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The start of my Workplace Writing course was my first English course in approximately five years. I took all my necessary English classes during my first year in college. It was a little nerve wrecking when I suddenly had to take a course at a junior level after being away from this style of writing for so long. Thankfully my instructor was very patient and assisted me with everything I needed.

I feel that I have improved as a writing because the bar was set higher for me. I guess you can say I was somewhat pressured to produce assignments with a certain standard like the other students in my class. I was able to work in teams and have my peers review me. What was even better was that my classmates and group members had great experience as managers, so their comments were extremely valuable to me.

I could not have taken this course at a better time. I enrolled in this course along with a management class that focused on Organizational Behavior. On of my assignments in that class was to evaluate a company, to which my team chose Wal-Mart, and we produced a written report extremely similar to the case study analysis we worked on in the Workplace Writing course. Learning how to write the case study was an incredible help in my other class. I could not have been more appreciative of the information I was learning. I became a better writing in both classes as opposed to just writing better for my English class.

This course has taught me to be professional, yet to be myself. Knowledge is a wonderful thing because you can never have enough of it. I hope to take more courses like this to help improve my writing further.

Application Letter

xxxx x xxxxxxxxx xxx x

El Paso, Texas 79925

June 14, 2012

ATTN: District Manager

Big 5 Sporting Goods

8900 Viscount Blvd

El Paso, Texas 79925

Dear Sir or Madam,

Big 5 Sporting Goods has a great rapport with their customers, so there is no doubt that their interest in employee satisfaction is a key element to the success of this company. In today’s workforce, education is a highly critical part of obtaining a fulfilling career with plenty of challenges and opportunities to move up in the company. However, experience with or without an educational background is also a critical item.

The Manager Trainee position available at your company sparked my interest for several reasons. As you can see from my resume, I am currently in the process of obtaining my bachelor’s degree at the University of Texas at El Paso in business management. With the education I already obtained at El Paso Community College and the education I am gaining at the university, I strongly feel that this position would help me to gain managerial experience on top of working for such a great company.

My resume also illustrates my work experience working around a department full of managers and supervisors. Although I do not have direct experience as a manager, working for a director while assisting managers and supervisors has given me the opportunity to observe different types of management and apply this information to situational issues that I have faced. I am confident that this position is the perfect position for me, but just as equally perfect for your company.

The position requires its basic qualifications, but I can assure you that I can bring more to the table. Big 5 Sporting Goods needs to maintain its great rapport with its customers and, as mentioned before, employee satisfaction is important. In order to accomplish this, Big 5 Sporting Goods needs employees who are enthusiastic, creative, and especially extrovert. My resume also demonstrates my involvement in various projects that attract and favor these types of individuals. My personality combined with my technical skills and people skills will provide you with certainty that I am the right person for this position.

I am sure that there is much more to discuss face to face where you can obtain a better understanding of everything mentioned in this letter. I would like to schedule an interview to further discuss this position and go over any questions or concerns you may have.  I can be reached via email at vchavez22@yahoo.com or by phone at 915.xxx.xxxx.

Sincerely,

Valerie Chavez

Resume

Valerie Chavez
xxxx x xxxxxxxxx xxx x
El Paso, Texas, 79925
vchavez22@yahoo.com
915.xxx.xxxx

Objective

To gain further knowledge and experience in a professional working environment with an opportunity to advance.

EXPERIENCE

January 2008 – Present Production Assistant, Desert View Construction ·  Provided clerical and administrative support to the Director of Construction, and the entire Production staff including all business correspondence ·  Maintained good rapport throughout the department and company, including subcontractors ·  Accurately produced weekly, monthly, and yearly reports; submitted to all necessary departments ·  Monitor Avid Ratings and Community Appearance Scores; developed strategies to improve scores on a quarterly basis by 10% ·  Increased processing turnaround between departments by creating systematic timelines ·  Record meeting minutes for all necessary department meetings ·  Updated and created Standard Operating Procedures for all of the department staff ·  Accurately produced monthly Performance Standards for the entire department. ·  Assist with trainings by providing proper documentation, creating presentations, collaborative communication with managers and developed new training techniques ·  Maintain all EPA files to ensure compliance with OSHA and TCEQ ·  Develop and maintain current filing system, including confidential information ·  Monitored Production supply inventory and decreased expenditures on unnecessary equipment ·  Schedule Quality Control Inspections and monitor inspection reports on a regular basis for TCEQ. Identified areas of struggle and logged scores to decrease frequencies and increase quality scores.  ·  Update weekly construction schedules accurately, including creating scheduling system through Builder MT. ·  Monitor petty cash and process all departmental financial payments ·  Assist the Director of Construction with creating department budget and reduce unnecessary expenditures. Monitor variance purchases on monthly basis. ·  Coordinated “End of Year Subcontractor Party” ·  Participate in Employee Relations Projects, and assisted with organizing and implementing new company mottos and slogans. ·  Oversaw Employee Outreach to the Community Program as Chairman of the Bright Beginnings Project ·  Participated in Extreme Makeover Project – managed foreman and subcontractor scheduling, volunteer sign up, supply inventory, and liaison between field and office staff May 2007 – December 2007, Receptionist, Desert View Construction, Inc. ·  Answer, and direct incoming calls to the main office ·  Provided clerical and administrative support to the entire office ·  Supply Inventory and upkeep ·  Create Standard Operating Procedures for the Receptionist position ·  Direct and assist walk in customers, vendors, and assist with appointments. ·  Assist other departments with special projects such as copies, filing, proofing, reports, cleaning. ·  Assist with Administrative Events (4th Quarter Push, Employee Breakfast, Luncheons, Company Christmas Party, Company Contests)

EDUCATION

2011-Present, University of Texas – El Paso ·  Pending BBA Human Resources (Spring 2014) ·  Currently enrolled in Business Core – Organizational Behavior,  Workplace Writing, Global Business Environment and Management Accounting 2010-2011, El Paso Community College ·  Associate of Arts – Business ·  Associate of Arts – General Studies    2000-2004, Montwood High School – El Paso, Texas ·  High School Diploma

TECHNICAL SKILLS

Proficient with Microsoft Office, including Excel, Word, Power Point, Publisher, and Outlook. Extensive experience with office equipment, and intermediate knowledge of computer technical assistance.

Persuasive Letter

xxxx x xxxxxxxxx xxx x

El Paso, Texas 79925

June 21, 2012

Desert View Homes

7910 Gateway East, Suite 102

El Paso, Texas 79915

Subject: Recycling Bins and Clean Work Areas

Attention Desert View Homes Employees,

As many of you have noticed, there are blue recycle bins next to each of the four copy machines we use as network printers. Our unwanted print jobs are piling up in the trash cans by the minute in order to keep our work areas clean and presentable. What better way to accomplish a clean work environment than to take it a step further and encourage our office staff to recycle! Imagine the landfill with its own special section marked off for Desert View Homes’ wasted paper; mountain and mountains just building its own little community in the landfill. Let’s take a look at how recycling can help us all.

Recycling cardboard and paper offers its own rewards when it comes to the environment. We are always encouraging our buyers to “go green” with our energy efficient products. We need to practice what we preach by pacing our unwanted print jobs in these recycle bins. Following through with these practices helps ensure our resources are still available in the future. Some of us might even be inspired to recycle at home too!

Because recycling paper has such a positive effect on the environment, our office supply vendor has agreed to collect our recycle bins every Friday and provide our office with a 10% discount off on our next purchase. They have even agreed to display our company logo on their website that shows we are active participants in recycling for a better future.

Finally, if the other reasons did not spark your interest because they require a little more effort, take this reason to heart. Unsafe and dirty work areas are fire hazards. It’s hard to picture our office burning to flames or a life lost because we were simply too lazy to clean up the area by putting the unwanted print jobs into the recycle bin. Scattered paper can encourage a fire to spread quickly. Our office must abide by OSHA standards. By keeping a clean work area, we are doing just that; however these recycle bins collect the paper in one area. Should a fire occur, it is easier to contain and put out with our sprinkler system. There will be no fire to chase giving us more time to exit the building safely.

Please know that our managers are behind this fantastic idea to better our office and our environment. We encourage you all to keep the work areas a safe and clean place, and remember to recycle!

Thank you,

Valerie Chavez

Production Assistant

Desert View Homes

Case Study Analysis

Case Study Analysis

Desert View Homes

By: Valerie Chavez, Alexander Chavez, and Alan Castrejon

A BRIEF HISTORY OF DESERT VIEW HOMES

In 1990, Randal O’Leary founded Desert View Homes and it became a privately held corporation. The main focus of the business was to build single-family homes in the El Paso, Texas area. What started as a two person project has now flourished to a company doing business in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado.

Throughout the years, Desert View Homes has achieved many awards including AVID Ratings Customer Service Award, Builder of the Year, National Housing Endowment Builder Achievement Award for Outstanding Community Service, and Better Business Bureau Award. Desert View Homes has also been recognized in both local and national top builders lists such as Builder Magazine's Top 100 Builders List and Professional Builder's List of Top 400 Builders. In 2008, Desert View Homes’ local and national reputation provided the company with the opportunity to participate and build a new home for the Ruiz Family for ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

With the every growing variety of floor plans and in home selection, Desert View Homes has acquired 75 employees with various managerial, technical, personal, and teamwork skills. The focus on entry-level home buyers has allowed the company to develop goals and values while providing a product at an affordable cost.

MISSION STATEMENT AND VALUES – DESERT VIEW HOMES

The following Mission Statement and Values can be found at the Desert View Homes company website:

Our Mission: We are the best homebuilding company in America. We sell our homes with enthusiasm, energy for our jobs, and respect for our customers. As a company, we seek to add value: To our customers, by providing them with a superior product at an affordable price; to our employees, by providing them employment, which encourages personal growth and pride at competitive compensations; to our communities, by providing taxes, charitable contributions, and community support.

Our Values: We exist to provide value to our customers with affordable quality and superior customer service. We focus on continual improvement in all the company does in planning, in quality, and in customer service. Our management team will lead with passion, commitment, and enthusiasm and will expect the same from our employees. We work hard, yet keep it fun.

SWOT ANALYSIS FOR ATTAINING #1 BUILDER IN EL PASO, TEXAS BY

DESERT VIEW HOMES

Below is a description of details pertaining to the improvement of Desert View Homes’ products and communication in order to attain #1 builder in El Paso Texas and increasing the company’s chances to remain in business. It is crucial to evaluate the company’s current communication issues, selection of floor plans and included amenities in order to identify areas of struggle, develop ideas and solutions for improvement, and follow through with implementing these changes. We must also assess the skills of the employees working for the company. Developing teams, two or more individuals working together to attain a specific goal by applying their specialty skills, will prove to assist in bringing Desert View Homes back as the #1 builder in El Paso, Texas.

Strengths:

Desert View Homes has a credited reputation with over 20 years of experience in the home building industry. The employees are selected based on the skills they have, the ability to work in teams, and the customer service experience needed to provide potential buyers with the home of their dreams. The management team is complied of individuals from across the nation, bringing diversity to the organization.

The overall product of Desert View Homes in itself brings the American Dream to life. People want to live and own a home, and Desert View Homes provides this service with incredible affordable homes. No matter where you live across town, Desert View Homes can find a location to build a home where the price is within the potential buyer’s means.

Weaknesses:

Desert View Homes is similar to a family orientated place of employment. Executive management teams have worked together for so long that they are like brother and sister. It is hard to motivate employees to accomplish a goal when the Executive Team struggles to agree on a direction to take the company. To add to the mix, the group of managers for each department is slow to make decisions because of conflict within teams. Communication to the employees who carry out the actual tasks is then tarnished as it trickles down the chain of command. Lack of communication can contribute to employee dissatisfaction and increase turnover rates or absenteeism.

The product variety for Desert View Homes is minimal to benefit the company and not the customer. Desert View Homes is not a custom home builder but instead are a track home builder. Track homes are homes that are built the same way every time the home is selected for construction. The only difference in each home is the buyer’s selection of paint colors, appliances, upgrades, and options. The varieties of the homes consist of only six different floor plans with two different elevations, stucco and rock. Because of the fear of change by management, these six floor plans have been available to potential buyers for the past seven years with only slight updates such as centering a window, or adding pop-outs around the garage doors. The included amenities, such as laminate counter tops, swamp coolers, vinyl flooring, and brass hardware have now become outdated. Certain options and upgrades are only available in packages which include certain items that some buyers do not want at all. If the product is not updated to fit current and future buyers, it will be safe to assume that the fewer buyers will purchase a home with Desert View Homes. Not only will Desert View Homes fail to regain its title as the #1 Builder in El Paso, but it may be that much harder to employee their staff and remain in business.

Opportunities:

There are plenty of resources to market the product for Desert View Homes. Home Expos, referencing participation in Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, community outreach programs, website and social networking, radio and television commercials can all contribute to marketing the product and included amenities to entice the potential buyers to become familiar with Desert View Homes.

Employees and managers in each department are known as task groups, two or more individuals who exchange information to attain or share a common task. A company can have several groups, and the majority of them are task groups; what Desert View Homes needs are teams. Since the management team is composed of such a diverse group of individuals, Desert View Homes can use the available resources to train their managers bi-monthly to work as teams in diverse situations. All employees can train on a quarterly basis on proper communication flow in order to ensure tasks are accomplished.

The current system used by Desert View Homes to evaluate its product based on the buyer’s perspective is through AVID Ratings. AVID Ratings provide the buyers with enough time to live in their home and request that they complete a survey that provides Desert View Homes with vital feedback from color selection, floor plan variety, customer service experience, overall sales, loan, and closing process, and finally warranty issues and concerns. Desert View Homes can use this opportunity to attain buyer expectations of the product they are looking for nowadays. The section of the survey with respondent comments always provides the ideas behind what the buyers are looking for and what is important to them. This form of communication comes from outside of the company.

Threats:

When communication has failed to assist the company, deviant employee behavior can threaten the company’s well being. Emotions can come into play and lead to unwanted repercussions. Conflicts between employees can redirect the focus to work together and become the #1 builder. A breakdown in trainings will without a doubt leave the managers with no knowledge of how to handle conflict and regain the primary goals of the company.

Refusing to implement change in product and amenities will give other builders the advantage. Fulfilling a customer’s wants and needs will attract more buyers. Desert View Homes has fallen victim to this threat already. While other builders are able to close more homes, increase their building rates, and employ more people, Desert View Homes will have to reduce starts and reduce overhead. It may even be possible that layoffs will encourage Desert View Homes employees to turnover and take their essential skills to the competition, where business is booming. Failing to communicate the direction the company is going with products will leave Desert View Homes at the bottom of the top builders lists.

THE NATURE OF THE COMPANY’S COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE

Desert View Homes currently communicates all business correspondence with its employees at monthly employee meetings. Sales and closing goals and actuals are discussed, along with events, company updates, and announcements. Announcements can include holidays, new employee introductions, and changes to processes. The idea behind the employee meetings held monthly are to update non managerial employees of upper management decisions, and give an update on the overall well being of the company.

On a weekly basis, community meetings are held once a week. Employees from each department in the company who work specifically with a particular community meet to exchange information about items that need to be included on an already purchased home, which inventory homes need to be refreshed, warranty concerns to avoid frequencies, evaluate current status on hitting monthly goals, and develop a plan of action to accomplish goals. The main principle of these meetings is not to make changes or decisions, but to ensure all departments are on the same page with what is already taking place.

Desert View Homes also communicates with its potential buyers that they are providing a better product with its company slogan, “Desert View Homes: The Affordable Solution.”  Making the homes affordable would suggest that the product is better because buyers will be able to purchase the home. However this can be interpreted wrong. Other builders will be more expensive because they have included more in their homes as a standard and better suit the buyer’s wants and not just their needs.

THE CURRENT COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE

Communication is strictly downward at Desert View Homes and hardly ever upward, unless it pertains to personnel information. There are no meetings to brainstorm ideas that include non-managerial employees. Although most companies do not have these types of meetings, Desert View Homes should organize a meeting to include non-managerial employees. Regular employees at Desert View Homes are the second best source of information, customer feedback being the first. They work with the buyers day in and day out. They are the first set of ears the buyers vent to about their expectations and wants. Regular employees can give insightful ideas and recommendation.

Omitting valuable information to the employees can prove to be a setback. When manager of Desert View Homes tells its employees that they are hitting their goals but do not admit that the goals they have set do not even allow for the company to attain its overhead, it provides the employees with filtered information. Be upfront and do not make the journey easy. If you can set difficult but obtainable goals, employees will feel more motivated to achieve the goals. You can also avoid the shock if layoffs come in to play.

THE CURRENT PROPOSED SOLUTION TO THE COMMUNICATION CHALLENGE

Training managers and employees on the crucial importance of communication downward, upward, and laterally will assist the company with ensuring all parties are in sync. Managers should be trained bi-monthly, while employees are trained on a quarterly basis. Trainings should consist of teamwork exercises and activities that emphasize on climate of trust, proper communication process, and different communication pros and cons.

In addition, do not communicate bad information to the employees by setting easy goals. Desert View Homes will never become the #1 builder in El Paso and stay in business if the goals are too easy. Social loafing, lack of motivation, and other conflicts will arise as a result of this. Goals should be tangible and measurable, but at the same time they must be difficult. The competition in a person is a natural instinct. If employees are told that they must strive harder, the motivation to attain these goals will inspire them to work harder. Motivate employees with these new standards for goals and provide valuable feedback. Employees will then gain a new sense of job empowerment resulting in higher job satisfaction.

Finally, Desert View Homes should look to its non-managerial employees to be the new innovators for the product line. Regular employees can vouch for what the customer does and does not like, what the competitors are doing to win over buyers, and can suggest ways to improve the product line such as:

·         New floor plans are a must. The market is of a different generation now. What was once acceptable a decade ago has now changed. Although Desert View Homes is not a custom homebuilder, it should provide potential buyers with more floor plans and elevations to choose from. Develop at least eight new floor plans with three more elevations to increase the number of floor plans by 24. Provide each floor plan with “flexible rooms” that can covert into another bedroom, a private den, an office, a formal dining room, or a game room.

·         Disregard the idea that packages are better for the buyer. Packages only help regulate and standardize processes internally for the company. Instead offer smaller packages for the more common items like upgrades on ceramic tile, countertops, carpet, and hardware. These items can also be available a la carte along with trim, paint colors, appliances, landscaping, drip systems, patios, islands, security, surround sound, extra outlets, and garage door openers. Standardize common requests like nickel hardware, refrigerated air, and mini-blinds. Encourage buyers to landscape their backyards after closings with landscaping discounts and pool installation coupons or flyers.

CONCLUSION

Desert View Homes can certainly become the #1 builder in El Paso, Texas again. Improving certain aspects of the company will be a key factor in acquiring this task. We would like to thank you for allowing us to work on this case study, and we look forward to observing Desert View Homes’ climb to the top.

WORKS CITED

Unknown author. Desert View Homes: About Us - Awards. 2012. Desert View Homes. Retrieved 28 Jun 2012. http://www.desertviewhomes.com/Awards

Unknown author. Desert View Homes: About Us - History. 2012. Desert View Homes. Retrieved 28 Jun 2012. http://www.desertviewhomes.com/About-Us

Unknown author. Desert View Homes: About Us - Values. 2012. Desert View Homes. Retrieved 28 Jun 2012. http://www.desertviewhomes.com/Our-Values

Robbins, Stephen P., Judge, Timothy A. Organizational Behavior, Fourteenth Edition. Prentice Hall. New Jersey. 2011.

Case Study Analysis Presentation

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Wal-Mart Company Evaluation (Management Class)

Organizational Behavior: An Evaluation of Wal-Mart's Key to Success

By: Valerie Chavez, Thomas Franco, Manuel Ruiz, and Esmeralda Aguirre

A BRIEF HISTORY AND THE GROWTH OF WAL-MART

In 1962 Sam Walton founded the first Wal-Mart, a discount retail store, in Rogers, Arkansas. Although other discount retail stores were already expanding since the late 1950s, Walton was sure that his idea behind Wal-Mart would attract a new interest in consumers. The combination of excellent customer service and quality low prices inspired Sam Walton and his wife to invest 95% of the cost to build the first Wal-Mart.

At the start of 1972, Wal-Mart had reached 15 stores. With the help of the New York Stock Exchange, Wal-Mart was finally able to offer stocks. By 1983, Wal-Mart had made a huge stride with over 270 stores built in 11 different states across the nation. Only five years later, the first “superstore” was built, “featuring a complete grocery and 36 departments of general merchandise,” (Wal-Mart Corporation, 2012).

Wal-Mart has grown beyond reasonable expectations. Over half a century later, Wal-Mart has flourished into a dominant business in the retail industry. Wal-Mart employs 2.2 million associates globally and has 10,185 store locations in 27 different countries (Wal-Mart Corporation, 2012). It is very uncommon to ask a person where the nearest Wal-Mart is without them knowing exactly what you are talking about.

In this evaluation, we review vital aspects of the organization such as values, diversity, motivation, and job satisfaction. These four topics of discussion are essential to the success of Wal-Mart in that they each provide the company with the promise of success or failure. We examine the traditional management approach used by Wal-Mart, defined as decision making, planning and controlling by Fred Luthans and his associates, as mentioned in Organizational Behavior 14^th Edition by Robbins and Judge (2011), and recommend areas of improvement to assist the company with maintaining a successful journey through the remaining half century to come.

VALUES

Values can be defined as the basic principles that a distinct mode of conduct or end-state of being is individually or collectively favored to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of being (Rokeach, 1973). Values play an important role in a company’s foundation and culture which can be instrumental to its success and overall perception.  Wal-Mart like any other large company is no exception.  Wal-Mart has three basic beliefs and values that are a large principle to their unique culture.

Wal-Mart’s first value is “Respect for the Individual”, which states that “We’re hardworking, ordinary people who’ve teamed up to accomplish extraordinary things. While our backgrounds and personal beliefs are very different, we never take each other for granted. We encourage those around us to express their thoughts and ideas. We treat each other with dignity. This is the most basic way we show respect” (Wal-Mart, n.d.).

Wal-Mart’s second value is “Service to Our Customers”, which states that “Our customers are the reason we’re in business, so we should treat them that way. We offer quality merchandise at the lowest prices, and we do it with the best customer service possible. We look for every opportunity where we can exceed our customers’ expectations. That’s when we’re at our very best” (Wal-Mart, n.d.).

The third and final core value “Striving for Excellence” affirms “We’re proud of our accomplishments but never satisfied. We constantly reach further to bring new ideas and goals to life. We model ourselves after Sam Walton, who was never satisfied until prices were as low as they could be or that a product’s quality was as high as customers deserved and expected”. The third principle closes with a question and statement, “We always ask: Is this the best I can do? This demonstrates the passion we have for our business, for our customers and for our communities” (Wal-Mart, n.d.).

These three values have been a part of the Wal-Mart culture since it opened its doors in 1962. They are strong and detrimental elements in fulfilling Wal-Mart’s mission statement.  Although, after fifty years, a company can lose sight these core values and principles. Wal-Mart may have lost track of what it may take to maintain these crucial and relevant elements when upholding the company’s beliefs.  One of the cornerstones to a company’s success is the individual employee or the employees as a collective whole. Wal-Mart’s executives can improve on some of its shortcomings by placing more emphasis and investing more in its employees.  More importance needs to be placed on the workers voice and opinion on what can be done to improve store operations and return to some of the core values that the company was founded on (The High Price of Low Cost, 2011).  This in exchange can translate to lower turnover rates, higher productivity, better customer service and much more satisfied customers in the long run.

One argument considers that the employees and customers should rank higher than that of the shareholders of the company.  As opposed to some of its competitors, Wal-Mart has held down the cost of labor in order to maintain lower prices, which has had an adverse effect (Shapiro 2004, p. 5).  Providing employees with a higher or more satisfactory wage can lead to bigger returns in the end and would be one step back in the direction of the company’s original credo.  Job satisfaction is a very important aspect of an individual employee’s happiness and performance within an organization.  Even though better pay is not the ultimate cause for higher job satisfaction, it can be a good motivator and give an employee a sense of respect and value towards the company.  Promotional opportunities can also bare a great deal of importance when considering how an employee feels valued by the company.   Financial security is a terminal value or end state that a person may want to achieve in their lifetime. Promotions that can be achieved through hard work and ambition can prove to be an instrumental value when one wants to gain financial security in the form of a solid career. Those in the work force who seek a career to achieve a favorable level of financial security are more likely to remain with a company that advocates good promotional opportunities from within.  This also can lead to lower turnover, a higher sense of satisfaction, and an overall happier employee which in turn leads to better customer service.

Values are not the same for everyone; however Wal-Mart has found a large group of associates from all over the globe who share the same values. With such a wide variety of individuals employed at Wal-Mart, it would be hard to ignore the obvious presence of diversity in the organization.

WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

The objectives of the workplace are simple: provide great customer service in order to run a business that will generate a profit. The aspects of obtaining those objectives are a different story. Many factors play into the success of an organization. Products types, vendors, location, employees, strategies for success, and trainings all play an important role to help a business succeed. Management is crucial in dominant businesses. Having the ability to understand your employees and being able to have them do the work productively is not an easy job particularly when workforce diversity comes into play. Workforce diversity is defined as “a workforce of women and men; many racial and ethnic groups; individuals with a variety of physical or psychological abilities; and people who differ in age and sexual orientation,” (Robbins & Judge, 2011).

            It is nearly impossible for an organization to function without some level of diversity, be it surface-level and/or deep-level diversity. Not everyone is of the same gender, age, religion, race and ethnicity, all of which illustrate types of surface-level diversity (Robbins & Judge, 2011); all of the employees do not enjoy the same activities, share the same values and morals, or have the same abilities, demonstrating various types of deep-level diversity according to (Robbins & Judge, 2011).

            In bigger organizations, like Wal-Mart for example, organizational diversity is hard to overlook. Wal-Mart employs over two million associates at over 10,000 retail units around the globe. Can you imagine no diversity in those two million people? Certainly not! For starters if Wal-Mart is a global organization, the first and probably the most obvious surface level of diversity is location. Associates of Wal-Mart are located all around the world from the United States to Africa, India, Japan, and many other countries. Of these associates, Wal-Mart employs people of all different races and ethnicities including 248,000 African Americans, 167,000 Hispanics, 42,000 Asian Americans, 5,000 Pacific Islander Americans, 14,000 American Indian and Alaska Natives (Wal-Mart Corporation, 2011). Females make up 57% of their workforce, and Wal-Mart is also promoting more and more women to upper management positions “compared to 49 % of the retail industry and 47% of the general labor force; 26% of Wal-Mart U.S. officers are women, compared to 18% in the retail industry and 14% in Fortune 500 companies; 20% of Wal-Mart’s board of directors are women, compared to 15% in Fortune 500 companies.” (Wal-Mart Corporation, 2011).  Men and women as young as 16 years of age even past the age of 65 are employed at Wal-Mart.

Beyond the surface, Wal-Mart has invested heavily on acquiring associates with diverse abilities[1]. Wal-Mart associates share a common interest to continue to grow as a diverse organization by providing its employees with various Associate Resource Groups, also known as ARGs[2]. These groups spark interest in particular groups such as women, people of Native decent, employees who have disabilities, etc. There are eight ARGs that “are comprised of more than 5,000 Home Office associates who act as a forum to accelerate the pace of change and cultivate an inclusive atmosphere” (Wal-Mart Corporation, 2011). Although these groups target surface level diversity, the idea behind the creation of these groups shows how Wal-Mart strives to stay innovative and creative. Bringing in people of various backgrounds, age, culture, etc. will bring new ideas to the table with just the right amount of conflict[3].

Wal-Mart has also provides its employees with diversity training and mentoring programs to help employees become familiar with other cultures and tools, Good Faith Events (GFE) that promote diversity events to broaden customer satisfaction, and Wal-Mart has also recently changed its policies to stay up to date with the changing world by providing benefits for same sex relations and transgendered individuals. On top of all of this, Wal-Mart looks to provide trainings to employees on job related skills such as technology, labor, and interpersonal skills.

One of the obvious effects of organizational diversity is the opportunity to come across discrimination. According to Robbins & Judge (2011), “to discriminate is to note a difference between things, which in itself isn’t necessarily bad.” However, if you review the website for the National Organization for Women (NOW) regarding the history of discrimination cases towards women against Wal-Mart, you will see that the discrimination issues refer to unfair discrimination that date back to the early 2000s[4]. Unfair discrimination is when we are “making judgments about individuals based on stereotypes regarding their demographic group[5],” (Robbins & Judge, 2011). According to NOW’s website, “NOW leaders and members received numerous complaints regarding workplace environment and employment practices at the chain's retail stores and distribution centers, as well as its regional and corporate offices. NOW reviewed the extensive public record on cases filed against Wal-Mart and found the allegations disturbing. These included sex discrimination in pay, promotion and compensation, wage abuse, exclusion of contraceptive coverage in insurance plans, violations of child labor laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Cases have also been filed regarding firing pro-union workers, eliminating jobs once workers joined unions, and discouraging workers from unionizing,” (National Organization for Women, 2012).

Wal-Mart has addressed its discrimination issues by providing information on what to do if and when an individual feels as if they have been discriminated against[6]. Wal-Mart also illustrates their stance on the issue by including the following statement on their corporate website, “Wal-Mart will not tolerate discrimination in employment, employment-related decisions, or in business dealings on the basis of race, color, ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, or any other legally protected status. We should provide an environment free of discrimination to our associates, customers, members, and suppliers,” (Wal-Mart Corporation, 2012)

            Wal-Mart’s insight regarding diversity makes the point that the more diverse the organization is, the easier it is to keep your employees satisfied. Understanding diversity and handling it with the best intensions provides the associates of Wal-Mart with motivation, a critical aspect of job satisfaction.

JOB SATISFACTION

What is job satisfaction? According to the authors of Organizational Behavior 14 edition, Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge (2011), job satisfaction is defined as, “ A positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics” (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 27). Why is job satisfaction important? Employee job satisfaction can affect the bottom line (Robbins & Judge, 2011). According to Robbins and Judge (2011), satisfied employees are more productive employees and evidence shows that employees who are more satisfied and are treated fairly are more willing to engage in organizational citizenship behavior. Robbins and Judge (2011) also state that job satisfaction is negatively related to absenteeism and turnover which means as satisfaction increases absenteeism and turnover decreases. Job satisfaction has an impact on customer satisfaction. Robbins and Judge (2011) claim that satisfied employees increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. In this section we will examine Wal-Mart in terms of factors that affect employee attitudes and job satisfaction and its relation to turnover and customer satisfaction.

Wal-Mart’s double-digit growth has been declining since the early 2000’s and same store sales in its core US business has been shrinking for nine consecutive quarters trailing behind competitors like Target and Costco (Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, n.d.). Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, (n.d., p. 4), has stated, “Over the past several months a number of studies have shown that Wal-Mart’s price advantage over the competition, and more importantly the perception of Wal-Mart’s price advantage, has diminished” and they go on to say that, “For a retailer like Wal-Mart that sells almost exclusively on the basis of price, the lack of a clear price advantage represents an existential crisis. Without a higher level of service or a better shopping experience, Wal-Mart has little more to offer.” Wal-Mart’s response to this crisis has been significant cost cutting that targets its workforce (Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, n.d.).

In 2010, Wal-Mart management announced it was ending the practice of paying Sunday premium, Christmas premium, reduced bonuses to store associates, and announced an end to its profit sharing plan (Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, n.d.). In addition to these cuts Wal-Mart has sought to increase labor productivity by reducing staffing levels in its stores and has implemented a timing system called the task manager, a program that allocates a certain number of associates and a certain period of time to discreet tasks (Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, n.d.). It has been said by employees that it allows no time for interaction with customers, covering for a fellow associate who is absent or for other issues beyond an associate’s control (Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, n.d.). This can have a dramatic negative affect on employee’s job satisfaction, attitudes, and customer satisfaction.

Employee engagement is defined as, “An individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the work he or she does” (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 79). According to employees, helping and interacting with customers was one of the best things about working at Wal-Mart because employees often empathized and identified with customers (Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, n.d.). But because of strict timeframes set by the task manager, employees are unable to interact with customers, which can decrease employee engagement. This can have negative affects on job satisfaction, which can cause a decrease in customer satisfaction (Robbins & Judge, 2011). The task manager can also negatively affect job involvement by decreasing the feeling of psychological empowerment. Psychological empowerment is defines as, “Employees’ belief in the degree to which they affect their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their job, and their perceived autonomy in their work (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 77). The task manager can greatly reduce the degree to which employees feel they influence their work environment and it also provides little to no autonomy.

In early 2007 Wal-Mart began using a new computerized scheduling system that will start moving many of its 1.3 million workers from predictable shifts to a system based on the number of customers in stores at any giving time (Maher, 2007). This can have a negative affect on perceived organizational support. Perceived organizational support is defined as, “The degree to which employees believe an organization value their contribution and cares about their well-being” (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 78). Employees are almost certain to develop negative feelings toward Wal-Mart for its lack of steady schedules. The negative feelings have developed into a belief that Wal-Mart is trying to force full-time employees into part-time positions so that Wal-Mart doesn’t have to pay them full-time benefits. Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, (n.d., p. 13), has stated that, “ Another explanation is that the computerized scheduling system provides means, and the rationale, for Wal-Mart to reduce the hours of more experienced, higher paid full-timers, in favor of a higher turnover model more reliant on part-timers.” The greater implications of this computerized scheduling system can be seen as decreasing employee satisfaction, which may lead to higher turnover despite the true reason for its implementation. According to Wayne F. Cascio (2006), Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club has a turnover rate of 44%. That’s an annual cost of $612 million for Sam’s Club, which is $5,274 per Sam’s Club employee (Cascio, 2006).

MOTIVATION

In Organizational Behavior, Robbins & Judge (2011) define motivation as “the process that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal.”  Motivation consists of three key elements which are intensity, direction, and persistence.  Intensity means how tough an individual tries in an organization.  The next key element is direction, which means the path that benefits the organization. The last key element is persistence, which “measures how long a person can maintain effort” (Robbins & Judge, 2011). Motivation builds confidence, a sense of belonging and importance in every employee working at a corporation.  Each employee plays an important role in a company and the more motivated and determined an employee is, the more likely the company will have better results.

Some companies include intrinsic and extrinsic rewards and compensations as a method of motivation that provides encouragement for greater personal productivity. “Rewards are intrinsic in the form of employee recognition programs and extrinsic in the form of compensation system” (Robbins & Judge, 2011).  In organizational behavior, there are several motivation theories that help companies motivate their employees. Many companies have been very successful with the use of these theories. 

Motivation needs to be an important feature at Wal-Mart.  Currently, Wal-Mart uses several theories such as equity theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, cognitive and goal setting theory.  Wal-Mart stresses the importance of seeing employees more as associates than employees. Within this method the employees feel engaged with their work and the company. Employees feel special treatment because managers and coworkers refer to each other by their first name. This creates not only a sense of trust but also encourages all employees to perform with outstanding results.  Whether they have the lowest position or highest position you are still called by your name and treated equally “because it can create a family-oriented business instead of boss-oriented one” ("Wal-Mart: The key," 2007).  Some companies only care about their company and its profit and never pay attention to their employees, but Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, believed that the company was “built by the people, and Wal-Mart had renamed its human resource department as a people department” ("Wal-Mart: The key," 2007). This builds confidence in employees, trust between each one of the workers, and less power-distance.

The equity theory also falls in this type of motivation that Wal-Mart uses because employees at this corporation are treated equally.  It provides same right, responsibilities, and reasonable pay to each employee. 

The goal setting theory means that an individual sets difficult but attainable goals, which increases high performance. Wal-Mart recognizes hard work and acknowledges their employees by offering them promotions. Providing a place where employees are able to succeed within the company encourages individuals to improve performance day by day in their workplace. For example, Soderquist mentions, “about more than three quarters of the store managers started as an hourly association” (Soderquist, 2005). Wal-Mart sets goals for employees and when the goals are met they get rewarded equally.  The use of rewards also motivates employees to have greater performance at their job and also results in a negative relationship in turnover and absenteeism.  One form of motivation that Wal-Mart provides for its employees is flexible benefits, which means that Wal-Mart allows employees to choose the benefit package that best fits the employee. 

 It is very important to understand the concept of motivation in a company because it plays a big role in an organization. When it comes to motivation, it is must be clearly understood that every employee is different in what motivates them.  Some employees may be motivated by incentives such as “Employee of the Month,” while other employees are motivated by getting promoted to a higher position.  Wal-Mart must develop excellent motivation techniques because they should maker their employees feel like family. This form of motivation provides employees of Wal-Mart with confidence and helps increase job satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

            With the retail industry facing a changing world, Wal-Mart must be able to stick with and emphasize their values amongst an extremely large and diverse team of associates. Understanding the importance of job satisfaction amongst employees and balancing the right motivational concepts throughout the organization will in turn provide better customer service.

RECOMMENDATION

Our biggest recommendation for Wal-Mart is to eliminate cost cutting measures that target employees and instead invest more in employees. The recommendation emphasizes a way to help motivate employees to stay employed with Wal-Mart and become more satisfied with their jobs.

Costco’s employees make an average of $17 dollars an hour compared to $10.11 an hour at Wal-Mart and 82% have health insurance compared with less than half at Wal-Mart (Cascio, 2006). Costco employees pay just 8% of their health premiums, while Wal-Mart employees’ pay 33% (Cascio, 2006). 91% of Costco’s employees are covered by retirement benefits with an annual company contribution of $1,330 compared to 64% with an annual company contribution of $747 for Wal-Mart employees (Cascio, 2006).

We can conclude from the above figures that Costco provides a bigger monetary investment in their employees compared to Wal-Mart but is it worth it for Costco? Based on Wayne F. Cascio’s research we would have to say yes, it is worth it. Wayne F. Cascio states that with Costco, “Turnover is usually low, at 17% overall and just 6% after one year’s employment. In contrast, turnover at Wal-Mart is 44% a year, close to the industry average,” (Cascio, 2006). Cascio (2006) calculates this to be a savings of $368 million annually. Costco also has the lowest shrinkage figures in the retail industry (Cascio, 2006) and is more productive per square foot at $970 compared to $609 to Sam’s Club (Making Change at Wal-Mart and John Marshall, CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program, n.d.).

According to Cascio (2006), Costco’s productive, stable workforce more than offsets its higher costs. Costco’s lower turnover rate can be attributed to higher employee job satisfaction (Robbins & Judge, 2011). Costco’s generous health and retirement benefits and low health care premiums can significantly boost perceived organizational support, which in turn can increase organizational citizenship behavior.  Costco’s higher level of performance and its low levels of shrinkage or deviant behavior can also been seen as strong job satisfaction. The authors of Organizational Behavior 14 edition, Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge (2011), claim that managers often do not understand that job satisfaction can affect the bottom line. In this case, Costco seems to be the exception and Wal-Mart seems to be the rule. Investing in their employees does not have to match those of Costco exactly, but increasing pay and benefits will give a higher sense of motivation.

This brings us back to the fact that Wal-Mart uses traditional management to manage its employees. Sticking strictly with decision making and controlling will neglect the employees’ needs and result in poor customer service. Customers will turn to other retailers for the quality of service if Wal-Mart refuses to set up in these areas. Wal-Mart needs to combine decision making with communication, motivation, and job satisfaction. We must recommend that Wal-Mart specialize and train managers on job satisfaction and motivational theories to improve these areas of struggle. Educating the managers of Wal-Mart will have a positive effect on communication and understanding the overall well being of Wal-Mart’s employees. Evaluating the morale of the employees and determining what motivational concepts is right for teams, groups, and individuals will increase job satisfaction, improve customer service, and bring Wal-Mart through a successful next half century.

APPENDIX

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[1] Abilities: an individual’s current capacity to perform the various tasks in a job. Overall abilities are essentially made up of two sets of factors: intellectual and physical (Robbins & Judge, 2011).

[2] ARGs: see more details regarding each ARG in Wal-Mart Corporation. (2011). Accelerating OUR Diversity and Inclusion Journey.

[3] Conflict: A process that begins when one party perceives that another party has negatively affected, or is about to negatively affect something that the first party cares about (Robbins & Judge, 2011).

[4] See National Organization for Women. (2012). Wal-Mart: The Facts. http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/wm-facts.html for more details on the discrimination allegations and cases.

[5] Group: two or more individuals, interacting and interdependent, who have come together to achieve particular objectives (Robbins & Judge, 2011).

[6] See Wal-Mart Corporation. (2012). Leading with Integrity: Non-Discrimination. http://ethics.walmartstores.com/IntegrityIntheWorkplace/Nondiscrimination.aspx for Wal-Mart’s Q&A on discrimination situations.

Works Cited

Cascio, W. F. (2006, December). The High Cost of Low Wages. Retrieved June 20, 2012, from Harvard Business Review: http://hbr.org/2006/12/the-high-cost-of-low-wages/ar/1

Denning, S. (2011, February 23). Wal-Mart And The Futility Of Traditional Management. Retrieved July 1, 2012, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2011/02/23/wal-mart-and-the-futility-of-traditional-management/

Maher, K. (2007, January 3). Wal- Mart Seeks New Flexibility In Worker Shifts. Retrieved June 26, 2012, from WSJ.com: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116779472314165646.html

Making Change at Walmart; Marshall (CFA UFCW Capital Stewardship Program), John. (2011). The High Price of Low Cost: The View from the Other Side of Wal-Mart's Productivity Loop. Retrieved June 26, 2012, from Making Change at Wal-Mart: http://www.makingchangeatwalmart.org

National Organization for Women. (2012). Wal-Mart: Merchant of Shame. Retrieved July 01, 2012, from National Organization for Women: http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/wal-mart.html/

National Organization for Women. (2012). Wal-Mart: The Facts. Retrieved July 1, 2012, from National Organization for Women: http://www.now.org/issues/wfw/wm-facts.html

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior, 14th Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Rokeach, M. The Nature of Human Values (New York: The Free Press, 1973), p.5

Shapiro, N. 2004. Company for the people. Seattle Weekly, December 15.  30 Jun 2012

<http://www.seattleweekly.com/generic/show/print.php>

Soderquist, D. (2005).  The Wal-Mart Way: The Inside Story of the Success of the World’s Largest Company.  Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson

Wal-Mart Corporation. (2011). Accelerating OUR Diversity and Inclusion Journey.

Wal-Mart Corporation. (2012). Leading with Integrity: Non-Discrimination. Retrieved July 1, 2012, from Wal-Mart Coporation Statement of Ethics: http://ethics.walmartstores.com/IntegrityIntheWorkplace/Nondiscrimination.aspx

Wal-Mart Corporation. (2012). Wal-Mart Corporation: About Us - History. Retrieved June 28, 2012, from Wal-Mart Corporation: http://www.walmartstores.com/AboutUs/297.aspx

[Web log message]. (2007, November 19). Wal-Mart: Key to success. Retrieved from http://walmart-thekeytosuccess.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html