I am back!

I am at HEC Montreal right now, in the intensive MBA program. It is an experience. I'm planning/hoping to update my blog about my experience in the program.
So far, it is a learning experience. We started in August, and we have 6 week periods, at the end of which we have 3 days of finals! We are in the middle of our second period now and working on various projects.
The one I'm trying to focus on right now is a case on Eli Lilly. I cant provide too much information about it, but we're learning about their organizational structure, corporate culture and management styles. They have changed their structure in the 90s and now follow a structure based on the matrix organization and cross-functional teams...

The major complaint I have about being in the program is that we dont have the time to be able to keep up with current events, and business news. I can probably use this time on my blog to try to do that.

Walmart has been in the news recently, receiving alot of criticism about their workforce and human resources practices. They've recorded a 17% decrease in their stock price (WMT) since last year, mainly due to losing customers to competitors (i.e. Target) and increasing gas prices that took a toll on their contribution margin. If they dont change their policy on how they treat their workers, diversity in the workplace and environmental practices they are going to continue on their decline.
To improve and maintain their reputation they need to stop viewing their employees as a way of making profits, and begin seeing them as their most valuable assets with a high ROI potential. If they dont keep their employees happy, Walmart will stop growing and start shrinking. They need to improve their health-care coverage for their employees, rather than trying to decrease their own cost and give their minimum-wage employees a $1000 deductible.