Facilitating Change
Amy Hanley
ORG/581
August 11, 2014

Facilitating Change As an organization grows, it is important to assess its structure and design. This is especially important as a company expands internationally, as workplace culture varies from country to country and these nuances can determine the success of the organization. This is includes considering the current structure and allocation of resources, identifying any potential challenges transitioning into a new environment, and then determining solutions to meet the needs of the organization within the confines of its new culture. As Walmart expands its operations into China, it is critical that leadership identifies organizational changes needed before establishing operations in that country.
Current Structure and Organizational Design Walmart’s current organizational structure has the business broken into three segments- U.S., international, and Sam’s Club- all under the Walmart Stores, Incorporated umbrella. Each division has its own leadership team whose President is accountable to the President of Walmart Stores. Each division runs as its own independent business, giving them more flexibility to make decisions to directly impact the business within their division. Additionally, each division maintains its own real estate, human resources, marketing, and procurement/distribution departments. Overarching leadership across the three divisions include the Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and several other senior executive positions (Walmart, n.d.). At the store level, there are also several levels of management starting with the store or general manager. This manager has several assistant managers who oversee support and department managers. The department managers have assigned departments throughout the store that they manage as a “store within a store”, controlling