizations across the universe. The organization takes pride in serving more than 270 million
customers worldwide. All too often, this organization is used as a benchmark by other companies
in the retail industry. Notably, Walmart did not just become a well-known business overnight.
The organization has grown dramatically from a small local business to an international venture
that serves its customers with quality products (Bosma, Sanders and Stam 491). Walmart is a
massive company that focuses on providing exemplary customer service and improving its
business strategies to achieve a competitive advantage in the dynamic market. This growth is
attributed to several factors, which have contributed to the expansion. Therefore, this paper seeks
to discuss global organizations regarding globalization, motivation, and leadership aspects. The
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paper will further discuss the organization's current and future challenges and provide
recommendations to address these issues.
Globalization
Globalization is the process of conducting a business across national boundaries.
Notably, this process involves the interlinking of markets and economic structures, thus forming
a universal market and economy. For this reason, organizations intend to explore the
opportunities presented by globalization. As mentioned earlier, Walmart is a multinational
organization that serves more than 270 million worldwide. This organization's supply chain has
gone beyond national boundaries since international ventures present vast opportunities to
businesses. Organizations seek to cross the border and establish their businesses beyond their
mother boundaries (Dhaliwal 4). Although Walmart started as a small grocery in 1962, the
business has expanded its operations globally. By employing more than 2.3 million individuals,
the organization has contributed significantly to stabilizing the world economy. Overall,
Walmart's great success is attributed to its efforts to align with the globalization strategies. The
socio-Cultural factors that influence globalization include social institutions, beliefs, attitudes,
population, tastes, and preferences, and dominating value structures.
Several factors usually influence the globalization of markets. For example, economic
aspects such as taxation rate, exchange rate, and level of income all influence an organization’s
globalization rate. Markedly, the acceptance of the United States dollar as the dominant currency
for all international currencies has enabled multinational organizations to fully embrace
globalization since it is manageable to carry out international transactions. Organizations whose
marketing strategies align with people’s socio-cultural beliefs and practices are more likely to
thrive. Since Walmart organization acknowledges this fact, it continues to provide products
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mostly preferred by its customers. To note, the marketing team at Walmart conducts extensive
research on what their customers’ needs are. The team then analyzes this information critically
before establishing a plan to meet these needs. The organization attracts more customers by
meeting these needs and continues to expand, even beyond national boundaries. The government
system and political stability also play a key role in enhancing globalization. Even though
several countries' regulatory bodies and policies differ, having a politically stable government
helps to maintain a good relationship between nations, hence laying a suitable basis for
globalization. Since time immemorial, Walmart has aligned itself with the global political
aspects, thus expanding successfully without major political hindrances.
As organizations expand their businesses beyond national boundaries, they continue to
enjoy the benefits of this process. As mentioned earlier, globalization presents vast opportunities
to businesses, hence continue to motivate organizations to invest further. Since growth is one of
the major goals of any organization, globalization allows companies to expand intensively.
Through globalization, Walmart has continued to grow in profits, market share, and base assets.
After fully exploiting the local market, Walmart organization decided to exploit the international
market, thus serving more customers than those available locally. With this strategy, the
organization continue to make more sales, thus more revenues and profits. Since employees play
a major role in the realization of an organization’s objectives, Walmart’s decision to go
internationally has boosted its human resource. Through globalization, organizations explore
diverse skills and talents, which eventually foster creativity in the organization. Globalization
also boosts innovation and the adoption of new ideas and technological aspects (Bosma, Sanders
and Stam 493). Since innovation is vital for any venture's survival, Walmart has continuously
explored possible innovative techniques that have enabled the organization to navigate through
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the dynamic and competitive global market. For instance, the organization has an e-commerce
system, which enables it to serve different customers without forcing them to access physically
located enterprises. Since customers can access the product at their convenience, they tend to
cling to such organizations, which serve them at their comfort.
Challenges of globalization
Even though globalization presents beneficial opportunities to organizations, there are
several threats that multinational companies face. For instance, developing human resource
systems that address a diverse workforce is a challenge. In its history, Walmart has faced labor
relations issues that have resulted in strikes, thus affecting the operations of the organization. The
shortage of essential skills in multinational organizations also forces them to incur extra costs in
conducting pieces of training for their employees (Dhaliwal 6). This process negatively affects
the organization’s budget. Globalization not only poses financial threats to multinational
companies but also poses competition issues. Although a company may be successful within the
local region, it may face stiff competition from other companies universally, thus driving weak
organizations off the market.
Motivation
Motivation plays a crucial role in driving employees towards achieving a company’s goal
effectively. It is the fuel that governs human dedication to accomplish given tasks. According to
Jensen (2018), the quality of work expressed by an employee is dependent on the amount of
motivation represented by the organization. Arguably, organizations have different methods of
motivating their employees to ensure they are comfortable and satisfied. Walmart has various
employee motivation techniques to ensure its employees are satisfied and express good quality
work that has seen the business grow over the years. Employee happiness and satisfaction are
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crucial factors in any successful business (Ferrell, Hirt, and Ferrell, 2020). Walmart is known for
its unique dedication to its employees. The management in this business believes that every other
person, including the customers and shareholders, will automatically be satisfied when employee
concerns are addressed. Since employee productivity is more of a voluntary course than
mandatory, employee satisfaction should be mandatory (Jensen, 2018). For instance, employees'
productivity will be lowered if they have a negative attitude towards their boss, product, or
business. Therefore, Walmart Organization has given its employees satisfying pay, health care
benefits, and extensive training.
Notably, there are different methods to ensure there is employee motivation within an
organization. One of the essential techniques is employee empowerment. By giving employees
responsibilities and the power to make some decisions, they acquire self-motivation to
accomplish their tasks and generally improve their performance. Creating an open
communication channel allows the employees to approach their seniors regarding any issue. This
strategy is beneficial to the organization since it makes it easier for management to address
employee concerns appropriately. As can be mentioned, Walmart organization makes decisions
that favor its employees, even in difficult times. From giving the employees extensive training to
giving employees access to the company's data such as financial reports, it demonstrates its
commitment to employee motivation and satisfaction. Markedly, employee motivation directly
relates to customer satisfaction and loyalty. For instance, a customer who has a negative
experience by relating with an organization's employee will not see the employee as the only bad
figure; they'll consider the entire organization as non-friendly and, in worse cases, tarnish the
organization's name. With contemporary technology, it is easier to spread the word about how
one's experience with a particular organization has been influencing people across the universe to
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avoid dealing with the same organizations. Whether the company is thriving or shaking,
companies need to ensure they continuously motivate their employees. It is easier for employees
to feel demotivated by globalization, especially if they are deployed to foreign locations.
However, suppose the organization identifies a way, such as providing financial and emotional
assistance to support their employees. There will be a smooth transition, and the employees will
be motivated to explore new opportunities.
Challenges and recommendations for employee motivation
Although employee motivation plays a key role in the successful operation of any
businesses, it poses several challenges to the organization. For instance, some motivation
techniques such as employee empowerment, which gives employees the power to make
decisions, could result in unending wrangles among employees, especially if there is a second or
third opinion regarding the decision. To address such issues, motivational factors for the future
should be considered. These factors include social responsibilities, collaborative rewards,
transparency, and feedback.
Leadership
Organizational leadership is a crucial component in ensuring the operations of a business
run effectively. Arguably, there are limited explanations of how globalization has impacted
leadership (Sasidhar and Singh 289). Moreover, there are no universally accepted set of skills
and practices that govern leadership in the global market to ensure that there is uniformity in the
process. As Farrell, Hirt, and Farrell 252 posits, poor leadership within an organization can result
in adverse effects, leading to the downfall of a business. Therefore, leaders ought to have
managerial skills, which play a vital role in guiding their employees on a day-to-day basis. Since
employees look up to leaders, leaders need to showcase these essential skills to influence the
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people and impact the organization to its highest possible level. These skills include problemsolving skills, decision-making skills, teamwork, team building, integrity and transparency
aspects, spreading the organizational vision, and identifying innovation opportunities whenever
they arise.
Additionally, leaders require conceptual skills, technical skills, analytical skills, and
human relations skills to help them deal with global managerial issues, regardless of how
complicated they may seem. The Walmart organization leaders continue to showcase these skills,
which help them control the organization’s operations and identify problems or challenges in the
different organization’s functions. The leaders at Walmart also maintain a good relationship with
the relevant stakeholders. Through human relations skills, they can understand how human
beings behave, communicate, and relate to each other. As a result, they can maintain good
interrelation between customers, employees, and other relevant parties. Since the contemporary
world is increasingly becoming interconnected, the concept of leadership has been altered. For
instance, there is a need to recruit the best candidates who will enable organizations to thrive in a
globalized environment (Sasidhar and Singh 301). Notably, people have different beliefs and
cultures, therefore leaders ought to be smart when dealing with multinational companies.
Challenges and recommendations regarding global leadership
Global leaders continue to face political, social, cultural, technical, environmental, and
legal challenges in the global environment. These leaders also have a challenge with
sustainability and ethical issues across national boundaries. There have been transformations in
political power, with inequalities in marginalized countries. As a result, leaders find it
challenging to maneuver and successfully achieve organizational goals. Additionally, due to the
difference in financial systems across different nations, leaders may be torn between clinging to
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the organizational culture or making the necessary amendments for the business's survival. To
address the challenges facing global leadership, there is a need for organizational leaders to
actively participate in plans and activities that protect universal resources and the environment
while avoiding the exploitation of other nations at their expense. Leaders also ought to build
bridges that aim to unite people from different cultures through common values, as opposed to
building walls that demean other people and deny them their rights.
Walmart’s Current Situation
Being the largest retailer globally, Walmart has managed to maintain opportunism and
flexibility within a broad spectrum in the dynamic market. Over the past decades, the
organization has aggressively pursued globalization, which has seen the company grow its sales
and profits, thus satisfying capital market anticipations. Since the organization has customers
worldwide, it has dedicated itself to offering unique services to ensure it meets the customer
needs and satisfaction (Ferrell, Hirt and Ferrell 220). One of the advantages of this organization
is that it offers its products at a lower price yet still makes profits. This process is possible since
the organization has an every-day-low-price policy, which allows its customers to acquire their
products at an affordable rate. As a result, the organization attracts more customers, and as the
customers increase, the sales go up, and more revenue is achieved.
Another advantage that Walmart has is that it has embraced a marketing mix that allows
it to operate globally without facing challenges. The marketing mix consists of the 4P’s (Product,
price, promotion, and place). Regarding the product, the organization seeks to provide unique
products that meet and exceed its customers' expectations. Their price is usually lowered; hence
customers can acquire them at an affordable rate without straining financially. The organization
has a promotional plan that covers all customers worldwide. Through technology, Walmart can
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advertise its product and create a public relations plan that reaches all its customers. Walmart has
managed to establish a business in different physical locations. Therefore, people can access
their products easily. Besides this advantage, the organization has also embraced e-commerce,
where all the products available at the physical shops are available online. This digital process
allows customers to access the products, regardless of their location. Additionally, customers can
order their products and get them delivered at their convenience. Arguably, local businesses limit
their opportunities for growing and achieving more revenue. By going global, Walmart has
beaten this limitation and exploited the vast opportunities presented by globalization
Since the contemporary market is characterized by a struggling economic environment,
more retailers, regardless of their organizational size, are seeking global markets to sustain their
growth and survival (Ferrell, Hirt and Ferrell 227). As this trend continues, it is anticipated that
there will be more competition in the industry, and only the best, strong, and unique businesses
will be able to survive and thrive. For this reason, Walmart organization must create a strategic
plan that will enable it to maintain its position as the world’s best and largest retailer. For
instance, the company should focus its plans and resources on areas where there are potential
growth and expansion. Another recommendation on how Walmart should proceed is that the
organization should continue identifying weaker companies that are more likely to have an
effective approach. Walmart should then assess these and acquire them, and later turn them into
powerhouse organizations within a short time. Since Walmart has already built a brand name, it
will be easier for these organizations to be recognized and gain a competitive advantage in the
market, just like the mother company.
To maintain its position, Walmart should continue to be creative and innovative in its
ideas and efforts to make international stores well equipped with good quality products, and
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continue with its trend of lowered costs. Since this organization does not fully depend on a
specific vendor, it should continue with this trend. Relying on only one vendor can pose threats
to the supply chain of a business, resulting in its downfall. With new technological approaches,
distributors are now operating through laser-guided conveyed belts and cross-docking techniques
to receive and deliver products effectively. Walmart should embrace this technology to save
time, efforts, and cost incurred during the distribution processes.
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, Walmart is one of the largest retailers across the universe. This
organization started as a small grocery store and embraced globalization, which has led to its
growth and more success. As businesses seek opportunities beyond National boundaries, the
global market continues to grow, and globalization is encountered. Since Walmart organization
embraced globalization decades ago, the organization has been able to employ millions of
people, thus promoting the global economy. It also serves customers across the globe, who
continually enjoy good quality products at affordable prices. This organization's success is
attributed to the management, who execute appropriate managerial skills to govern the
organization's operations of this organization. The leadership in this organization also plays an
important role in creating harmony between the diverse cultures, attitudes, and beliefs
experienced by globalization. As a result, all its employees and customers are catered for. The
organization also motivates its employees through different techniques. For instance, employees
are rewarded for their excellent work; there are promotions, acknowledgment, and other benefits.
Employee's comfort and satisfaction are also given priority, thus motivating them to continue
working.
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Works Cited
Bosma, Niels, Mark Sanders, and Erik Stam. "Institutions, entrepreneurship, and economic
growth in Europe." Small Business Economics 51.2 (2018): 483-499.
Dhaliwal, Amrita. "Role of entrepreneurship in economic development." International Journal
of scientific research and management 4.6 (2016).
Ferrell, Geoffrey A. Hirt, and Linda Ferrell. “Business foundations: A changing world. New
York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. 1-389 (2020).
Sasidhar, P. V. K., & Singh, P. Unit-3 Functions of Management. Indira Gandhi National Open
University, New Delhi 289-506. (2020)