Walmart and Employee Job Satisfaction - Research Paper Example

? [Assignment Number] [Section Number] Wal-Mart Introduction and background of the problem The people working in any organization are essential for its success or failure. Motivation, satisfaction and high morale makes the employees more productive which obviously works to the advantage of the organization. It is the duty of the management to employ effective strategies to keep the employees motivated and happy which is possible if the organization uses business best practices which are in favor of its employees. However, there is no single strategy or policy that can result in improving the motivation level of all the employees in the organization. Therefore, it has become a challenge for the human resource department and the management to make sure that the employees of the organization are motivated so that they are able to produce good results for the organization. This paper is about Wal-Mart which employs more than 2,000,000 employees all over America. The organization is facing employee has been facing employee dissatisfaction and low morale among its employee in several states in which it has its retail outlets. Employees are not happy with Wal-Mart because they say that it does not treat its employees. Workplace morale is essential for productive performance which is crucial for a company to succeed, but pitiable management results in unconstructive attitudes and performance at work (Sherman & Chappell, 1998). Low Morale Employees are frequently absent and do not like to come to work because they suffer from low morale because they feel that Wal-Mart is not appreciative of their hard work and their intense efforts at the workplace. This absenteeism has caused undue pressure on other employees who have to do the work of two or three persons without any tangible benefits. Wal-Mart employees are not properly trained or empowered to handle the extra work and pressure which has caused low morale in most retail outlets (Latimer, Hempson, & Kendrick, 2011). Low morale of employees at Wal-Mart has caused employees to squabble and fight among themselves. Moreover, management of the Wal-Mart has not been successful in addressing this problem because they too lack the training to implement fair dispute resolutions. Despite Wal-Mart’s claim of 86% employee satisfaction, the attitude, body language and work performance of the employees do not substantiate this claim (Niesing, 2008). Low Wages Although Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailer’s in the world, its employees are among the lowest anywhere in America. Because of very low salaries and benefits Wal-Mart employees occasionally organize food drives for themselves as their extremely low wages create great hardships, and they are unable to meet expenses. Naturally when employees cannot make ends meet and are under constant financial pressure, then morale takes a nosedive. Morale had been quite low at Wal-Mart since the 1970’s when prices of all essential items registered a very sharp rise (Feenstra, 1998). Because of the low wages at Wal-Mart, the employees are forced to get government assistance in the form of food stamps and other subsidies. The wages paid by the corporation are not enough for even a single person to support himself, so it is not possible that a typical Wal-Mart employee could support a family without government assistance (Goetz & Swaminathan, 2006). Forbidden to form Unions Forming of Unions is explicitly forbidden for the employees for collective negotiations of their demands. Wal-Mart has issued statements that 86% of its employees are quite satisfied and happy with their jobs. If this is a fact, then Wal-Mart should allow the formation of unions without aggressive management interference. . When seeking employment at any retail outlet, the applicants are well aware of the fact that even discussion about unionization can get them instantly terminated. Despite this, with all the criticism that people have about the organization, it is an established fact that for any Wal Mart store that opens anywhere, there are hundreds of applications from people seeking employment (Rao, Yue, & Ingram, 2014). Wal-Mart’s aggressive attitude towards its employees is because of weak labor laws that discourage the forming of unions. Although many companies use weak labor laws to stop workers from organizing, but Wal-Mart stands out because of its aggressive attitude towards employees. There was one store in Quebec where employees got together and formed a union. Wal-Mart closed down the store on another pretext. Wal-Mart makes sure that its employees do not have the slightest chance to form a union, and it enforces unfair labor laws to keep unions at bay. The unfair laws combined with Wal-Mart’s aggressive attitude towards union formation gives employees little chance of negotiating for better working conditions. Despite the fact that Wal-Mart makes billions in profits, it still does not increase employee wages or benefits. The day that Wal-Mart hires anyone, it instructs and programs workers to oppose unions, and management has extremely strict orders to keep out unions. These orders are found in the “Manager’s Toolbox, a guidebook that contains these orders (Sullivan, 2010). How should managers behave at Wal-Mart? Although, there are specific guidelines on how managers should behave, managers at Wal-Mart are explicitly instructed to maintain pressure on employees so that they do not organize themselves into unions. Personnel appointed to management positions, they undergo 8 weeks of intensive training. They are given a fixed amount of money for meals and are moved to a hotel for the Wal-Mart training sessions. The main lessons taught how to put the fear of losing their jobs if they should try to form unions. The training also includes the success stories of Wal-Mart that are in the ranks or positions to become managers and other senior positions. The trainees are given Sam Walton’s book to read “Sam Walton, Made in America” which was part of the indoctrination (Fisk & Grove, 1987). The anti-union training was the largest part of reading and training material provided to trainees. Vides are shown that instruct employees on how unions are not good for business, and the pride that Wal-Mart takes in not allowing unions in the corporation. Other training included loss prevention, how to spot shoplifters, and how to deal with an employee who had been caught stealing (Kampf, 2007). Employee Motivation at Wal-Mart One major reason for the unprecedented success of Wal-Mart is because of its employee motivation policies and strategies of motivating employees into the Sam’s objectives. Wal-Mart makes its best efforts to make employees that they are an integral part of the corporation’s family. The corporation draws great inspiration from its employees because it makes them feel that their ideas and feedback is what makes Wal-Mart one of the largest retailers in the world. There are many different ways of motivating employees in different positions and that the company cares about the problems of employees. Employees are called “associates” which makes them relate better to the company. All associates have direct access to the company’s senior management for any complaints and suggestion. This provides encourage and incentives to employees to redress and grievances and issues that hinder productivity. All these motivations make Wal-Mart a preferred employer for more than 2,000,000 employees all over America (Delery & Shaw) The major motivation for an employee in such a large company is the permanency and stability of the organization. There is considerable diversity in the jobs offered by Wal-Mart, from front line positions at local stores, to jobs at the distribution center that buys and distributes products to thousands of retailers in different parts of the country and the world. Employees address each other by their first names, including senior management. This gives a sense of familiarity to all employees, and they feel as they are all part of a very large family. The organization encourages its employees by providing health care benefits to employees and their families. All employees of Wal-Mart are able to obtain health insurance at remarkably low prices. This includes visits to doctors, pharmacies, vision and dental care. Wal-Mart has also a profit sharing plan with its employees initiated since 1971. The company also encourages its employees to invest in company shares which they can buy at a discount and without paying brokerage fees (Harris & H., 1998). Conclusion Like most giant organizations, Wal-Mart has its share of problems. If everything were negative then Wal-Mart would consistently find itself short of employee and applicants, but this has not happened because for every available position, there are hundreds of applications. The organization is considered the poorest paymaster for a corporation of its size, and employee problems and dissatisfaction frequently make news. Wal-Mart must realize that times have changed, and people need much more than they are willing to give. If the organization continues with its current employee policy, it could face consumer anger and boycotts. Such things are never in the interest of any company, and Wal-Mart must make very serious efforts to keep its reputation and goodwill intact. Therefore if Wal-Mart wants to stay at the top of the retail industry an continue its success in the long run, then it is high time that the company should start valuing its employees and the management needs to come up with strategies and policies that would help in improving the motivation of employees and in making the employee satisfied. References Delery, J. E., & Shaw, J. D. (n.d.). The strategic management of people in work organizations: Review, synthesis, and extension. The strategic management of human resources, 20, .165 - 197. Feenstra, R. C. (1998). Integration of Trade and Disintegration of Production in the Global Economy. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(4), 31-50. Fisk, R., & Grove, S. (1987). Management control systems. Journal of Services Marketing, 24(6), .417 - 429. Goetz, S. J., & Swaminathan, H. ( 2006, June). Wal-Mart and County-Wide Poverty*. Social Science Quarterly, 87 (2), 211–226. Harris, C., & H., K. (1998). Motivational Practices at America's Best Managed Companies. Management Research News, 16 (9/10), 1 - 5. Kampf, C. (2007). Corporate social responsibility: WalMart, Maersk and the cultural bounds of representation in corporate web sites. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 12(1), 41 - 57. Latimer, C., Hempson, K., & Kendrick, J. J. (2011). Journal of Community Engagement & Scholarship . Fall2011, Vol. 4 Issue 2, p40-51. 12p, 4(2), 40-51. Niesing, R. (2008). Culture in Relation to Walmart. Norstedt: GRIN. Rao, H., Yue, L. Q., & Ingram, P. (2014). Activists, categories, and markets: Racial diversity and protests against Walmart store openings in America. Research in the Sociology of Organizations, 31(6), .235-253. Sherman, H., & Chappell, D. S. (1998). Methodological Challenges in Evaluating Business Incubator Outcomes. Economic Development Quarterly, 12 (4), 313-321. Sullivan, R. (2010). Organizing Workers in the Space between Unions: Union-Centric Labor Revitalization and the Role of Community-Based Organizations. Critical Sociology, 36(6), 793-819. Read More