WALMART

INTRODUCTION
Walmart is a worldwide retail firm based in the United States. Walmart operates as a
hypermarket and grocery store business. Sam Walton started the business in 1962.
In 24 countries, Walmart has over 10,566 stores. Walmart employs 2.2 million people
worldwide, making it the world's largest private sector employer. Walmart had $548.743
billion in revenue in 2020, making it the world's largest company by revenue. Walmart is a
family-owned and publicly listed corporation. Sam Walton's family owns fifty percent of
Walmart. In 2019, Walmart was the leading grocery retailer in the United States. The United
States accounted for almost 65 percent of Walmart's sales.
Sam's Club retail warehouses is owned by Walmart. Its operations are also carried out by
Walmart.
In Canada, China, South America and the United Kingdom, Walmart is considered
successful. But its operations in Germany, South Korea and Japan is considered as a failure.

LEADERSHIP STYLE AT WALMART

The leadership style adopted at Walmart is Transformational and Transactional leadership.
Transformational leadership is a leadership style wherein leaders encourage, employees to
create changes that will improve their lives and also help to grow. It also helps in shaping the
future success of the company. Transformational leadership helps a company by providing
direction and vision.
Transactional leadership aims at the different types of transactions that happens between the
superiors and subordinates. Superiors provide rewards or punishments based on the
performances of the subordinates. It works on a “give and take” policy. Transactional
leadership helps in running day to day operations.
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Transformational leadership at Walmart:

⮚ Visit to Walmart stores

Throughout Walmart history, a very important feature is that all the managers and top
officials visit Walmart stores. This has played a significant role in the way Walmart works.
This practice helps leaders to understand what is happening at the ground level and are able
to make decisions accordingly. This also helps in improving the way employees work.
CEO Mike Duke's visit to the stores in China helped in discovering that Walmart is not
storing local bananas. This was less expensive than the ones that were imported. Necessary
actions were taken to correct it. These visits help in motivating employees as they get a
chance to meet the top officials. These visits also help in improving the business as those
people who work at the stores can come up with best ideas. Accessing and implementing
these ideas will motivate employees and improve the overall efficiency.
⮚ Project Impact
Walmart has never been scared of making decisions that could have an impact on the entire
company. The implementation and then the cancelling of project impact is an example for
that. The company ensures that they take decisions based on the customer feedback and
preferences. Based on customer feedback, Walmart launched project impact. It was later
reversed as the customers declined.
⮚ Decision Making
For a company like Walmart that is so successful across the world, it was a difficult decision
to shut down its activities in Germany and accept defeat. This shows the willingness of
Walmart to take tough decisions. Decisions at Walmart are taken based on logic and no
market, or no place were indispensable.
⮚ Developing Leadership
A huge emphasis has been put by CEOs at Walmart to develop a Leadership strategy. CEO
Mark Duke’s goal is to create leaders who can bring his vision into a reality and help
Walmart to be successful in growing markets like India and China.

TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP
Transactional leadership helped Walmart to run day to day operations and to execute various
strategies.
Transactional leadership at Walmart:
⮚ Providing promotions
The norm at Walmart was that good performances will be rewarded with rewards and
promotions. This acts as a major motivating element. It is also a great example as to how
effective Transactional leadership can be. After being successful at handling international
operations, Mike Duke was promoted as the CEO.
⮚ Balance between freedom and control
Walmart ensures that there is a balance between control and freedom. The company allows
managers to decide on how to set up the stores and stock the stores. The launch of project
impact reduced the freedom of store managers. But upon realising the negative impact they
quickly called it back.
⮚ Relationship with the suppliers
Walmart follows a give and take policy. Walmart asks suppliers to provide goods at cheaper
prices but in return they provide large quantities and assured orders to its suppliers. Walmart
creates an alliance with the suppliers by providing them necessary information on how to
improve the efficiency of suppliers. Walmart launched the Sustainable Product Index to track
the suppliers which led to the suppliers engaging in green business practices.
OTHER ASPECTS OF LEADERSHIP AT WALMART
⮚ Charismatic leader – A charismatic leader is the one who is able to develop a strong
personal attraction from followers, is able to enhance the self-conception of followers
and can articulate a compelling vision. These qualities helped Sam Walton to
establish and expand Walmart. Sam Walton believed that customers will be happy
when employees are happy. Employees were encouraged to share their views and
opinions. He developed confidence, customer service and ownership qualities in the
managers of Walmart.
⮚ Visionary leadership – The leaders at Walmart wanted the company to be globally
known and wanted the stores to sell maximum products. Their vision to provide
products at lower prices helped them to attain the biggest market share and helped
them to expand globally.
⮚ Ethical leadership- Sam Walton believed that happiness in employees will help in
creating happiness in customers. The leaders at Walmart gave a lot of importance to
the satisfaction of employees. Even Though, they had certain issues, the leaders have
introduced various programs for employees like the President’s Global Council of
Women Leader.
⮚ Strategic leadership- Good strategies lead to better performances. Walmart’s
strategy to expand their business and become cost leaders played a major role in
making the company what it is today. The top-level management of Walmart was not
ready to give up when their strategies didn’t work out. Instead, they brought changes
and fought back.