Wal-Mart’s Management: The Art of Resource Optimization

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Brief history of Wal-Mart
Steps Which Aid In Gaining Managerial Organization
Organization Function of Management As It Relates To Technology
Organization Function of Management As It Relates To Human Resources
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Organizations are usually subgroups existing within the society and they usually function differently according to their roles. They deal with different issues ranging from: health, business, and other societal aspects. These organizations thus have different missions, responsibilities and even offer different sources depending on the goal of their establishment.

On the other hand, the organizing function of management usually deals with the activities that result in the allocation and assignment of tasks and authority to bring out coordination within the organization. The management examines the work, prepares employees and allows the work group to form (productive) teams.

Brief history of Wal-Mart

Before the Wal-Mart stores were opened in the 1962, Sam Walton the owner traveled widely through out the country and studied everything that was available to be known about the discounting business. From his study, he was well convinced that all the American consumers wanted a new type of store. With this vision, Sam and his wife invested much of their money investing in the first company store in Rogers Ark.

The company continued growing and in the year 1972, the Wal-Mart stocks were offered to the public in the New York stock exchange and as a result, the company grew exponentially opening numerous stores within a decade. In 1983, the company came of age with the opening of the first Sam’s club members warehouse by the early 1990s, the company had had increased their employees ten fold and also sales growing exponentially.

Currently, the company is one of the most successful retailers in the world bragging of over 175 million customers annually (Wal-Mart, 2011)

Steps Which Aid In Gaining Managerial Organization

Organization is the function of the management which entails how the management synchronizes, combines and arranges the physical, human and monetary resources in order to succeed in getting successful end results. The organization function of the management is usually aided by the following steps:

Identification of activities which have to be performed in an organization is usually the first step in the organizing. For example, in the preparation of monetary resources, the preparation of accounts, recording of sales, inventory control and other financial activities usually entail the first step. Within this step, it is important for the management to organize all the resources in their measurable units.

The next organizing step that the management has to take care of is to organize the activities according to the departments. The main role of this step in the organization is the fact that the management tries to combine and group the activities of organization according to the similarity in their action as well as resource requirements.

The division of the organization into different independent departments helps an organization in organizing and allocating resources according to the department needs and this is a cost saving strategy for the organization.

The organizational function of the management is also achieved through authority classification. This happens once the departments have been established; the management can then classify the powers of the department heads.

These activities of ranking the management according to the power of their offices is usually classified as hierarchies, where the leadership ladder is usually established with the top of the management main function being to formulate policies, others lower in the system are served with the function of service men and so on.

This clarification of authority is always necessary as it always helps in bringing efficiency in the running and management of resources within the organization. Such a mechanism ensures that everybody knows what he or she is required to do and thus cases of money effort and time wastages are minimized by avoiding the duplication and overlapping of responsibilities.

The last step through which an organization can optimize its resources is through coordination between the authority and responsibility. Organizations establish relationships among various departments to enable a smooth interaction towards the achievement of the company goals. In the company, each individual has been assigned his or her duties, with everybody knowing where to take the orders from and to whom they are accountable.

Organization Function of Management As It Relates To Technology

Nowadays, technology is everywhere and thus it has become an important requirement for any company that wants to succeed to embrace the technology.

As noted by Perez (2009) in the year 2005, the company moved to have a RFID system that was to be used in the delivery and monitoring of supplies. The technology was put into place in order to minimize the time and efforts that used to take the suppliers when delivering the products. The technology was used to keep track of the supplier from the supplier until the time it reached the customer (Vijayan & Brewin, 2003).

Another way through which Wal-Mart has optimized technological resources has been in monitoring the employees’ timecards where everyone is paid for the work done and on breaks, one is not paid. To ensure the company stayed ahead of their competitors, the company renovated its technologies by changing all their mainframes and databases.

Technology is one of the main tools Wal-Mart has used in order to stay ahead by fulfilling both the internal and external requirements (Deango, 2001). With technology remaining dynamic, Wal-Mart has been able to make the inventory control as simple and as easy as possible thereby optimizing the organizational function of its management.

Organization Function of Management As It Relates To Human Resources

The basic activities of the human resource department usually include the recruitment, selection processes, training and development as well as appraisals and also the rationing of all the internal and eternal customers.

The Wal-Mart human resource department is served with the duties of investigating the current and unfilled needs of the company then checks the wages and salaries of the company employees. The company has all the supervisors trained in the several areas existing within the organization to ensure that they have the capability of dealing even with the most difficult moments in the company.

The company leadership has also optimized human resources by establishing a mentoring and a leadership program that encourages the women employees to become leaders in Wal-Mart as part of the company rewarding system. The company has also a philosophy in respecting their employees since they have discovered that the employees are the most valuable assets any company wanting to succeed can hold dear to (Retail Merchandiser, 2005).

Conclusion

For any company to succeed, decision as how it organizes its physical assets, monetary assets, human resources, knowledge and technology resources is very critical since the allocation of such resources maximizes the company revenue. Wal-Mart has learnt the art of optimizing these resources and this has led to the success of the company

Reference List

Deango, B. (2001). With New Technology, Wal-Mart Could Gain Edge over Competitors Massive Hardware Upgrade IBM is big winner in deal, beating out Hitachi, EMC for $40 million contract. (Internet & Technology). Web.

Retail Merchandiser, (2005). Head of Wal-Mart HR Emphasizes New and Traditional Practices. Web.

Vijayan, J., & Brewin, B. (2003). Wal-Mart Backs RFID Technology. Web.

Wal-Mart Corporate: (2011). History. Web.

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