Question

In this paper, you will compare and contrast pay structures used by two different businesses. For example, you could choose between Apple and Dell, Target and Kohl's, OR Walmart and Meijer’s. The businesses you compare should provide similar products and/or services and be in close proximity, such as the same city or state. Review articles and videos found throughout the course and/or search the Internet to find articles relating to how your two chosen organizations differ or are similar in compensation (wages and benefits). Pooling the information you found, address the questions below:

WRITTEN REQUIREMENTS:

How does motivation play in to the type of people working at both organizations?

Are organizational strategies being met by the type of employees? In other words, how is the organizational strategy working out for both businesses?

What type(s) of employee communication methods are used at both organizations and is it effective?

How are employees engaged with the organization and how satisfied do they appear to be?

What type of pay structure is used at both organizations?

What are some of the legal requirements and economic influences facing each organization that may or may not influence the pay structure?

Which organization seems to provide more incentives for employees to perform to their fullest potential?

What incentives appear to be working the best? Why?

Which organization would you prefer to work for and why?

If you were a human resource manager at your chosen organization, what would you like to change about the organization and why? The paper should be 3 to 4 pages in length.

Answer 1

We will discuss pay structure of Walmart and Meijer's. Both these companies are working to be at the top in retail business. As this business involves face to face communication of company representatives with their customers human resource is most important factor in building and promoting a brand.

ROLE OF MOTIVATION WHILE WORKING IN THESE ORGANIZATIONS:

Employees are biggest assets in both these organizations as they are direct dealers to customers. Both these organizations tend to provide healthy work environment by giving incentives, rewards and motivation to perform better by providing specific job related trainings.

Employees provided with proper work culture tend to provide better service to their customers, in other words employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction and business growth.

Incentives, rewards, bonuses, good communication systems within organization improves performance of employees and organization.

Both Walmart and Meijer's provide similar kind of motivational benefits to its employees but still Walmart has upper edge over Meijer's in terms of employee satisfaction.

In retail sector customers get attracted by service provided in a mall, varieties shown by company representatives, explanations on features and quality experiences, customer feedbacks and courtesy while communication with customers, employee motivation helps in improving employee performance in these aspects.

EFFECT OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY ON WORKING OF THESE BUSINESSES:

Both these companies provide facilities such as medical insurance cover to employees and their immidiate dependents, they provide consistent trainings to their employees.

Walmart has very effective strategy of Cross Pollination among their employees, under this strategy employees are given to perfrom responsibilities of each other in same or in cross functional departments, by this technique employees understand pressure of each other, difficulties in performing perticular tasks and feels involved in organizational functions.

EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION METHODS:

In Walmart, unique internal communication system adopted for better team building, employees call each other by first name even to bosses, it has helped them in developing friendly working culture and helped to keep unnecessary egos away from day to day communications. Bosses treat their subordinates as equal and all team gets involved in decision making.

Meijers at present does not have this kind of communication system.

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION FEEDBACK:

Employees working at Walmart found more satisfied than those working with Meijers as per latest surveys, Women working with Walmart is provided with equal opportunities in growth and compensation hence most of the women employess rated Walmart higher as compared to Meijers.

Walmart provides facility of stock buying at special discounted price to its employees, they give bonuses, devidends to their employees by this profit sharing strategy employees get better job satisfaction. Health insurance coverage provided by Walmart for employees and their immidiate dependents is also better than Meijers.

In conclusion, both these organizations are respectable brands in retail segment but Walmart has upper edge in terms of work environment, organizational strategies for human resource and employee satisfaction..