Sample essay on Function of Management of Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailers in the USA, which operates internationally. The company occupies the leading position in the American market and actively expands its presence in international markets. The company has its own department stores, supercenters and neighborhood markets. It is worth mentioning the fact that the company is presented by different brands in different countries. For instance, in the UK Wal-Mart operates as ASDA, in Japan as Seiyu, etc. that indicates to the intention of the company to adapt to local markets.

The Wal-Mart, being a public corporation, has a widely spread chain of its discount department stores and its annual revenue exceeds $380 billion, while its market capitalization constitutes $232 billion (Wal-Mart Stores, 2008). Total assets of the company are close to $163,5 billion, while its net income constitute $12,731 billion (Wal-Mart Stores, 2008). In such a way, the financial position of the company is quite stable and demonstrates positive trends.

At the same time, the company’s policies in regard to its human resources are severely criticized since Wal-Mart often ignores interests, needs and even rights of its employees. Even though the company is one of the largest employers in the world (the company has over 2 million employees), Wal-Mart still fail to conduct socially responsible policy in regard to its human resources. For instance, Wal-Mart has low rates of employee health insurance enrollment, resists to union representations and violates rights of women (Frank, 2006). The ignorance of interests of human resources exposes the company to the risk of internal conflicts and loss of well-qualified professionals.

Nevertheless, the company stimulates sharing the knowledge within the company organizing training of employees by their more experienced colleagues working at Wal-Mart. This strategy is very effective since it save costs of the company.

On the other hand, Wal-Mart does tend to introduce the latest technological advancement that is a drawback because it puts the company in a disadvantageous position compared to its competitors.