INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OF WAL-MART

INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT OF WAL-MART

PURPOSE
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the internal environment of Wal-Mart which
includes the structure, culture, resources, employees, strengths and weaknesses of
this retail based organization.
DEFINITION
As defined in the business dictionary, internal environment can be defined as the
conditions, entities, events or factors within an organization that influences its
activities and choices, particularly the behavior of the employees. It also includes
the organizations mission statement, leadership styles and organizational culture
HISTORY OF WAL-MART
HISTORY
Wal-Mart is one of the largest retail companies in the world. Wal-Mart was founded
in 1962 by Sam Walton. Sam Walton originally owned a variety store called Ben
Franklin, but once his lease expired he decided to start his own store called Walton
Five and Dime. Eventually the success of Walton's Five and Dime led Sam Walton to

open a store called Wal-Mart in 1962. The key to Sam Walton Success was the
concept of pricing his merchandise below his competitors.

STRUCTURE
Walmart is a large international corporation that has stores located in 27 different
countries worldwide and employs 2.2 million associates in their stores. Walmarts
corporation consists of superstores that sell grocery and general merchandise
items, express stores that are smaller stores and are used in smaller towns, or in big
cities where space is limited. Walmart has built a global corporation based on the
divisional structure. The divisional structure works by separating the company not
only by different product lines they offer but also by where their stores are located.
Walmarts store numbers are staggering; in the United States only Walmart has a
total of 3,804 retail locations that made a total of $260 billion in 2011. Walmart
international has 4,557 locations for net sales of $109 billion.
Vision, Mission and Values
Wal-Mart as a retail based company has a vision to be the best retailer in the hearts
and minds of consumers and employees by having respect for the individual,
whether an employee, customer, supplier or member of the community at large,
regardless of ethnicity, gender or sexual preference. Striving for excellence, always
innovating in the selection and promotion of products and services. Service to our
customers, surpassing the expectations of our consumers. Its mission is to save
people money so they can live better. Wal-Mart believes that by applying the "Save
money. Live better. " mission to big global challenges like energy or the cost of
prescription drugs, it can deliver both value and quality to customers, and ensure
that neither comes at the expense of responsibility.

STENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF WAL-MART

A successful organization formulates strategies to build on the organizations
strength, correct its weaknesses, use the strength to exploit its opportunities in the
environment and block threats so that the organization can execute its mission,
realize its vision and meet its goals in a manner that is consistent with its values.
The strengths and weaknesses of Wal-Mart assists the manager to create an
overview of Wal-Marts strategic
Strengths:

 Reputable brand by offering value for money

Low price setting
Good locations
Great variety of product offerings
Having a huge market share
Great use of IT (measures performance of individual products country-wide and
store-by-store)
Cookie-Cutter Approach (all stores are designed in the same standard way to help
in customer orientation)
Sundown regulation
Weaknesses:
Variety of products across many sectors (food, clothing) is not as flexible as more
focused competitors
Lack of market research on host-countries
Strive small companies out of business
Large span of control (many stores) could weaken some areas more than others
Buying in bulk to promote economies of scale could pose risk if the product is
disliked
Low wages
Small benefits for full-time employees (no benefits for part-time workers)

INTERNAL ORGANIZATION
Organizational Culture
The organizational culture refers to the values, beliefs or assumptions shared by
employees within the organization. It is the collective behavior of members of an
organization and the values, visions, belief, habits that they attach to their actions.
An organizations culture plays a major role in shaping and determining how well

the organization will perform. it is portrayed by the conducts and behavior of the
employees, customers, decision making ability of the managers, creation and
development of new ideas and technologies, hierarchy of power, flow of information
and employee commitment.
The culture of an environment affects the performance and productivity of an
organization and the employee- customer relationship. Some of Walmarts
organizational culture includes.
Employees
Employees are individuals who work part time or full time in an organization. The
employees provide human capital to enhance the organizational performance and
yield profit. Human capita serves as a source of creativity and innovation. Wal-Mart
has
Resources
Resources refer to assets that managers work with to improve the performance of
an organization. Resources can be in the form of labor, capital, information,
expertise, skills, innovation, management and time. Resources of an organization
are of two types: tangible and intangible resources.
JOB SATISFACTION
Nowadays, it is very difficult to find dedicated employees who could be relied on
when the going gets tough. It takes an encouraging supervisor to motivate an
employee to stay on his job position and to do his job well. Likewise, it takes a
committed worker to persist in his job no matter how difficult it may be, as long as
he is properly motivated and satisfied with his job. This refers to the contentment
that arises from an employees positive or negative feelings towards his or her job.
Its a form of job appraisal or personal evaluation of a persons job characteristics,
work environment and emotional work experiences.
Job Satisfaction and Work Behavior
Job satisfaction
Job Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction

REFERENCES:
"internal environment." BusinessDictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/internal-environment.html>.