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Literature Review
This chapter concentrates on human resource management, its motivation, current views on motivation theories, and identification of the problems Walmart is facing in terms of staff management and evaluation of employers’ efforts. According to Cherrington (1995:55) and Legge (1989:126) employees are vital assets of the organization that need to be managed and organized in a motivational manner. The two authors further suggest that due to the large nature of Walmart, the management should always consider the cultural background of the workers. Different chain stores across Europe are now embracing employees with diverse cultural lifestyles so to serve any customers at the organization. Payment package of is another factor that if well offered the employees will provide top quality services.
Other researchers such as Woodruffe (1995) emphasize on the responsibility of the HR management towards ensuring that only qualified and well deserving staff are recruited in the organization. Selection of employees is part of the ethical, corporate responsibility of Walmart that should be the priority of this department. The local community form part of the staff at the chain stores, therefore, is equally vital to consider them in the running of the business units. When this concept is applied, woodruff maintains that people will feel appreciated by the organization. Customer loyalty is a long-term benefit from the family members of the human resources at the stores who need to be maintained. It is also an effect that trade union activities are not incorporated in the affairs of the stores. If this is done, then the employee threats of industrial strikes affect the operations of the profit making venture, Walmart. Motivation factors as asserted by Maslow in the hierarchy of needs are another element, which should be given top priority in the HR management. This crucial department determines the payroll and bonuses of staff’s services. Monetary incentives are not encouraged in the organization because financial gains might be emphasized at the expense of the clients. It is an imperative step to work out the amount of customer satisfaction, which a worker employs to the clients so that to reward workers who make clients appreciated. Wal-Mart is among the vast retailers in the planet.
The founder of the company is Sam Walton. Sam Walton owns about 48 percent of the total share in the company. Wal-Mart has branches in countries like UK, Argentina, South America, China, Brazil, South Korea, Germany, Japan and Mexico. In 2009, the company made sales that totaled to 258 billion dollars. When Sam Walton founded the company, he successfully ran it personally. In 1962, Walton opened other sub branches in Rogers, Arkansas. In 1970, the company changed its name to Wal-Mart incorporation. The company continued its rapid growth and opened more stores and made more sales. The company opened its first supercentre at Washington. The company made sales of 312 billion dollars in 2005 and further opened over 6200 stores globally. The rapid growth of the company, especially in small countries, brought many worries of competition from the company. This would result in market domination and monopoly, in the small and poor countries. Wal-Mart collaborated with other universities to enlarge their market further in colleges.
Human Resource Management
Organizations in the world do not operate in a vacuum. In this regard, they incorporate various factors and ingredients for the realization of overall success. These include equipments, clientele base and human resource. Human resource plays a significant role in an organization since they act as engines that propel the organization forward. The number of human resource is lower than the expected output in efforts to scale down expenses and maximize profits. In a situation where the profits decrease, human resource becomes the first avenue of strategy management through retrenchments. Although there are other departments in an organization such as administration, communication and public relations, the human resource department remains the pillar of the entire organization.
Woodruffe (1995) asserts that the primary role of the human resource department in any organization is selection, training and inspiration of the right personnel. The department is headed by a manager, whose main responsibility is to address and supervise the manner in which people are handled in the organization. He or she reports to the overall authority in an organization. In consultations with the overall authority, the human resource management team ensures that the right category of employees are hired, trained and motivated in the right manner. To this effect, a good relationship in the organization is essential, such that employees are rewarded for outstanding performance and their problems solved in the right way. Employees are the greatest assets that an organization has and their productivity depends on the way they are handled. However, upon recruitment, employees are taken through an orientation program that equips them with the relevant information on what the organization expects from them such as job descriptions and remuneration packages among others. For instance, the organization briefs its employees on work relations to minimize if not alienate future disagreements. There are organizations that desist from enrolling their employees in trade unions and national health insurance schemes. Although this is detrimental on the side of the employee, mutual understanding is paramount. Improper conduct injures excellent working relationship and might surmount to firing of employees. In light of this, it is imperative for the HRM to ensure the realization of similar pay for similar work done. This creates confidence on the part of the employee.
Cherrington (1995:55) and Legge (1989:126) emphasize on the importance of employees in the organization and indicate that they should not be viewed as variable cost in their organization. Employees as earlier stated serve as wheels of any organization as they are the drivers. Employees’, therefore, should be treated well by an organizations command structure. Committed employees can be used by any organization as a competitive advantage (Bratton et al, pp.17) making them an invaluable ingredient in the affairs of the organization. Apart from human assets, an organization must manage all other assets both tangible and intangible. For instance, cash must be managed well, and organization information must be kept intact. All assets are fundamental, but it is the human asset that manages the other category of assets (Mathis et al 2006, p.8). The human resource is tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the running of the organization.
Human resource is crucial in ensuring the success of any organization. This means that for an organization to have an edge over its competitors, it needs to have a strategy to manage this crucial resource. For a leading organization like wall mart, the organization has its mandate spread to complement its standing in the retail sector. This means that for organizations to maintain its professional integrity, it needs to employ its human resource to complement its mandate. This means that the human resource needs to be qualified, motivated and strategically employed for the retail giant to maintain its success. This will require the organization to put in place a management strategy that will make certain it optimizes on this resource. If this is achieved, the company will reap by increasing sales and market share which will be consequently reflected on their bottom line. Failure to have a strategy to its human resource, there would be wastage and inefficiency in the part of organization operations. Therefore, management should ensure that the human resource is in line with the organizations long term and immediate strategies. If this is the scenario, the company will meet its intended objectives ensuring sustainable profitability and growth.
For a company to manage its human resource adequately, there requires being a capable management which is versed adequate on the requirements and functioning of human resource. The management should be encouraged to be conversant with the strategies of the company to ensure that their recruitments and placements complement this factors, it is, therefore, obvious that management of human resource is correlated with the success the company realizes in its operations. Wall mart, despite being a dominant player in the retail market, it is imperative that the management appreciate the significance of management of human resource for them to maintain their edge.
Resource management is crucial since its enable the organization to handle the challenges, which may be resultant of the human resource of the company. If a company does not have a strategy to this effect, they will be vulnerable to problems of human resource, which is detrimental to its operations. Therefore, wall mart should ensure that this is facilitated to avoid the limitations that may emerge because of operations of the organization. Some of the shortfalls include losses and wastage of the resource, which could have been channeled to profitable employment.
Human Resource Management Theories
Theories are an idea built upon on one or more hypothesis. They tend to explain a certain activity in a particular way and include thorough research. It has been alleged that the most reasons of a service society are its HRs and that the fundamental and indispensable duties of administration is to inspire the sources to get the most out of its presentation and accomplish business sensation and goals. Concepts and theories explaining and describing motivation are multifaceted and questionable. Conversely, those that are critical come into view, to be anticipated and self-usefulness. Whether these go well with the Human Resource department, it is another affair; consequently in bearing in mind this query, this document will also discuss the older, more recognized theories of inspiration such as the following individuals; Maslow, Herzberg.
The aim of this manuscript is motivational theory in conditions of companies with particular and detailed allusion on ways it goes well with the human resources department. The conditions of indication are to scrutinize the information and progression theories of motivation and to compare these to human resource management (HRM). The objectives are to create HRM in motivational information and to study the association amid motivational theory and HRM. Amid HRM, the HR mold could be considered to observe man as individuals aggravated by a complex set of unified features and aspects, such as currency, requirement for association, and aspiration for significant employment. It is debated that every diverse member of staff will search for a dissimilar objective, have an assortment and variety of aptitude and skills in finishing the assignment and include their personal individuality to the association. This is a conceptualization that views workforce and members of staffs as a reservoir of prospective aptitude and put forward it as an administrative accountability, to come across ways most excellent to tap such resources. These comes out to be a fundamental hypothesis that inhabitants desire to have a say absolutely to a job, for example, they are pre-motivated, and that therefore, the more they are aggravated and inspired. On the other hand, then the owner ought to request to develop it so by redesigning the trade to, for example, making in different. If an organization has a trusted and dependable leadership, in management, it will assist in motivating the workers, to be more prolific, and devoted to their work. Organizational behaviours will enable the management to recognize how employees behave in their workplaces and reward or correct them. Through organizational behaviours, the organization management can recognize individuals with exemplary behaviours and reward them through promotion, salary increment or with other incentives. However, when the behaviours of the behaviours of the employees will lead to a decrease in production and negative behaviour the HR together with the manager, will assist to correct the behaviour through guidance and counselling, and if the employee indicates no change, the firm can even terminate such an employee.
Human resource management theories like organizational behaviour theories explain the ability to tap prospective employees based on their behaviours in the organization put forward by Maslow (1954) and Herzberg (1966). McGregor’s Theory Y (1960) asserts that dedication and performance of employees can be enhanced by a good leadership style. Storey (1989), however, remains emphatic that human resource management implies the importance of managing employees in the most rational way possible (Bratton et al 2001:17-20).
According to Bratton et al (2001:14) human resource management comprises of four functional areas that include staffing, rewarding, employee development and employee maintenance. Staffing involves recruitment of people with the proper skills and knowledge. Staffing ensures that the best placed individuals are recruited into the organization. By training employees and constantly rewarding them, the firm will not only ensure that they enable such employees to remain focused, but also enable them aim to attain better salaries, and positions within the firm. This will be integral in retaining the employees will feel that they are satisfied with their job. They will continuously strive to attain better organization results, since they know that by performing excellently, they stand a chance to rise within the store that they are serve, and hence they do not feel stagnated in one position, which sometimes can demoralize or disorient them. People like novel challenges and rewards and training within the organization offers employees such opportunities like attending forums to expound their knowledge.
Skills can either be academic or technical based on the requirements. Absorption of unqualified staff easily waters down the organization thanks to incompetency in the handling of work. For example, recruitment of semi-illiterate staff tarnishes the image and name of the company. On the other hand, rewarding of employees involves giving incentives to the most exemplary performance. Rewarding can either be financial, material or either promotions. In most cases, employees who exhibit exemplary performance in their jobs are awarded promotions or salary increments. This motivates them even further in the delivery of services in an organization. However, employee development involves training of employees for better performance while employee maintenance is the management and monitoring of safety of the work place, wellbeing and health policies and employee relations. Training increases the already held knowledge. This is carried out through workshops and seminars. For instance, a workshop can be arranged to have employees equip themselves with information technology tools for their organization that might not been provided during their school days. To increase employees’ efficiency and effectiveness, it’s important to manage these four functional areas. In addition, the Guest model illustrates that employees’ behaviour is perpendicularly synonymous to overall performance in the presence of dedication, flexibility and quality (Bratton et al 2001).
On the other hand, the term staff turnover means the eventual cessation of employees’ contracts and subsequent hiring of new staff. This gradual process is aimed at increasing efficiency and punishing redundancy. It’s dependant on both external and internal determinant factors. Although its overall effectiveness remains a subject of debate, there is a requirement for an unremitting examination due to emerging trends on human resource management. Therefore, Wal-Mart should endeavour to recover the functioning conditions of its employees so as to retain them and ensure that the chain stores keep on expanding and even improve from the third best public organization to become the overall best. Since, the store registers immense turnover, the company can afford to pay their employees, handsomely, and clear the complaints of the employees, of poor working conditions and poor payment. This will enhance and promote the company’s publicity and enhance their market.
It should be eminent that many Wal-Mart workers do not get salaried “generous” wages. They are some part time employees who are remunerated with the local minimum wage. Absence of employee benefits injure the survival of most employees thus taking part-times staff more than five years to be considered entitled for remuneration, profit-sharing, or other such compensation resulting to a high employee turnover. In most cases, the local minimum wage of those employees is below the poverty line. In the past years, Walmart has been blamed for locking night-shift employees in at night, (159) which exposes those staffs to health hazards (157). Wal-Mart’s own “Standards for Suppliers” reports states these kinds of difficulties among the company’s “directly-sourced” factories (160). Most of the Full-time Wal-Mart employees receive their remuneration of about $10.78 per hour, but according to critics this amount negligible compared with the salaries unionized companies give (161). Others condemn low levels of health coverage or exclusive health insurance, although the company reports that it offers rates at $5 per month while the recommended remuneration is $9 per month nationwide and most of its associates are insured (though not necessarily through Wal-Mart) (162). There are many other complains like poor working condition, poor employer-employee interaction, and anti-union policies. Most people propose that Wal-Mart’s high yearly turnover-rate of ~70 percent indicate that most of its workers are not handled properly and are not satisfied with the company (161).
Motivation:
In the past, organization considered employees as an input into the manufacture of products. According to Dickson (1973), this belief about employees was changed through the study called Hawthorne Studies done by Elton Mayo from 1924 to 1932. According to this study, employees are not only motivated by money (Dickson 1973, pp.298-302). Bedeian (1993) indicates that Hawthorne Studies started with the approach of human relations management that states that needs and motivation of employees should be the focus of managers.
Kreitner (1995) defines motivation as that mental process that gives actions purpose and direction whereas Buford, Bedeian and Lindner (1995) defines it as the tendency to act purposively in a way to realize exact requirements that are not available. In addition, Higgings (1994) defines motivation as an internal force that enables a person to satisfy unsatisfied requirements. According to Green (1994), motivation is the commencement, course, passion and determination of human behavior. Therefore, motivation can be defined as that individual internal process that energizes, directs, and sustains a person performance. It is an individual energy enabling one to act in a certain way. The most successful managers are always highly motivated.
A person who evades work is said to be lacking motivation. Motivation is loosely connected with morale. Morale includes the employee’s sentiments toward the job, management, and organization. In this regard, high morale results from the complete satisfaction of requirements on a job. High morale also generates the willpower to execute jobs well with devotion and faithfulness. For example, a highly motivated advertizing sales executive is likely to gather more adverts to the astonishment of the senior management team. On the contrary, low morale mostly leads to hasty work, non-attendance, and high rates of employee turnover (Agarwal 1983, p.319).
Smith (1994) singles out motivation as a key determinant factor in the survival of employees in an organization. According to him, motivated employees are highly productive. If travel business has staffs that are highly motivated and provide excellent customer service, for instance, growth in skills and become more significant to their employers. However, for staff to be more efficient and fruitful, managers need to recognize what motivates employees. As stated by Bowen and Radhakrishna (1991), among all the duties that a manager performs, motivating employees is the most complicated. This is because requirements for motivation in employees change with time. Kovach (1987) explains this by giving an example that money inferior to employees as they get older instead fascinating and pleasing work takes its place (Bowen et al 1991).
Motivation Theories:
The journal Theories of motivation: borrowing the best states that understanding the process of motivation was a crucial point of various researchers after the introduction of the Hawthorne Study results (Terpstra 1979). There are numerous approaches of motivation, which will be discussed in this study or rather research. People work to satisfy different needs. All aspects of motivation merely grew from Instinct hypothesis of motivation. Motivation is the strength that kicks off, guides and sustains goal-oriented conducts. It is what instigates people to get going, whether to seize a snack to decrease hunger or register in college to get a degree. The compelling aspects that lie under motivation can be natural, social, poignant or cognitive in nature. Analysts have developed numerous different hypotheses to clarify motivation. Each hypothesis tends to be somewhat partial in scope. However, by examining the key thoughts behind each hypothesis, one can get a better comprehension of motivation all together.
Instinct Hypothesis of Motivation
Regarding instinct hypotheses aggravated to behave in definite ways since they are evolutionarily intended to do so. Timely and apparent examples are the seasonal migration in the animal kingdom. The animals are not born with the acquaintance and knowledge to do this, but they somewhat happen subconsciously to migrate. William James established a catalog of human characters that comprised of such aspects as affection, play, disgrace, anger, terror, wariness, humility and love. The key problem with this hypothesis is that it never expounded on behavior it merely portrayed and expounded it. By the 1920s, these hypotheses were shoved aside in support of other motivational hypothesis, but modern evolutionary psychologists currently research on the control of heritable traits and inheritance on human conduct.
Human deeds such as mocking others can be considered similar to an animal being aggressive to younger creatures of the identical genus, in order to dishearten them from attempting to usurp the head in the bunch. Frequently this presents an elucidation for why an individual would act in his desired actions. Infidelity is an additional outline of this aspect. Instinct gives animals the desire to assume the simplest path to the continued existence. If a noteworthy, other does not create offspring or adequately satisfy an individual, that individuals might check an additional way to bring the geneses or to live extra easily. It is a superior feature of basic animal behavior. The perception of instinct hypothesis enjoyed colossal reputation and maintenance in the belatedly 19th century. The therapist Sigmund Freud, as well as, William James who was a functionalist established two extremely diverse instinct hypotheses of motivation. Critics attacked instinct hypothesis of motivation for simply labeling yet deteriorating to give details of behavior. Furthermore, instincts are never visible and are never subjected to experiential testing or behaviorist appraisal.
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs study about what stimulates people to perform. He outlines five levels of needs that affect a person’s behavior. There are basic needs that include food, drink and shelter. In addition, there are safety needs that entail protection against danger. In addition, there are social needs, self-esteem needs, reputation, status, and self-actualization. In Maslow hierarchy theory, the things at the top are the least important than those at the bottom.
Maslow suggests the lower level needs have to be satisfied first. Only when those desires have been fulfilled will the person attempt satisfying the upper needs. A business can provide these wants as follows Basic needs, fair wage, meal and rest facilities. Safety needs include job security, healthy working conditions and maybe pension schemes. Social needs covers pleasant working atmosphere and self-esteem need may include cars and job titles. Allowing staff to expand the experience at work can help increase their self-esteem. Finally, Self-actualization is about achieving the full potential of an employee. A business must make sure that promotion is likely and that there are opportunities to be presented (Maslow 1943, pp.370-396).
Herzberg’s (1959) work classified motivation into two areas: motivators and hygiene. Motivator includes things such as achievement, approval and creation of job satisfaction. Hygiene or basic factors, such as low pay and job insecurity, produce job dissatisfaction.
Different from Maslow and Herzberg, Vroom expectancy theory of motivation does not only focus on needs but also focuses on outcomes. While Herzberg and Maslow look at the relationship between internal needs and the attempt that is expected to fulfill, Vroom separates the efforts and suggests variables such as valence, expectation and instrumentality.
In light of this, the expectancy variable represents certainty that better efforts lead to better performances. The realization, for example, that when an individual works, then other factors will also be better. This is perpetuated by the mere fact of the right skills for the job, have supervisors support to get the job completed and include the right resources available. Instrumentality, which is the belief that if employees perform duties well appreciated results, will be recognized. In addition, valence is the significance of the individual in the job. It is dedicated to using motivation theories to motivate employees. Working for long hours coupled with low pay and negligent treatment and working environment contribute immensely to the lack of employees’ motivation. This leads to untimely staff exodus that is injurious to the organization.
Methodology
This chapter deals with the research approach that will be applied in conducting the research on the problems facing Walmart in terms of treating staff members. In addition, data collection methods will be applied to investigate the data gathered.
Methodology
Research Question
In conducting this study, a couple of questions will be formulated that will guide the researcher in developing and enhancing a research proposal.
The questions will be simply constructed for easy comprehensibility and help in the realization of proper data. Questions will be close ended to limit the respondents to the tenets of the study. Construction of open-ended questions might result to the influx of information that might otherwise jeopardize the overall intentions of the study. The target respondents will be youthful employees preferably between the ages of 22 to 35 since people in this age bracket are more likely not to have settled in their workplaces. In light of this, they will offer insightful information that will greatly help in the realization of a good research project. The project will concentrate on blue-chip companies as government institutions might limit the employees’ diversion of information let alone in-house bureaucracies.
Research Questions:
. Briefly, highlight employees’ challenges at Wal-mart.
How is the employees’-top brass managers’ relationship at Wal-Mart?
Does the management of Wal-Mart have fitting policies with regard to staff-turnover and employee motivation?
How do staff/employee motivation and staff-turnover policies at Wal-Mart influence both workers and customers?
What are the major challenges and problems faced with regard to staff turnover and employee motivation at Wal-Mart?
Research Approach:
A research in Wal-Mart is conducted to determine the level of motivation with the employees, how the staffs are treated and the problems they face. Data is collected and examined to offer an apparent comprehension of the above aspects (Hopkins 1998). In this case, both qualitative and quantitative researches are used entirely so that I can get concrete conclusions from the study.
Research is instrumental in the change process. This is because it injects new knowledge after gathering information from various quarters. However, a number of scholars define the term in diverse ways. Research is an orderly use of data to clarify a point (Bouma 1994). In addition, Burgess and Bryant (2001) define research as a recipe of knowledge by grouping together inaccessible information from various fields therefore creating fresh insights and understanding. However, Norbert Elias defines research as, the process of making known something earlier unknown by people. It is to progress person’s acquaintance, to make it more convincing or enhanced fitting (Elias 1986, p.20). Another function of research is evaluating the data needed to solve a particular problem (Veal 2006, p.3).
In this research study, primary and secondary data have been used and quantitative and qualitative research methods have been applied. According to Veal (2006) quantitative research approach, research involves carrying out data analysis to verify or disapprove a hypothetical statement. To be sure of the consistency of the outcome, it is often necessary to have a large number of data (Veal 2006, p.40).
In qualitative research approach, it uses to basic concepts reliability and validity (Hopkins 1998). Reliability deals with whether the research is done are efficient and meaningful manner. Validity on the other hand is about the finding out whether the research study done is relevant in any future research (Bouma 1994). Veal (2006) qualitative research involves assembling a great deal of data about a small group instead of limited amount of information of a large group. The information gathered is usually not presentable in arithmetical form (Veal 2006, p.40).
Primary and Secondary Research:
Primary research is tailored research that gives new information, whereas secondary research entails already accessible information collected from the past. Depending on the type of research and physical and intangible situation, both research methods are of rational nature. As stated by Glass (1976), primary data should always be original. Mc Givern (2006) explains that primary research entails collection of data more than once. Pickton and Broderick (2005) advise that secondary information should be used and taken advantage of as groundwork before assembling of primary data. This research uses secondary data such as journals, articles and past researches.
Qualitative and Quantitative Research Approaches Combined:
According to Hopkins (1998), for a research work to have the required methodical rigidity, the study should reflect on all probable ways of gathering information. However, according to Hunt (2004), every research ought to be handled and information necessary so that, physical results are achieved. In this case, the quantitative approach results into arithmetical values like the number of staff who think they are ill-treated by the organization.
Quantitative Research Approach:
This approach has a hypothesis set which
