The difference between the two companies lies in what each company truly values. Walmart adopted a Taylorist mindset treating its employees as statistics, as a column of Average Joes who can easily be replaced. Costco makes a meaningful attempt to understand the jaggedness of its employees, recognizing the importance of matching employees to the specific contexts in which they thrive, and empowering employees to pursue their unique pathways. Costco is a place where a part-time worker can become a vice-president, and an accounting assistant can become one of the most powerful wine buyers on the
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