Wal-Mart is an organization that operates a sequence of store and warehouse stores across the world. It is one of the most expensive organizations in terms of market worth and also the biggest grocery retailer in the United States (Fishman, 2006). Wal-Mart is an organization determined in achieving its goals and missions. From perspectives of its learning and growth, Wal-Mart has put some strategies and set missions that will make it grow tremendously. The organization has three important identities that tell more about it and the reason why it exist. Organization’s mission is one of the most vital identities in an organization as it tells others how the firm works towards achieving their vision. The Wal-Mart vision is “to help people get quality and affordable commodities and expands to reach all individuals of different levels.” For the Wal-Mart to drive this mission in achieving their visions, the organization has a strategic plan that speaks to its mission. Wal-Mart uses this strategic plan to make yearly operational plan. The Wal-Mart has made a habit of regularly engaging its executives and staffs in a strategic forecast process which results to providing the firm with utmost five year road map. In addition, they identify the goals towards which the Wal-Mart will work to achieve its mission and recognize its vision.
For efficiency, Wal-Mart applies a Balanced Scorecard which is a methodical method to performance evaluation that transforms an organization’s plan into an obvious objective, targets and measures (Ahn, 2001). The Balance scorecard puts together a suitable mix of short and long term monetary and non-monetary performance determiners used across the Wal-Mart based on the firms plan. The Balanced Scorecard has four evolutions perspectives which are customer, financial, learning and growth, and process. Learning and growth perspective of the Wal-Mart includes worker training and organization cultural attitudes connected to both people and organization self-advancement. The Wal-Mart initiated the procedure of building a Balanced Scorecard by stating the objectives of the corporation which describes what the organization is trying to achieve. Wal-Mart objectives in brief express deeds, the means, and the desired outcomes.
For the learning and growth perspectives, an objective of Wal-Mart is to build a culture for change in the year 2015. In determining how victory in attaining an objective is described, a measure is used. A measure must be particular so that to give a clear spotlight for the objective (Niven, 2002). Therefore, the measure for this objective would be to do employee survey every month. To establish the level of advancement needed for above measure, a target must be used. For instance, the Wal-Mart would set a three percent change in culture for every month. For the Wal-Mart to implement this objective, the organization should introduce the culture they would like to build in their organization otherwise without guidelines building of culture in an organization would be impossible.
For the learning and growth perspectives, Wal-Mart objective would be to increase employees training to achieve growth through available training fund for the year 2015. The measure for this objective would be to give employees an evaluation test quarterly based on the training provided by training funds of the year. To establish the level of learning that every employee is supposed to attain, the Wal-Mart has set a target average mark of fifty percent for the tests done in evaluating the employees. For this objective to be implemented, Wal-Mart should hire trainers who are highly qualified and can deliver business oriented to their employees.
For the learning and growth perspectives, the Wal-Mart has set objective to leverage information technology. The measure of objective is to updating and keeping the customers databases so that they can be able to follow the trend of a customer in the year 2015. To establish the level of customer database, Wal-Mart has put a target. The Wal-Mart target for this year is an increment of customers’ database by twenty percent by the end of the year. For this objective to be implemented, the company should improve purchase more computers and hire more effective computer specialist so that they can be in a position of keeping the best quality of database. In addition, the Wal-Mart should make sure that all the customers information is recorded and kept and should be made available at the right time whenever a customer requires it.
These learning and growth objectives aim at employees’ skills advancement process usually called learning and growth perspectives. This process compels excellence and process sequence time which further results to prompt delivery and customer trustworthiness. This further leads to a greater return on investment therefore, making learning and Growth perspective initial process in the organization strategy (Niven, 2002). The training of employee’s objective fastens the process perspective and therefore others. Since the learning and growth perspective is the initial process, its objectives, for instance leverage the information technology, improves customers satisfaction and this would lead to increment of customers in an organization. In addition change of culture would lead to increase in sales if implemented correctly therefore fastening the process of financial prospective.
The learning and growth objective indicated above are very vital as they help drive other perspectives as the learning perspective is the initial stage in strategy map (Niven, 2002). It is due to this reason that these objectives are referred to as good than the customer prospective, financial prospective and business process perspectives objectives stated in module 1, 2 and 3. However, these objectives stated in other modules cannot be nullified as they play an important role in making those processes attainable. Every perspective plays a vital role as they are driven toward increasing the sales of the company. If a mistake is made in setting the objectives of the learning and growth perspectives, then the same will be carried forward to other processes as it is the initial process which drives the proceeding and the cycle continue to the end.
A balance Scorecard is therefore very important as it help the planners of the business to evaluate the four perspectives which are important in strategy map of a firm. Success of the Wal-Mart is also a clear indication that the organization uses a Balanced Scorecard which has bored good fruits on their strategy map and in achieving their objectives.
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