Walmarts Products, Services and Hiring Processes

Walmarts Products, Services and Hiring Processes The company was founded in 1945 and is based in Bentonville, Arkansas. It is a publicly traded company on the NYSE. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various formats worldwide. The companys Walmart U.S. segment offers meat, produce, deli, bakery, dairy, frozen foods, floral, and dry grocery; health and beauty aids, household chemicals, paper goods, and pet supplies; electronics, toys, cameras and supplies, photo processing services, cellular phones, cellular service plan contracts, and prepaid service; fabrics and crafts, stationery and books, automotive accessories, hardware and paint, horticulture and accessories, sporting goods, outdoor entertaining, and seasonal merchandise; apparel, shoes, and jewelry; pharmacy and optical services; and home furnishings, housewares, and small appliances through discount stores, supercenters, and neighborhood markets, as well as through walmart.com. Its International segment includes various formats of retail stores and restaurants, including supermarkets, combination discount and grocery stores, supercenters, Sams Clubs, hypermarkets, cash-n-carry stores, department stores, and general merchandise stores. The companys Sams Club segment offers merchandise, including hard goods, soft goods, and selected private-label items under the MEMBERS MARK, BAKERS CHEFS, and SAMS CLUB brands through warehouse membership clubs in the United States, as well as through samsclub.com. As of January 31, 2010, it operated 803 discount stores, 2,747 supercenters, 158 neighborhood markets, and 596 Sams Clubs in the United States; 43 units in Argentina, 434 in Brazil, 317 in Canada, 252 in Chile, 170 in Costa Rica, 77 in El Salvador, 164 in Guatemala, 53 in Honduras, 1 in India, 371 in Japan, 1,469 in Mexico, 55 in Nicaragua, 56 in Puerto Rico, and 371 in the United Kingdom, as well as 279 stores in the Peoples Republic of China. In 2010 it was the worlds largest public corporation by revenue, according to the Forbes Global 2000 f or that year. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 681 stores across the United States offering convenient low prices that customers seem to love. Each store features wide aisles and fully stacked shelves stocked with variety of reasonable priced items including: Health and beauty aids Electronics Jewelry Toys Family apparel Hardware Sporting goods Automotive Home furnishings Pet supplies House ware Lawn and garden items super centers meet the needs and demands for convenient family shopping at low prices. Super center groceries include: Frozen foods Deli foods Beverages Fresh produce Canned and packaged goods Meat and dairy products Bakery goods Household supplies Condiments Dry goods and staples Some of the super centers have specialty shops such as: Tire Lube Express Vision centers Portrait studio Pharmacy Brand name restaurants Photo center Health clinic Hair salon Employment Agency Bank Neighborhood Markets offer a quick and convenient way for customers to shop who need groceries, pharmaceuticals, and general merchandise all at their famous everyday low prices. This wide variety of products including: Fresh produce Meat and Dairy products Frozen foods Dry goods and staples Health and Beauty aids Deli foods Bakery Items Canned and packaged goods Condiments and spices Pet supplies Stationery and paper goods Drive through pharmacy Household supplies One hour photo center C. Products and Services initiatives that require HR support Wal-Mart global sourcing stays committed to providing and developing local talent for the purchasing of merchandise for all Wal-Mart retail operations. D. Brief Walmart structure Wal-Mart is one of the largest stores in the United States. It operates many different stores all around the world. It operates supercenters, discount stores, Sams club, and neighborhood markets. Wal-Mart operates in countries all over the world such as: Brazil, Argentina, China, Canada, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, United Kingdom and Puerto Rico. Wal-marts operations are subject to different laws, cultures, and customs. There are laws and regulation around the world that affects Wal-Mart each year, therefore the statement of ethics must be modified to match the changes in these laws and customs. Wal-Mart uses an organizational theory whereas the company utilizes its resources effectively increasing productivity. The company has been a leader in the category over any other company around. Wal-Mart uses a decentralized structure which leads to improved performance for the company. There are many ways that make Wal-Mart different from the othe r companies such as technology, innovation, and cost leadership. E. Organizational structure initiatives requiring H.R. support H.R. does not support the organizational structure alone. Developing careers and management the companies are involving all their employees. This was brought about because of the stiff competition in the retail sectors. New ways are a must for companies who are going to incorporate job enrichment. Wal-Mart has an orientation program that involves retention practices for their employees. When an employee starts their employment with Wal-Mart, they are taken through the recruitment process, which shows them what their new job position is. This also teaches the employee about the companys organizational structure, and about the Wal-Mart history. The employees are informed that the same warm welcome that is extended to the consumers when entering Wal-Mart goes the same for them when they report for work. The whole idea is to keep your employees once an organization has invested in them. Treat your employees well and they will feel a greater need to remain within the company. The employees at Wal-Mart are offered training and development programs, and this is considered as part of their regular work environment. The companys objective is to train and develop their employees to be prepared with the necessary skills, if chosen to climb the corporate latter as a well-trained employee leader. Wal-Mart came up the Leaders out In Front this means that the managers within the 4 manager areas will be responsible for training. This also gives them a chance to improve themselves for their own advancement goals. This will help improve the employees performance and according to the organization, the assistant managers are the ones who will be responsible for this training Another training program established by Wal-Mart uses a training program which is the store learning program that virtual classrooms that in certain selected stores employees learn what the most effective methods of delivery service. Wal-Mart employees develop their careers through skill assessments. The company uses an Associate Investment model where supervisors evaluate employee competencies, and allows the assessment of the evaluation process. If the evaluation was conducted incorrect or inaccurate, the company can detect it and makes their employees more prepared for future assessments. (King, 2006) The company goes through a career assessment and development process, which is known as the Phase one, the informative phase, which involves on boarding so that the company can ascertain whether their employees know all the skills and knowledge required to perform their job functions. In the fundamental track phase, the company conducts performance management, which assists their employees in the process of understanding their responsibilities, and is also tailored to create a good foundation for employees as perform their duties. The third phase for the employees is the advanced track phase. Associates are taught how to plan their careers. The company assures that their employees go through all the progressive steps required to advance to different positions within the company. Associates are required to evaluate their own performance, training and skills, so that they can maintain some kind of idea where they stand in their company. Wal-Mart employees while in this program are provided training for example on how to write resumes, conduct interviews, plan their careers and seek for job opportunities within the company. Many Wal-Mart employees have undergone these training programs where they have learned what it is to be part of the Wal-Mart family. The top managers understand the importance of developing well trained employees within the company. They feel very strongly on retaining their employees that have been through their training programs. (Marquez, 2005) The companys HR stated that the companys success is because of the dedication and time that is put into evaluating whether the best qualified employee has pursued the opportunities that the company offers. They are going to start working on obtaining information from their employees, to see what it is that the employee may want to pursue in his career with the company. Once this is accomplished, then the company can offer that specific training for that area, dept. or location. Because of employee concerns, Wal-Mart decided to come up with a plan that would will not only open up communication between management and staff, but would very much strengthen relations between them. This would be a great approach in this company. HR has been striving to improve employee practices. HR in improving career practices, decided to place an HR executive in charge of several stores instead of being placed in one store. This way the services can be better coordinated throughout the country. (Wal-Mart, 2008) Wal-Mart has also implemented a way to help their HR employees, by forming a five member team who has legal backgrounds and experience in HR. This team can offer assistance and provide advice to the managers when needed. This assistance for the managers, allows the managers more time to concentrate on their staff, because this helps to reduce their workloads in dealing and handling staff, and staff can concentrate on their jobs. (Wal-Mart, 2005) F. Organizational Markets/Methods of Organizational Marketing Wal-Mart marketing methods includes: offering items from the internet, adds in the newspaper, and commercial advertisement. This method of marketing keeps Wal-Mart customers coming back for more deals and low priced needed items. H.R. also plays a huge part in marketing for Wal-Mart by hiring and screening the right individuals to help with the marketing. Its very important to make sure the right people are on board so that Wal-Mart can market and sell their products. G. ORGANIZATIONAL, MARKETS/METHODS OF ORGANIZATIONAL MARKETING REQUIRING H.R. SUPPORT V. H.R. DEVELOPMENT SERVICES: NOW DOING AND NEED TO ADD: (15 PAGES) A. Organizational Core Competencies Wal-Mart is well aware that strategy for business expansion is the most important strategy that makes the company as big as it is today. Wal-Mart has managed to go from one single store to thousands of stores and supermarkets, all across the world. Wal-Mart has more growing plans which includes: a regional and international expansion. Putting these plans into place, the location would have to be one of the basic components for the plans. Location is important for a company like Wal-Mart, and other factors are involved also such as: distance and cost. One good characteristic that helps in determining the location is positioning the store next to a distribution center. By choosing the location near the distribution center will cut down on shipping time and gas expense for the truck. Wal-Mart also tries to locate the store around the community. By placing it around the community, makes it convenient for customers to shop by saving their time of driving. The next best thing that Wal-Mart keeps in mind when picking a location is the parking lot. Wal-Mart always tries to make sure parking lots have enough space and that customers are able to easily enter and exit. Wal-Marts expansion strategy must have a good plan put into place and with highly committed people and customers this can be made possible. Wal-Mart has competitive advantage over its competitors because of the following core competencies. As promised in its slogan Wal-Mart has been providing products at lower prices, it is possible due to the low cost operations. Wal-Mart share the value of low cost with customers by selling the products at lower prices. Hard working, efficient and process oriented employees have been working with Wal-Mart. Better use of technology to directly connect with supplier and partners. Implemented Just-in-time inventory process to reduce the cost of managing inventory at Warehouses In summary. Wal-Mart core competencies are employees, cost efficient processes and relationship with supplier and partners by using technology. B. Strategic Planning for Organization and H.R. involvement Wal-Mart Strategy Strategic planning for Wal-Mart involves differentiating its organization from its competitors in a way that is sustainable in the future. Wal-Mart plans to continue to strive hard to make their organization unique, distinctive and identify key success factors that will drive the customers to continue to buy their products. H.R. can make this possible by being a key player who has the drive and skills to make this possible. Wal-Mart dominates the American retailing industry due to number of factors like its business model which is still a mystery and its effectiveness in not letting the rivals let know about the weaknesses. Wal-Mart made strategic attempts in the its formulation to dominate the retail market where it has its presence, growth by expansion in the US and Internationally, create widespread name recognition and customer satisfaction in relation to brand name Wal-Mart and branching into new sectors of retailing. It is learnt that Wal-Mart strives on three generic strategies consisting of Focus Strategy, the Differentiation Strategy and overall cost leadership. Managers strive hard to make their organizations unique, distinctive and identify key success factors that will drive the customers to buy their products.Thus, firm specific resources and capabilities are crucial in explaining the firms performance. The Resource Based View (RBV) explains competitive heterogeneity based on the premise that close competitors differ in their resources and capabilities in important and durable ways. The companys capability can be found through its functionality, reliable performance, like Wal-Mart superior logistics. (Helfat, 2002) Wal-Mart has firm infrastructure, well equipped in human resource with management professionals and technologically too. Any organizations thrive hard to be successful for which it needs to have better resources and superior capabilities. Wal-Mart has strong RBV with economically and financially very strong enough to stand still in the time of crisis. Pereira states that dominating the retail market is its key strategy. Wal-Mart operates on low price strategy which is operated as every day low prices (EDLP) which builds trust among the customers.(Brunn, 2006)The strategy lies in purchasing the goods at lower prices and selling the goods to customer at much lower prices, cutting the price as far as possible and increasing the profit by increasing the number of sales. This ferociously increases the competition in the market and Wal-Mart competes with all its competitors till it is dominant it the market. Wal-Mart is expanding seriously and rapidly which is also its strategic goal. Wal-Mart employs over 1.3 associates, owns over 4000 stores out of which 3000 are in US and serves around 100 million customers weekly. Wal-Mart has acquired many international stores and merged with some super stores like ASDA in UK. Wal-Mart far flung network of retail outlets has ensured that Wal-Mart interacts with and has impact on virtually every locality within US. (Helfat, 2002) The expanded strategy has led the hunger of Wal-Mart to many European Countries. It is learnt that three countries with no Wal-Mart stores became part of corporations international presence wherein the domestic retail chains were taken over by Wal-Mart including 122 Woolco stores in Canada, 21 Wertkauf stores in Germany and 229 ASDA units in United Kingdom. The takeover strategy by Wal-Mart keeps the company at forefront when entering into the new market and the number of competitors is also minimized. The strategies have he lped the Wal-Mart to rein in number one position in international countries making it the largest retailer in the world. It is seen that Wal-Mart has significantly the Porters five force model wherein through proper strategic planning and strategic implementation has led to removal of barrier entry, rivalry from competitors and pricing norms. In regard to substitutes, Wal-Mart in order to achieve its aim of customer satisfaction has selling goods under its own legal brand. Wal-Marts big box phenomenon has changed the retailing industry in the United States which is often considered as discount stores and makes profit through high volume of purchases and low markup on profits.(Parnell, 2008)Wal-Mart with its low cost and ever expanding strategy has made a dramatic impact since 1962 when Sam Walton first started his business. With this strategy, Wal-Mart has now over 4000 stores and outlets in US and other countries through acquisition and mergers. C. Hiring process and tools Walmart Hiring Process The Walmart process, depending on the position, is a fairly streamlined set of discrete events beginning with a standard application form fill, following through with a series of interviews, and culminating with an ultimate decision as to whether a candidate is the correct hire for Walmart. Along the way, a job candidate may be asked to perform any number of skills assessments or take a battery of tests to determine the applicants fitness for a job at Walmart. For a checker, the entire hiring process could unfold in a matter of days, while for more responsible management and executive positions, the hiring process could last any number of weeks or even months from the time of inception. Walmart Hiring Information Walmart Hiring Process The Walmart process, depending on the position, is a fairly streamlined set of discrete events beginning with a standard application form fill, following through with a series of interviews, and culminating with an ultimate decision as to whether a candidate is the correct hire for Walmart. Along the way, a job candidate may be asked to perform any number of skills assessments or take a battery of tests to determine the applicants fitness for a job at Walmart. For a checker, the entire hiring process could unfold in a matter of days, while for more responsible management and executive positions, the hiring process could last any number of weeks or even months from the time of inception. Walmart Hiring Information Where can you get information on which Walmart stores or office are hiring and for what positions? Job boards like Indeed.com aggregate postings from around the internet in an easily-searchable web interface that can prove invaluable to a job search whether for Walmart or any other corporation or entity. Other sources of Walmart hiring information can include personal LinkedIn network mining or even old-fashioned face-to-face business mixers that Walmart hiring managers might be likely to attend. If youve exhausted all these sources of hiring information for Walmart, then it could be time to just head down to your local outpost and inquire as to whether they have a local email list or job board that keeps potential applicants notified when postions become open. D. Organizational Development and Change initiatives (e.g. restructuring, policies and procedures, innovation and creativity, competitive strategies) E. Organizational Assessment Processes (eg., profit/loss evaluation, efficiency measures, market growth and decline, market share analysis, coordination and departmentalization) F. Human Capital Assessment Process (e.g., performance reviews, development plans, corrective action plans, needs assessment) G. Training, development and education programs: Management and Leadership Supervisory Team Building Sales and Marketing Customer Service Safety, Quality and Technical Career Mgt./Development programs H. Succession Planning I. Performance Management and Review Systems J. Re-structuring of the organizations or major departments K. Job enlargement, job enrichment L. Personal services: Payroll HRIS/HRM Compensation and Benefits and Pay for performance evidence M. Legal services: how provided N. Other services by function: financial budgets and control, bonus system, etc.