Free topic

Employee and Satisfaction Issues at Walmart s ID Numbers Project Outline Introduction and ment of Need Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer with more than 10, 700 stores in 27 countries serving 245 million customers weekly [5]. The company’s mission is to help people save money so that they can live better [5: 9]. Lichtenstein [4] indicates that Wal-Mart is the country’s largest and most questionable company which has altered the way people are employed in the USA. The company holds top positions 15th and 25th on Forbes lists of ‘ The World’s Biggest Public Companies’ and ‘ The Worlds Most Powerful Brands’ respectively [2]. However, internal problems including low wages, low benefits and discrimination threaten to undermine its financial performance. In fact, Harter et al. [3: 276] indicate that employee satisfaction and engagement are related to company performance. The plan is to prepare an analytical report of the problem at Wal-Mart, highlighting the impact on the business and making recommendations.
Background
Wal-Mart has been plagued by high rates of employee turnover and this has resulted in long check out lines in some cases while some of the company’s store shelves remain virtually empty because of insufficient staff to restock them [1]. This has led to customers turning to Wal-Mart’s competitors.
Identification of Options
Three options for resolving the issue are:
Increasing the hourly rate of pay
Providing health and other benefits to all employees
Allocating more hours of work
Estimated Staffing, Timeline and Budget for Completion of Analytical Report
Appendix 1 provides details of the timeline and budget to complete the report.
Request for authorization
Appendix 2 provides details of request for authorization of the project.
References
1. R. Dudley. “ Customers Flee Wal-Mart Empty Shelves for Target, Costco.” Internet: http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2013-03-26/customers-flee-wal-mart-empty-shelves-for-target-costco. html, Mar. 26, 2013. [May 16, 2013]
2. Forbes. “ Wal-Mart Stores.” Internet: http://www. forbes. com/companies/wal-mart-stores/, May, 2013. [May 16, 2013]
3. J. K. Harter, F. L. Schmidt, and T. L. Hayes. “ Business-Unit-Level Relationship Between Employee Satisfaction and Employee Engagement, and Business Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis.” Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 87(2), pp. 268 – 279, 2002.
4. N. Lichtenstein. The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2010.
5. Wal-Mart. “ Walmart 2013 Annual Report.” Internet: ttp://stock. walmart. com/microsites/annual-report-2013/pdf/Walmart_2013_AR. pdf, 2013. [16 May, 2013]
Appendix 1
Timeline and Budget to Prepare Analytical Report
Description
Budgeted time (hrs)
Hourly Rate ($)
Budgeted Cost ($)
Individual X
160
20
3, 200
Individual Y
160
20
3, 200
Total
320

6, 400

Activities
Individual X (hrs)
Individual Y (hrs)
Total
Planning
10
10
20
Research
70
70
140
Prepare first draft
10
10
20
Discuss first draft
5
5
10
Further research
30
30
60
Prepare second draft
5
5
10
Discuss second draft
10
10
20
Further work
15
15
30
Prepare final draft
5
5
10
Total
160
160
320
Appendix 2
Request for Authorization
May 17, 2012
Supervisor X
Walmart Stores
Dear Supervisor Z,
Re: Request for Authorization of Project
I am requesting your authorization in carrying out a project on the ‘ Employee and Customer Satisfaction Issues at Wal-Mart.’ The project will last for approximately one month and will be carried out by two persons – myself and another colleague. The project will provide an analytical report describing the problem faced by Wal-Mart and recommend the best from a set of three options provided for solving the problem. The project is budgeted to cost approximately $6, 400. The proposed plan along with details of the timeline and budgeted costs are attached.
Sincerely,
____________________
Individual X