Cultural Comparsion: Target vs Wal-Mart
- Submitted by: primozicsb14
- Views: 2601
- Category: Other
- Date Submitted: 03/29/2010 11:19 AM
- Pages: 15
- Report this Essay
Cultural Comparison: Wal-Mart versus Target
11/12/09
Introduction:
Department stores had their origination around the same time. Around the turn of the twentieth century, department stores started appearing in New York and other major cities. They existed in similar ways for the next sixty years. But around the 1960s, a new concept of department store came about. This was the idea of discount retail. In 1962, Wal-Mart opened its first store, and Target, a division of the Dayton Company, opened their first discount store soon after. Their stores varied greatly, and even though they fall under the same “type” of store, their differences couldn’t be greater. Target designed their stores to give people “fashion and style at a better price” whereas Wal-Mart’s goal is to save people money (http://site.target.com). The differences continue from there.
Organizational Profiles:
Wal-Mart:
Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. They opened their first store in Rogers, Arkansas. From there, they expanded rapidly, opening stores quickly around the country. They now operate worldwide, under 14 different names, including the Sam’s Club chain, and Super Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart’s main type of store at this time. They continue to expand regularly and internationally, and currently employ 2.1 million people worldwide. When reviewing Wal-Mart’s corporate website, www.walmartstores.com, one can see that they still hold dear to the traditions started by Sam Walton over forty years ago. Many of the ideals that will soon be discussed are things or sayings that were done by Sam Walton when he started his first Wal-Mart store. Wal-Mart continues to apply the same principles in their stores around the world.
Wal-Mart’s mission statement is “Saving people money so they can live better”. This goal is carried out in many ways in their stores and effectively describes their purpose. They mean multiple things when they make this statement. First of all, their goal is to...
11/12/09
Introduction:
Department stores had their origination around the same time. Around the turn of the twentieth century, department stores started appearing in New York and other major cities. They existed in similar ways for the next sixty years. But around the 1960s, a new concept of department store came about. This was the idea of discount retail. In 1962, Wal-Mart opened its first store, and Target, a division of the Dayton Company, opened their first discount store soon after. Their stores varied greatly, and even though they fall under the same “type” of store, their differences couldn’t be greater. Target designed their stores to give people “fashion and style at a better price” whereas Wal-Mart’s goal is to save people money (http://site.target.com). The differences continue from there.
Organizational Profiles:
Wal-Mart:
Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. They opened their first store in Rogers, Arkansas. From there, they expanded rapidly, opening stores quickly around the country. They now operate worldwide, under 14 different names, including the Sam’s Club chain, and Super Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart’s main type of store at this time. They continue to expand regularly and internationally, and currently employ 2.1 million people worldwide. When reviewing Wal-Mart’s corporate website, www.walmartstores.com, one can see that they still hold dear to the traditions started by Sam Walton over forty years ago. Many of the ideals that will soon be discussed are things or sayings that were done by Sam Walton when he started his first Wal-Mart store. Wal-Mart continues to apply the same principles in their stores around the world.
Wal-Mart’s mission statement is “Saving people money so they can live better”. This goal is carried out in many ways in their stores and effectively describes their purpose. They mean multiple things when they make this statement. First of all, their goal is to...