Walmart: Organizational Structure &

Organizational Culture
UPDATED ONUPDATED ON FEBRUARY 15, 2019 BY JESSICA LOMBARDO

Inside a Walmart store in

Miami, Florida. Walmart’s organizational structure is adequate, but the company needs to
improve its organizational culture. (Photo: Public Domain)
Walmart’s organizational structure determines the company’s business activities. Currently,
these activities are mainly in the retail industry, including operations in the e-commerce
market. The company’s corporate structure also imposes limits on how the business addresses
its problems. Structural characteristics help facilitate the company’s strategic
implementations in capturing a bigger share of the retail market. In relation, Walmart’s
organizational culture determines the way people respond to challenges in the workplace. The
resilience of the company’s human resources partly depends on the mindset supported
through the corporate culture. Cultural features help the retail business adapt to changes and
emerging challenges in the international market. The long history of Walmart Inc. in
succeeding and continually growing internationally shows that the firm’s organizational
structure and organizational culture are helpful in bringing competitive advantages and
success. The organizational structure interacts with the organizational culture to maintain the
significant competitive advantage of Walmart against other firms, such as Amazon and
Target, as well as Apple, Google, and other technology companies that have major online
digital content distribution operations.

Formerly named Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the company has a leadership position in the industry.
Such a retail market position and potential long-term business success are linked to the
beneficial and synergistic combination of the company’s organizational structure and
organizational culture. The characteristics and implications of the corporate culture are
influenced by how the corporate structure supports human resource development and other
aspects of Walmart’s retail business operations, such as marketing, and strategic formulation
and organizational design founded on the company’s mission and vision.

Walmart’s Organizational Structure

Walmart has a hierarchical functional organizational structure. This structure has two
features: hierarchy and function-based definition. The hierarchy feature pertains to the
vertical lines of command and authority throughout the organizational structure. For example,
except for the CEO, every employee has a direct superior. Directives and mandates coming
from the top levels of the company’s management are implemented through middle managers
down to the rank-and-file employees in Walmart stores. On the other hand, the function-
based definition feature of the company’s corporate structure involves groups of employees
fulfilling certain functions. For example, Walmart has a department for the function of human
resource management. The company also has a department for the function of information
technology, and another department for the function of marketing. These are just some of the
numerous function-based departments in Walmart’s organizational structure.

The main effect of Walmart’s hierarchical functional organizational structure is the ability of
corporate managers to easily influence the entire organization. For example, new policies and
strategies developed at the company’s corporate headquarters are directly passed on to
regional managers down to the store managers. In this way, effective monitoring and control
are achieved through Walmart’s hierarchical functional organizational structure. However, a
downside of this corporate structure is that it has minimal support for organizational
flexibility. The lower levels of the organizational structure cannot easily adjust business
practices because of the lengthy communications and approval process involving the middle
managers and corporate managers at Walmart’s headquarters.

Walmart’s Organizational Culture

Walmart’s organizational culture has four main components. These components guide
employees’ behaviors, which determine organizational capacities to add value in the
provision of retail service and related services to consumers. The cultural components are
also identified as Walmart’s beliefs:

1. Service to customers
2. Respect for the individual
3. Strive for excellence
4. Action with integrity

In terms of service to customers, the company prioritizes customers in its operations.

Walmart also recognizes the contributions of each employee to the success of the business. In
addition, the firm strives for excellence in the performance of individual workers, teams, and
the entire organization. In terms of maintaining integrity, Walmart promotes the virtues of
honesty, fairness, and impartiality in decision-making processes.

Recommendations for Walmart’s Organizational Culture

and Structure
Walmart’s organizational structure is ideal for the company’s type of business and global
scope of operations. Managerial control and influence is maximized through this corporate
structure, despite the vastness of the company’s retail and related operations. However,
Walmart can improve in applying its beliefs in the context of its organizational culture. These
beliefs are ideal. Still, the company is frequently criticized about its failure to address
employees’ concerns regarding low wages. Such criticisms point to the difference between
the belief of respect for individuals in the organization’s culture, and the actual treatment of
the employees. Thus, a suitable recommendation for Walmart is to implement more effective
measures for fulfilling the respect for the individualcomponent of the organizational culture

http://panmore.com/walmart-organizational-structure-organizational-culture