Research Paper

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On July 2, 1962, the first Wal-Mart store opened in Arkansas, and over the next 50 years, Wal-Mart became a retail giant. Holding the title of the world’s largest employer, only comparable to the United States Department of Defense and Chinas Army, Wal-Mart employs over 2.1 million people. Sam Walton’s philosophy was low prices. Instead of offering good sales every once in a while, Walton offered an “always lower price” than competitors on things that ordinary people use every day. This philosophy continues to attract more than 140 million shoppers per week. This staggering amount of shoppers helped produce a revenue of $443billion for fiscal year 2012 alone (Matthews, 2012). With more than 6,000 stores in 14 countries, Wal-Mart produces remarkable revenue each year (Hesterly, 2010). With literally billions pouring into the company, one must assess how the money is controlled and if its accounted for by the best contemporary management techniques on the market. While Wal-Mart thrives on the use of benchmarketing and lean accounting, the Theory of Constraints paired with lean accounting could produce staggering results for Wal-Mart in terms of financial management. Lean accounting techniques are designed to give a clear picture of a company’s financial performance after the adaptation of the lean manufacturing process. Lean accounting techniques may organize cost by value systems, by changing financial reports to include non-financial information, and by changing inventory techniques. Lean manufacturing encompasses benchmarketing in that it focuses on the values of the customers and meeting the needs of the customers while producing a profit for the company. Wal-Mart has embodied the five steps of lean accounting (thinking). These... ... middle of paper ... ...e River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Maskell, B. (n.d.). What is lean accounting? Retrieved June 21, 2014, from http://www.pcb.org.za/upload/files/what-is-lean-accounting-maskell.pdf Moore, R., & Scheinkopf, L. (1998, January 1). Theory of Constraints and Lean Manufacturing: Friends or Foes?. . Retrieved June 14, 2014, from http://www.tocca.com.au/uploaded/documents/lean%20and%20toc.pdf Preez, D., & Louw, L. (2004, January 1). A Roadmap Approach For Implementing Theory of Constraints In Manufacturing Organisations . . Retrieved June 29, 2014, from http://www.indutech.co.za/attachments/134_A%20Roadmap%20Approach%20For%20Implementing%20Theory%20of%20Constraints%20in%20Manufacturing%20Organisations.pdf Project Life Cycles. (2013, January 1). Project Life Cycles. Retrieved June 29, 2014, from http://www.successfulprojects.com/PMTopics/ProjectLifeCycles/tabid/113/Default.aspx

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