Employment
Gm591 Walmart -Project Paper
Improving Wal-Mart’s Employee Relations
GM591: Leadership and Organizational Behavior
April 20, 2010
INTRODUCTION
The Organization that we selected as our topic of discussion in our Project Paper is the Wal-Mart Corporation. Sam Walton is the founder of Wal-Mart. He opened his first store called Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas in July of 1962. Their corporate office is currently located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. incorporated its stores on October 31, 1969. In 1972, they started selling stock on the New York Stock exchange. Although, though the company has had controversial operational business practices they have grown to be the largest Retail Corporations in the world. In 1997, Wal-Mart was able to become the largest private employer in the United States. In that same year, their annual sales totaled over $105 billion. In 2010, Wal-Mart has over 2.1 million employees worldwide. There 2010 fiscal year sales exceeded $400 billion dollars (Wal-Mart About Us, 2010).
I have been a loyal customer of Wal-Mart for years. Therefore, I was shocked when I found out about some of Wal-Marts questionable unofficial policies through talks with friends and family members who worked for them in the past and some who currently employed by them. My mother in law worked for them from 2006 thru 2008. She was required to work 8-hour shifts without a lunch break on a regular basis. One of my cousins was required to clock out because he was about to be in overtime and continue to work to keep labor cost down. I decided to Google Wal-Mart, to see if other people experienced the same injustice. I was stunned to see some of the practices of this company I loyally supported.
According to an article released by the Associated Press on 12/24/08 called Wal-Mart to Pay Workers Up to $640 Million it will pay as much as $640 million to settle 63 lawsuits over wage-and-hour violations, ending years of dispute. Wal-Mart faced 76
Improving Wal-Mart’s Employee Relations
GM591: Leadership and Organizational Behavior
April 20, 2010
INTRODUCTION
The Organization that we selected as our topic of discussion in our Project Paper is the Wal-Mart Corporation. Sam Walton is the founder of Wal-Mart. He opened his first store called Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas in July of 1962. Their corporate office is currently located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. incorporated its stores on October 31, 1969. In 1972, they started selling stock on the New York Stock exchange. Although, though the company has had controversial operational business practices they have grown to be the largest Retail Corporations in the world. In 1997, Wal-Mart was able to become the largest private employer in the United States. In that same year, their annual sales totaled over $105 billion. In 2010, Wal-Mart has over 2.1 million employees worldwide. There 2010 fiscal year sales exceeded $400 billion dollars (Wal-Mart About Us, 2010).
I have been a loyal customer of Wal-Mart for years. Therefore, I was shocked when I found out about some of Wal-Marts questionable unofficial policies through talks with friends and family members who worked for them in the past and some who currently employed by them. My mother in law worked for them from 2006 thru 2008. She was required to work 8-hour shifts without a lunch break on a regular basis. One of my cousins was required to clock out because he was about to be in overtime and continue to work to keep labor cost down. I decided to Google Wal-Mart, to see if other people experienced the same injustice. I was stunned to see some of the practices of this company I loyally supported.
According to an article released by the Associated Press on 12/24/08 called Wal-Mart to Pay Workers Up to $640 Million it will pay as much as $640 million to settle 63 lawsuits over wage-and-hour violations, ending years of dispute. Wal-Mart faced 76
References: http://www.customerservicescoreboard.com/Walmart Human Synergistic (2006) http://www.survey-server2.com/ocikituniversity/guide_agressdef_factors.asp Lloyd, Tracey (2009) http://www.blessingwhite.com/capabilities.asp?pid=2&sid=1 Reddick, Christopher G (2009) Schermerhorn, J., Hunt, J., Osborn, R., & Uhl-Bien, (2010). Organizational Behavior, 11th Edition. Wiley. Thompson, Steve (2010).The Importance of Basic Employee Benefits. Retrieved March 20, 2010, from http://www.life123.com/career-money/small-business/employee-benefits/basic-employee-benefits.shtml Wake Up Wal-Mart: The Real Facts About Wal-Mart, Retrieved March 15, 2010, from http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/#Wal-Mart Non-Health Care Benefits# Wal-Mart Non-Health Care Benefits Wal-Mart About Us, Retrieved on March 25, 2010, from http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/