Organizational Behavior: Walmart Diversity and Performance Report

This report, prepared as an organizational consultancy analysis for Walmart, US, addresses the critical issue of poor diversity management within the company. The report identifies discrimination based on race, religion, gender, and ethnicity as a key organizational behavior problem, impacting communication, teamwork, and overall performance. The rationale emphasizes the negative consequences of inadequate diversity management, including diminished skills acquisition and impaired decision-making. The report proposes specific policies and practices, such as diversity training programs, flexible working hours, and addressing biases to foster inclusion. It highlights the importance of empathetic leadership and developing a sense of belonging to drive innovation and competitive advantage. The report concludes by emphasizing the application of human-centered approaches and technical skills to manage diverse talent, design effective solutions, and enhance organizational performance, drawing upon insights from human resource management and organizational behavior principles.

Running head: ADVANCED ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
Advanced Organizational Behaviour
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Option 1 Organisational consultancy.........................................................................................3
Introduction............................................................................................................................3
Organisational behaviour related issue or problem................................................................3
Rationale.................................................................................................................................3
Policies and practices for bringing change and manage diversity at workplace of Walmart,
US...........................................................................................................................................3
Option 2 Research summary brief..............................................................................................4
Human centred approach to attain competitive advantage........................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5

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Option 1 Organisational consultancy
Introduction
The report is prepared to discuss about the course of action that can be undertaken for
the purpose of resolving an organisational behaviour problem, furthermore, create a positive
impact on the business performance in the future too. The business organisation considered
here as the case study is Walmart, US.
Organisational behaviour related issue or problem
There are multiple organisational behaviour issues that are faced by the manager of
Walmart in United States and the issue that has been prioritised on is the poor management of
diversity within the workplace. The management of diversity at the workplace has been one
of the major issues that has been faced by the organisation and is related to the organisational
behaviour (Wood, p. 120). I have been appointed as the organisational consultant by the key
manager to conduct a thorough analysis and ensure undertaking the right actions for resolving
the issue or problem and improve the business performance largely. At Walmart, US, it was
found that the cosmopolitan environment has resulted in making the organisation
heterogeneous based on the race, religion, gender, ethnicity or colour (Coccia, p. 6). The
management of diversity within workplace encompassed the various norms and behaviours
that differ along with the different backgrounds and cultures from which the people belong. It
has been found that often due to differences in languages and cultural backgrounds, they were
discriminated and treated unequally, and maybe even gender biased, which not only resulted
in lack of coordination and communication, but also affected the team working and
collaborative decision making at Walmart in US (Xerri and Yvonne, p. 3168).

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Rationale
The rationale demonstrates the problems that are related to the management of
diversity within the workplace of the organisation in United States, It has been found that due
to lack of diversity management, there would also be poor acquisition of skills and
knowledge among the employees, which could also affect the process of decision making,
along with deteriorating the overall business performance largely (Norton et al., p. 50). The
logic behind the report is to implement certain changes to ensure that the organisational
behaviour problem is resolved and the company attains competitive advantage as well.
The manager of the organisation must implement the change to bring diversity within
the workplace and at the same time, treat everyone equally without responding to the
differences. This will ensure higher employee retention along with greater productivity and
maintenance of quality, which are considered as major components to build quality and make
the business attain competitive advantage (Bester et al., p. 8).
Policies and practices for bringing change and manage diversity at workplace of
Walmart, US
There are multiple policies as well as practices associated with the management of
diversity at the workplace and also impart knowledge and information about the norms, rules
and regulations to the employees for facilitating the inclusion. At Walmart, providing
diversity management training programs could be beneficial for providing feedbacks to the
employees regarding their performances and also understand the cultural nuances. The HR
manager and line manager should manage discussions and make sure to provide flexible
working hours to the employees, furthermore, allow them to select their own holidays based
on their religious preferences (Wrench, p. 128). Management of self-awareness within the
workplace could also be effective for making the employees understand about the cultural
biases, stereotypes and prejudices, which should not only create awareness regarding

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diversity among the people, but would also strengthen their skills, knowledge and expertise.
The employers of the organisation must also implement changes by updating the policies and
address the discrimination based on gender and race. The Exemplary diversity programs
could even facilitate the organisational behaviour and ensure management of innovation and
creativity largely through the development of own policies, principles and procedures
(Sabharwal, p. 200). I would personally favour the management of diversity as it would help
in managing a diverse sets of skills and talent, along with enhancing the overall
organisational performance and gain competitive advantage in business as well.
It is also evident that the management of diversity is dependent upon the development
of an effective culture, which can facilitate driving innovative results and also deal with
certain issues and complexities revolving around attraction of diverse talent and also
inclusivity issues experienced within the workplace of the organisations. Various researches
are conducted to identify how the diversity management could lead to better organisational
performance and benefit those companies, which are data driven and the extra performance
can be achieved through development of a good culture. The best practice for bringing
change in respect of the corporate culture could be the development of a sense of belonging
for each and every individual within the workplace (Barak, p. 200). The sense of belonging
should create good connection between the organisation and the group of people.
Furthermore, it results in higher level of engagement between workers and encourage
creativity and innovation too.
The management of empathetic leadership is key to the management of diversity and
inclusion within the workplace, which also could allow for treating every individuals working
within the organisation equally from every aspects, regardless of the race, colour, religion,
ethnicity, background or culture from which, they belong (Harvey et al., p. 189). This kind of
leader should be holding the role of managing the workforce effectively, while ensuring that

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a top down approach is being followed to drive compliance and full commitment from the
employees.
The manager must be cautious about identifying the changes at first and then equip
the employees with necessary skills, knowledge and expertise to adapt to the change,
furthermore develop new habits and behaviours required to foster healthy conversations and
put the actions into the working environment for better management of diversity at the
workplace. The norms, laws, rules and regulations must be communicated with the
employees and this could be essential for helping the individuals to thrive (Wrench, p. 128).
This, automatically, allows for the development of a culture where every individual could
contribute to their potential and ensure that the organisational systems and processes run
smoothly.
Human centred approach to attain competitive advantage
Based on the management of diversity at workplace related concepts, I have acquired
a lot of skills, knowledge and competency to become a successful entrepreneur. As I have
completed my Bachelors and Masters in the field of Human resource management where the
management of diversity is an integral aspect of the HRM, has been studied by me. With the
help of human centred approach and technical skills, I would be able to manage a diverse set
of talent and skills at the workplace. With the management of this human centred approach
developed with the combining of various skills acquired by me, it would be much easier for
me to design systems and approaches to problem solving and even design new approaches
and solutions that are tailor made to suit the best needs of people within the workplace. This
would keep them motivated and encouraged to commit themselves fully towards the
organisational goals and objectives, while considering the shared vision and mission
statement. This would allow me to assess the different sets of skills of the employees and
then acquire their varied ideas, opinions and views required to enhance the overall business

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performance in terms of productivity and sales, at the same time making the business attain
competitive advantage too. The knowledge and information acquired should boost my
knowledge and skills, apart from strengthening my own competency level to progress in my
personal as well as professional career in the future with ease and efficiency.

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References
Barak, Michalle E. Mor. Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. Sage
Publications, 2016.
Bester, Janie, Marius W. Stander, and Llewellyn E. Van Zyl. "Leadership empowering
behaviour, psychological empowerment, organisational citizenship behaviours and turnover
intention in a manufacturing division." SA Journal of Industrial Psychology 41.1 (2015): 1-
14.
Coccia, Mario. "Structure and organisational behaviour of public research institutions under
unstable growth of human resources." Coccia, M.(2014)‘Structure and organisational
behaviour of public research institutions under unstable growth of human resources’, Int. J.
Services Technology and Management 20.4/5 (2015): 6.
Harvey, Carol P., and M. Allard. Understanding and managing diversity: Readings, cases,
and exercises. Pearson, 2015.
Norton, Thomas A., Hannes Zacher, and Neal M. Ashkanasy. "Organisational sustainability
policies and employee green behaviour: The mediating role of work climate
perceptions." Journal of Environmental Psychology 38 (2014): 49-54.
Rice, Mitchell F. Diversity and public administration. ME Sharpe, 2015.
Sabharwal, Meghna. "Is diversity management sufficient? Organizational inclusion to further
performance." Public Personnel Management 43.2 (2014): 197-217.

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Wood, Jack, et al. Organisational behaviour: Core concepts and applications. John Wiley &
Sons, 2013.
Wrench, John. Diversity management and discrimination: Immigrants and ethnic minorities
in the EU. Routledge, 2016.
Xerri, Matthew J., and Yvonne Brunetto. "Fostering innovative behaviour: The importance of
employee commitment and organisational citizenship behaviour." The International Journal
of Human Resource Management 24.16 (2013): 3163-3177.