Management and Leadership; the Wal-Mart Way Essay Example

Management and Leadership; the Wal-Mart Way Traveling back in time to 1962 in small town America, one would likely notice the absence of a now familiar sight. Today, people living in almost any town in America need not travel far to patronize one of today’s most popular discount retail establishments: Wal-Mart. Founded in 1962, Wal-Mart was the brainchild of Sam Walton, a charismatic retailing and merchandising leader. Under Sam’s leadership, Wal-Mart’s success grew rapidly, extending throughout America and into several international markets (Wal-Mart Retail Divisions, 2007). Achievement on such a colossal scale became possible through Sam’s vision, which he nurtured to realization using effective leadership and management practices. Wal-Mart’s ongoing commitment to valuing people throughout every facet of its leadership, management and culture has contributed to the achievement of Sam Walton’s vision, changing the landscape of discount retailing in America. Differentiating between leadership and management, this paper will discuss the roles and responsibilities of organizational management and leadership in relation to the creation and maintenance of a healthy organizational culture, exploring the influence of these roles on the organizational culture of Wal-Mart. It will also illustrate how the four functions of management support the creation and maintenance of Wal-Mart’s renowned organizational culture, and recommend strategies that organizational managers and leaders may use to create and maintain a healthy organizational culture. Effective leadership stimulates associates to perform to lofty standards, in so doing, promoting outstanding achievement. Hence, leadership is an integral part of effective management, which Bateman and Snell (2007) define as “[t]he process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals” (p. 6), through the use of four independent, yet intertwined essential functions, which include planning,