Leadership and Management Analysis: Wal-Mart Case Study Report

This report delves into the leadership and management practices of Wal-Mart, examining the application of transformational leadership within the company. It analyzes the qualities, characteristics, and behaviors of leaders, particularly focusing on the impact of leadership styles on achieving organizational goals. The report explores the importance of leadership and management styles, the role of power and politics, and their influence on organizational culture and effectiveness. Key aspects include the application of Herzberg's two-factor theory, the development of a leadership pipeline, and strategies for maintaining organizational effectiveness through low-price strategies and incentive programs. The analysis provides insights into how Wal-Mart's leadership has shaped its culture and contributed to its success in the competitive retail market. The study also covers how the company manages employee motivation and engagement, and how it uses its authority to maintain a positive working environment. Furthermore, the report discusses how transformational leadership influences decision-making, employee engagement, and the overall work environment.

Running head: Managing and organizational
Managing and organizational

Managing and organizational
Executive summary
In this paper the discussion will be made on the concept related to leadership and management.
Also, it can be stated that leadership styles are important to be considered by the leaders as it can
help in accomplishing the goals and objectives in the workplace. So, in this paper the discussion
will be made on the Wal-Mart company and emphasis will be given on the actions of the leaders
in maintaining the culture of the company. If the culture of the company is not positive then it
can be difficult to achieve the goals in the competitive business world. The objective of the paper
it to offer a depth analysis related to the concept of leadership and management in the Wal- Mart
Company.
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Managing and organizational
Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Leadership and management...........................................................................................................1
Qualities, characteristics and behavior of the leader by considering the leadership style...........1
Importance of leadership style as a part of management and the management style..................2
Power and Politics...........................................................................................................................3
Authority reference to style of leadership....................................................................................3
Power impact on office politics...................................................................................................4
Organizational culture and effectiveness.........................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7
Appendix..........................................................................................................................................9
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Managing and organizational
Introduction
Wal- Mart is one of the biggest American multinational retail companies which operate its
activities in the chain of hypermarkets, discount stores ad grocery stores. Headquarter of the
company is in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal- Mart was established by Sam Walton in 1962 and it
is incorporated on October 31, 1969. So, the discussion will be made on the the leadership
concept of Wal – Mart (Walmart, 2018).
Leadership and management
To achieve success in the competitive market, it is necessary to have effective leader in the
workplace. If effective leader is there in the workplace then it can be easy for the company to
accomplish the set targets and goals in the competitive market.
Qualities, characteristics and behavior of the leader by considering the
leadership style
It has been observed that in Wal – Mart, transformational leadership is considered as Mr. Sam
Walton, the founder of the company was a visionary and also transformational leader. There are
many ways which has contributed towards the overall success of the company. It has been
analyzed that in Wal – Mart. Store the managers and directors visit the outlet and this has
changed the working pattern of the stores (Rao, 2018).
The recent CEO, Mike Duke visited the store in china. When Mike visited the stores he
discovered that the company is not stocking the local banana which is considered as a cheaper
item than the imported ones. So, in this context immediate actions were taken and this has
impacted the overall sales of the company. By his visit, the employees are also motivated as he
has one of the best qualities related to motivating the people towards their work. The visit by him
has a chance to the employees to meet the top management and to share their views with him.
So, according to the transformational leadership style is the style in which the leaders work with
the employees to manage the change. So, the example stated is one of the best examples in
context to Wal – Mart Company. Also, the positive behavior and confidence towards the
employees has boosted the culture of the company (Murnieks et al., 2016).
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Managing and organizational
Importance of leadership style as a part of management and the management
style
Transformational leadership style is important in context to the overall activities of the
management. It has been observed that the leaders of the company considered the
transformational leadership which also boosts the overall working structure of the employees in
the workplace (McCarthy, Sammon and Murphy, 2017).
It has been observed that to build the leadership pipeline is also one of the approaches that
focused on the overall management of the company. In this the main aim of Duke is to select and
develop new leaders who have the talent to implement his vision and to re-create the success of
the company in the growing markets like China and India. This has transformed the overall
activities of the management by creating the leaders at various levels and also they ensured that
the organization is able to enhance its operations under the leaders which are appointed in the
company. Also, with this the employees have the leaders who can guide the employees and
through this it can be now easy for them to attain the set targets (Ward, 2016).
The management style considered by the company is transformational in which the leaders
participate with the employees to analyze the change and also to create vision to guide the
overall change with inspiration. So, the leaders take active participation towards the overall
activities of the company. So, this style of management has boosted the overall working structure
of the company and helped to enhance their efficiency towards the work which can lead to
success in the highly competitive market (Donohoe and Kelloway, 2016).
Power and Politics
Authority reference to style of leadership
The leadership considered by the company is transformational leadership style and it has been
observed that transformational leaders have the power or authority to inspire the followers.
It has been seen that the leaders in Wal – Mart focuses on motivating the employees as they have
the authority and power to boost the overall motivation of the employees. It can be observed that
they focus on positive development of the followers. The company considers Herzberg two
factor theory in the workplace. It has been observed that the basic assumption related to job
satisfaction and dissatisfaction are opposite in relation to the single satisfaction spectrum. It has
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Managing and organizational
been stated that basic principles are considered by the company. Wal – Mart introduced the
minimum wage and they raised it to $9 per hour. But it has dissatisfied the employees who are
senior as the new employees are getting high wages. So, many senior employees are not satisfied
with the decision of management (Smetana, Rogers and Welfel, 2017). So, by seeing the overall
situation the company focused on the pay raise enacted in the second fiscal quarter of 2015. The
company also analyzed the increase in the dissatisfaction of the senior employee and also
decrease in the senior satisfaction of the employees and it also enhanced the issue related to
decrease the stick valuation and operating income. So, on 10th January the company declared the
annual pay increase for the employees already earning more than $10 hour and 2% lump sum
payment was given to the senior employees who are above their maximum pay (Behavioral
finance, 2018). So, this process motivated the employees and through this they are able to give
their best towards the overall activities of the company. So, the leaders considered their
transformational leadership style and with their authority they enhanced the pay of the senior
employees in the workplace.
Also, with the authority there is proper distribution of work in the workplace. The leaders
focused on engaging the employees towards the assigned activities. To enhance the engagement
level of the workers, the leader focused on the motivational theory related to Herzberg
motivation factor which satisfy the needs of the employees in the workplace (Stryker and
Stryker, 2017).
Power impact on office politics
In the workplace, the leaders delegated the work to the workers and by taking accurate decisions
the politics of the workplace has been reduced by the workers. The transformational leadership
style considered by the management engage the employees in taking right decisions related to
change in the workplace but leaders do not interfere in the opinion of the employees in different
prospective. The leaders offer equal chance to the employees in the workplace and due to this the
favoritism in the workplace is not entertained. The leaders do not consider the office politics of
the workers and also the power which is considered by the company is referent in which the
employees are free to give their suggestions in context to the overall activities of the
management (Desbrow, 2018).
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Managing and organizational
So, the authority by the leader is used in a proper manner which reduces the negative impact on
the employees. The platform is given by the leaders to give their suggestions in context to
change that should be made in the workplace as it will also boost the confidence level of the
employees and help them to create their interest towards the activities of the company (Leuprecht
and Sokolsky, 2015).
Organizational culture and effectiveness
It has been observed that by considering the transformational leadership style in the workplace
by the leaders has maintained the overall culture of the company. The transformational
leadership considered by the leaders states the equal involvement of the employees in the change
process which is taking place in the workplace. By engaging the employees in the activities of
the company, the leaders created positive behavior of the employees and also they motivated the
employees to consider the right decision which is beneficial for the company (Tourish, 2014).
The leaders ensured that each and every employee in the workplace should have equal chance to
share their views and also by considering the management style they focused on maintaining the
channel of communication. In the workplace it is necessary for the employees to follow channel
of communication as it can help in considering the right decisions related to change in the
workplace (Dinkmeyer and Eckstein, 2015).
To maintain the organizational culture the company focused on offering pay according to the
experience and qualification of the employees. They considered this approach so that it can be
easy to motivate the employees and also with this positive behavior of the employees towards the
activities can be boosted. The approach considered by the company reduced the workplace
politics and also they exercise their power in the right direction which is beneficial for the
company and fro its employees (Doh and Quigley, 2014).
To maintain the organizational effectiveness the company also focused on considering the
approach related to low price. It has been seen that Wal- mart focused on the approach related to
“every day with the low prices”. In this approach the company focused on creating the principles
and procedures which will help in maintaining the goals of the company (Rarick et al., 2018).
The prices are kept are low as it can help in boosting the sales and profits of the company in the
competitive market. The strategy considered by Sam Walton to keep the price slow has helped
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the company to achieve the competitive advantage in the market. Also, the leader was aware to
keep the margin slimmer in relation to the competitors present in the market. The leader focused
on maintaining the level of bargaining power which will help the company to remake the supply
sector and also the retail landscape (Hyde, 2018).
Also, to boost the effectiveness the leaders considered the principle related to minimization of
the operating costs. In this the leader, kept the control over the activities and also they focused on
the continuing the old pickup truck and also they have the objective to share the budget hotel
which can help the company in maintaining the overall competitive advantage in the market. So,
the approach helped the company to achieve success in the market and also it help in maintaining
the overall effectiveness of the company in the market (Dubey, 2018).
Also, incentive procedure is one of the approaches which created positive mindset of the
employees in the workplace and also boosted the overall culture of the company. In this it has
been noted that the leaders offer incentives to the people according to their performance in the
workplace. If the employees are performing good and achieving their targets then they are
eligible to earn incentives in the workplace. It boosts the culture of the company and created
positive attitude of the employees towards their work. So, it can be stated that the employees
focused on maintaining the culture by giving their best towards the activities of the company and
also they emphasized on achieving the set target in the workplace. Therefore, by considering
these factors, the company focused on maintaining the organizational effectiveness and also the
culture in the competitive market (Geer-Frazier, 2014).
Conclusion
So, it can be concluded that leadership and management should be maintained in the workplace.
The Wal mart considered the transformational approach in which the leaders are engaged with
the employees in relation to the change in the workplace. So, it can be stated that by considering
the transformational leadership style the company emphasized on reducing the office politics and
also helped in maintaining the culture and organization effectiveness in the workplace.
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References
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Desbrow,P., 2018. Transformational Leadership through Power and Influence. [Online].
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Dinkmeyer, D. and Eckstein, D., 2015. Leadership by encouragement. CRC Press.
Doh, J.P. and Quigley, N.R., 2014. Responsible leadership and stakeholder management:
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Donohoe, M. and Kelloway, E.K., 2016. Transformational leadership training for managers:
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Dubey, S.S., 2018. Leadership Strategies in Cross-Culture Settings: Processes and Practices.
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Geer-Frazier, B., 2014. Complexity leadership generates innovation, learning, and adaptation of
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Hyde,R., 2018. How Walmart Model Wins With "Everyday Low Prices".[Online]. Available at:
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Appendix
(Source : behavioral finance, 2018).
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