Walmart’s Key HR Functions Underperforming

IntroductionThe success of any makeup depends on its strategic asset, the serviceman capital. As pointed out(a) by Lawler (1996), describements combative advantage comes from its human capital. Efficient management of this alternative sack bring epochal benefits to the association. It should be remembered that want is the epicenter of murder and an important eventor ensuring the success of a company. Improving study productiveness however rest a study challenge in slopped to companies. In this regard, this study explores the human resource management approach at Wal-Mart. It identifies the ways in which two HR functions (employee motivation and employee performance practices) ar underperforming. This includes a brief account of how the functions operate within the organization, how they atomic number 18 utilise and what the outcomes for the byplay argon given that they argon underperforming. The paper evaluates why these finical functions ar considered to be underperforming using Herzbergs inducement Hygiene Theory. however the paper makes nigh recommendations for improvement of these HRM practices and the benefits to the company.What is human resource management? benevolent resource management encompasses all activities associated with management of the human capital and in ways towards achieving the corporate goal or objective. In any organization, the human resource department plays a crucial role. Not only are HR managers required to recruit and train employees, but they to a fault choose the obligation of motivating and engaging the workforce. Understanding what motivates the employee and ensuring untroubled employee art practices is make for talent retention and performance (Lockwood et al. 2010). Regard slight of the economic environment, it is imperative for companies to make water an engaged and motivated workforce. Underperformance in the work has recently been a major concern in Wal-Mart stores. correspond to a new research pass over by Wolfe research, an equities research firm, Wal-Mart has been underperforming over the past years. The firm poorered Wal-Mart from a market perform rating to an underperform rating (Covert, 2014). Failure by Wal-Mart has been attributed to their ugly employment practices especially low charters and lack of rewards. Whereas Wal-Mart whitethorn not be the only big store chain criticized for its poor employment practices and policies, it has come to the spotlight owing to its competitive policies and low approach strategy which undermines the effort made by employees.Just last year, a lawsuit was filed against Wal-Mart by the international Labour Rights Fund for requiring overtime, denying minimum wage and punishing union activity (Covert 2012). This is clearly a violation of doers rights. Wal-Mart which was initially a corporate fortress seems to be headed to a overpowerfall. Even its operations in the US delegate the possibility of a failure in the giant retail merchant. More recently, Wal-Mart warned its investors that its comparable store gross revenue may be slightly negative after the third quarter. This is likewise evident in the huge layoff of 2300 workers at Sams club, unmatched of its stores. The layoff was attributed to their poor performance. Whereas Wal-Mart still remains the corporate fortress in the retail sector due to its massive size, its underperformance in the US and emerging markets indicate the possibility of a failure in the near future.Walmarts atrocious handicraft practicesWal-Mart has on several accounts been criticized for poor wages. Why should employees suffer in one of the giant retail stores that make billions of profit annuallyWal-Mart is ranked among the outmatch 100 corporations by Forbes magazine yet most of its employees take on average less than $250 a hebdomad. Full-time employees are p concern amid $6 and $7.50 an hour. A further a third of the employees who are underemployed are limited to working up to 28 hours a week and are not eligible for benefits. Such pay scale places them and their families at a lower place the poverty line. The lack of rewards demotivates and discourages them from performing well. Perhaps Wal-Marts bad business practices are more evident with the Rana promenade tragedy which led to the passing of over 1000 lives. The tragedy exposed some of the profound flaws in the industry. Rana Plaza produced private garments for some of the giant retailers including Wal-Mart. Evidence provided by the Bangladesh center for Worker Solidarity showed that Wal-Mart had been producing its garments in Ether Tex factory situated on the 5th floor of the building (Steven 2013). Some documents were found in the debris detailing purchase orders for certain garments which were to be delivered to Wal-Mart. Further, at the time of the tragedy, Wal-Mart was already listed in Ether Texs web internet site as one of the main guest. Although Wal-Mart denied noesis o f their operations at the factory building, it announced its plans to put in place new safety measures at some of their factories in Bangladesh. The corporate fortress, however, promised to tour production if urgent safety problems were uncovered at some of its factories. The company further assured the Bangladeshi government of their support and commitment towards change workplace safety. But the company stopped short of committing to these improvements and distanced itself from the Rana Plaza tragedy. This is a clear example of bad business practice.Why these special(prenominal) functions are considered to be underperforming weather year, Wal-Mart reported $11 billion in net income yet it has not been able to remedy some of its so-called workplace practices. Wal-Mart has been filed in over 5,000 lawsuits for poor employment practices such as inadequate health care, wage law violations, worker exploitation and their anti-union retailer stance. Wal-Mart anti-union stance can be seen in their recent threat to close one of its stores in Quebec after workers successfully unionized. Citing economic reasons Wal-Mart announced their plans on shutting the store. However, this argument was rejected by Quebecs labor dealings and Wal-Marts firings found illegal. Further, the move to extend operations to overseas markets including pose up factories in emerging markets such as Bangladesh and China was driven by the desire to take advantage of cheap labour. For example, Wal-Mart pays much less its employees in China compared to those in the US and the UK. A further disapproval has been the lack of employment benefits. Part-time employees are limited to working up to 28 hours a week and are not eligible for benefits. While, workers who are eligible for benefits pay way over the odds to get health insurance and other benefits. The company has often come under reproval for not providing employees with affordable access to health care and employees are overburdened. For example, in 1999, 36% of the total costs were paid by the employees. In 2001, there was a 42% rise in employee burden. The health of its employees has been deteriorating at a faster rate. According to the companys internal memo notice by New York Times, Wal-Mart workers were sicker compared to the national population. This begs the question Why cant such a giant corporation provide its workers medical retreat benefits given the huge profits that they makeThis question was once raised by one of Wal-Marts managers only to be fired by the chief executive officer and reasons of disloyalty cited as the reason for universe quitted. (Jordan 2008). As Michael Porter (1980) once pointed out that a company would rely on three basic competitive strategies to maintain their edge in the market differentiation, cost leadership, and focus strategy. Wal-Mart has plainly taken the cost-leadership strategy by reducing the cost of recruitment, providing low pay, no rewards, requiring overtime , and cheap children labors. It currently faces a barrage of lawsuits for extensive violations of labour laws. Wal-Mart also faces law suits for extensive violations of state regulations that require time for breaks and meals. In some instances, minors are forced to work late for the performance appraising.Outcomes for businessWal-Mart may be headed for a downfall. Its customer service is already low and their low-cost strategy has led to many cut offs of employees. Since recession, Wal-Mart has been cutting down on their staff. Without enough manpower for their retail operations and with workers on site underpaid, its merchandize remains stacked on pallets in warehouses instead of the shelves where customers can dedicate them. What then is the value of offering lower prices if the products are not neighborly to the customers? Further, the check-out lines are painfully long and there seems to be a stemma in the overall customer shopping look. node shopping hold out has been de teriorating due to the longer checkout lines, disorganization and less staff help. Last year, the giant retailer was placed last among in the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a six year in a wrangle in which Wal-Mart has taken the last spot (Ungar 2013). Lessons must be learnt from the experience of the other low end retailers. McDonalds earnings overhear move significantly due to their poor terms of employment. Similarly, Wal-Mart necessarily to consider the dominance upside of their aggressive policies. Despite the poor employment practices, Wal-Mart still remains among the leading retail giants. Its remains ahead of its competitors such as channelize and JC penny. However, Wal-Mart faces a threat from Costco, its primary competitor. Costco has been experiencing a fairly healthy 8% gain in annual sales (Ungar 2013). In fact, a significant number of customers are moving to this retailer for their shopping experience. Could this be attributed to the good employment pract ices at CostcoUnlike Wal-Mart, employees at Costco get a decent sustainment and are paid in excess of the minimum wage. Given the aggressive HR policies employed by Wal-Mart, it begs the question what then is the role of HR managers in this companySince, as HR master keys, they are required to put in place strategies oriented towards the employees. To some point, however, employees seem to be encouraged to gestate of themselves as servant leaders. For example, employees are called associates showing that the company set their contribution. Such kinds of HR policies are employed in most of the lift out performing companies. These policies and practices serve to motivate employees to augment their performance and can aid in developing good corporate culture. However, employees may not tactile property appreciated if they are paid less than minimum wages and denied rewards and opportunities for professional growth. There seem to be no opportunities for enhancement and profession al growth. Wal-Mart does real little training and developments of its human resources and as such, opportunities for enhancement of professions especially for women are limited. In fact, several claims have been filed against Wal-Mart for discriminating against women in terms of employment positions and the lack of opportunities for progression.Improving employee motivation and employment practices at Wal-MartAs HR professionals continue to seek bright, talented and exceedingly engaged workforce, motivational theories can provide insights on how Wal-Mart can improve employee motivation and engagement. Several motivational theories have been suggested including the Expectancy Theory, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs scheme, Herzbergs motivator Hygiene Theory, Goal Setting Theory, and Equity theory (Lockwood et al. 2010) Herzbergs motivator Hygiene Theory is perhaps more applicable to the case of Wal-Mart. The theory suggests that two main factors must be met for employees to become sa tisfied with work. These are the hygiene factors and motivator factors. The hygiene factors include meeting the basic needs such as adequate pay, comfortable working environment, effective supervision and good relationships with the core workers. On the other hand, motivation factors include advancement and professional growth, and rewards or opportunities for recognition (lockwood et al. 2010) Wal-Mart needs to consider applying the two-factor theory of motivation if they are to improve on the performance of their employees. They need to revamp their policies, increase the salary of their employees, and the safety and security of the employees. Further, they need to consider motivators that are natural to the job which include providing rewards for achievement and increasing their growth opportunities. Pundits, policymakers and activists outraged by the companys low wages have been calling for protests. According to Robert Reich, a professor at U.C. Berkeley, Walmarts net income i s estimated at $17 billion meaning that they can easily afford to give its workers a small pay-rise (Atner 2013). The Chancellor professor of public policy has in fact urged shoppers to boycott Wal-Mart since they do not want to share even a little bit of their income with their employees (Atner 2013).ConclusionIn todays highly competitive marketplace, motivation of employees and employing the best employment practices is key to success. Underperformance in the workplace has recently been a major concern in Wal-Mart stores. Several lawsuits have been filed against Wal-Mart for violation of workers rights including low wages, lack of employment benefits, being required to work overtime and denied to participate in union activity. poisonous employment practices are clearly evident in Wal-Mart. This has affects employee productivity as it demoralizes and demotivates them. Wal-Mart needs to consider applying the two-factor theory of motivation if they are to improve on the performance of their employees. Incentives are key to maintaining a motivated workforce and ensuring business success. Appraising and offering hardworking employee with incentives will motivate them to go the unnecessary mile of putting the company first. Employee valuations need to be implemented and growth opportunities made plenty. HR managers at walmart need to understand the benefits of employee motivation and engagement. By sharing their profit, employees will feel appreciated and more passionate near their work. Ultimately, this will result in improved performance and greater customer satisfactionReferenceCiura, B., 2014. Is Wal-Marts empire about to failViewed on twenty-ninth touch 2014. Available from http//www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/01/is-wal-marts-empire-about-to-fall.aspx Covert, B., 2014. Walmarts labor practices backfire. Viewed on 29th March 2014. 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