Sunday, May 08, 2011

Change the Measuring Stick

Walmart has not been doing that great for the past year or two. Yet, that has not stopped them from making sure the executives continue to make good money. Historically, one of the major components of the company's bonus plan has been same store sales, which has long been considered the basic measure for retail companies. However, Walmart has changed its mind as to the utility of same store sales and has shifted to total company sales as a standard for measuring the performance of its executives. One wonders whether the standard was changed because same store sales have been down for almost two years, while overall revenue has been up because of new stores.

Changes in the measuring stick have also been made in the time period being evaluated. Walmart used to use three years, now it's annually. Do you think the executives are worried about the company's future and want to get as much money as they can now?

At the same time the executives ares sweetening their pot, they are screwing the employees. They have ended the profit-sharing plan that had been in place for years.

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