Wal Mart Essays (Examples)

Wal-Mart's SWOT Analysis and Generic Business-Level Strategy
Walmart's SWOT Analysis

Wal-Mart's SWOT Analysis and Generic Business-Level Strategy

Wal-Mart's SWOT Analysis and Generic Business-Level Strategy

Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is the world's leading corporation in the retail industry. It operates in 27 countries of the world with 69 well-recognized brands. With this huge scale of operations and vast business network, Wal-Mart serves a large number of customers with numerous product categories in its retail stores, departmental stores, and discount stores. It is also considered as the fastest growing business corporation in the Global retail industry. It has a huge supply chain network with highly reliable suppliers, distributors, and promotional firms from all the corners of the world. Wal-Mart has always pursued growth strategies for its business operations in the Global market. At present, it is the largest employers in the world with a total workforce of more than 2.2 million employees. It is…

Wal-Mart: Financial Statement Analysis
WAL-MAT FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS

Company Description

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) is a world largest grocery chain and retail stores. The company operates 8000 stores across three business segments which include apparel, groceries, electronics and small appliances. While the company operates globally, half of the company stores are located in the United States. To complete in the international markets, Wal-Mart also operates its business through subsidiaries in Canada, Argentina, China, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Japan. However, the company majority-owned subsidiaries are located in Chile, and Central & South America. Wal-Mart business strategy is to buy products at rock-bottom prices and pass savings on customers and Wal-Mart has been able to drive up its profitability by purchasing billion of dollars worth of low costs merchandise directly from China and the company has been able to win the trusts of customers by providing its products at low prices.…

Wal-Mart is the name that is well-known to all the households these days because it has established itself as the largest retailer the world over. The sales of Wal-Mart are growing with every passing day as the sales totaled up to more than $280 billion, according to the reports published in 2004. However, it should be noted Wal-Mart did not appear on the international with more than 4500 stores in 14 different countries and with a workforce of 1.5 million over a small period of time. From the very beginning, Wal-Mart worked day in and day out to make sure that it develops the right strategies that would help it to become a success; both at the national and the global level. It worked efficiently to establish itself as the best merchandiser that operated with the most effective systems that led to the increased buying of the customers and superior…

Wal-Mart's Strategic And Financial Planning:
Since its inception about 50 years ago, Wal-Mart has continued to remarkable growth as a firm that focuses on providing customers with a wide range of merchandise at great prices. In its initial years, the company only operated in one store that has contributed to changes in the way retail works. Currently, the firm operates over 10,000 retail units within 69 distinct banners in 27 countries across the globe. The organization consists of over 2 million hard-working employees and associates who serve approximately 200 million customers and members across the globe on a weekly basis. The success, growth, and profitability of the firm can be attributed to the various strategic plans it has adopted from time to time, which have had significant impacts on its financial planning.

Wal-Mart's Strategic Planning Initiative:

While Wal-Mart has experienced decline in earnings multiple because of decreasing earnings and revenues…

al-Mart Porters
al-Mart Strategic Management

al-Mart mission is based on the model that by simply saving people money so they can live better. The philosophy and overall business strategy was developed based on a simple idea created by founder Sam alton: offer shoppers lower prices than they can get anywhere else. This strategy has been the basis of an incredible history and growth record for the company. This strategy still guides the company in nearly all aspects of the organization. The company delivers the consumer the lowest costs possible through many of the strategic decisions in their human resources, their suppliers, their information, distribution and logistical systems as well as many more business functions.

Strategy Discussion

The success of this strategy is clearly evident from al-Mart's single location in the Midwest to its global presence as the world's largest private retailer. The company's current holding include more than 8,500 departmental…

Wal-Mart and Employee ights
Labor cost is always considered as the main issue, mostly in case of employees' unionization at Wal-Mart. This was noticed when Wal-Mart showed a remarkable earning at the rate of 44% per annum for its labor working on hourly basis. Another point which brought this issue ahead was when the sales clerk of Wal-Mart in 2001 earned wages below Federal Poverty Scale. According to an issue of Fortune released on 3rd March 2003, the approximate share of Wal-Mart in the Gross National Product (GNP) of U.S. market was about 2.3% in 2002. Thus, Wal-Mart was expected to show further boom by sharing the U.S. economy at the largest scale ever estimated in 2006, considering the phenomenal growth rate stated in Fortune. However, other companies like U.S. Steel Corporation shared the U.S. GNP by 2.8% in 1917 and also the highest GNP share of General Motors Corporation…

Wal Mart
Over the last several years, Wal Mart has been a story that is focused on continuing successes and challenges. This is because the company was impacted by issues such as employee rights, costs and fierce competition. Yet, at the same time, they were able to experience continuing increases in their bottom line results. This is despite the fact that consumer spending has remained stagnant in the aftermath of the recession. ("50 Years of Helping Customers to Save Money and Live Better," 2012)

To fully understand what is happening requires examining Wal Mart's most recent financial information. This will be accomplished by analyzing the company, its financial condition, profitability trends, cash position, inventory chain, internal controls, the risks to outside events, potential vulnerabilities and predicting where the firm will be five years from now. Together, these factors will highlight the challenges and opportunities that are available.

Create an executive…

al-Mart Financial Analysis
al-Mart Store Inc. is a multinational retailer corporation branded as al-Mart in 2008. Founded in 1962, al-Mart has now become one of the largest American corporations with chain of retail stores. al-Mart sells varieties of consumer goods such as consumer electronics, toys, automobiles, furniture, video games and several other consumers goods. Presently, al-Mart enjoys the patronages of 200 million customers per week making the company to record the sales of $419 billion at the end of the 2011 fiscal year. al-Mart operates in 27 countries and records $443 billion in sales in 2012. (al-Mart Annual Report).

The objective of this report is to provide the financial analysis of al-Mart. The report uses the last 5-year financial data to perform the company financial analysis.

: al-Mart Financial Analysis

The paper uses last 5 years financial summary to evaluate the al-Mart performances. The data from Table 1 reveals that…

al-Mart SOT
Internal Analysis & SOT

Currently one of al-Mart's biggest assets is it powerful retail brand name. The company has branded itself as the low cost leader in their industry and consumer perceive the brand as offering value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store (Marketing Teacher, N.d.). al-Mart has been able to build this brand image over time by focusing on providing consumer the lowest cost possible in their industry. Over many years consumers have begun to associate the al-Mart brand with primarily value which offers the company many advantages.

hat are the two or three biggest strengths the company has that allow it to make the company's vision come to fruition?

A major strength that al-Mart has is that it sells many consumer necessities. This has allowed the company to avoid many of the negative aspects of the economic cycle as…

Further, under this segment are a number of financial products ranging from bill payments to wire transfers and money orders. On the other hand, the company's international segment has in its fold online retail as well as a number of discount and retail store formats. The company's Sam's Club segment has in place private-label items as well as other merchandise categorized as either soft goods or hard goods. Further, it can also be noted that this segment currently operates 4,263 stores and has a workforce of more than 600,000 workers spread over 15 nations outside the U.S. At the moment, al-Mart which happens to be Mexico's and America's largest employer has a total of 2.1 million associates (employees) across the world. In some cases, al-Mart's foreign expansion has been marked by the acquisition of retail chains already in operation. For instance, the company's expansion to Canada was preceded by the…

al-Mart
Operations

al-Mart's has grown to be one of the most powerful organizations in the world and its biggest assets is it powerful retail brand name. The company has branded itself as the low cost leader in their industry and consumer perceive the brand as offering value for money, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store (Marketing Teacher, N.d.). Although al-Mart does not produce many goods internally, it offers a retail service that connects suppliers from all over the world with consumers via its network of retail outlets. al-Mart is known for its dedication to providing retail goods the lowest prices possible to consumers in their industry. al-Mart has some of the most sophisticated supply chains and distribution networks available and the company creates value through quantities of supply.

Supply and Demand

There are many factors that influence al-Mart's ability to achieve equilibrium in supply and…

However (on the plus side toward Wal-Mart's capacity for increased successful globalization) there remains Wal-Mart's sophisticated supply technology, the best in the retail world, a tool that makes it possible for the retailing giant to meet individual store and customer needs everywhere, almost instantaneously. Ernsberger (2002) points out that:

one reason the company is so productive is that it knows how to use technology... Wal-Mart was the first major retailer to use satellite communications to link stores to suppliers, so suppliers can track sales second by second, and deliver new stock as fast as old stock disappears from the shelves... [s]ays Dan Binder, a senior vice president of Morgan Stanley in New York "They do a lot of little things right."

In perusing the United States Wal-Mart.com website (Wal-Mart.com, August 7, 2005), one finds that enormous attention is paid to local needs and markets, for example, a link to a…

Wal Mart is a global leader in retail supply chain management, logistics, operations, fulfillment and transportation services. The efficiency and profitability of the WalMart supply chain operations globally have set a new standard in their industry and often been used as the basis of comparing performance of supply chains in related industries as well (Stevenson, 2009). What has contributed to the rapid growth of WalMart however has been the acquired expertise in planning, launching and support supercenters in remote geographic regions in the U.S., while also being able to tailor their unique retailing strategy to foreign markets as well. WalMart has learned how to integrate customer and buyer demographics into their retail planning and execution systems to ensure every store format, from the very large and complex Supercenters to the small storefronts in China, all operate to an optimal level of sales and profitability performance (Courtemanche, Carden, 2011). By basing…

Robson Walton - Chairman of the oard of Directors of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Stephen P. Whaley - Senior Vice President and Controller

Eric S. Zorn - Executive Vice President and President, Wal-Mart Realty

III. INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: STRENGHTS and WEAKNESSES

A. CORPORATE STRUCTURE

Wal-Mart's retail division is formed from four major subsidiaries: Wal-Mart Discount Stores, Wal-Mart Supercenters, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Clubs. (Wal-Mart Facts, 2007)

Wal-Mart Discount Stores more than 1,000 in U.S. alone average surface per store of 107,000 square feet; 225 associates and 120,000 items sold

Wal-Mart Supercenters are generally open 24 hours a day and sell wide array of products, including grocery, clothing and any other general merchandise more than 2,300 stores, internationally spread average surface of 187,000 square feet; 350 or more associates and 42,000 different products

Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets grocery, pharmaceuticals and general merchandise more than 120 neighborhood markets, generally present on markets with supercenters…

For Wal-Mart, cost is the sole determinant of their purchasing policy. In terms of production costs, other countries have a competitive advantage over the United States. China, for example, has a technology level almost equivalent to the United States, which enables it to produce reasonable-quality goods. Their advantage, however, lies in labor costs. The average Chinese worker makes $100 per month. American factories simply cannot compete with that in terms of price. Those wages work in China, where a person can live comfortably on two dollars a day. That is not possible in the United States. We have built an economic model not on low cost, but on high quality of life. This used to drive our manufacturing sector. Firms such as Rubbermaid used to compete on quality, but Wal-Mart and other large discount chains have made cost a more important determinant in their purchasing practices.
The shift towards low-cost…

al-Mart Target
al-Mart and Target are two of the leading retailers in the world. al-Mart is one of the world's largest companies and Target is one of its primary competitors. hile the both succeed based on similar competencies in logistics and merchandising, there are significant differences between the two that lead to different financial results. al-Mart is by far the larger, and this allows it to execute the cost leadership business model more effectively, leveraging economies of scale. al-Mart is also more diversified -- it operates internationally while Target does not, is stronger in groceries and has a much stronger online business. The purpose of a financial analysis of these companies is to determine which of the two is stronger financially. The analysis aims to answer the question of how the strategic differences between the two companies translates into differences in financial performance. This information is of particular use to…

Wal-Mart Nation
The dream of Sam Walton was a simple one: "Give people high value, low prices and a warm welcome" (Walton, 2003). At an early age, he was working hard delivering what the customer needed and wanted at a reasonable price - newspapers and selling milk from the cow (Huey, 1998). The development of Wal-Mart, KMart, and Target has brought about a retail business that is highly competitive within the communities of America. Through the years, a trend has developed that encompasses each corporation. This paper will discuss the phenomenon of Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Target and how large corporations have affected today's economy, communities, and lifestyles.

On July 2, 1962, at the age of 44, Sam Walton opened his first Wal-Mart store, in ogers, Arkansas S.S. Kresge launched K. Mart that same year, and Dayton Hudson began its Target chain. Discounting had hit America in a big way, and…

There is an increasing amount of research also showing how big box retailers including Wal-Mart when they enter local economies, are driving smaller retailers that provided a basis of price competition and employment are being driven out of business (Harris, 2006).
On top of their fear and anti-growth sentiment many communities have about big box retailers moving into their communities, many also fear Wal-Mart will move their manufacturing jobs overseas by shifting their product orders from local companies tot hose off-shore. Worst case, local communities see their manufacturing base going away and their entire communities becoming more reliant on Wal-Mart wages to the exclusion of higher value jobs.

Competitive & Internal Analysis

From a Wal-Mart specific standpoint, in addition to an internal analysis perspective, Wal-Mart executives need to make the issues of the company's lack of ability to globalize their operations, the continue costs of litigation, and the lack of…

Wal-Mart's Competitive Advantage 2003
Wal-Mart stores are the largest retailer of discounted products across the globe with numerous superstores primarily in small towns throughout the United States. It consists of discount stores, supercenters, and neighborhood markets. About 75% of its stores are in the U.S. And due to awakening of globalization; Wal-Mart is also expanding in global markets. (Wal- Mart annual report, 2003)

Nature of competitive strategy

According to Daniel MillSap,(2009), every business exists to make profits and to maximize value for its shareholders. Higher revenues do not necessarily mean higher profits as this depends on the strategy that the organization pursues.

From Wal- Mart report, (2003) its evident that leading superstore is pursuing low price/cost leadership strategy. In Wal-Mart, this is an every day strategy of delivering low priced and quality products at a price everyone can afford.

According to departmental research, low priced consumer goods are more preferred.…

Another weakness with Wal-Mart is in the past few years the organization has faced must litigation from employees accusing it of unfair employment activities -- especially from female employees which has given the bad reputation as an employer. Some of the goods sold by Wal-Mart from its Chinese suppliers in the past year have been marred by different cases of health and safety hazards (Neumark, Zhang, & Ciccarella, 2008). . The company is global, but has a presence in relatively few countries .
Opportunities

The current economic crisis has decreased the disposable income of many individuals and thus has caused many individuals and households to lower their expectations and to shop for bargains, thus Wal-Mart stands to gain in such a situation. The inflation in the economy is on the decline and the economy is on t he brink of deflation thus it may mean that Wal-Mart is able to…

Also, commercially sold products at al-Mart, even if part of major labels, should not mislead consumers as to their origin or product composition. Finally, al-Mart will strive to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels in the environment, and make alternative products, such as organic produce, available for consumers to choose over standard products. al-Mart is committed to choice.
How the policy is to be implemented

al-Mart will refuse to allow products manufactured in an environmentally unacceptable fashion at its stores that are not currently consistent with FDA (Food and Drug Administration) safety guidelines. Also, it will encourage suppliers to create more innovative products that contain additional protections for the environment than currently exist at present by doing business with these suppliers in bulk, if such products are generated. It will also devote some of its research and development funds for new products to creating more environmentally friendly products, and generating…

Another means of attracting customers is that of promoting the American way of being, embodied in a great purchasing power revealed by the large amounts of goods that can be bought in the Wal-Mart stores. Additionally, the American sentiment is preserved through the Wal-Mart greetings and the cheerful staff.

A proven advantage Wal-Mart has over its competitors is the abundance of financial resources. Yet, it is the means in which the company invests this money that creates comparative advantages. Such a means is the sustained investment in Information Technology. Wal-Mart uses IT applications at all levels of corporate affairs with the stipulated aim of increasing operational efficiency. The technologies they use support better customer relations; improve inventory management; enhance customer safety; reduce the risks of theft or reduce the time for waiting in line at the cash register. And these are just a few of the technological applications at Wal-Mart.…

The remainder of employees are part-time and work approximately 20 hours a week (Wal-Mart, 2007) This staffing decision by WalMart of the mix of full and part-time employees is also complimentary to their organizational structure as it is hierarchical in design yet needs to be flexible in responding to supply chain, seasonal selling demand, and economic change. As a result, this has been very effective for the company and has given employees stability over time as WalMart is not forced to hire and fire to keep their stores profitable.
In terms of motivating teams this structure allows for greater levels of task ownership and product expertise (Gereffi, Christian, 2009). Full-time employees are defined to teams within departments and stay with assignments for the long-term. The motivational aspects of this are that it allows for autonomy, mastery and purpose of roles within structure to be achieved. This gives employees a greater…

At that point, the competitive advantages of the American retailers would shine through. U.S. companies that lack these competitive advantages would see no benefit from entering the Mexican market, regardless of NAFTA.
3. Comerci's main move to remain competitive was to try and match Wal-Mart's buying power. It tied with another competitor to form a buying group, in the hopes that it can lower its cost of goods sold to a level that would allow it to compete with Wal-Mart. This appears to have been the main strategic response the company has made to compete.

Ultimately, Wal-Mart derives its buying power from its global scale. In addition to its massive U.S. market, it buys for Mexico and Canada at the same time, and often its goods from China are sold by its stores there as well. This means that Comerci cannot match the buying power of Wal-Mart no matter with…

The quest for cheaper prices is pushing manufacturing jobs offshore and affecting the jobs of Americans. This is the trade off involved in globalization.
ibliography

1) Wal-Mart, 'About Us', retrieved Oct 15th 2010, from, http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/

2) Suzanne Kapner, (2009), 'Changing of the Guard at Wal-Mart', retrievd Oct 15th 2010, from, http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/17/news/companies/kapner_scott.fortune/index.htm

3) Michael arbaro, (Mar 2006), 'Wal-Mart shows a Similar Side to Sears', New York Times, retrieved Oct 15th 2010, from, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/business/media/31adco.html?_r=2

4) Michael arbaro, (Mar, 2007), 'It's not only about Price at Wal-Mart', The New York Times, retrieved Oct 15th 2010, from, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/02/business/02walmart.html?pagewanted=print

5) Katherine owers, (Nov 2008), 'Duke rings Global Heft to Wal-Mart', retrievd Oct 15th 2010, from, http://www.wwd.com/media/issues/2008/11/24/wwd1124.pdf

6) Keith Naughton, (Mar 2008), 'Arab-America's Store: Wal-Mart stocks falafel, Olives and Islamic greeting cards to attract Dearborn's Ethnic Shoppers', retrieved Oct 15th 2010, from, http://www.newsweek.com/2008/03/01/arab-america-s-store.html

7) Lisa aertlein, (2010), 'Factbox: Key Wal-Mart International Growth Strategies', retrieved Oct 15th…

Wal-Mart was formed by Sam Walton in 1962 with the intention of concentrating on small towns and not on downtown retail districts. He had set up the super store from small beginnings on a town's interiors, stock various kinds of goods in the shelves, and sell the goods to the customers at comparatively lower prices. The progress of Wal-Mart has been tremendous, with the expansion to 4,300 stores recently from 874 stores in the year 1985. Wal-Mart is a 39-year-old retail store which is very popular in U.S. companies, and it is only behind ExxonMobil in annual turnover. (Lawsuits a volume business at Wal-Mart) It could be witnessed that every week, certain 138 million do their shopping at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has its retail stores in all states and more than 80% of U.S. families have had made at least a single purchase from a Wal-Mart retail store. (Analysis: Wal-Mart's growing…

al-Mart
Threats

There are a number of threats that al-Mart faces in the external environment. These include intellectual property rights, rising cost of production in China, and the threat that is posed by intense competition in its many spaces.

As al-Mart expands its retail footprint in emerging markets, especially China, it must take into account that the intellectual property protections are different in other parts of the world. In China, for example, one of the major competitors is u-Mart, where name confusion is not only evident but deliberate. Such knock-offs can not only siphon business away from al-Mart, but can also reduce consumer impressions of al-Mart as well, particularly if the knock-off is inferior. Other countries that have potentially high growth also have weak intellectual property protections.

Another threat that al-Mart has is its dependence on China as a source for its goods. al-Mart typically deals with third-party suppliers, but…

com to drive customers into the store for the most competitive product areas, which during the holiday season, is toys.
Should Wal-Mart have pursued e-commerce more aggressively sooner?

No, it was wise to wait and see what lessons were being learned both from their store-based and online-based competitors. Most importantly however, Wal-mart took the time to understand why integration of their systems and the ability to break down larger shipments into smaller ones was critical for their operations.

What do you think the potential impact of Wal-Mart.com will be on the parent company's efforts to expand internationally?

Wal-Mart has traditionally struggled in international markets where the nations' cultures they are going into vary significantly from the U.S. This is why the German version of Wal-Marts has not succeeded in addition to the Korean ones. Yet the website, once translated for personalization, would make global expansion much easier for the company…

" In fact, Richard S. Tedlow, Harvard usiness School professor of business administration said in his interview with the LA Times that: "You could argue that some of what Wal-Mart does to cut costs has been win-win."
"What's being squeezed out is waste."

In spite of all that negative effects of Wal-Mart, those that have promise and stick with Wal-Mart are laughing all the way to the bank on payday with store managers earning $95,000 (including bonuses) on an annual basis and managers at Supercenter managers. It should be said that long hours are required in fact, usually over 80 a week and an individual better be ready to relocate if need be.

All of this is good and fine in an idealistic world, where supplies are endless and everyone is the society is in a state of balanced advantage and opportunities. However, in the "real" world where mom and…

al-Mart Organizational Structure
The most successful companies have something to teach us. al-Mart has proved its successful business approach by adapting with changes throughout the years while maintaining a certain organizational system. The purpose of this essay is to examine al-Mart and its organizational structure methods. I will specifically analyze three different organizing functions for this company. I will evaluate the organizational structure of al-Mart and compare it to other forms of structuring. Next, this essay will evaluate al-Mart in terms of its organizational functions. Finally, I will demonstrate how al-Mart's organizational design suits its business model.

Defining al-Mart

According to al-Mart's corporate web site, this company serves over 200 million customers a week providing consumer items including groceries, clothing, electronics and more. al-Mart sells its goods to customer through various outlets including retail, online and mobile devices. al-Mart employs more than 2 million people throughout the world and its…

79 in 2003 to 7.27% in 2009. In addition, evenue Per Employee increased from $176,089 in 2003 to $192,618 in 2009. Wal-Mart has defined a series of internal strategies that allow them to capitalize on asset efficiencies and coordinate them to increase profits over the long-term. An example of this type of strategy is the reliance on continual supplier relationship management significantly improving the company's asset turnover from 10.38 in 2003 to 11.61 in 2009. Wal-Mart also relies on an intensive knowledge and information sharing network that includes pricing and sales uploads every night from each of their stores via satellite link. This data is then analyzed in the Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters and used for managing inventories, pricing, and suppliers more effectively than their competitors. This is also the factor leading to the company's higher inventory turns and more efficient use of assets as well.
Assessing the Price/Earnings atio

In…

However, Switzerland has moved very slowly as a nation in accepting new cultures and outsiders. Swiss citizenship is nearly impossible to obtain. The nation is dependent upon a small, closely-knit band of citizen-soldiers for its defense. Socially, women were only given the right to vote in Switzerland in the second half of the 20th century, well after other nations. In other words, an American business manager must be prepared for a slower pace of decision making than he or she is accustomed (20th century, 2011, Swiss orld.org). hile typically American corporate mission statements reflect a 5-10-year framework, in Switzerland, companies take an even longer point-of-view, and are even more resistant to organizational change (Adler 2001: 23).
Certain stereotypes that al-Mart might confront in Switzerland might relate to the perception of Americans as overly focused on optimism and a false sense of teamwork. One common observation of Americans by foreigners is…

Wal-Mart is also a highly delegative culture in terms of its subsidiaries, with in-store managers in all regions they operate in responsible for performance. The Wal-Mart approach to delegation also requires in-store associates to assist with the unloading of trailers when they arrive with merchandise at Superstores as well. Wal-Mart strongly holds efficiency and delegation in the same context (Appelbaum, Lichtenstein, 2006).
Diversity and Ethics

Wal-Mart has often been criticized for their lack of diversity and for a lack of ethics in managing part-time workers. In response to these claims and to practices that proved to be unethical, the company has created a Corporate Social esponsibility (CS) program that is global in scope. Wal-Mart's efforts to ensure diversity and ethics have in turn been delegated to the store manager level (Spangler, Britt, Parks, 2008) where individual performance is measured and evaluated over time. The framework of planning, organizing, leading and…

With no actual Corporate Social esponsibility (CS) program in place to introduce the Wal-Mart Statement of Ethics, which was required by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for Wal-Mart to go public, the company floundered and alienated entire local and regional governments in Germany, ceasing labor unions to sue them to stop the Statement of Ethics from being enforced (Talaulicar, 2009). German workers, when handed the Statement of Ethics, immediately went to their labor union leaders, who quickly filed a complaint with local government authorities. The German unions claimed the Statement of Ethics was against the German Works Constitution Act (Talaulicar, 2009).
Conclusion

If Wal-Mart had actually defined a thorough Corporate Social esponsibility (CS) Program to launch the Statement of Ethics in Germany, taking the time to include more of the cultural and legal aspects of the country, they would have increased the odds of their success. Instead, Wal-Mart charged…

Wal Mart Stats
Wal-Mart Survey Analysis

In order to begin addressing two key research questions, how can Wal-Mart ensure decent quality products and simultaneously keep consumers happy with prices and how would Wal-Mart keep the costs of its products down, a survey of Wal-Mart customers was taken. Attitudes towards prices, quality of products, and overall shopping experiences were collected and analyzed via in-person questionnaires/surveys to consumers exiting Wal-Mart stores after shopping. All responses were recorded on a Likert scale of 1-5, with 5 representing high satisfaction or strong agreement and 1 representing extreme dissatisfaction or strong disagreement. The following paragraphs assess the quality of this survey and its results in terms of addressing the research question.

Validity and eliability

The research questions themselves as detailed above are very valid questions to be asked of Wal-Mart, a company that built its business model on the ability to offer low-priced goods to…

Wal-Mart Merger
If you were to pick one company for Wal-Mart to merge with, what would it be? Explain your choice with respect to possible benefits of this merger and why you would choose this company over any other choice for a potential.

The primary candidate for Wal-Mart to acquire would be United Parcel Service (UPS). UPS is known for having the best IT systems and logistics processes of any of the global third party logistics providers (Alghalith, 2005). It is also very well-known for being a company culture that relies heavily on standard metrics of performance including performance dashboards to provide real-time visibility of each shipment, no matter how large or small (agu, 2009). UPS would complement the extensive supply chain expertise of Wal-Mart and would also add significant depth of global operations that the company has struggled to get in place over the last decade (Sodhi, Son, 2009).…

Compounding that problem, Massey had also failed to properly vent the mine shaft of methane gas and coal dust. Forensic analysis suggests that methane gas and/or coal dust (both of which are highly combustible) were almost certainly responsible for the explosion. Moreover, the mine had been cited for fifty different MSHA violations in the moths before the explosion, of which no fewer than twelve related directly to the methane and/or coal dust venting issue. The mine had been cited sixty-eight times by inspectors for violations that were "high-negligence" category and three violations that were considered "reckless" disregard for safety considerations. In addition to the citations for methane and coal dust issues, the mine had also been cited specifically for its failure to maintain adequate escape pathways and to mitigate the risk of structural collapse.
Furthermore, the evidence in the case suggests that on the day of the explosion, the mine…

Wal-Mart is also deemed to be a company that greatly mistreats and discriminates against its employees but there has apparently been no reliable empirical data to back that up (Van iper, 2008).
The article concludes by conceding to some Wal-Mart critics. First, Wal-Mart cites Ohio University professor ichard Vedder, who points out that Bureau of Labor Statistics Data holds that Wal-Mart's wage structure lags behind the retail sector as a whole (Van iper, 2008)

elative to what Wal-Mart pays its employee and the benefits they bestow, a third source was widely condemnatory of Wal-Mart and insisted that it could and should be paying its employees more…a lot more. The average associate at Wal-Mart, per this story, makes an average of not quite twelve dollars an hour. If annualized, that would be below the United States poverty line. The story's author insists that wages and benefits are not higher simply because…

orporate Mission

As the largest mass merchandiser in the world, Wal-Mart's work in supply chain execution, research, and policies defines best practices for the broader high volume retailing industry worldwide. Wal-Mart is comprised of three operating segments including the Wal-Mart stores, Sam's lub and the International Stores. The typical Wal-Mart discount store as 50 departments or more and a few are offering groceries in addition to apparel, fabrics, stationery and books, shoes, house wares, hardware, electronics, home furnishings, small appliances, automotive accessories, gardening accessories, sporting goods, toys, and pet food. Wal-Mart moved into the Superenter retailing concept in the 1990s and has at this point 1,700 of these Superenters worldwide (Sampson, 2008).

These Superenters range in size from slightly over 90,000 square feet to 260,000 square feet. These are substantially larger than its normal stores, ranging in size from 90,000 square feet to 261,000 square feet. Wal-Mart also runs smaller…

Wal-Mart
International Expansion

International Expansion (Wal-Mart)

Company Background

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the prime retailer in the world, the world's second-largest company after Exxonmobil and the nation's leading nongovernmental company. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates retail stores in a variety of retailing layouts in all 50 states in the United States. The Company's selling operations and functions serve its customers mainly through the operation of three segments. The Wal-Mart Stores segments comprise its discount stores, Supercenters, and locality Markets in the United States. The Sam's club segment comprises the warehouse membership clubs in the United States. The Company's subsidiary, McLane Company, Inc. gives products and allocation services to retail industry and institutional foodservice customers.

Layout plan

Industry Analysis

The Threat of New Entrants: The discount retailing market was dominated by large players, which by themselves served as substantial barriers to entry for new players. At the micro-level this was accomplished by:…

al-Mart faces an industry that is generally challenging, but its strength in the industry results in the industry being favorable. al-Mart's success is predicated on excellence execution of key components of the discount retail value chain -- procurement, logistics and merchandising. al-Mart has numerous strengths, but as befits the world's largest company it has relatively few weaknesses. In its intensely competitive businesses, al-Mart sees many threats, but there are still tremendous opportunities that al-Mart can take advantage of. In general, the external environment is favorable for al-Mart to continue to use its strengths to capitalize on its opportunities.
Porter's Five Forces. al-Mart's industry is intensely competitive, but the five forces work differently on al-Mart as an established, dominant player than they would on a new entrant. The five forces are power of suppliers, power of buyers, threat of substitutes, threat of new entrants and intensity of rivalry (QuickMBA.com, 2010). Supplier…

16; Wilbert, 2006, p. 2)
Strategic process, planning and decision making

As confirmed by Lee Scot's words regarding the aggressive strategy followed by each Wal-Mart store (Mohideen, 2009, p. 9), even if general stream planning and decision making is still largely centralized, being undertaken at the Wal-Mart Headquarters in Arkansas (for elements such as type of products to be sold, stores to be opened or closed, financial results and objectives, etc.), for issues regarding how to battle the local competition and better respond to customer needs, planning and decision making takes place at store level, as mentioned before in the "Functions and roles of managers" chapter.

Managing by objectives is a very much used practice within Wal-Mart, regional objectives being cascaded to store level. As is to be expected, the number one objective at store level and beyond is to reduce costs as much as possible.

Human Resource Management is…

Wal-Mart Delivery Time Cycle
The author of this report is asked to speak to Wal-Mart and their delivery time cycle performance vis-a-vis its benefit to Wal-Mart and how it allows Wal-Mart to remain so dominant in the retail sector. Indeed, there are other big-box stores that closely or loosely match what Wal-Marts sells including Kroger, K-Mart/Sears, Target, and so forth. However, in its half-century or so of existence, Wal-Mart has become the juggernaut of the world retail sector and there is little to no chance of that changing anytime soon barring a cataclysmic even in the retail sector or broader business or cultural world. While Wal-Mart has taken its share of proverbial black eyes for wages and benefits and how much it buys from China, its position as the retail cost leader and how much its supply chain and delivery time cycle figure into this calculus is something that cannot…

This is also true for inventory turnover. As significant as the impacts of all of these outputs can be on the organization, when improvements are made to multiple outputs, the impact is magnified.
Furthermore, these outputs all contribute to another crucial output for al-Mart, the profits. Profit is the ultimate output for al-Mart, and all of their other key measures relate directly to this objective. Many other outputs at al-Mart, for example staff turnover, intergroup collaboration, or even customer satisfaction are less directly correlated with improvements to profits. Thus, they are not considered to be outputs of equivalent importance to those described above. Those inputs have a high level of congruence with one another. They support one another and combine with each other easily to improve the bottom line.

In areas where the key outputs do not come together, they complement one another. hile improvements to same store sales will…

The result of this is a company that consistent meets its objectives for cost reduction, growth and profits.
orks Cited

Faletta, Salvatore. (2005). Organizational Diagnostics Models: A Review & Synthesis. Leadersphere.com. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://www.leadersphere.com/img/Orgmodels.pdf

Nadler, David; Tushman, Michael & Nadler, Mark B. (1997) Competing by Design: The Power of Organizational Architecture. pp. 28-39 Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://books.google.com/books?id=pemtYXc1Y1gC&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=nadler+tushman+congruence+model&source=web&ots=QI3cHfVfu&sig=LO7-ujjwO6zj0ebfkBwQxDkBcBM&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result

Cawsey, Tupper F. & Deszca, Gene. (2007). Toolkit for Organizational Change. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://books.google.com/books?id=4MMwBA8p-aIC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=nadler+tushman+congruence+model&source=web&ots=bjMrF2z1C&sig=oai_PqK3gQ3OZDFPvyKtT-frQYY&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result

Lundberg, Annie (2002). al-Mart: IT Inside the orld's Biggest Company. CIO Magazine. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://www.cio.com/article/31174/al_Mart_IT_Inside_the_orld_s_Biggest_Company

Bradley, Stephen & Ghemawat, Pankaj. (2002). al*Mart Stores, Inc. Harvard Business School. 9-794-024

Video: Is al-Mart Good for America. PBS. Retrieved October 30, 2008 at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/view/

Faletta, Salvatore. (2005). Organizational Diagnostics Models: A Review & Synthesis. Leadersphere.com.

Nadler, David; Tushman, Michael & Nadler, Mark B. (1997) Competing by Design: The Power of Organizational…

Also, the stores in the suburbs may also be chain stores, although locally or regionally based, rather than nationally-based chains like al-Mart. Consumers do not feel the same connection to these establishments, they way they might to old-fashioned mom-and-pop stores, or corner urban bodegas.
One further irony of al-Mart's employee policy is that even employees who are angry at the company they work for, who are being most hurt by its practices, may still shop at al-Mart. This is not because al-Mart offers good employee discounts, but because these consumers are usually on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder, and do not have the luxury of refusing to buy inexpensive goods for ethical reasons, given the size of their paychecks. The al-Mart hiring practice essentially creates a community of captive, low-wage consumers. And as society grows more expensive to live in because of the rising price of fuel and…

Wal-Mart Warehousing
Wal-Mart is a corporation that has successfully utilized its business model and mission of providing high-quality products to its customers at the lowest price possible. With the utilization of such beliefs, Wal-Mart has become one of the most successful corporate entities within the United States and its respective success has been noted further on an international level. To fully understand Wal-Mart's success as a company, one can view it comparatively. If Wal-Mart were a country, it would be the world's 26th largest economy, just behind Austria -- that says quite a lot (Lecavalier, 2010, p.1). While Wal-Mart's success has generally been linked to this business model and its corporate policy, there is one facet of Wal-Mart's success that is less frequently noted, despite its significance in the company's respective success, and that facet is warehousing. Wal-Mart's ability to provide its customers with top-quality products would cease to exist…

Wal-Mart Social esponsibility Analysis: An Employee Perspective
To begin the study "the purpose statement is "a statement that provides the major objective or intent, or "road map" to the study" (Creswell, 2009a, 104).Therefore, the purpose of this narrative is to discuss what employees at various Wal-Mart facilities around the Kansas City area have experienced regarding the social responsibility initiatives undertaken by the company. The method for this particular paper is a qualitative design. Because the desired conclusions were to be drawn from the specific experiences of individuals employed at Wal-Mart stores and Distribution Centers around the area, it was determined that the best method of gathering that information was via interviews with employees rather than the gathering of quantitative data which would not reveal individual interpretations of the policies put in place. The specific questions asked to the participants ranged from their impressions of environmental policies to treatment of employees…

Wal-Mart's most obvious image is that as a low-cost provider. The slogan "Everyday low prices" is common throughout the store and many goods are signed indicated that they have been subject to a recent price reduction.
Wal-Mart does appear to want to establish a strong presence in the community. The store is large, as is the parking lot. There is a clear intention to draw a substantial number of customers from the community and to become a major retailing force in the area. The location is a primary form of marketing for the company. Geographically, the location is out of the way, but physically its large presence makes stands out even among other box stores. And the Wal-Mart is much larger than conventional retailers. It would take a long time to walk past the Wal-Mart, and it cannot help but be noticed by all who pass it. Wal-Mart does have…

Employees and managers have also benefited from al-Mart's approach. In addition to job creation, al-Mart's wealth and might have allowed it to enrich the lives of its employees. For example, the company subscribes to the principles of respect for the individual, service to customers and striving for excellence, each of which allow employees to feel good about their jobs and lives.
The company's suppliers for the most part are also beneficiaries of al-Mart's mission. The suppliers capable of managing a high-volume, low-cost strategy benefit from the tremendous volumes that al-Mart offers them, which allows them the profitability to build their capacity and strengthen their businesses. al-Mart's mission therefore in theory is able to deliver value for all of the company's major shareholders. The strategy is predicated on strong growth that results from pleasing the customer. Not only does this focus the company on delivering value to the customer, but it…

The charitable donations that they made also contribute to tax write-offs, so al-Mart is not donating at a level where they no longer have incentive -- they benefit from their donations. The donations of employee time amount to little. al-Mart has 2 million employees, so the average donation is 1/2-hour per year per employee.
The SPI may influence the company's suppliers to strengthen their own CSR, but the program is too young to be judged as of yet. Such changes, particularly in the developing world where most of al-Mart's suppliers are located, can take a long time to implement. Furthermore, the SPI does not constitute direct pressure from al-Mart, and could be seen more as the company covering its backside in the event of a scandal relating to treatment of employees at one of its suppliers.

al-Mart's level of corporate social responsibility may be improving, but most of its efforts…

Wal-Mart, Mexico, and NAFTA
Was NAFTA the reason for Wal-Mart's success in Mexico or was it Wal-Mart's new competitive strategy? Wal-Mart's generic competitive strategy is clearly that of a 'low price' model in all nations where the retailer is located. It sells a seemingly infinite amount of goods and services in an undifferentiated fashion. The main reason that consumers go to Wal-Mart is because of its prices. Wal-Mart claims to offer one-stop shopping with the lowest prices a consumer can find in the area. Without offering such low prices, the store has little traction in the market, given that other retailers offer a more expansive product line of specific items, offer specific special deals, and offer greater prestige to the customer in terms of store name. NAFTA (The North American Free Trade Agreement) marked a watershed in Wal-Mart's relationship with Mexico. Today, Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in Mexico…

Wal-Mart
Porter's 5 Force Model

In this Porter's 5 Force Model analysis, specific focus is being paid to the competition of Wal-Mart that exists within the consumer retail industry rather than the industries in which Wal-Mart competes. We will be discussing the position of Wal-Mart in the industry with respect to various industry forces (St.Hilaire, 2012).

Threat of new entrants to a market: Medium pressure

Threats of new market entrants for Wal-Mart are relatively moderate for the reason that Wal-Mart has very strong marketing, distribution and purchasing along with the fact that it has sufficient capital to hire and train their employees and purchase merchandises (St.Hilaire, 2012).

Due to the fact that the Wal-Mart has built a brand name for itself and has excellent distribution systems as well as capital to keep the competitors at bay the barriers to entry are very high in this particular sector (Bryant, 2010).

Furthermore,…

Wal-Mart:
Using Investments to One's Advantage

eturn on Assets & eturn on Equity

A return on assets (OA) ratio is a way for a company to recognize how profitable it is in accordance with its total assets. This formula allows for the company to observe how efficient their management team is at using its assets in a way that will generate more generous earnings for the company and the shareholders. The formula, a favorite to investors, can easily be determined by taking the company's net income and dividing it by its total assets (Crosson, et al., 2008).

The return on equity (OE) ratio is the amount of net income that is returned as a percentage of the shareholders' equity (Loth, 2011). This formula, also a favorite to investors, measures a company's ability to be profitable by showing how much money the company is able to generate with shareholder investments (Loth,…

Wal-Mart
An example of a short-term project that Wal-Mart undertakes is opening a new store. The company regularly opens new stores, and it takes several months from start to finish for the project. New stores have a relatively infinite life, so they are a capital project, but they are short-term in nature before they begin earning revenues of their own. The life span of the project indicates that equity may be more appropriate for this project. For a short-term project, equity typically comes from working capital by way of retained earnings.

For a short-term project at Wal-Mart financing should be done from cash. The financing decision should be made on the basis of a company's ideal capital structure and the cost of capital, but also should be made with consideration for the company's existing balance sheet. For Wal-Mart, the balance sheet has sufficient capital - $7 billion in cash for…

al-Mart
Introduction number of companies today are experiencing financial setbacks and bankruptcies.

It is important to examine al-Mart and understand how the company is functioning in the economy today.

Marketing

al-Mart standardizes its global marketing strategies with methods such as global sourcing. This global marketing strategy is aimed at improving a product's quality, lowering its price or gaining efficiency.

al-Mart has become a global firm as it has learned to incorporate proven marketing strategies of the countries it has expanded to. The company has done well in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom, which could be attributed to the fact that consumers in these markets are looking for more for their money, and have lower incomes.

al-Mart will do well in the Russian market, however it needs to be aware of the depressed economy the country is experiencing. al-Mart may do well in Japan, however, it should remember…

The stores products are not targeted to me, which highlights a difference in expectations between the in-store and online experiences. I expect that an in-store experience will not be personalized, so I do not notice when something the company is attempting fails. But online I do expect a more personalized experience, so when deals are offered that are of no relevance to my search and of no interest to me this comes across as being inefficient. To me this illustrates that the online experience should be, if anything, more economically efficient, but I have found it to be less so.
The firm's position in the market appears to be therefore hindered by the information available over the Internet. The firm is simply less effective at meeting the customer's needs. Whereas Wal-Mart excels in-store at creating visual experiences that draw customers around the store, this is not the case online. Therefore,…

Wal-Mart:
Capital Project for Expansion to New Countries

Wal-Mart is an American multinational corporation that is publicly traded. The company is known for its chain of large discount stores and warehouses. In 2010, the company was able to announce the title of 'World's Largest Public Corporation' in terms of its revenue. Since its founding in 1962, Wal-Mart has successfully built 8,500 stores in fifteen countries. However, despite such great success, the company has experienced a few failures; the company did not succeed in Germany or South Korea. Of the most success outside of the United States are stores located within South America and in Asia (WalMart.com, 2011).

Type of New Investment & Issues Surrounding It

Because of Wal-Mart's drive to expand its physical borders, it will continue to try success in a variant of countries. Among the many issues that Wal-Mart may have in entering a new country, it may…

It is also a "what" problem, however, because the major issue Mr. McNerney, (and others at the company) need to address is "what needs to be changed." It is a "why" problem, moreover, because 3M executives need to endeavor to discover how 3M "lost its groove" (so-to-speak) in the first place, and how it might now go about getting it back. So the problem of #M's organizational leadership problem is a three-part problem (or, perhaps, three separate yet related problems).
3. One strategy Mr. McNerney is using is to attempt to get everyone onboard, and in favor of the changes he envisions, rather than simply ordering change. Mr. McNerney is using persuasion with subordinates, rather than coercion. As one 3M employee, having watched McNerney in action, observes: "Jim doesn't say, 'You've got to do this.' Instead he says, '3M has this tremendous reputation and global presence and great technology, and…

The online business is completely separate. They have their own people and their own infrastructure.
Me: Does the website help your business or hurt your business? What do your customers tell you about their impressions of the website?

WMT: They love it. And I really think it helps what we do at the store level. A lot of people don't really want to buy things over the Internet. But they want to shop. That brings them to the store to make their purchase, and this is something you can't do on Amazon or eBay or sites like that. The customers buy their Christmas presents online, and shop for themselves in the store. There's other people who probably shop online exclusively -- we might see them for their groceries but that's it. I think the website offers the same high quality experience you get in store, and it makes a fantastic…