• Research Paper on:
    Wal-Mart : Organizational Behavior

    Number of Pages: 10

     

    Summary of the research paper:

    A 10 page paper. Three organizational behavior concepts are considered: organizational structure, human resource management and organizational culture. The writer points out the structure is traditional and hierarchical in many ways and its structure is functional. The many contradictory reports about the organization's human resource management practices are discussed, e.g., receives awards but had multiple employee lawsuits filed against it. Organization culture is discussed in terms of the company' power, using the supply chain as an example. Bibliography lists 14 sources.

    Name of Research Paper File: MM12_PGwlmofb.RTF

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    Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
    company are exposed to and basically cross-trained in multiple areas of the business (MMR, 2005). He said the "management approach at Wal-Mart [is] a blend of loose and tight--a combination  of exceptionally rigorous controls and standards along with a surprising degree of freedom to innovate and test new things" (MMR, 2005, p. 40). This is not as contradictory as it  may seem at first glance. A company will not be successful without standards and certain procedural controls. These provide security for all managers, in fact, all employees because they know  what is expected of them. however, within those controls is a great deal of freedom to try new ways to be more effective and productive. In terms of management, it  is a good blend. One of the management processes at the executive level is a regular meeting to review results. Schoewe reports that he and the CEO meet "with the  head of each major operation, and we go through their results in excruciating detail" (MMR, 2005, p. 40). While they do review the successes, they spend the majority of time  "talking about where we need to improve" (MMR, 2005, p. 40). Schoewe also said: "There is so much inherent transparency within the company that people will say what their problems  are" (MMR, 2005, p. 40). This is one of the controls the company uses with their top managers to constantly improve. It is essential for an organization to have the  right organizational structure to succeed in the marketplace (NordNet, 2007). Analyses of failed businesses have suggested that the organizational structure and business strategy were mismatched (NordNet, 2007). There is a  reciprocal relationship between structure and strategy in that each affects the other (NordNet, 2007). Wal-Mart uses a functional structure that would be seen in their organizational chart as well as 

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