Organizational Profile: Walmart Profile
Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world. The position Wal-Mart holds gives the company a large responsibility to contribute to the community that supports the stores. As an organization Wal-Mart owes its success to the stake holders of their business. Wal-Mart requires the community to continue business operations, Trevino and Nelson state that “a major stakeholder in business must be the communities of which corporations and other organizations are a part” (2011). Wal-Mart must consider the community happiness with their business decisions to remain profitable.
Wal-Mart gives back to the community in several ways including donations to charitable foundations and by offering affordable grocery good to impoverished areas. According to Feedingamerica. org Wal-Mart gave “$2 million donation to help food banks save money on their energy bills” (2011). The donation allowed 16 food banks to improve their efficiency and provide more services to the community for the same amount of funding. Wal-Mart has also received the “MOWAA Corporate Friend of the Year” (Meals on Wheels Association, 2012) award for its donation to the organization. Wal-Mart has proven that it contributes to the communities it supports.
The contributions, when compared to Wal-Marts yearly profit, of “$16,389 million in FY2011” (Datamonitor, 2011, p. 4) seem miniscule. The true test of adequacy of Wal-Marts contribution to the communities it operates in will be if it can remain in business for the long term. According to “Paymar Communications”, “Wal-Mart also has been going through a major transformation and committing itself to progressive policies in the realm of corporate social responsibility, particularly when it comes to the products it sells and major efforts to promote energy conservation” (2010, paragraph two).
Wal-Mart, as the biggest retail store in the United Sates, has a social responsibility to provide quality products to the customers. In 2010, the company took the initiative to reduce unhealthy levels of salts, fats, and sugars in their products. They also decreased the prices of healthy foods to encourage customer to purchase them. Wal-Mart also developed a seal to place on healthier foods with nutrition information rating the levels of sodium, fat, and sugar content (“Paymar Communications”, 2010). The leading factor in Wal-Mart taking this initiative was to reach customers with an interest in a healthy lifestyle.
With obesity on the rise across the nation people are becoming more conscious about what they eat and offering healthier foods, organic products, and enhanced labels on the foods will give the customer more options to choose from within the store. By reducing the prices of these healthy products Wal-Mart can increase their customer base, specifically those with an interest in a pursuing a healthy life style. Additionally this will ensure Wal-Mart is leading their competition and could be the benchmark for such companies as Target, K-Mart, Sears, and Costco.
The factors influencing the organizations strategies are contingent on the need, not only of the customers, but also Wal-Mart’s increase in sales and profitability. Wal-Mart wants to ensure they not only have healthy customers but also that the organization will garner major gains in sales from these changes. The “Paymar Communications” (2010) website also states that through forging these initiatives, Wal-Mart has figured out a formula to be a good corporate citizen, give consumers superior bargains and still make tons of money; $14. billion in profits in 2009. It is the consummate win-win-win for the organization and customers alike. Wal-Mart’s social initiative is to help stop hunger in the communities in which it operates. Also Wal-Mart is providing healthful products to gain health-conscious customers and to help their customers maintain a healthy lifestyle at a low cost.
References
- DATAMONITOR: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2011). Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. SWOT Analysis, 1-13.
- Paymar Communications. (2010). Retrieved from http://paymarcommunications. om/the-united- states-of-wal-mart-and-corporate-social-responsibility/
- Trevino, L. K. , & Nelson, K. A. (2011). MANAGING BUSINESS ETHICS Straight Talk About How To Do It Right (5th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.
- Walmart Foundation Gives $2 Million to Help ‘Green’ Food Banks. (2011). Retrieved from http://feedingamerica. org/press-room/press-releases/walmart-green-initiative-2011. aspx
- We Are Meals On Wheels Association of America. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. mowaa. org/Page. aspx? pid=600
