Walmart uses transformational, participative, and democratic leadership styles, a combination of which ensures the company’s success. Walmart’s strategy in terms of how they handle its employees is to treat them with respect, no matter what hierarchical level the employee is on. Moreover, in this company, workers have the opportunity to influence the company’s everyday decisions (Flynn, 2021). In addition, everyone can take a test to identify leadership abilities. Successful passing of such a test guarantees an opportunity to move up the career ladder. Even people in senior positions can be evaluated for their performance. Walmart has a feedback system through which employees can identify where their performance is strong and where they need to improve.
The company’s open-door practice makes it easier to cope with the changes taking place at Walmart. In case one of the top employees decides to leave the company, there will never be chaos because the responsibility is divided among many employees. At Walmart, it is considered that everyone’s contribution is important, so employees are not afraid to be criticized (Flynn, 2021). Every idea deserves to be heard; that is the philosophy of this organization. Besides, at Walmart, leadership is seen as a process that must be carried out constantly. Employees should not stop improving, especially since the initiative is supported through a simplified promotion system. Because of how well-developed respect and loyalty are in the firm, referent leadership is so widely used. Employees are motivated to take responsibility and do what they can to develop the company.
There is a fundamental difference between leadership at Target and Walmart. It is due to the fact that at Target, the primary type of leadership is autocratic. Authoritarian leaders are characterized by a straightforward team approach and control over colleagues. Decision-making processes are centralized; that is, one person makes the most critical decisions. The authoritarian leader has a clear vision of the big picture, but the rest of the staff participates only in individual tasks as needed (Wang et al., 2019). Authoritarian leaders may praise or criticize employees, but they clearly separate themselves from the team (Wang et al., 2019). While it may seem that an authoritarian leader is only disliked, this is usually not the case. They are rarely hostile; on the contrary, they are usually friendly and sometimes even dispassionate.
Leaders today are focused on the internal strengths of corporate culture, specifically its ability to retain talent and increase productivity. In this aspect, it is Walmart that has been much more successful. The primary value in this company is the individual, and therefore Walmart has been able to achieve significant results in strengthening loyalty within the firm (Walmart, 2019). Largely due to the use of a democratic leadership style, the firm has a low rate of employee turnover, which, however, is common in many large corporations.
The culture at Target is built on how to please the customer as much as possible. Therefore, it is often the case that the interests of employees take second place. On the Internet, one can find many negative comments from former employees who complain that the opinion of individuals is not taken into account. The strict hierarchy at Target is what leads to new employees often being discriminated against; self-expression and self-activity are not welcomed. Certainly, the leaders of both organizations shape the culture within the companies. However, in the case of Walmart, it is about creating a space for collective decision-making and initiative. At Target, on the other hand, it is more about following instructions and adhering to the firm’s values.
McMillon is best known as president and CEO of Walmart, the U.S. retail giant. As CEO, McMillon raised wages for hourly workers in the United States, expanded the company’s e-commerce offerings, and continued Walmart’s international expansion (Yale School of Management, 2020). Doug McMillon has been with the company for a long time and therefore is well aware of its strengths and weaknesses. In general, his policies are in line with dominant cultural beliefs. He runs the business democratically, taking care to develop leadership in the workplace. Speaking of Target, it should be noted that Brian Cornell’s policies are also relatively consistent with contemporary cultural attitudes. He was an opponent of North Carolina’s law requiring people to use the bathroom according to their birth sex, not gender (Palma, 2017). This led to Target introducing a policy about using fitting rooms according to the gender identity of the customers. Thus, Target is on its way to becoming more and more inclusive.
Walmart and Target certainly use a hierarchical management structure. This allows corporate managers to influence the functioning of the entire company. However, as already noted, it is much easier for Walmart employees to get promoted. It requires only appropriate leadership testing and regular initiative. At Target, it is much more challenging to get promoted, which is due to the authoritarian leadership style. In organizations like Target, innovative ideas often drown in bureaucracy. Employees often get fired, and new talent does not come in. In general, it can be concluded that for the company, especially in the long term, a democratic style of leadership is more preferable. It enables the company to avoid the above-mentioned problems.
References
Flynn, A. (2021). What is Walmart management style? Greedhead. Web.
Palma, B. (2017). Did Target’s stock ‘crash’ due to their transgender bathroom policy? Snopes.
Walmart. (2019). Culture, diversity & inclusion.
Wang, Z., Liu, Y. & Liu, S. (2019). Authoritarian leadership and task performance: The effects of leader-member exchange and dependence on leader. Frontiers of Business Research in China, 13(19), 1-15.
Yale School of Management (2020). Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute presents Doug McMillon of Walmart with the legend in Leadership Award. Web.