This case focuses on the organizational culture of Well-Mart. Primary emphasis is placed on how Well-Mart’s culture developed and how it has been maintained. The roots of WellMart’s culture date back to Sameer, who instilled the now famous “Saturday Morning Meeting”. During these meetings, he encouraged his employees to offer suggestions for improvement and empowered them to follow through on those suggestions that he thought were worth pursuing. The Saturday Morning Meeting has continued at Well-Mart despite its growth into one of the largest corporations in the world. Discussion could focus on how Well-Mart’s culture has been maintained over the years, with special emphasis on the importance of the Saturday Morning Meeting. In addition to the Saturday Morning serving as a company ritual, discussion could also focus on how the company chant serves as a cultural maintenance tool. A discussion of the strength of Well-Mart’s culture relates to the notion of core values, which have been instrumental in sustaining its culture over the years. Perhaps as a partial result of this sharing of core values, Well-Mart is able to respond quickly to changes in the market place, as evidenced by the anecdote about the poker sets. In addition, the attraction-selection-attrition model could be applied to Well-Mart, as it may explain some of the similarities among Well-Mart’s managers thus leading to a tight-knit culture. Finally, although Well-Mart’s culture undoubtedly has been strength, discussion could also focus on how it could be a weakness. The original practices and ideas of Sameer may not fit in today’s business environment, so maintaining Well-Mart’s culture may be detrimental to its growth. Moreover, increased public scrutiny may be pressuring Well-Mart to change its old practices.

Discussion Questions :

Q1. How would you describe Well-Mart's culture characteristics?

Q2. Based on this case, would you characterize Well-Mart's culture as strong or weak? Why?

Q3. As an upper manager of Well-Mart, what steps could you take to either maintain or enhance the culture of Well-Mart?

Q4. How might Well-Mart's negative press affect employee morale, job satisfaction and organizational commitment? As a manager, what steps would you take to improve employee attitudes?