Management__Theory,_Practice_and_Applications

Organizing function of Management MGT 330: Management: Theory, Practice and Application University of Phoenix Professor Marie Powell Stephanie Wooten April 26, 2010 Wal-Mart Wal-Mart Sam Walton was one of the famous American business leaders. Sam Walton was the founder of the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, which are the two American retailers. Sam Walton is one of the richest families in the world. He was born March 29, 1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. His parents are Thomas and Nancy Walton. He grew up on a farm until the year of 1923 when his family moved to Missouri. After he graduate from high school he went to University of Missouri. He studied economics at the University of Missouri (Sam Walton’s Biography). After graduating from the University of Missouri went to work at DuPoint munitions plant in Oklahoma where he met his wife Helen Robinson and they were married on February 14, 1943 (Sam Walton’s Biography). Sam Walton joined the military in the United States Intelligence Corps, which he was the supervisor of security (Sam Walton’s Biography). In 1945, Sam Walton left the military and had the vision of opening a department store. Sam receives a loan of $20,000 from his father-in-law and uses his $5,000 in his savings account to open a Ben Franklin Variety Store (Sam Walton’s Biography). He brought Ben Franklin Variety store from the Butler Brothers franchise of Newport, Arkansas (Sam Walton’s Biography). Sam Walton’s lease on the building went up and he was forced to sell the company because the landlord wanted the store for his son (Sam Walton’s Biography). He sold the store to the landlord P.K. Holmes for $50,000 (Sam Walton’s Biography). Sam Walton went to Bentonville, Arkansas as another Ben Franklin franchise but he change the name to Walton’s Five and Dime (Sam Walton’s Biography). In 1952, he opened another Five and Dime store in Fayetteville, Arkansas that became a successful store. Walton and his brother Bud had operated and owned 16 variety stores in Arkansas, Kansas, and Missouri (Sam Walton’s Biography). In 1962, he opens the first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Arkansas. When Sam Walton opens Wal-Mart in Rogers, Arkansas became the world’s largest retail store chain. Wal-Mart stores are in America, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, China, Germany, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom (Sam Walton’s Biography). Sam Walton had died in 1992 and left his empire to his wife and children (Sam Walton’s Biography). The Walton family is half of the ten richest families in the United States as of 2005 (Sam Walton’s Biography). If Sam Walton were still alive today he would be the world’s wealthiest man. The organizational resources are the monetary, human resources, physical assets, knowledge, and technology. Monetary relates to the value of money. Human Resources management is the function within an organization that focuses on recruitment of, management of, and providing the direction for the people working for an organization. A physical asset is an item of economic, commercial or exchange value that has a tangible or material existence. Knowledge management is supporting creation, capture, storage, and dissemination of information. The knowledge management system is to enable the employees to have ready access to the organization’s documented base of facts, sources of information, and solutions. Technology is a human innovation in action that involves the generation of knowledge and processes to develop systems that solve problems and extend human capabilities. Wal-Mart has a gift and gratuity policy for all vendors, suppliers and customers. The gift and gratuity policy is where no gifts or gratuities, which have monetary value, be given any way to any Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club Associate or potential Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club Associate (Wal-Mart Corporation). A supplier can donate gifts for the purpose of raising funds for a charity or a non-profit organization or to be resale at the Wal-Mart Associate store (Wal-Mart Corporation). A gift or gratuities would include free gifts, tickets to a sporting or a concert event, kickbacks in the form of merchandise or money, a special discount for any Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club employee, samples of their products, liquor, food products, meals or personal services (Wal-Mart Corporation). When a Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club associate receives any of these gifts or gratuities must be returned to the sender and to explain the Wal-Mart policy to them. When an item is not returned to the sender the gift becomes the property of Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart Corporation). When Wal-Mart associate takes a carry out for a customer the associate cannot take any money or gifts from that customer because it is against the company policy and if that associate takes the gift then they could be fired on the spot. The human resource department of Wal-Mart started a Employment Practices Advisory panel on April 24, 2006 (Communities, 2006). The panel will work with the senior management to develop and implement progressive enhancements to equal employment opportunity and diversity for the largest retail company workforce. The advisory panel effects the ongoing commitment for all of the associates to give them the opportunity to thrive, advance and succeed at a Wal-Mart or a Sam’s Club (Communities, 2006). The Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club wants to work to help every associate to fulfill, motivated and empowered in his or her career at Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club (Wal-Mart Corporation). The personnel do many jobs for the company. Some of the jobs the personnel does is to do the orientation for new employees, to do payroll, to put up schedules for the associates to see when they work and be there for any questions that need to answered. Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club is effectiveness and efficiency. Efficiency is the comparison of what is actually produced or performed with what can be achieved with the same consumption of resources. This is an important factor in determining the production of the company. Effectiveness is the degree to which objectives are achieved and the extent to which targeted problems are resolved. Effectiveness is determined without reference to costs where as efficiency means doing the project right and effectiveness means doing the right project. In working at Wal-Mart it has strived to be the best retail store in any community. Wal-Mart has a policy that every customer is the reason why we are in the business. Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club management is always coming up with ways to serve the customers better and get what they need to keep them coming back to the stores. Wal-Marts and Sam’s Club is a one shopping center to get all what you need and the customer can save the gas from driving to different stores to get everything they need. References: Sam Walton Biography; Retrieved on April 29, 2010; from the website http://www.investingvalue.com Wal-Mart Corporation, Retrieved on April 29, 2010; from the website http://walmartstores.com Communities, April 2006; Retrieved on April 29, 2010; from the website http://www.hr.com