...Walmart Case Study Beth R. Thornhill Organization The relevance of choosing Walmart lies in their enormous growth and their strategies to be and maintain their competitiveness in the free-market. Some of their strategies were outlined by San Walton, founder of Walmart include: Sam Walton’s strategy of, “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone…we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.” (Walmart.com) Background on Walmart Walmart serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 10,130 retail units under 69 different banners in 27 countries. With fiscal year 2012 sales of $443 billion, Walmart employs 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart was founded in 1962, with the opening of the first Walmart discount store in Rogers, Ark. The company incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., on Oct. 31, 1969. The company's shares began trading on OTC markets in 1970 and were listed on the New York Stock Exchange two years later. The company grew to 276 stores in 11 states by the end of the decade. In 1983, the company opened its first Sam’s Club membership warehouse and in 1988 opened the first supercenter -- now the company’s dominant format -- featuring a complete grocery in addition to general merchandise. Walmart became an international company in 1991 when it opened its first Sam's Club near Mexico City. (Walmart.com) Background on Walmart Strategy Traditionally, Walmart...
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...Management & Walmart Outline * This article regarding Strategic Management & Walmart relate to the course content during Week 1 we learned that strategic Management consists of three ongoing processes. 1 Analysis – involves gathering and interpreting data pertaining to the internal and external environment of the organization. 2 Decision Making- leaders must formulate strategies based on the analyses that have been generated –strategic decisions determine what industries the firm competes in and how 3 Implementation – strategic decisions must be implemented effectively – this involves articulating strategies clearly, mobilizing resources, and developing a culture that will facilitate the adoption of the strategy. 1This article has an in depth analysis of Walmart internal and external environment. “Sam Walton's talent for discount retailing not only made Wal-Mart the world's largest retailer, but also the world's number one retailer in sales” 2The industry walmart competes in is discount retailing and the company continues to grow even after the creator and inventor Sam Walton passed away. The leaders of Walmart choose to continue to use the strategies and goals formulated by Mr Walt. “Wal-Mart executives continue to rely on many of the traditional goals and philosophies that Sam's legacy left behind, while simultaneously keeping one step ahead of the ever-changing technology and methods of today's fast-paced business environment” 3 Walmart has good strategy...
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...Business Analysis Part I Beverly Mahone MGT/521 November 19, 2012 Robert d'Alessio Business Analysis Part I Making the decision to invest in a company requires an individual to research every aspect of the company before investing. As a mutual fund manager, I will make the decision if I would invest in the Wal-Mart company. Before making my decision to invest in the Wal-Mart company I will research the history of Wal-Mart and perform a SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis will analyze Wal-Marts strength, weaknesses, the opportunities and threats the company faces. Wal-Mart History Sam Walton was a man who believed in leadership through service. After gaining experience in retail through his own small variety store Sam Walton open the first Wal-Mart in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas (Walmart, 2012). Within five years Sam Walton and his wife owned 24 stores, ringing up $12.7 million in sales (Walmart, 2012). Two years later the Walmart stores Inc was officially incorporated. In 1970 Walmart became a publicly traded company, 1971 the first distribution center was opened, and in 1972 Walmart was listed on the New York Stock Exchange with 51 stores and sales of $78 million (Walmart, 2012). In the 80s the first Sam’s Club opened, the first Walmart super center opened, cash registers were replaced with computerized point–of–sale systems, and the company installed the largest private satellite communication system in the United States, linking the company's operations through...
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...the organizational development of a strategy (Wheelen, Hunger, & Hoffman, Bamford, 2015,). The use of an environmental scan can analyze the competitive advantage of a company, evaluate the strategies a company uses to gain an advantage over their competitors and create value and examine the measurement guidelines and the effectiveness of those guidelines to authenticate strategic effectiveness. Researchers have found a definite connection between profits and environmental scanning. Internal and External Environments Because a company has little to no control over external issues, it is important to monitor continuously for changes so that corrections can be made promptly. PEST is an acronym for political, economic, social, technological problems that may affect an external environment, and companies use this tool for external environmental scanning. The political factor looks at how legal issues and government regulations impact a company’s ability to gain profits and success. Walmart and Dollar General both will have to contend with tax guidelines, trade regulations, employment laws, environmental and social policies, and safety regulations. Both companies should consider federal and local power structures, and strategize for how a shift in power could impact their business. The economic factor scans outside economic issues that influence the business’s success. Topics to consider are inflation, interest rates, economic growth, unemployment policies, and economic stability...
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...strategic plan and strategy that was followed for the company to be so successful. Walmart which runs as a cost leadership strategy and Home Depot which runs as a service focused strategy are two very good examples of companies that have made it big and are their strategies are easily visible and explained. Walmart seems like an everyday trip to some families around the world because it has become so big that everyone has someone in their family that dreads hearing the famous phrase “We need to go to Walmart today” in their home. Walmart is a cost leadership strategy because they are the lowest cost producer that can sell at or below industry prices and by doing this they gain a bigger market share. This gives Walmart the competitive advantage in many different areas of the market and helps to control pricing.When we look at Walmart’s internal environment we look at their strengths which include the consumer’s knowledge and understanding of low prices, their market clout, their competence in information technology, and their wide range of stores across the world. Customers know that by going to Walmart is going to save them money because of the slogan of Walmart itself: “Save money. Live better”. What actually happens to most people is they go in the store and come out spending much more than they went in expecting to spend because of all the deals that were found while shopping. Walmart has become one the biggest...
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...[;’p// Walmart Case Study: Half a Century of Supply Chain Management SCM 607 Dr. John Wu March 15, 2014 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 4 BACKGROUND OF THE COMPANY 4 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 5 KEY ISSUES 6 EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 7 Economy 8 Customer Behavior 8 Technology 8 Politics & Legal Aspects 8 INTERNAL ANALYSIS 9 Company Culture 9 Operations 9 Purchasing & Suppliers 10 Inventory 10 Logistics 10 SWOT ANALYSIS 11 Strengths 11 Procurement 11 Distribution 12 Store Network 12 Information Systems 13 Weaknesses 14 Procurement 14 Store Network 14 Human Resources 14 Focusing on the Supply Chain 14 Opportunities 15 Focusing on the Supply Chain 15 New Initiatives and a Reorganization 15 Threats 16 Human Resources 16 DECISIONS 17 CONCLUSION 18 EXHIBIT 3 19 EXHIBIT 3 (continued) 20 EXHIBIT 3 (continued) 21 EXHIBIT 5 22 REFERENCES 23 Walmart Case Study: Half a Century of Supply Chain Management INTRODUCTION Walmart dominates the retailing industry in terms of its sales revenue, its customer base, and its ability to drive down costs and deliver good value to its customers. After all, the world’s largest corporation, employing 1.8 million associates worldwide, takes pride in having received numerous accolades for its ability to continuously improve efficiency in the supply chain while meeting its corporate mandate of offering customers everyday low prices. Walmart demonstrates how a physical product retailer...
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...……………………………………………………………………3 Choice of Organization - Walmart……………………………………………………………….5 Environmental Analysis………………………………………………………………………….6 Divisional Effectiveness Measurements...……………………………………………………….8 Final Report………………………………………………………………………………………9 Cultural HR Issues……………………………………………………………………….10 Emerging HR Issues………….……………………………………………………….....12 Five Year Action Plan……………………………………………………………………………16 References………………………………………………………………………………………..17 Executive Summary Walmart is one of the world’s largest retailers, serving communities worldwide and employing millions throughout their growing organization. This global organization has faced large amounts of scrutiny over the years and has seen legal repercussions from failure to comply with labor laws. Continuing to grow and rise above competitors, Walmart’s strategic HR plan needs to address some of these key opportunities and set the right employees in place to deliver on the company mission and vision. An effective strategic plan will also benefit the organizations reputation and image, both internally and externally. Ongoing pressures and cultural HR issues Walmart faces includes environmental preservation and the companies initiatives to “go green”, as well as the organizations reservations and discouragement towards unionization. These are issues Walmart can address through communication and training. In addition, Walmart faces many emerging HR issues including topics such...
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...Since San Walton opened his first store in 1962, Walmart has grown into a global retailer with more than 4,000 store in the United States and more than 6,000 internationally. Walmart is comprised of three business segments, Walmart US, Walmart International and Sam’s Club. Walmart Global eCommerce works across all three segments. Walmart’s mission statement “We save people money so they can live better”, is not indicative of where its strategic focus areas are, but it does sound good for the average customer who has a limited budget. This mission statement leads directly into Walmart Global eCommerce goals which include combining online, social innovations with physical stores to give consumers “anywhere, anytime shopping experience” in addition to its organizational sustainability goal of creating zero waste, using only sustainable energy and selling products that sustain the environment which is important to all of Walmart’s segments including eCommerce. Walmart’s overall objective is to deliver shareholder value by increasing earnings per share, returns and maintaining strong stable returns on investment. According to Walmart CEO, Mike Duke, Walmart’s strategic focus areas are: •Making sure the company has the best retail talent at every level of the organization by recruiting, developing and retaining the best associates; •Delivering on the productivity loop that enables Walmart to operate for less so the company can drive prices even lower for its customers ...
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...Marketing Environment The marketing environment surrounds and impacts upon the organization. There are three key elements to the marketing environment which are the internal environment, the microenvironment and the macro environment. Why are they important? Well marketers build both internal and external relationships. Marketers aim to deliver value to satisfied customers, so we need to assess and evaluate our internal business/corporate environment and our external environment which is subdivided into micro and macro. Microenvironment The microenvironment is made from individuals and organizations that are close to the company and directly impact the customer experience. Examples would include the company itself, its suppliers, other marketing input from agencies, the markets and segments in which your business trades, your competition and also those around you (which public relations would call publics) who are not paying customers but still have an interest in your business. The Micro environment is relatively controllable since the actions of the business may influence such stakeholders. Walmart’s Micro environment would be very much focused on immediate local issues. It would consider how to recruit, retain and extend products and services to customers. It would pay close attention to the actions and reactions of direct competitors. Walmart would build and nurture close relationships with key suppliers. The business would need to communicate and liaise with its publics...
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...* Executive summary. Walmart is a United States based multinational retail store. Walmart Thrive by dominating the retail market and providing broad quantity of product at a low cost. Walmart’s has repeatedly proved its successful company strategy in many occasions. This Global retail giant have burgeoned almost in all countries where it expanded with very few exceptions. To reinforce its global expansion process Walmart acquired 51% of Massmart, South Africa second biggest retailer. Although the merger of this two large firms unfolds Walmart’s way into one of the world’s biggest potential market it won’t be simple. Poor legal system and weak securities, cultural and infrastructure barriers, financials, rivals criticism, resistance from local group and government will hinder the merger process. Walmart needs to be prepared to face these challenges and develop a strategy. In order to deal with the challenges Walmart should: 1. Learn from previous mistakes in North Korea and Germany. 2. Make use of high GDP growth in Africa and rising middle class. 3. Use Massmart successful network. 4. Create a positive Brand and company name. 5. Do what it is best at “dominate retail market” * Section 2: External environment: Walmart and Massmart are a big part of global discount retail industry. Walmart is one of the world’s biggest retail industry operating in 14 different nations...
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...Antoinette Bias MGT/230 Week 2 September 1, 2014 Erica Richmond Internal and External Factors Management is impacted by the external and internal factors of technology, globalization, ethics, diversity, and innovation. For the Walmart Corporation, the internal and external factors are applied towards maintaining their position as a leading retailer. A comprehensive strategic plan includes a situational analysis that considers internal strengths and weaknesses. Walmart’s current strengths and weaknesses provide a wealth of insight helpful in accomplishing internal goals and internal analyses can provide advantages for achieving external goals, as well. External opportunities include things such as gaps in the market that no company is currently serving, new markets and other clear growth opportunities. External threats include new product releases from competitors and new competitors arising in the market. Globalization Globalization is a process of interaction between companies, people and governments of different nations. Investments and international trade guide this process. Information technology is also an important part of this process. Environment, culture, economic development and political systems are all effected by globalization. Many think globalization is a new process but quite the contrary. For many, many years’ people have been buying and selling...
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...Organizational environment Introduction This refers to all elements that operate in or out an organization having the capability to affect all or part of the operations of the company. An organization must respond to some or all of the environmental factors to ensure its survival in the market. The management of the organization cannot be ignorant of the external and internal environmental factors that work towards its survival or its downfall. An organization’s environment can be internalized greatly through a thorough analysis of its domain of operation, both internally and externally (Sims, 97). Organizational environment in Walmart The general environment has several phases listed as economic, socio-cultural, global technological, political and demographic phase. The general weakness of the world economy has not deterred Walmart from posting eleven per cent increase in sales. It has grown to become the world’s most powerful retailer in the recent past. The company has been focusing on low income earners with it stores built on warehouses that minimal décor. Walmart has been operating globally having different stores for different folks. It has penetrated into Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and United Kingdom among other nations. Walmart has been a leader in the field of technology so as to ensure maximal efficiency in operations. The store deployed its own private satellite network, and managed its logistics via a central system for all warehouses and distribution...
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... From the beginning, Walmart did not have many threats. However, not only the competition is different, several global retailers such as Target, Carrefour, Costco, and Amazon, are working hard to keep efficiency. They are trying to work together to shrink the prices difference between them. Walmart has facing difficulties from every single angle. Not only the company has internal labor relation problems, but also it has some external threats from its competitors. The company must work hard to get possible solutions against its competitors, and to solve any internal problems regarding its labor relations. Even though Walmart does not have any problems with its good sales performance, it does not stop the company to have issues with sales. Walmart needs to pay attention because there are too many claims from women regarding the lawsuit discrimination for several reasons inside the company such as pay, promotions, and training. The company has no other recourses to re-evaluate the situation to make its employees feel better as far as the coverage is concerned. There are several companies in the United States that offer better health insurance coverage than Walmart does. As a result, a re-evaluation is necessary so that associates can pay less with a higher contribution of the company. Life insurance is important for every single employee within an organization. An employee with no good life insurance can be in trouble at any given time. Consequently, Walmart should make clear decisions...
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...Walmart in Japan I. Problem identification phase Introduction Walmart is an American international retail company that is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company began operations in 1962 after being founded by Sam Walton and incorporated in 1969. The present brand name—Walmart—came about in 2008 and before that it was referred to as Wal-Mart. The company is famous for operating chains of large discount departmental stores and warehouse stores. Presently, the company is the 18th public corporation in terms of size and the biggest in terms of revenue, private employment, and retailer (Walmart 2011 Annual report). Furthermore, the largest shareholders are the Walton’s with 48% shares; hence they control the company. The company has approximately 9000 stores in over 15 countries all operating under different names. For instance, in Mexico it is called Walmex, in UK Asda, and in Japan Seiyu. This article analyses Walmart in Japan through three phases. The three phases are: problem identification, analysis, and solution phases. Background Walmart bought 6.2% of Seiyu in May 2002 (Holstein 73). The shares of the company increased over time and in 2005 December, Walmart was the majority shareholder of 50.9%. In 2008, Seiyu was entirely owned by Walmart whose headquarters are in Tokyo. The company has 419 retail units that are inclusive of: Seiyu Hypermarket, Seiyu Supermarket, Wakana, and Seiyu General Merchendise. Setting operations in Japan was not an easy feat...
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...Walmart Organizational Management Name Institution Affiliation Organizational Context Wal-Mart Stores Inc. or Walmart is a multinational retail organization that has numerous chains of large discount warehouse and general stores. The company was formed in 1962 by Sam Walton as a family-owned business. It was incorporated in 1969 and traded on the Stock Exchange of New York publicly in 1972. Since then this organization has grown strength to strength winning various accolades. In 1988, it was ranked as the most profitable retail business in America outselling competitors such as K-Mart and Sears in the retail business (Fishman, 2006). It was founded on Sam Walton’s quest for providing goods and services at relatively low or discounted prices. The Walmart principles have been hinged on cost-cutting while at the same retailing goods at consumer-friendly prices. The organization too, has been hailed for its global standard efficiency and business innovations. It was one of the first corporations that integrated use of computers in its operations in all its branches. The mission statement reflects on the founder’s business model of passing savings to his clientele and amassing profits through volume sales. This principle has made consumers feel more welcome and their needs taken care of over the years. The cost-cutting initiatives embraced by the company operations have been as a result of this old age philosophy Walmart has spread its wings world over opening up over 8...
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