Wesfarmers: Report on Workplace Equality and Employee Motivation

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Wesfarmers, a leading Australian retail company, focusing on its workplace practices and policies. It examines Wesfarmers' commitment to equality and diversity, highlighting how the company ensures fair treatment in recruitment, promotions, and other HR activities. The report delves into Wesfarmers' strategies for employee motivation, including the application of motivational theories and the provision of job security and family benefits. It also explores the company's excellent organizational culture and makes recommendations for other retail companies, such as Walmart and Woolworths, to emulate Wesfarmers' successful approach. The report emphasizes the importance of embracing diversity, applying motivation theories, and enhancing job security to attract and retain employees. Overall, the report underscores the significance of a positive work environment in fostering employee satisfaction and organizational success.

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Introduction to Management
Student Name
Institution
Date

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Overview of the Company...............................................................................................................3
Performance of Wesfarmers............................................................................................................4
Equality and Diversity in the Workplace.....................................................................................4
Motivation of employees.............................................................................................................4
Job security and family benefits...................................................................................................5
Excellent Organizational Culture.................................................................................................5
Recommendations............................................................................................................................6
Embracing diversity and equality in the workforce.....................................................................6
Application of motivation theories into practice..........................................................................6
Enhancing job security for employees.........................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
Australia is among the world's leading countries where equality and diversity of workforce in big
companies are enhanced. Fresh graduates and experienced workers in Australia target to work in
the country’s largest companies where employees are highly valued. Companies that treat
employees with respect and dignity attract the most competent employees from the competing
firms (Cortese, 2009, p. 40). The purpose of this assignment is writing a report about the best
places to work in Australia. To achieve this purpose, the report will refer to Wesfarmers- a
leading retailer in Australia by describing its values, services, employment policies, and
highlighting the ways in which other companies in the retail sector can emulate Wesfarmers to
succeed in the market.
Overview of the Company
Wesfarmers is an Australian based retail company started in 1914 and has grown to be among
the country’s largest listed companies. Wesfarmers’s diverse business operations range from
supermarkets, office supplies, department stores, home improvement, energy and fertilizers, car
production and export, chemicals, insurance, and industrial and safety products (Biddle, 2016, p.
3). In 2017, Wesfarmers was ranked as Australia’s 5th largest company in terms of revenue,
customer base, and headcount. Wesfarmers has over 200,000 employees in Australia and New
Zealand with approximately 500,000 direct shareholders in the country. The Company aims to
provide a safe and fulfilling working environment for the employees, rewarding creativity, and
good performance, and offering employees with growth and advancement opportunities (Keith,
2012, p. 60).

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Performance of Wesfarmers
According to LinkedIn Top Companies 2017, Wesfarmers has the largest number of employees
approximated to be at least 200,000. Most employees prefer working with Wesfarmers given its
excellent company-employees relations established by the human resource management in
partnership with other top authorities of the company. The major reasons why Wesfarmers has
turned as Australia’s popular place of employment include:
Equality and Diversity in the Workplace
The human resource management of Wesfarmers has embraced equality and diversity of
employees in the workplace. Just like the Australia labor laws state, the company’s employees
are fully protected by law from job-related bias and discrimination. Wesfarmers treats employees
objectively and fairly when it comes to recruitment, promotions, termination, remuneration,
training and development, coaching, and team building (Miner, 2015, p. 6). Further, job
applicants from diverse fields, qualifications, experience, and skills are treated fairly during
interviews. Further, employees of all races, cultures, and gender are given equal employment and
promotion opportunities in the company. As a result, creativity and innovation in the company
are enhanced and this contributes to better decision making and stronger competitive advantage
of Wesfarmers against its key competitors.
Motivation of employees
Wesfarmers’ employees are proud of the company due to its excellent approaches to their
motivation. The human resource management of the company effectively applies the theories of
motivation into practice. The needs of employees are highly valued at Wesfarmers. For example,
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory is used by the management in determining the most urgent
needs of the employees. In this regard, salary advances are given to ensure that employees’ basic

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needs are promptly met. Also, within the workplace, the company embraces collaboration,
training, socializing, job titles, delegation, autonomy, stable work environment, performance
reviews, passion, and breaks to boost employees’ ability to reach self-actualization.
Job security and family benefits
The management of Wesfarmers puts the “Two-factor theory” into practice due to their
realization that what satisfies workers could be unrelated to what dissatisfies them. The
management is concerned with employees’ hygiene in terms of safety, regular pay, job security,
adequate supervision, and working conditions. There is job security for employees working in
the retailer given its diverse range of product offerings and locations both domestically and
internationally (Ozturk and Tatli, 2016, p. 800). Due to this, employees prefer working in the
company other than its main competitors. Further, Wesfarmers offers excellent perks to
employees in terms of maternity and paternity leaves. In addition, there are family benefits
provided to employees by the company. Employees feel that Wesfarmers is the perfect place to
grow their career while being responsible people in their families.
Excellent Organizational Culture
Australia is one of the world’s largest multicultural countries with over 200 languages spoken
there. In most Australian companies, employees come from varying cultures and this makes
them class due to their behaviors, communication style, customers, and values differences. The
human resource management of Wesfarmers is very keen in preventing organizational conflicts
from occurring. The company operates using excellent, reasonable, and considerate
organizational policies that govern the communication language to be used while at work by all
employees. Therefore, the great cultural intelligence in the company attracts more employees to
work there.

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Recommendations
Other Australian retail companies such as Walmart and Woolworths need to emulate
Wesfarmers’ human resource management strategies and policies in order to attract more job
seekers. These companies should emulate Wesfarmers in the following ways:
Embracing diversity and equality in the workforce
Woolworths and Walmart have been trying to enhance diversity and equity in the workplace.
However, Wesfarmers does it better than them since it considers both gender, the disabled, and
people from all cultural backgrounds equally in job promotions, salary increment, training, and
other HR activities (Robbins, Coulter, and Vohra, 2009, p. 21). The management should enhance
this diversity and eliminate workers bias and discrimination in the workplace.
Application of motivation theories into practice
Wesfarmers is best known in its proper application of motivation theories into practice in
enhancing job collaboration, teamwork, delegation, the stability of work, and meeting all
employees need effectively (Manzoor, 2012, p. 1). Walmart and Woolworths need to ensure that
employees’ welfare and needs are addressed to ensure that their morale and performance in the
workplace is increased. Through this way, more employees will be attracted to work for the
company.
Enhancing job security for employees
Wesfarmers employees feel secure in terms of health, salary, and job wise. Walmart and
Woolworths should establish excellent measures of employees’ dismissal, health treatment, and
sufficient salary for both personal and professional needs. By this doing, the company will attract
more workforces’ interest to work in it.

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Conclusion
Employees form the most important assets of an organization. The manner by which a company
treats its employees internally determines the external labor markets perception and view about.
Companies that embrace equality and diversity of the workforce in the workplace attract more
job seekers in the labor market. Also, job security, employees’ motivation approaches, and the
application of motivational theories into practice boost a company’s reputation in the public in
terms of employability. Therefore, the human resource management of a company must ensure
that the policies governing company-employee relations are excellent, fair, diverse, and enhance
equity in the workplace. By this doing, experienced and fresh graduate job seekers will always
admire and fight to work for the company.

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Bibliography
Biddle, I., 2016. The Wesfarmers/Woolworths duopoly war: The Bunnings vs. Masters
battle. Busidate, 24(3), p.3.
Cortese, C., 2009. A Profile of the Non‐Executive Directors of Australia's Largest
Companies. Australian Accounting Review, 19(1), pp.33-41.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-companies-2017-where-australia-wants-work-
roughol
Keith, S., 2012. Coles, Woolworths and the local. Locale: The Australasian-Pacific Journal of
Regional Food Studies, 2, pp.47-81.
Manzoor, Q.A., 2012. Impact of employees motivation on organizational effectiveness. Business
management and strategy, 3(1), p.1.
Miner, J.B., 2015. Organizational Behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership.
Routledge.
Ozturk, M.B., and Tatli, A., 2016. Gender identity inclusion in the workplace: broadening
diversity management research and practice through the case of transgender employees in the
UK. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 27(8), pp.781-802.
Robbins, S.P., Coulter, M., and Vohra, N., 2009. Introduction to Management and Organizations.
Management 10th Edition. Pearson Education: Publishing Prentice Hall Publications, pp.2-21.