Business and Society: Employer of Choice Walmart and Google

Employer of Choice; Walmart and Google
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An employer of choice (EOC) can be defined as a firm with employment policies and human resource management practices that give it a competitive edge over its competitors when it comes to recruiting and retaining talents. Being an employer of choice enable a firm to acquire skilled workers, optimize productivity and increase profitability. Employee exit interviews reveal that compensation plays a significant role in employee satisfaction. It is imperative that employers tie their interests to that of employees by increasing compensation while staking more of it to performance. Two of the world's leading companies' exhibit different employer of choice practices and policy. While one is believed to be profitable and sustainable, the other is considered to practice policies that violate workers’ rights and at the same time create poor working conditions. Google as a company is known to provide a unique working environment with plenty of benefits while Wal-Mart is associated with poor working conditions and wage violation. How do the two companies compare regarding EOC practices, are they sustainable and what can they learn from each other concerning EOC?
Wal-Mart and Google occupy position one and two respectively as the world’s most profitable companies with regards to revenue (Persons, 2015). Google employees work hard and also have plenty of fun at the same time. In fact, Google headquarters in Mountain View California has been labeled a campus where ingenuity and invention are celebrated. Google creates an informal and value added environment through its corporate culture. Lashinky, (as cited in Kuntze, & Matulich, 2010) argue that the workplace is full of individuality with no formal dress code, or formal meetings. The lifestyle created at Google that resembles that of a campus breeds innovative creativity over competition. The Google mantra is to use creativity, teamwork and connection to change the world and the staff are delighted to be part of Google and are pleased to work as part of a team that is bettering the world.
Through the program Employee Resource Group (ERG), Google has been able to gain valuable feedback on its Human resource policies. The program presents staff at Google with valuable opportunity to grow personally and professionally (Lowe, 2009). Google achieve such milestones by offering its employees a full range of benefits include; free food, the company, offers food all the headquarter restaurants, campuses, and satellite offices. It also provides one hundred percent health care coverage, onsite child care, free Wi-Fi enabled transport as well as laundry and dry cleaning s...