...Aubrey Weekes Cross Cultural Perspectives The Walmart Corporation is a large, major, and successful retailer in the United States. Walmart’s attempt at branching out in countries such as China, Mexico, Brazil, and Germany has failed. Globally Walmart is not performing well; they have had difficulties in these countries. Their global revenues, “grew by a mere 1% in 2013, and its revenue per square feet declined by 4.2%” (Team, 2014). The China market does not add much to Walmart’s profits, but it is important to Walmart in regards to enduring perspective. Mexico is a principle global site, but there are many problems there also. In Germany, Walmart failed basically because they thought they could implement American standards in the stores. Walmart is handling these issues, and solving them would be their main concern (Team, 2014). Walmart Culture Issues Hong Kong, Indonesia, and South Korea are failures for Walmart, mainly due to not adhering to the cultures of these countries, and abiding a code of ethics. A couple of obstacles are food and products were placed on shelves, not in line with the country, and stores were constructed a long distance from the cities making it difficult for people to reach them. Foreign people many of them walk to stores or take public transportation. American people will travel to buy food stocking up for a month or more. Buying in bulk is a major issue in Walmart. Foreign people either walk or take public transportation...
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...ADMN 404: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Assignment 1: Best Buy Brooke Martin Date: Executive Summary (5%) Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology, electronic and entertainment products and services, with locations in the US, Canada, Mexico, China and Europe. Best Buy operates roughly 4,000 stores in Canada, US, Mexico, China and Turkey, and they represent about 19% of the market. Best Buy as a company has expanded from what was a small retail operation to include many subsidiaries including Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales and Future Shop. Best Buy needs to be aware of their competition not only in terms of other large retail electronic stores, but their competition now also includes such big box stores as Walmart and on-line retailers such as Amazon.com. Best Buy has a few major challenges that they must be aware of, and continue to improve upon. Firstly, with the downturn of the economy and the consumer cut backs on spending, they must deal with consumers spending less on the products that Best Buy offers. They must focus on differentiating themselves from both physical and online retailers. This is where their customer commitment is vital to their success. Secondly, Best Buy must continue to place a large focus on their customer service, and the knowledge of their staff. Even if customers aren’t buying new products, they continue to have previously purchased products that will need to be serviced. Best Buy needs to offer a unique “shopping...
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...International and Sam’s Club. Internationally, the company has operations in Brazil, Central America, Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, India, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the UK. The company is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the US. The company's strategy is to offers its customers a broad assortment of products with even lower prices. It also aims to grow its global eCommerce business. SWOT Analysis - Overview Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - Strengths Strength - Employee Friendly System Strength - Marketing Activities Strength - Robust Store and Distribution Network Strength - Diversified Product and Brand Portfolio Strength - Strong Market Position Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - Weaknesses Weakness - Legal Controversies Weakness - Product Recalls Weakness - Declining Profitability Ratios Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - Opportunities Opportunity - Increasing Demand for Private Label Products Opportunity - Strategic Expansion Opportunity - Conversion of Discount Stores into Supercenters Opportunity - Expansion through Acquisitions Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. - Threats Threat - Risks Associated With Suppliers Threat - Intense Competition Threat - Changes in Labor Laws and Other Issues http://andrewfanno.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/walmart-part-3-internal-analysis/ Strengths: -Cost advantage over rivals Information technology Walmart has a core competence involving its use...
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...1-Wal-Mart history and Introduction The first Wal-Mart was opened in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. By 1969 it was incorporated into Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and in 1972 went public on the New York Stock Exchange. The company grew steadily across the United States, and by 1990 was the nation's largest retailer. In 1991 and 1994, Wal-Mart moved into Mexico and Canada respectively. By 1997 it was incorporated into the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As of 2005, Wal-Mart has stores in the United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico, and brings in revenue of close to 300 billion dollars a year. In 2006, Wal-Mart invaded the China and India's markets. During the last two decades, Wal-Mart has been able to take advantage of the rise of information technology and the explosion of the global economy to change the balance of power in the business world (Wikipedia, 2006). Today Wal-Mart continues to grow and their success is not only from their sound strategic management planning but also from its implementation of those strategic plans. In other words operational planning has been an important key to their success. 2-Wal-Mart Strategy Once plans have been developed, an organization must address how management will be accomplishing be those plans. This involves operational plans that must flow from strategy; specify resource, time issues, and commitment of human resources. Operational plans at the lower - levels of the organization, have a shorter time horizon, and are narrower in scope (Bateman...
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...that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies incur. The list includes publicly and privately held companies for which revenues are publicly available. The first Fortune 500 list was published in 1955. 1) Walmart, is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's third largest public corporation, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2012, the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and is the largest retailer in the world. Walmart remains a family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family, who own a 48 percent stake in Walmart. It is also one of the world's most valuable companies. Headquarters: Bentonville, Ark. Revenue: $469.2 billion Profit: $16.9 billion 2013 rank: 1 Wal-Mart and ExxonMobil have traded the top spot back and forth several times, but the world’s largest retailer comes out on top this time despite a year rife with controversy: It faces accusation that its Mexican subsidiary bribed government officials in order to expand locations there, and the probe has since expanded to Brazil, India, and China. Nevertheless, the retailer operates a multinational empire, with 10,800 stores operating in 26 nations besides the US, and employing some 2.2 million employers, making...
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... | | | | | The evolution of the largest retailer in the world, Walmart, has involved both success and controversy. It is a source of cost-savings for millions around the world, but it also seen as responsible for the destruction of its neighboring communities. In its forty year history, the company has dealt with allegations of discrimination, harassment and poor labor relations. The former general store has expanded into several arenas and has made its owners, the Waltons, some of the richest individuals in the world. Despite this, the chain continues to faces large obstacles on its quest to increase profits, improve efficiencies and maximize its customers’ savings. In 2006, Walmart Stores Inc had sales of over $312,000 billion and 1.7 million employees, making it the world’s largest employer (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2008). The concept evolved from a chain of variety stores owned by Sam Walton in the 1950s; Walton intensely...
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...behavior in foreign countries. This has created such uproar that investors are now suing top Wal-Mart executives. Several board members involved in the scandals are being asked to step down from their positions by some shareholders (D'innocenzio, 2012). Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke has come forward to reassure the public that Wal-Mart will take care of the problems and make things right. The scandals came about when the New York Times came out with a story stating Wal-Mart had allegedly bribed key foreign official. Then Wal-Mart failed to notify law enforcement after finding evidence that officials authorized millions of dollars in bribes in Mexico (Clifford, 2012). The alleged bribes where meant to get speedier building permits and other favors. Shock and dismay can be used to describe the public’s reaction to the recent controversy. Wal-Mart has been polishing their image so they can win over the public and create a feeling of trust. Mexican president Felipe Calderón recently stated he was “indignant” over Wal-Mart’s behavior (Clifford, 2012). The Mexican government is now looking into unethical behavior of Mexican official linked to the scandal. As the company celebrates its 50th anniversary, shareholders are asking for the heads of key board members and the general public is shifting its positive thoughts of the retailer back to where they were years ago. The incidents bring back memories of a time when Wal-Mart was being accused of low wages, sexual discrimination...
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...communication. It helps promoting the right things on right time. It gives a real exposure to the mass audience about what is right or wrong. Even though media is linked with spreading fake news like a fire, but on the safe side, it helps a lot to inform us about the realities as well. "The world is moving towards progress in every walk of life. But when we look towards societies, it feels as if some thing is still missing. Money, power, lust, etc., is the wish of every human being to attain. But we can't deny this fact that we all are bounded with loads of social problems, which are hard nuts to crack. Social issues are matters which directly or indirectly affect many or all members of a society and are considered to be problems, controversies related to moral values, or both. Social issues include poverty, violence, corruption, bribery, suppression of human rights, discrimination, and crime, killing in the name of honor, etc. "Media has a constructive role to play for the society. Today News Channels and even some Newspapers are mouthpiece of some social issues, which helps us to estimate the realities of lives. Media has played an important role in order to focus on the social issues in almost every era. It is the fact that in...
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...Operating income | * US$ 26.872 billion (2014) * US$ 27.725 billion (2013) | Net income | * US$ 16.022 billion (2014) * US$ 16.999 billion (2013) | Total assets | * US$ 204.751 billion (2014) * US$ 203.105 billion (2013) | Total equity | * US$ 81.339 billion (2014) * US$ 81.738 billion (2013) | Owner(s) | Walton family | Employees | 2.2 million (2013) | Divisions | Walmart Canada | Subsidiaries | Asda, Sam's Club, Seiyu Group,Walmex, @WalmartLabs, Walmart eCommerce | Website | Corporate.Walmart.com Walmart.com | Executive Summary: Wal-Mart has shown continued success in their use of information technology with e-commerce, a system that allows managers to view point-of-sale information, and the possible use of RFID chips in the near future. After reviewing the 2005 Harvard Business School study of Wal-Mart, it is evident that this company has been successful in expanding its operations in several foreign markets. Wal-Mart had established itself as the largest retailer in both Canada in 2003 and Mexico in 2004. Through acquisitions, partnerships, and go-it-alone strategies, Wal-Mart began the expansion of large-scale operations in other countries...
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...“Internationalisation of operations is critical to a company’s success in today’s competitive environment” Internationalisation of operations is a huge issue which has faced many companies in today’s competitive business environment. With the increase in communications and ability to reach other countries being cheaper and easier in the 21st century, many companies have chosen to internationalise and expand on the domestic market in order to generate greater profits and become household names internationally. This essay will look at how American born company Wal-Mart Stores, Inc has grown and seen successes and failures in the international environment. It also will look at reasons behind the failures in relation to culture, using the venture into the world’s third largest retail market, Germany as the main focus for the essay. Firstly, this essay will look at culture and some theories that surround it and also look at different dimensions that make up culture. The definition of culture according to the Oxford Dictionary (1992) is: “the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively or a refined understanding or appreciation of culture”. The theory that has been chosen to outline culture is Geert Hofstede’s five dimensions. The reason Hofstede’s theory has been used as an example in this case is because of the extensive research that he has put into developing his theories, as well as its relevance to the Wal-Mart failure in...
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...Introduction Specifics of the Deal Critique Conclusion Exhibits References 1 1 3 7 8 10 ‘ Introduction Joint Ventures represent a combination of subsets of assets, contributed by two or more business entities for a specific business purpose and a limited duration. This can enable a firm to achieve market penetration into new areas over time, enter and develop new product markets, expand into new geographic areas and participate in new technology driven value activities (Sullivan, 2014). For the purpose of this project we decided to analyze the recently concluded Joint Venture between Walmart Inc. and Bharti Enterprises. Bharti Enterprises is an Indian Business conglomerate, which owns various businesses spanning across telecommunications, retail, financial services and manufacturing. It operates in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., branded as Walmart, is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. It has over 11,000 stores in 27 countries, under a total 55 different names. A foreign company can invest in an Indian company through a Joint Venture Agreement (or as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary) in areas, which are otherwise not reserved exclusively for the public sector or which are not under the prohibited categories such as real estate, insurance, agriculture and plantation. Foreign investment...
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...impact on stakeholders and to minimize its negative impact. Background Wal-Mart was founded in the early 1960s’ and today have stores nationwide providing goods and services to millions of consumers. The steps taken by this company in regards to addressing and correcting allegations of unethical issues greatly impacted their reputation and sustainability. The founder of Wal-Mart Sam Walton’s success was attributed to his belief in customer satisfaction and hard work. Associates had to abide by the “ten-foot-rule, look the customer in the eye, greet him or her, and ask if he or she needed help with anything. Over the next 40 years the company grew from a small chain of stores into the largest nongovernment employer in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. Today Wal-Mart focuses on keeping cost low to achieve its “everyday low prices”. Findings Unfortunately, Wal-Mart also applied this same philosophy to its employees in the form of low wages, poor benefits, unfair treatment of employees in the workplace, discrimination; using illegal immigrants and sweatshops all to save a buck. Wal-Mart claimed early on that a formal ethics program was unnecessary because it had Mr. Sam’s ethics...
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...UNETHICAL BUSINESS PRACTICES OF WALLMART AND NIKE INTRODUCTION Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., branded as Walmart is an American multinational retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's second largest public corporation, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2013, the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and is the largest retailer in the world. Walmart remains a family-owned business, as the company is controlled by the Walton family, who own a 48 percent stake in Walmart. It is also one of the world’s most valuable companies. The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange in 1972. It is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmart is also the largest grocery retailer in the United States. In 2009, it generated 51 percent of its US$258 billion sales in the U.S. from grocery business. It also owns and operates the Sam's Club retail warehouses in North America. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the company rose from a regional to national giant. By 1988, Wal-Mart was the most profitable retailer in the US and by October 1989 it had become the largest in terms of revenue. Geographically limited to the South and Lower Midwest up to the mid 1980s,...
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...Running head: Internal and External Factors Internal and External Factors Team D – November 9, 2009 Thomas Johnson University of Phoenix Internal and External Factors When Wal-Mart first opened in 1962 the store was not the retail giant that it has grown to be in the past few years. Today Wal-Mart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,159 retail units. Wal-Mart employs over 2.1 million associates worldwide and had sales of $401 billion during the 2009 fiscal year (Wal-Mart, 2009). Based on the annual sales and new locations constructed annually, the Wal-Mart management team must be doing something more than just clever marketing. Wal-Mart is an interest topic among management students because although it is a relatively young company it has already achieved tremendous success. Furthermore, the company boasts a desirable corporate culture where everyone is treated as family. The readers can’t help but think that this company is an advocate of diversity and encourages decision making among employees. This essay evaluates internal and external factors and how they affect the four functions of management. By exploring these topics, the readers will be able to see how the organization handles its operation and how it deals with its staffs. One of the biggest impacts on management in Wal-Mart would have to be planning and organizing on how they will price all their items in the store. Wal-Mart...
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...police brutality include John Crawford III, a man walking through an Ohio Walmart store aisle, talking on the phone and holding a BB gun he had picked up from the store. When the police arrived, Crawford, a twenty-two-year-old father, was shot within a matter of seconds. Also in Ohio, Tamir Rice, a twelve-year-old boy, was shot at a Cleveland park as he played with a toy. The officer killed Rice within two seconds of arriving at the scene. First aid was never given to the child, and he died the following day. None of the officers that killed Garner, Crawford, nor Rice were indicted, suspected by many to be because the officers were white men. When African American people across the country rallied to protest these deaths, they were met with a militarized police force containing military-style gear, grenades, automatic rifles, and armored vehicles (Peter Katel). “There's no question in my mind that the idea...
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