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Auditing a Website for Culture Diversity

Introduction

Diversity, in modern times, is at the core of business aspirations and every organization is striving to portray or market itself as such. They want to be understood by clients and potential clients as acknowledging, comprehending, accepting, as well as valuing differences in global communities with respect to ethnicity, gender, race, and disabilities among other factors. Businesses need to embrace the ideal of diversity including establishing guidelines as well as policies about diversity in their workplaces. In fact, globalization all around the planet necessitates increased interaction among persons from diverse backgrounds. These persons may be existing and potential clients, suppliers, employees, and other stakeholders that keep the organization running and remain profitable. Diversity has been linked to many benefits including increased productivity, reduced litigations, increased marketing possibilities, creativity, as well as business image.  

The modern business environment is increasingly competitive and organizations are consistently looking to have a competitive edge over others and thus remain profitable. Yet, virtually all businesses have turned to the Internet in an attempt to reach their clients located all over the world. In fact, Websites have emerged as the most important platforms to contact and communicate with stakeholders despite their location. Stakeholders often turn to business web pages to get information about various matters of interest. Without a doubt, the stakeholders are drawn from virtually all social backgrounds in terms of age, ethnicity, gender, race, ands sexual orientation. This increases the need for an organization to show their commitment towards the diverse groups and make them feel part of the business. In fact, the website design and content ought to evidence this as businesses operate in a multicultural environment. This includes communicating policies that reaffirm the business commitment towards the diverse groups.

This report attempts to audit Wal-Mart’s website (Walmart.com) for cultural diversity.

About the Organization

Wal-Mart is globally renowned as a leading retail company. It started as a relatively small establishment that had just a single discount store as well as the idea to sell more for less, but has grown to emerge as a global company. In fact, the company has approximately 250 million clients that visit thousands of stores situated in over 28 nations across the world. This includes clients from all backgrounds that visit the firm’s e-commerce websites. The company’s undisputed global position is mirrored in mammoth revenue with 2016 reporting approximately $482 billion (Wal-Mart, 2016). What is more, the firm employs approximately 2 million workers with about half of them employed in the United States alone. Altogether, the firm is a pacesetter in retail industry and has been credited with transforming retail business and taking it to an entire different level.

Accessibility of Diversity-related Material on Web site

            Notwithstanding Wal-Mart’s position as a premier in the retail industry, the firm’s website is seemingly lacking as far as diversity related materials are concerned. In fact, visitors to the website can hardly identify diversity-related material and rather one finds the website loaded with information about products. Visitors to the site needing to find diversity-related material have to dig deeper than expected to find such information. This implies that the website/homepage does not have a direct link to enable visitors access diversity related material. The lack of direct links on the company’s webpage is further compounded by the failure to yield desired outcomes when visitors enter the word “diversity” in the search box. In fact, it almost seems that the homepage does not have any information about diversity because an attempt to search diversity- related material returns unrelated outcomes.

            Diversity-related material on the website is quite concealed and visitors might easily fail to notice it. For instance, information about a program intended to support women empowerment is concealed under global responsibility section, which is hidden under corporate menu (Wal-Mart, 2016). Yet, Wal-Mart seems quite committed to ensuring diversity and diverse information about the matter can be found by exploring on your own (Wal-Mart, 2015). Indeed, simple search engines generate adequate information about when one uses the keywords Wal-Mart and Diversity. As an example, exploring on your own using search engines generate company affiliated information about diversity including supplier diversity and women involvement.

Usefulness of Diversity Information to Stakeholders

Wal-Mart’s diversity information available is quite useful to different stakeholders.

Suppliers

To begin with, diversity related material about supplier diversity is specifically important to both current and future suppliers. More so, such information helps to market the organization among potential suppliers as sensitive to the issue of diversity as well as inclusion. This is crucial to ensuring equity as suppliers are given reassurance that no one will be discriminated against based on color, origin, location, ethnicity, as well as language. The implication is that suppliers feel that diversity is a key characteristic when every decision is made as the firm strives to embrace diversity in various aspects of the business.

Employees

In addition, such information is useful to potential employees because it resonates with core values of the organization with respect to discrimination. In essence, the information is useful as it is intended to remind potential employees as well as suppliers that the firm remains committed to ensuring equity. In particular, the diversity-related information informs the potential employees that irrespective of their ethnic and or cultural backgrounds, Wal-Mart is seeking to attract the best talent from across the divide (Phalguni, 2015). It can be said that the information about diversity is significant as it looks to spur on potential employees from different backgrounds to look out for positions within the firm and assist the organization in realizing diversity.

Clients

As well, the diversity information is significant because it helps the millions of clients to associate with the firm. In fact, such information is crucial to making potential clients feel that they are represented in the organization and thus should become part of it. Without a doubt, the diversity information relates to the organization’s business case for core values, diversity, as well as mission. More so, the diversity information reiterates the firm’s desire to have a diverse workforce mirroring the face of modern communities of the world. This is reflected in diversity information such as women employment or empowerment, which can be understood to translate to core values of diversity (Wal-Mart, 2016). In essence, the organization is determined to ensure minority groups from the society are provided with a structure to help them gain employment. Diversity has remained at the core of business culture from the time Wal-Mart opened its stores, and it has contributed to modern-day success. 

The diversity-related material seems relatively up to date as evidenced by the fact that it is often linked to the firm’s corporate social responsibility (Wal-Mart, 2016). As an example, women empowerment programs as part of the diversity material is strategically placed under global responsibility, which implies that it is not only current but also that the organization realizes the need to include marginalized groups as part of its responsibility to the global community. In fact, it can be understood to mean that the organization views itself as a global firm and thus it carries an undeniable responsibility to ensure it has a global face in terms ethnic aand cultural composition.

Appropriateness of Photographs and Graphic Material to Diversity

The photographs and graphic material relating to diversity on Wal-Mart’s website is ample to say the least. In fact, across the different Web Pages, the firm seems determined to include photographs and graphic material that shows diversity. More so, the photographs and graphic material often have persons from diverse ethnicities including Black, White, and Asian backgrounds. The diversity and inclusion page under global responsibility tab on Wal-Mart website depicts photographs and graphic material that have persons of color. Though it fails to link the material to verbal content, it is beyond doubt that the organization is attempting to provide photographs and graphic material that is representative of the society in terms of racial and ethnic backgrounds. The photographs and graphic material is hardly reused throughout the website. It can be said that the organization does an impressive work as far as photographs and graphic material relating to diversity is concerned. The photographs and graphic material seems to depict persons drawn from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, which are crucial to helping the firm maintain a global face even as it attempts to make its online presence felt.

Perspectives to Diversity

As a Potential Employee

 One would get the perception that the organization’s commitment to diversity is solid and he or she would probably seek employment in the organization. In fact, the company’s website seems to be considerably conscious about ensuring diversity even though, admittedly, such information is not easily made available. This is evidenced by the fact that the company’s webpage has exclusive information about the need to oversee diversity in all key functions and processes driving the firm forward (Jayne and Dipboye, 2004). As an example, the organization’s website contains diversity –related information about women. This includes the company having a diversity- related program specifically designed to ensure women are included in organization and community matters. It must be pointed out that such information is encouraging to potential employees because it implies that Wal-Mart is aware and acknowledges the imperative need for a diverse employee. In essence, it tells potential employees that they cannot be discriminated against based on such characteristics as gender and ethnic background.

As a Potential Client

One would feel that Wal-Mart is a global company. Indeed, one would feel that all communities of the world make up the firm’s client base and they are represented in the day to day running. This is evidenced by the organization’s dedication towards diversity as reflected through the photographs as well as graphic material. The depiction of persons from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds also implies that the organization has clients from virtually all over the world, and thus potential clients should never shy away from becoming part of this family. Altogether, a potential client would feel welcomed to join in the global client base.

As a Potential Supplier

In this case, the supplier’s perceptions would be that the organization is determined to oversee diversity and no one should be discriminated against based on ethnic and cultural factors. In fact, the fact that this organization has a supplier program specifically meant to ensure diversity would make me long to be part of the organization. It seems that the firm is highly considerate to provide equal footing for all the marginalized persons to enable them in their supply network. This would instil any potential supplier with much-needed confidence that they cannot be discriminated against because of their race, location, or culture. Rather, potential suppliers from diverse ethno- cultural background are provided with a channel to enable them to beat off competition and become part of the organization.

Looking at the website, it is beyond doubt that it increasingly encourages diverse workers to apply for available jobs. This is because the webpage is structured to portray the organization as a global firm in which every person is part of irrespective or race, ethnic, gender, or cultural dimensions. For instance, the inclusion of photographs and graphic material throughout the website depicting persons from diverse backgrounds encourages persons to want to be part of it as stakeholders (clients, employees, suppliers).

Internal Management Issues

One of the internal management issues likely to influence the prominence that diversity receives on a webpage involves policies that fall just short. Indeed, poorly designed policies that fail to identify and or recognize the need to front a global image on a company’s website will almost likely lead mean that diversity receives least prominence. After all, policies that do not give diversity proper recognition likely view it to be of low concern. The other issue likely to influence the prominence that diversity receives on a webpage is management that has failed to create an inclusive culture (Erbe, 2014). Indeed, management itself has to be of the view that an inclusive culture is crucial to organizational culture and seek to pursue diversity management as a core agenda.  Failure by the management to recognize that diversity management is crucial part of their management functions would almost certainly lead to decreased prominence on a webpage because of the perception that it is relatively low significance (Barta et al, 2012).

Diversity Awards Listed on the Website

The organization’s website seems to lack any information regarding diversity awards.

Minority Application to Company

One would have the perception that Wal-Mart has diverse stakeholders drawn from virtually all ethnic, race, gender, as well as cultural backgrounds. More so, the website paints a picture of an increasingly culturally pluralist workplace in which persons from across the divide are welcome. In fact, the workplace seems to already have diversity as a definitive characteristic and every job seeker should expect that she or he would most likely encounter another individual whom they share culturally. This includes the perception that a new entrant to the firm’s workforce will not be picked on based on such dimensions as race, age, gender, religion, as well as first language.

Potential employees from minority groups would still apply for the job especially seeing that the environment is welcoming and there is increased chance of getting the advertised job. More so, for a woman, the women empowerment program by the organization would come in handy towards raising my chances of being hired (Wal-Mart, 2016). Overall, one would still apply for the job because the environment seems inclusive and all persons are made to feel that they belong regardless of gender, ethnic background, and education.

Conclusion

            In sum, Wal-Mart’s website mirrors the values as well as beliefs that the firm hold dear. In fact, it seems that the webpage is increasingly designed to sell the organization as conscious about diversity matters. Information contained on the website seems to be meant to tell visitors that the retail giant is a place for every individual irrespective of her or his ethnic, race, education, sexual orientation, or origin. The webpage is selling the firm as having managed the feat of creating an inclusive culture as evidenced via the information detailing commitments towards diversity as well as photographs and graphic materials. In essence, potential stakeholders from all backgrounds are encouraged to become part of the organization in some capacity including taking position as employees, clients, as well as suppliers. The implication is that visitors to the webpage are given the impression of a caring firm, which values and is ready to welcome contribution from virtually every person. This serves to spur on potential stakeholders to join in, and perhaps explains the reason behind the firm’s success even after venturing into fresh markets around the world. In particular, the firm seems to have utilized diversity as a core element towards success meaning that it has encountered relatively less resistance stemming out of lack of diversity and inclusion. Perhaps, the organization’s webpage could do with an elaborate section detailing diversity awards list. Altogether, the website makes almost every person feel not only welcomed but also already part of the organization. Any individual seeking employment, thus, should feel secure that they will not be considered based on socio- cultural dimensions such as race, geographic location, gender, age, military/work experience, education, and religion.