value drivers as it pertains to Customer

Service. Not all eight-value drivers pertain to or are affected by the customer service force and therefore, the paper will only discuss where the value drivers are applicable to customer

Service. The value drivers are as follows:

External Cultural Values

Organizational Cultural Values

Individual Employee Values

Customer Values

Supplier

Third – party Value

Owner Values

Competitor Values

The paper will also discuss the recent labor issues Wal-Mart was facing and the paper will apply and explain where applicable any or all of the eight value drivers.

The external cultural values and their consideration is really important for the authorities of the Wal-Mart to consider because these issues are directly related to the customer services, if the organization wants to maintain a healthy relationship with the customers then they have to consider these cultural values. The external cultural values helps the organizational authorities to understand the various aspects of the other cultures and the authorities can keep in view the relative demands of the customers who belong to different cultures and after implementing the strategies of external cultural values the organization would better understand the customer and their demands and will try to fulfill their requirements.

“Review of the organizational culture literature makes it clear that (1) culture is essential for both successful organizational change and maximizing the value of human capital (2) culture management should become a critical management competency, and (3) while the right culture may be a necessary condition for organizational success, it is by no means a sufficient condition. An important challenge for managers is to determine what the most effective culture is for their organization and, when necessary, how to change the organizational culture effectively.”

http://www.google.com./search?q=cache:ACZSaW4ptU8J:www.sc.doe.gov/sc-5/benchmark/Ch%252011%2520Organizational%2520Culture%252006.08.02.pdf+Organizational+Cultural+Values& hl=en

Organizational culture and its relative understanding is essential in order to maintain an effective working climate in the organization. The understanding of such culture will help the organizational authorities to provide useful resources for the employees. The maintenance of a successful climate in organization will increase the productivity of the organization and the customers will be provided with the best of services.

Individual employ values and the consideration of these values are also necessary in order to provide effective services to the customers. If the employees will be looked after and nurtured by their employers then they will give their hundred percent results and will try to fulfill the customer’s needs and demands.

“The customers of the 21st century will continue to present a vast array of challenges and opportunities. However, these challenges and opportunities are unlikely to be as apparent and as stationary as in the past. Understanding the customers of the future will definitely require hitting a moving target!”

http://www.salesvantage.com/news/service/changing_values.shtml

Customers’ values are one of the most important and essential drivers as far as customer services are concerned. After understanding the importance and value of customers, the organizational authorities would try to include effective methodologies and strategies in order to fulfill the relative demands and needs of the modern customers.

Suppliers are also considered as an important part of the customer services, these suppliers helps the organizational authorities to supply them with suitable products and materials which are in accordance with the demands and wishes of the customers.

Third-party value is also included in the eight value drive forces. Although the third party value is not as effective as the other value drivers yet it is equally important because if the customers demands and wishes would not be fulfilled by the organizations then the third parties could be involved in resolving the matters between the two and the organization can know the views and ideas of the customers.

Owner values are also effective for providing best services to the customers because the owners are the ultimate authorities and they are interested in generation of more and more profits. The organizational authorities and the managers consider this factor and try to fulfill the expectations of the owners by concentrating on the demands and wishes of the ultimate consumers.

Last but not the least Competitor values, the consideration of these values is also necessary in order to keep up pace with the modern day business requirements. Competitors and their relative status help the organizational authorities to meet the requirements of the customers and to reach at the top level.

A recent labor issue of Wal-Mart was striking news for the business industry. After understanding and analyzing the relative definitions of the eight values it can be said that all of these eight value drivers are applicable while discussing the labor issues. Although some of more importance while some are of less importance but all of them are applicable in the labor issues which the Wal-Mart faced few months back. It has been noted and observed that the organizational authorities will have to keep into consideration all these relative values for providing best customer services and to maintain a peaceful business and work environment otherwise labor and other issues would evolve one after the other if proper consideration would not be given to these values. “The world’s largest retailer, at $245 billion in annual revenue, has seen sales growth slow over the past year. Its stock price, which skyrocketed in the 1990s, has stalled; it was 2003’s sixth worst performer among the Dow Jones industrials.

“Wal-Mart has reached an inflection point. With a company of this size, it’s tough to calculate where it’s headed from here,” said Mark Mandel, Blaylock & Partner analyst. Labor is a thorny issue. It’s alleged in lawsuits that Wal-Mart underpaid workers and used cleaning contractors it knew hired illegal immigrants” http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/08/news/companies/walmart/?cnn=yes

REFERENCES:

As retrieved from Chapter 11 Organizational Culture http://www.google.com./search?q=cache:ACZSaW4ptU8J:www.sc.doe.gov/sc-5/benchmark/Ch%252011%2520Organizational%2520Culture%252006.08.02.pdf+Organizational+Cultural+Values& hl=en On May 21,2004

As retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/08/news/companies/walmart/?cnn=yes

On May 21,2004

As retrieved from Changing Customer Values by Steven Howard

http://www.salesvantage.com/news/service/changing_values.shtml On May 21,2004