Walmart Worldwide and Misunderstood

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Walmart Worldwide and Misunderstood ETH/316 Walmart Worldwide and Misunderstood In this world, there are many companies that are global successes. From gas companies to retailers, each company wants to be as successful as possible. Walmart, according to CNN Money (2013), is the 3rd largest international company, falling from number one in 2006. So what happened to the global mega retailer? How did they lose the top spot? Unfortunately cultural issues and misunderstanding may have taken a large role in the move to 3rd place on the list. However, Walmart has taken these missteps and worked to keep moving forward globally. When strolling into your local Walmart here in the United States you are warmly greeted with a smile and a friendly “hello.” While this is the norm in our culture many cultures overseas can take this greeting negatively. In Germany, men interpret a smile and warm greeting as flirting and enticing. This custom of friendly interaction just seems odd to Germans. The Verdi Union in Germany has set various standards and has eliminated some of our American customs to help create a more culturally sound work environment in the Walmart stores in Germany (Landler, 2006). In India, the culture is completely different than that of the United States. From how a person dresses to a person’s punctuality there are different standards than the United States. Dress code standards are more conservative than how Americans dress. This can be a huge cultural issue if imported management from the United States over to India does not adhere to the country’s culture. Another cultural issues across the globe is human resources and management. While Walmart employs nearly 2.2 million employees worldwide, they have a record of incorporating American management teams into foreign country’s stores. The setbacks of American management not being aware and accustomed to the

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