Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the largest retailer in the world, the world’s second-largest company and the nation’s largest non-governmental employer. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in various retailing formats in all 50 states in the United States. The Company’s mass merchandising operations serve its customers primarily through the operation of three segments. The Wal-Mart Stores segment includes its discount stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets in the United States. The Sam’s club segment includes the warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The Company’s subsidiary, McLane Company, Inc. provides products and distribution services to retail industry and institutional foodservice customers. Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,416 retail units under 53 different banners in 15 countries. With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Wal-Mart employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide. Nearly 75% of its stores are in the United Continue reading
Human Resource Concepts
Morale – Definition, Characteristics and Significance
Morale is the term usually applied to armed forces during wartime and to sports and athletic teams. It refers to team spirit and co-operation of people for a common purpose. Its importance has been realized by the management only in recent years. It is felt by the management that if the morale of the employees is high, production would be higher and vice-versa. Meaning and Definitions of Morale Morale represents the attitudes of individuals and groups in an organization towards their work environment. Morale is an indicator of the attitude of employees towards their jobs, superiors and their organizational environment. It is a collection of the employees attitude, feelings and sentiments. Various definitions of morale are; Flippo has described morale “as a mental condition or attitude of individuals and groups which determines their willingness to co-operate. Good morale is evidenced by employee enthusiasm, voluntary confirmation with regulations and orders, and Continue reading
Expatriate Compensation – Meaning, Factors, Components, and Approaches
The compensation has long been established as a primary means of fostering loyalty and productivity of international expatriates. Nevertheless, the HR managers continue to face several challenges when implementing it which ends up in loss towards the organizations. The issues that gave birth to international human resource management remain more important than other functional areas is expatriation and adaptation of practices to different cultures. Factors Affecting Expatriate Compensation The most often mentioned factor that influences the expatriates’ satisfaction by the compensation strategies is the differences in cost of living between the host and parent country. If the cost is higher, the employer is required to adjust the compensation package in order to merge the gap. In the opposite situation, the difference is not subtracted. Such approach is known as a no loss policy and occurs with slight variations in the majority of the HR practices. The most difficult part of addressing Continue reading
Strategic Human Resource Management Process
Human resource management (HRM) is that part of management process which makes, enhances, manages and develops the human element of the enterprise measuring their resourcefulness in terms of talents, abilities, total skills, creative, knowledge, and potentialities for effectively contributing to the organizational objectives. Human resources are precious and a source of competitive advantage. Human resources may be tapped most effective by mutually standard policies which promote promise and foster an inclination in employees to act flexibly in the interests of the adaptive organization’s pursuit of excellence. Human resource policies can be joined with planned business and used to reinforce appropriate culture. Human resources play a critical role in enabling the organization to effectively deal with the external environment challenges. The human resource management has been accepted as a strategic partner in the formulation of organization’s strategies and in the implementation of such strategies through human resource planning, employment, training, appraisal Continue reading
Work-Life Balance: Why it Matters and How to Achieve it
Work-life balance is a concept that has gained a lot of attention in recent years. It refers to the ability to balance one’s professional and personal life without either one interfering with the other. The goal is to maintain a healthy balance between work and personal life so that you can enjoy both without sacrificing either one. In today’s fast-paced and demanding world, work-life balance is more important than ever. With the rise of technology, the boundary between work and personal life has become increasingly blurred. Many people find themselves working longer hours, answering emails after hours, and feeling overwhelmed by their workload. This can lead to increased stress and burnout, which can have serious consequences for both personal and professional life. There are many benefits to achieving work-life balance. Some of the most notable include: Improved mental health: When you have a balanced work and personal life, you are Continue reading
Individual’s and Organizational Approaches to Managing Stress
As we know that stress has got a number of negative consequences for the individuals, that is why every individual should take personal responsibility for reducing his or her stress level. There are a number of ways by which a person can either avoid stressful conditions, change them or learn to cope with them. Stress can be managed by an individual, which will enable him to regain control over his life. Some of the stress reducing strategies from individual’s point of view are : 1. Knowledge About Stress. In the first stage, an individual should become knowledgeable about stress. He should know about the process and effects of stress. He must find out the major sources of his stress. He must anticipate stressful periods and plan accordingly in advance. He must be honest with himself and decide what he can cope with what he cannot. 2. Physiological Fitness. Exercise in Continue reading