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WALMART’S DOWNFALL IN GERMANYWALMART’S DOWNFALL IN GERMANY DUE TO CULTURAL MISTAKESDUE TO CULTURAL MISTAKES

Walmart is a retail corporation that manages a chain of supermarkets, grocery stores, and discount stores, headquartered in the United States. This case study about Walmart's downfall is really interesting given that Walmart is a retailing giant with successful cross-border entrances however experienced a major defeat in the German market due to mismanagement of cultural diversity. It shows how crucial attention to culture is for a multinational enterprise. Culture cannot be ignored!

CUSTOMER ISSUES Walmart failed to analyze the practiced culture in the local markets in Germany. They failed to understand the German customer and their demands which led to poor customer retention. The German customers felt that the over-friendliness and chatty behavior of store employees was unauthentic.

EMPLOYEE ISSUES Walmart imposed American employee management practices to the German workforce. Spying on employees was prominent and employees were not allowed to build personal relationships with one another. [2] Negligence of German unions for employee related matters. Employees wages were reduced to cut cost in order to lower prices to compete against rivals in the market. [3]

LEADERSHIP ISSUES

Power gap caused by Authorial decision-making strategy. Disregarding feedbacks from employees for the development of the company. Wal-Mart leadership’s strategy in Germany was self-centred and not adaptive. [1]

1. AHMAD RASHEED 24804171. AHMAD RASHEED 2480417 2. EDWIN SOMMY 24802302. EDWIN SOMMY 2480230 33. EMMANUEL ENEKWECHI 2481620. EMMANUEL ENEKWECHI 2481620 44. KAMRAN JAMSHAID 2475987. KAMRAN JAMSHAID 2475987 55. MOHAMMAD SHAHZAR BAIG 2467387. MOHAMMAD SHAHZAR BAIG 2467387 66. NOFAL AMIN 2457216. NOFAL AMIN 2457216 77. PRINCE AGYEMANG 2475028. PRINCE AGYEMANG 2475028 8.8. PRISCILLA GELI 2467008 PRISCILLA GELI 2467008 9.9. SANA AZHAR RASHID 2480181 SANA AZHAR RASHID 2480181

1. Culture problems faced by Walmart 2. Solutions to these cultural issues 3. Effective Corporate strategy

[1] MBA Knowledge Base, n.d. Case Study: Wal-Mart’s Failure in Germany. [Online] Available at: https://www.mbaknol.com/management-case-studies/case-study-wal-marts-failure-in-germany/#:~:text=Cultural%20Insensitivity%20was%20the%20major,prevailing%20German%20law%20and%20regulations. [Accessed 28 02 2022] [2] [3] BohatALA, n.d. Walmart Cross-Cultural Issues Case Study Analysis. [Online] Available at: https://bohatala.com/walmart-cross-cultural-issues/ [Accessed 28 02 2022]. [4] Banerjee, S. B. & Linstead, S., 2001. Globalization, Multiculturalism and Other Fictions: Colonialism for the New MIllenium. SAGE, 8(4), pp. 683-722.

REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

ISSUES WALMART FACED

1.Proper analysis of German customers to identify their taste and demands.

2.Extensive study of the German culture to implement German-friendly policies.

3.Hire local leaders.

4.Frequent feedbacks from customers and employees.

5.Recruitment of a customer experience team dedicated to developing and implementing good customer experience strategy.

6.Implement strategies to drive employee engagement and retention.

CONCLUSION Considering the various issues Walmart faced as a result of negligence to cultural diversity, it is evident that culture is crucial, powerful and requires care.

Hence, the corporate strategy of Walmart should be focused on ensuring the localisation of leadership for effective integration of local cultural values into their organisational policies to ensure good management.

Additionally, decision-making powers should be decentralised to facilitate flexible management of cultural differences for effective customer and employee engagement .

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