The Walmart Decade - Robert Slater
Picked up out of curiosity in office library and also because I'm planning to get a closer look at the business of business some time soon.
Walmart the superstore of our times had huble beginnings in small-town America. Sam Walton's baby. He was a normal retailer who struck gold in terms of retailing ideas. Chucking middle men he began offering goods at much lower prices. The success of the concept, completely on a micro-scale yet, thrilled him. In a way Mr.Walton never even realised he was on his way to creating history. He just kept going, overthrowing mom&pop stores around the corner with his low-value tags.
Small-town America loved the personal touch of the stores. The founder gavce surprise visits to his stores every now and then to ensure his stores were not going away from his own philosophy. For many years, even as Walmart grew considerably he was not convinced about having separate departments or hierarchy within the organisation. He wasnt too keen on introducing technology either. Why does one need an HR department to take care of employees?? hehe Dilbert would love that.
I'm no big reader of management and leadership books but it was nice to know the past of Walmart and then towards the end of the book compare how its very strengths are today becoming legal issues. How a creator can never truly assess the growth of his baby, how the baby can continue to grow beyond the creator's wildest imaginations...Even after his death. The book takes a closer look at how Walmart continued its journey sans Sam.
Couldn't help thinking of BigBazaar as a wannabe Walmart, except that Indians are not Americans and BigBazaar is looking at metropolitan India instead of small town India. Is there scope? Debatable!
Walmart the superstore of our times had huble beginnings in small-town America. Sam Walton's baby. He was a normal retailer who struck gold in terms of retailing ideas. Chucking middle men he began offering goods at much lower prices. The success of the concept, completely on a micro-scale yet, thrilled him. In a way Mr.Walton never even realised he was on his way to creating history. He just kept going, overthrowing mom&pop stores around the corner with his low-value tags.
Small-town America loved the personal touch of the stores. The founder gavce surprise visits to his stores every now and then to ensure his stores were not going away from his own philosophy. For many years, even as Walmart grew considerably he was not convinced about having separate departments or hierarchy within the organisation. He wasnt too keen on introducing technology either. Why does one need an HR department to take care of employees?? hehe Dilbert would love that.
I'm no big reader of management and leadership books but it was nice to know the past of Walmart and then towards the end of the book compare how its very strengths are today becoming legal issues. How a creator can never truly assess the growth of his baby, how the baby can continue to grow beyond the creator's wildest imaginations...Even after his death. The book takes a closer look at how Walmart continued its journey sans Sam.
Couldn't help thinking of BigBazaar as a wannabe Walmart, except that Indians are not Americans and BigBazaar is looking at metropolitan India instead of small town India. Is there scope? Debatable!
posted by Zingy at 6:15 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home