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This structured assignment is to accompany the case ''408-044-1''. The abstract of the case is as follows: Costco Wholesale Corporation, the seventh largest global retailer (as of 2007), stands out in the crowd as an exceptional retailer, which adopts distinctive employee welfare strategies. The company develops programmes and employee benefits that motivate its employees and strives to create an environment that fosters employee loyalty. While offering excellent employees benefits is not viewed very favourably by the investment community, Costco''s CEO, Jim Sinegal, firmly believes that keeping employees satisfied and loyal will result in profitability for the organisation in the long-run. This is in stark contrast to the human resources (HR) policies followed by Wal-Mart, the world''s largest retailer and analysts doubt if Costco''s HR policies will actually pay-off. The case while enumerating the various employee strategies followed by Costco, allows for discussion on whether in the prevailing competitive retailing scenario, a successful retailer has to focus on creating stakeholder value or shareholder value.