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Comparison between two retail companies picked are Walmart and Costco

The two retail companies picked are Walmart and Costco whose 2017 Financial statement links are provided below: WALMART https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ wmt/financials?query=income- statement COSTCO https://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/ cost/financials?query=income- statement Both organizations are well known brands and position themselves well with their customer base. Walmart’s value proposition is “We save people money so they can live better”. On the other hand, Costco’s value proposition is “All-in-one convenience and everyday affordability”. Both retailers focus on cost saving for their customers. Looking at their financial statements and by analyzing them a few key areas are evident when comparing the two organization. Looking at the current ratio and quick ratio we can determine the short-term solvency of each organization. The current ratio can be determined by dividing the assets by the liabilities. Walmart’s current ratio sits at 0.86 while Costco’s sits at 0.99. The quick ratio is c
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Importance of Flexibility at work

One of the trends that definitely stand out is flexibility. Flexibly within working hours, working areas (virtual offices) and also flexibility within the leadership styles. I think it is important to understand that people evolve, and this means that leadership should evolve along with them. With the growth in technology people are also becoming a lot more independent within their work environment and find new ways in doing certain tasks. Leadership should be able to understand how these new innovations emerged and should not try to micro-manage where it really isn’t needed.
Within leadership a great amount of effort should be placed on building people. What I mean with this statement is that skills can be taught and developed but people need to be understood. A good leader would be able to help employees develop more skills and have them invest within the business. I found that the better employees actually understand themselves as well as the others around them they become more well-rounded and would work more efficiently.
Another major aspect that came to light in my recent studies is the fact that people are busy, in general. Looking at the average household both partners needs a job to live a relatively comfortable life, this means that most employees have a very unbalanced work to family life ratio and this could be a problem. People become unmotivated, overworked and overwhelmed if their “relax” time is not taken care of. I think that a good leader would ensure that this does not happen. I know employers want employees who does not want to take leave but sometimes forcing them to take a bit of time off would be good for you and for them. I think it is critical for the new generation of leaders to ensure the well-being of the employee to ultimately ensure the well-being of the company. Employees are the heart and soul of any business and when they are happy then business will be “happy”.
My current CEO takes none of these trends or aspects into account and this demotivates the employees and can be seen in the effectiveness of work being done as well as the quality of work becoming poor. When I was appointed as programme coordinator it was very difficult to please the CEO as my leadership clashes with hers. I managed my teams as the professionals they are and tried to build them into the best version of what they can be. I wanted them to be self-sufficient instead of having to rely on me or anyone else to tell them what to do and how, so that they can continue with their work on their own. They flourished with this method, however the CEO did not like it and I got a lot of heat from her, she made me redo a lot of the work the team already did and when I didn’t ask them to redo it as nothing was wrong to start with she asked them directly instead of asking through me. This confused the team as to who to listen to but obviously they tend to listen to the CEO as she pays their salaries. At the end of the day the things the CEO wanted redone was done wrong and had to be changed again, she gave wrong orders and incorrect directions to my team making more of a mess in my programme than anything else that I, along with my team, are struggling to rectify now. The consensus is that we basically ignore her and continue with the strategy we started a few months ago but this is not easy with her micromanaging us all. I learned a lot from what not to be from her.


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