Abstract

This case discusses the entrepreneurial skills and visionary leadership of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. It examines his contribution in accelerating the growth of retailing industry. It explains how Walton transformed Wal-Mart, a start-up in the 1950s, into a multi-billion dollar global retailing industry giant. The case details the beliefs, philosophies and value system of Walton. The case examines the best practices initiated by Walton for Wal-Mart in providing excellent customer service, pricing its products and managing human resources. Finally, the case examines Walton’s management style and discusses the growth of Wal-Mart till mid-2003.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Role of an entrepreneur in transforming a retailing start-up into a global leader.

Keywords

Entrepreneurial, skills, visionary, leadership, Sam Walton, Wal-Mart, accelerating, growth, retailing industry, 1950,multi-billion, dollar, global, beliefs, philosophies, value system, best practices, service, pricing, human resources, management style, 2003