Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Walmart was its culture. To a large extent, Walmart's culture was an extension of Sam Walton's philosophy and was rooted in the early experiences and practices of Walmart. The Walmart culture emphasized values such as thriftiness, hard work, innovation, and continuous improvement. As Walton wrote,
Because wherever we've been, we've always tried to instill in our folks the idea that we at Walmart have our own way of doing things. It may be different and it may take some folks a while to adjust to it at first. But it's straight and honest and basically pretty simple to figure it out if you want to. And whether or not other folks want to accommodate us, we pretty much stick to what we believe in because it's proven to be very, very successful.
Walmart's thriftiness was consistent with its obsession with controlling costs. One observer joked that "the Walmart folks stay at Mo 3, where they don't even leave the light on for you. This was not, however, far from the truth. Walton told of early buying trips to New York where several Walmart managers shared the same hotel room and walked everywhere they went rather than use taxis. One of the early managers described how these early trips taught managers to work hard and keep costs low:
From the very beginning, Sam was always trying to instill in us that you just didn't go to New York and roll with the flow. We always walked everywhere. We never took cabs. And Sam had an equation for the trips expenses should never exceed 1 percent of our purchases so we would all crowd in these little hotel rooms somewhere down around Madison Square Garden. We never finished up until about twelve-thirty at night, and we'd all go out for a beer except Mr. Walton. He'd say, "I'll meet you at breakfast at six o'clock." And we'd say, "Mr. Walton, there's no reason to meet that early We can't even get into the buildings that early." And he'd just say, "We'll find something to do."
The roots of Walmart's emphasis on innovation and continuous improvement can also be seen in Walton's ex- ample. Walton's achievement was evident early in life. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout earlier than anyone previously had in the state of Missouri. Later, in high school, he quarterbacked the undefeated state champion football team and played guard on the undefeated state champion basketball team while serving as student. This same drive was evident in Walton's early retailing efforts. He studied other retailers by spending time in their stores, asking endless questions, and taking notes about various store practices. Walton was quick to borrow a new idea if he thought would increase sales and profits. When, in his early days Ben Franklin, Walton read about two variety stores in Minnesota that were using self-service, he immediately took an all-night bus ride to visit the stores. Upon his return from Minnesota, he converted one of his stores to self-service, which, at the time, was only the third variety store in the United States to do so. Later, he was one of the first to see the potential of dis- count retailing.
Walton also emphasized always looking for ways to improve. Walmart managers were encouraged to critique their own operations. Managers met regularly to discuss their store operations. Lessons learned in one store were quickly spread to other stores. Walmart managers also carefully analyzed the activities of their competitors and tried to borrow practices that worked well. Walton stressed the importance of observing what other firms did well rather than what they did wrong. Another way in which Walmart had focused on improvement from its earliest days was in information and measurement. Long before Walmart had any computers, Walton would personally enter measures on several variables for each store into a ledger he carried with him. Information technology enabled Walmart to extend this emphasis on information and measurement.
Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Walmart was its culture. To a large extent, Walmart's culture was an extension of Sam Walton's philosophy and was rooted in the early experiences and practices of Walmart. The Walmart culture emphasized values such as thriftiness, hard work, innovation, and continuous improvement. As Walton wrote,Because wherever we've been, we've always tried to instill in our folks the idea that we at Walmart have our own way of doing things. It may be different and it may take some folks a while to adjust to it at first. But it's straight and honest and basically pretty simple to figure it out if you want to. And whether or not other folks want to accommodate us, we pretty much stick to what we believe in because it's proven to be very, very successful.Walmart's thriftiness was consistent with its obsession with controlling costs. One observer joked that "the Walmart folks stay at Mo 3, where they don't even leave the light on for you. This was not, however, far from the truth. Walton told of early buying trips to New York where several Walmart managers shared the same hotel room and walked everywhere they went rather than use taxis. One of the early managers described how these early trips taught managers to work hard and keep costs low:From the very beginning, Sam was always trying to instill in us that you just didn't go to New York and roll with the flow. We always walked everywhere. We never took cabs. And Sam had an equation for the trips expenses should never exceed 1 percent of our purchases so we would all crowd in these little hotel rooms somewhere down around Madison Square Garden. We never finished up until about twelve-thirty at night, and we'd all go out for a beer except Mr. Walton. He'd say, "I'll meet you at breakfast at six o'clock." And we'd say, "Mr. Walton, there's no reason to meet that early We can't even get into the buildings that early." And he'd just say, "We'll find something to do."The roots of Walmart's emphasis on innovation and continuous improvement can also be seen in Walton's ex- ample. Walton's achievement was evident early in life. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout earlier than anyone previously had in the state of Missouri. Later, in high school, he quarterbacked the undefeated state champion football team and played guard on the undefeated state champion basketball team while serving as student. This same drive was evident in Walton's early retailing efforts. He studied other retailers by spending time in their stores, asking endless questions, and taking notes about various store practices. Walton was quick to borrow a new idea if he thought would increase sales and profits. When, in his early days Ben Franklin, Walton read about two variety stores in Minnesota that were using self-service, he immediately took an all-night bus ride to visit the stores. Upon his return from Minnesota, he converted one of his stores to self-service, which, at the time, was only the third variety store in the United States to do so. Later, he was one of the first to see the potential of dis- count retailing.Walton also emphasized always looking for ways to improve. Walmart managers were encouraged to critique their own operations. Managers met regularly to discuss their store operations. Lessons learned in one store were quickly spread to other stores. Walmart managers also carefully analyzed the activities of their competitors and tried to borrow practices that worked well. Walton stressed the importance of observing what other firms did well rather than what they did wrong. Another way in which Walmart had focused on improvement from its earliest days was in information and measurement. Long before Walmart had any computers, Walton would personally enter measures on several variables for each store into a ledger he carried with him. Information technology enabled Walmart to extend this emphasis on information and measurement.
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