Abstract
The paper argues that a company's efforts with respect to personnel will impact not just the internal orientation of an organization but also its public image. The paper focuses on Wal-Mart's poor public image and explains that Wal-Mart offers a diminished retail experience for the customer since its employees are generally not motivated. The paper discusses how quality personnel orientation begins with the designation of effective recruitment and retention methods. The paper therefore contends that the ways to remedy Wal-Mart's image with customers must begin with an orientation toward better recruitment and personnel orientation.

From the Paper
"The Wal-Mart corporation is one of the world's largest retailers. Likewise, it is consistently cited as possessing one of the most troubling records for worker treatment amongst major American employers. Criticized for its exploitation of laborers both at home and abroad, as well as cited for its resistance of union organization and campaigning, the consumer giant has suffered a damaged public reputation for the manner in which it selects, recruits and retains employees. Indeed, "Wal-Mart is now notorious for wage abuse, sex discrimination, and antiunionism. They impact all Wal-Mart's sales associates, from managers to clerks, and women in particular who comprise 70 percent of Wal-Mart's employees, most at non-supervisory levels." (Rosen 2005, p. 31) In its emphasis on reducing the retail cost to the customer, the expense both to the quality of the employee and to the treatment of said employee have tended to be rather high. And as the retail market splinters through the global emergence of such competitors as Target and Carrefour, it has become increasingly apparent that Wal-Mart can ill-afford to sacrifice image or personnel qualifications. The risk of diminishing market share is too great, and must therefore be addressed through Wal-Mart's most glaring shortcoming by the institution of a far greater focus on HRM."

Tags:personnel, recruitment, retention, marketing, consumers

Abstract
The paper provides a comprehensive SWOT analysis of the human resource management (HRM) within the Wal-Mart company to provide evidence that HRM within Wal-Mart is inefficient and exploitative. The paper argues that it is this exploitation, as opposed to sound business management, that has led to the company's high profit margins.

Outline:
Introduction
SWOT Analysis
Wal-Mart's Organizational Structure
The Nature of Human Resource Management at Wal-Mart

From the Paper
"Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer in the world. Net sales in the fiscal year 2006 were valued at over $312 billion dollars. Net income is over $11 billion, which is five (5) times larger than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than 80% of the world's countries, including Israel, Ireland, and Sweden. Wal-Mart is the richest company in the world and by 2007 will likely control 35% of all food and drug sales in the United States (Dicker 34). However, we have to wonder at what cost all of this is possible, I argue that the cost is the workers at Wal-Mart who are exploited by a business model that is inhumane and not economically just."

Tags:labor, practices, organizational, structure, globalization

Abstract
This paper addresses the poor human resources practices used by Wal-Mart through a fictitious example set fifteen years in the future when this company has collapsed. Through examining how a negative working climate harms the long-term sustainability of the employer, this paper shows the need for effective human resources management.

Abstract
This paper thoroughly explores the auspices of human resource management and focuses on the characteristics that categorize effectiveness. An objective overview of the Wal-Mart human resource model is explored to identify trends that indicate whether Wal-Mart is considered to be practicing effective human resource management. This case study analysis highlights the controversial labor practices of Wal-Mart and briefly reviews literature exploring the perceived 'uncompetitive' market practices of Wal-Mart. The writer maintains that human resource management is the perfect arena to explore these issues, since it provides the back-ground to understand the psychology of work within an organization such as Wal-Mart, but still uses a scientific approach to test the necessary hypothesis.

From the Paper
"What exactly is effective HRM? Is there a sequence of activities or actions that can marginally guarantee HRM? Scholars agree that the answer is yes to the latter question. However, in exploring these issues, the rudimentary research method chosen is that of a case study. One of the most controversial companies that has spanned three decades and has transcended generations is Wal-Mart. Ideally, modeling effective HRM has no better platform than the Wal-Mart organizational and human resource structure. This paper will isolate HRM ..."

Tags:human, resource, management

Abstract
The paper discusses the impact that equalities legislation in Great Britain will have on the way that Wal-Mart's human resources department functions.

From the Paper
"The United Kingdom's Equalities Minister, Harriet Harman, has referred legislation to the House of Commons, which, if enacted, will replace different pieces of equality legislation now in force in the United Kingdom (UK) and will address the pay gap between men and women while broadening the scope of current age discrimination legislation. At issue herein is an analysis of how the Equality Bill will affect Wal-Mart which has been characterized by Thomas Grose as deeply invested in the UK and..."

Tags:Wal-Mart, Equality Bill, Great Britain

Abstract
This paper discusses human resource management (HRM) within the Wal-Mart company and in so doing provides a comprehensive strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis of that structure. It also looks into whether there ia a sequence of activities or actions that can marginally guarantee HRM. The paper then objectively analyzes whether HRM for Wal-Mart can be characterized as effective.

Table of Contents:
Abstract
Wal-Mart's Human resource Model: SWOT Analysis
Part 1: Strengths of Wal-Mart's Human Resource Model
Part 2: Weaknesses of Wal-Mart's Human Resource Model
Part 3: Opportunities Presented by Wal-Mart's Human Resource Model
Part 4: Threats to Wal-Mart's Human Resource Model
Wal-Mart's Organizational Structure
The Nature Of Human Resource Management At Wal-Mart

From the Paper
"In closing there is a plethora of literature that examines the effectiveness of Wal-Mart's human resource model, and there is a common thread within these books and articles, that is, Wal-Mart's human resource model is inadequate and takes disadvantage of workers. There have been other activities that have brought into question Wal-Mart's labor practices. Allegations of sex discrimination, support of child-labor based on purchases made in China, violations of labor laws concerning illegal workers, and federal overtime laws, and overall activities that are contrary to effective HRM have been documented and continue to pose a threat to Wal-Mart's perceived successful model."

Tags:HRM, competitiveness, retailer

Abstract
This paper discuss Wal-Mart's organizational culture, organizational structure and human resources practices. First, the paper discusses how Wal-Mart's founder, Sam Walton shaped it's culture from a belief system, which inspired him and which is preserved by the company to this day. It consists of the three basic beliefs, the sundown rule, the 10-foot rule, Sam Walton's 10 rules for building business, equality of opportunity and diversity. Secondly, the paper looks at how Wal-Mart is lifting its business to a new level through new initiatives in fields, like merchandising, marketing, supply chain, store operations and environmental stewardship. Lastly, the paper discusses Wal-Mart's response to the criticism that it offers low prices to consumers at the expense of its 1.8 million employees it calls "associates".

Outline:
Organizational Culture
Organizational Structure
Human Resources Practices

From the Paper
" Wal-Mart set up new policies, which confined wages in certain positions only, hire more part-time employees in place of full-time, and change schedules, which would force some employees to an on-call status only (Mittal 2007). The company has been the respondents since 2002 to lawsuits for unfair labor practices and policies. These lawsuits included class-action charges of sexual discrimination in pay and promotion for 1.6 million current and former female employees. The lawsuit asserted that 92% of Wal-Mart's cashiers were female but only 14% of them were managers. The wage gap was wide from the highest levels between female and male vice president downwards. Accusations hurled against Wal-Mart included wage abuses, the omission of contraceptive coverage in insurance plans, child labor and disabilities violations, sexual orientation and coercing employees to file for public benefits to hide the company's inadequate wages and benefits. This new wage and work rule policy would reduce or eliminate higher-paid fulltime employees and replace them with part-timers with lower wages and no benefits. Requiring them to be on-call on a 24-hour basis would discourage employees with families. Most of them are women and long-time employees, who would have to give up salary increases or forced to work at unreasonable or difficult hours. National Organization of Women vice president Olga Vives commented that Wal-Mart's claims of valuing its employees could only underscore a solid intention to further enrich the Waltons, the company's executives and shareholders at the expense of the workers (Mittal)."

Tags:culture structure, human resources, practices consumers environment

Abstract
This paper refers to the film "Wal-Mart: The High Price of Low Cost" that paints a picture of atrocious human resources practices at Wal-Mart. The paper describes how Wal-Mart pays poverty-level wages, withholds benefits from most of their employees and practices all kinds of systemic discrimination. The paper explains that this results from the power they have as well as their primary goal of making money for shareholders, regardless of humanitarian or ethical considerations. The paper asserts that the implications of this are enormously frightening for workers all over the world.

From the Paper
"The film Wal-Mart: The High Price of Low Cost (Greenwald, 2005) gives an overview of what the director sees as the damage done by Wal-Mart. It argues that despite the Wal-Mart commercials that portray Wal-Mart a great place to work, Wal-Mart is in fact a terrible place to work. Essentially, what emerges is a picture of an employer-employee relationship in which the employer uses its power to bully workers, resulting in extremely unfair treatment. The opening scenes of the film show Wal-Mart's CEO, Lee Scott, being treated as if he is a god, with thousands of workers cheering him. This creates an initial impression that this must be a wonderful company. However, this impression is quickly dispelled."

Tags:human, resources, discrimination, unions, wages, exploitation

Abstract
This paper explains that, for the retail industry, globalization, the integration of the global supply chain and improvements in transportation and logistical planning are making it easier to ship products from different facilities and warehouses to any outlet point around the world. The author points out that the Wal-Mart stores use centralized warehouses, electronic data interchange (EDI) systems and a cross-docking strategy to maintain the required inventory levels. The paper relates that Wal-Mart uses high technology (1) to plan effectively and schedule workers shifts, which permits a larger usage of part-time workers, and (2) to identify products that are preferred by the customer and offering them at prices much below departmental and specialty stores through consumer information systems.

From the Paper
"Technology and common platforms for information transfer also require greater transparencies in operation from the supplier. In turn, this allows retailers greater knowledge of the operations and the costing offering them insights into the manner in which the supplier conduct their business and in some cases forcing some changes to better suit their own retailing operations. Wal-Mart mandates that all its suppliers ship their products with radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags on them to the three Wal-Mart distribution centers in the Dallas, Texas. Kerry Pauling, director of Wal-Mart Information Systems Division, pointed out that the new RFID tags would "determine simply if we have merchandise that is in the back room of a store, or if that merchandise has been moved out to the sales floor and what the status of that is."

Tags:operations, consumer-information, human-resources, edi, rfid

Abstract
A paper on Wal-Mart's operations focussing on marketing, MIS and human resources. The paper is a case study and provides complete details of the company infrastructure.

Tags:wal-mart, marketing, operations