The company that is listed as number one on the Fortune 500 list is Wal-Mart. This company has much strength that makes it very interesting for investment. Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in the 1950’s and faced competition among many regional discount stores. In 1962 Wal-Mart officially began with its first store in Rogers, Arkansas. Wal-Mart now has over 600 discount stores in the United States and stores located in 28 countries. No matter the size of the company its purpose has not changed over the years. Mr. Sam Walton said, “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone... we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.”(1)…
Wal-Mart discount store was opened by Walton, in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. On October 31, 1969 the business incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores. Wal-Mart was opened with the objective of helping people save money and live better, which became Wal-Mart’s slogan: Save money. Live better. Wal-Mart has changed the way business is conducted worldwide by making a significant impact on the retail industry. Through careful study of the precedence set by Wal-Mart management, we can observe how the organization utilizes external and internal factors to affect the four functions of management: organizing, planning, leading, and controlling. A few of the internal and external factors which Wal-Mart has excelled in applying the four functions of management are globalization, technology, innovation, diversity, and ethics.…
As the world’s largest retailer, Walmart still faces the potential of not having the relative flexibility to act swiftly in response to changing global markets, fostering a universal company culture in all its locations, addressing the high rates of turnovers, or providing the same level of customer service and productivity globally.…
Wal-Mart was established in 1962 by Sam Walton, a 1940 University of Missouri economics major. The first store was opened in Rogers, Arkansas offering a variety of merchandise for consumers. Mr. Walton’s strategy of opening locations in small towns and offering consumers a wide variety of products at low costs was compelling and successful. The company became incorporated on October 31, 1969 and went public in 1970. By 1991, the company had become international and a multibillion dollar business. (Walmart Corporate, 2010).…
Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling—the four management functions—are seen in a variety of business environments. Different factors can have an impact on these four management functions. The factors are: globalization; technology; innovation; diversity; and ethics. These factors as they apply to Wal-Mart, one of the leading retail stores in the world, will be examined in this paper.…
The founder of Wal-Mart Sam Walton major competition during the time was K-Mart and Target. Before opening Wal-Mart, Sam traveled the country studying everything he could about discount retailing. He became convinced American consumers wanted a new type of store. With his vision in mind Sam and his wife front loaded 95% of the initial cost to start the chain while many of the chains were expanded nationally. They opened their first store in Rogers, Arkansas. The chain was able to expand by 15 stores in the 1960’s. The company hit the stock market in 1972 and went viral with a current inventory of 1,402 stores and 123 Sam’s Club locations. Wal-Mart stores provide a wide variety of discount merchandise, groceries and prescription medication. Sam stated in his autobiography which attributed to his success “if you think about it from the point of view of the customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; and a pleasant shopping experience. You love it when a store exceeds your expectations, and you hate it when a store inconveniences you, gives you a hard time, or pretends you 're invisible."…
It all began with Sam Walton. In summary, envisioned with the ideas “of offering lower prices and great service” Sam opened Walton’s nickel-and-dime variety store in rural Bentonville, Arkansas in 1950; by 1960, he owned 15 stores (“Our History”). Seeking more profits, Walton then took up a new strategy: build big stores in small towns, discount everything, and sell in high volume (“Sam Walton”); thereafter, he opened his first Wal-Mart store in 1962 (“Our History”). By 1992 – after taking the company public in 1970 – Wal-mart achieved one of its missions: it became the number one retailer in the U.S., operating in 1,928 stores.…
Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. Sam Walton business strategy was to supply products for customers at low prices. Sam Walton began the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Ark. While Wal-Mart was at their beginning stage their competitor Kmart was growing rapidly. During that time Walton was only able to invest in 15 stores. In the 1970s Wal-Mart offered stock which helped to expand the company with 276 stores in 11 states. By the 1980s Sam Walton was labeled one of the richest individuals in the United States. In 1983, Sam’s club Warehouse was opened. In 1988 the first Supercenter was open offering grocery and 36 departments of merchandise. In 1989 there were 1,402 Wal-Mart stores and 123 Sam Club. As of to date there are 10, 185 Wal-Mart and Clubs location in 27 countries with 2.2 million employees. Walton theory is quoted in autobiography by stating “… if you think about…
Wal-Mart is defined as the giant of retail and it is one of the largest companies in the world. It has grown to not only be a staple in America but internationally as well, touching base in countries such as Japan and China. It is a popular supercenter that is located worldwide. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer and the largest company in the history of the world due to globalization and this due to the way they conduct business operations. Wal-Mart management has implement ways to overcome the challenges that are presented the ethical and social responsibilities in regards to globalization.…
Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton, the first Wal-Mart store opened in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. Seventeen years later, annual sales toped $1 billion. By the end of January 2002, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was the world's largest retailer with $218 billion in sales. Wal-Mart's winning strategy in the U.S. was based on selling branded products at low cost, which enables the lower class and middle class consumers to shop for products and save. Due to the advances in technology over the years Wal-Mart has been able to achieve tremendous success. Wal-Mart's success has allowed the company to expand out of the United States.…
Do you know how big is Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is the world's largest retailer, which has approximately 3,900 stores in the U.S. and 1.6 million employees. In 1962, when Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas, no one could have ever predicted the enormous accomplishment this small-town merchant would have. The reasons why Wal-Mart is successful are because of its low price, convenience and role of monopoly in the industry.…
On May 9, 1950 Sam Walton opened Walton's 5&10 store in Bentonville, Arkansas. His idea of making a profit was very different than many others. He made sale prices lower than his competitors, thus reducing the store's profit margin. In the mid 60's Walton's changed the name of the 5 & 10 store as Wal-Mart permanently. By 1980 Wal-Mart was a billion dollar company with stores operating across 28 states. To this day, the company is still run by Sam Walton’s idea of low cost items being sold in a very high volume. Currently Wal-Mart is the one of the biggest corporations in the entire country. Maybe people believe Wal-Mart is actually hurting the consumers of America, with its low prices and imported products. Some of this may be true, but Wal-Mart offers many more positives toward the country than negatives.…
The purpose of this paper is to explain how internal and external factors affect the four functions of management in the Wal-Mart Corporation. For any organization to survive, irrespective of its size, it must develop and implement its own management concept. Management is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals (Bateman & Snell, 2011). The four traditional functions of management include planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. The Wal-Mart Corporation has managed to use the internal and external factors of these functions to their advantage. With their strategic goal of seriously and rapidly expanding, the company currently employs over 2.2 million associates, owns 8,500 stores, and serves 200 million customers weekly(“www.corporate.walmart.com”, 2012).Their strategies have minimized competitors making this company the world’s largest retailer. The following paper will describe how the Wal-Mart Corporation has found a successful way to use the functions with internal and external factors influencing globalization, technology, innovation, ethics, and diversity in business.…
Sam Walton opened the firs Walmart in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas with the foundation being that it would offer “The Lowest Prices Anytime, Anywhere” (Walmart Corporate, 2014c), and by 1967 it had over 24 stores and $12.7 million in sales. By 1969, the company was officially incorporated and offered an initial public offering to raise funds to build a distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas (Johnson & Mark, 2013, p. 3).…
On July 2, 1962, Sam Walton opened the first Walmart discount store in Rogers, Arkansas. Walmart is in the discount store industry and its principal competitors are Kmart, Target, ShopKo, and Meijer. Walmart’s culture has been built on a common purpose: saving people money so they can live better. By 1967, Walton had opened 24 stores and had generated $12.7 in sales. The company was officially incorporated as Walmart Stores, Inc. in 1969, and became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. In 1983, the first Sam’s Club membership warehouse was opened and in 1988 opened the first Walmart supercenter, which features a complete grocery department in addition to general merchandise, was opened. Walmart’s board of directors is led by Chairman Rob Walton. In 2009, Mike Duke became the company’s fourth president and CEO. The current Chief Financial Officer is Charles M. Holley, Jr. Today Walmart has three main operating divisions, which are Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam’s Club. In the U.S., Walmart operates more than 4,400 retail facilities, including Walmart stores and Sam’s Club warehouses. In 1991, Walmart International was established when Sam’s Club opened in Mexico City. Walmart International operates more than 5,600 retail units in 26 countries outside the U.S. These international stores have different styles and formats to fit in with local customer needs and customs.…