Overview of the organization of Wal-Mart and goals. Are theses effective goals? How should they plan to achieve those goals?
Today, one of the most common places known to everyone (Except Paris Hilton) is Wal-Mart. Last year, Wal-Mart had revenues of $191 billion and has 1,283,000 employees, as of 2002. Wal-Mart is the largest retail store in the United States, and is larger than any other retail chain in the world. Currently Wal-Mart operates over 4,150 retail facilities globally. According to the Fortune 500 index of the wealthiest and most powerful corporations in the world, Wal-Mart holds the number one spot, ranked by its total sales. The company is ranked as the second most admired company in the world by Fortune (www.fortune.com). With all these numbers, you would think they had a long drawn out plan with goals as long as their success, but when Sam Walton created Wal-Mart in 1962, he declared that three policy goals would define his business: respect for the individual, service to customers, and striving for excellence (www.walmart.com). Three very short, but successful goals, which have been working since.
As I researched goals and planning, Wal-Mart's goals are not the standard goals that I found. In the textbook there is information concerning characteristics of goals.
Characteristics of Well-Designed Goals:
1) Written in terms of outcomes rather than actions.
2) Measurable and quantifiable.
3) Clear as to a time frame.
4) Challenging yet attainable.
5) Written down.
6) Communicated to all necessary organizational members.
Management (Page 166 Para. 1)
As we redirect to Wal-Marts goals, we can see that they would not be defined as well designed. Not many of the six characteristics would fit Sam Walton's goals.
1) Respect for the individual - This could not be considered for outcomes rather than actions nor is it measurable and quantifiable. It contains no time frame and I hardly consider respect as a challenge. However the goals were written and have been communicated to all employees. When it comes to the respect from Wal-Mart stores many individuals feel Sam
As I researched goals and planning, Wal-Mart's goals are not the standard goals that I found. In the textbook there is information concerning characteristics of goals.
Characteristics of Well-Designed Goals:
1) Written in terms of outcomes rather than actions.
2) Measurable and quantifiable.
3) Clear as to a time frame.
4) Challenging yet attainable.
5) Written down.
6) Communicated to all necessary organizational members.
Management (Page 166 Para. 1)
As we redirect to Wal-Marts goals, we can see that they would not be defined as well designed. Not many of the six characteristics would fit Sam Walton's goals.
1) Respect for the individual - This could not be considered for outcomes rather than actions nor is it measurable and quantifiable. It contains no time frame and I hardly consider respect as a challenge. However the goals were written and have been communicated to all employees. When it comes to the respect from Wal-Mart stores many individuals feel Sam