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Selection of a Firm

Introduction

A business plan incorporates a company's concerns regarding vital resource issues. Typically, a company formulates its business strategy based on the resources at its disposal and the long-term results it hopes to attain. Therefore, the majority of businesses formulate their strategies with the objective of increasing their performance and keeping pace with the market's competition. The objective of this research is to identify an organization, discuss its nature, organizational structure as well as its business strategy. The selected organization for this paper is Walmart Inc. Walmart Stores Inc. is a well-known company that operates numerous locations across the globe including the United States, Mexico, Japan, United Kingdom India and Canada.

Nature of the Organization

Walmart is an international retail firm that was founded in the United States and maintains its headquarters in that country. Walmart is involved in the operation of many different hypermarkets, including food stores and discount departments, in a variety of nations all over the world. It is classified as a retail corporation in terms of its business operations. Sam Walton started the business in 1962, and since then he has been successful in growing it to be worth many millions of dollars. The company is a multinational discount retail chain. A stock split of the organization took place in May of 1972, and in 1981 Walmart expanded its activities to include the southern region of the United States (Pope & Pope, 2015). In 1993, under the leadership of Bobby Martin as president, Walmart established its international business. Subsequently, the corporation expanded into multiple states, which led to a rise in sales.

Walmart has a significant client base as a result of the low prices of the goods and services they provide, such as sports and recreation, electronics, delivery and pickup for household goods, and health insurance (Burbach, 2021). The management established two competing online stores, Walmart.com and Jet.com, which gave clients the option to buy goods from the nearby store, increasing their client base and providing them a greater chance in the market than their rivals. 

Organization Chart for Walmart

Chief Executive Officer CEO

The position of chief executive officer (CEO) is the most senior executive position in a company and is responsible for managing all aspects of the business. The chief executive also provides assistance in the selection of candidates for various higher positions and provides input into the organization's most important policy decisions. There are two assistant CEO’s one assistant is responsible for administration while the other is responsible for finances.

Assistant CEO in charge of Finance

Controls the company budgetary matters and has the authority to make important financial choices and monitor financial activities within the business and from its numerous international subsidiaries.

Assistant CEO in charge of Administration

The assistant chief executive helps the CEO in his tasks and, in his absence, can operate in his full authority, including key organizational decision-making, the hiring of higher positions, and the oversight of all administrative concerns in the institution's branches.

Human Resource Managers

The human resource manager is responsible for the well-being and performance of employees. They are responsible for recruiting and terminating employees based on their performance and conduct. In addition to reviewing employee compensation and other perks such as medical coverage, the human resource manager is also responsible for fostering positive working circumstances. They select high-performing staff and award them in various ways so as to boost their morale and work ethic.

Marketing Managers

The job of marketing managers includes conducting market research on a variety of topics, including the pricing strategies of competitors and customer preferences. In order to enhance sales turnover, marketing managers also help spread awareness of the company's products by using a variety of media, including social media.

Regional Managers

Walmart has developed a number of stores in different countries, each region now has a regional manager who is responsible for assisting in the formulation of important regional policies. A regional manager's responsibilities often include assisting in the assessment of employee performance, monitoring sales turnover, and ordering supplies.

Management Trainee

The responsibility of the management trainee includes providing training and induction services to newly hired employees, as well as providing these services to staff members who have been promoted. Every region has its own training program for aspiring managers.

Customer Service Supervisor

The client service supervisor assists in the general supervision and efficient functioning of the store to ensure that customers are served effectively. In addition, they oversee the actions and conduct of cashiers, shelf stackers, and sales workers. Client service supervisors also collect stock information that aids in order placement.

Cashier, Stocker and Sales Supervisor

The staff who work on the ground are the Cashier, Shelf stackers, and Sales Staff; as they interact with consumers, they are able to assist them with their purchases. They are responsible for ensuring that consumers receive the very best service within the allotted period when they make a transaction.

Business Strategy of Walmart

Walmart has a number of business tactics that give it an advantage over its rivals. The two generic approaches this company employs are cost leadership and differentiation. Implementation of these models provides the company with a competitive edge by attracting a larger clientele.

Cost Leadership

According to the framework invented by Michael Porter, cost leadership is a form of generic competitive plan that places an emphasis on lowering expenses (Bruijl & Gerard, 2018). Walmart is capable of competing on the basis of low selling prices since it is a manufacturer of retail products and connected business outputs that has low production costs (Ferguson, 2018). The pricing strategy of the company places a primary strategic emphasis on maintaining competitively low prices. The company’s’ key selling feature is low prices. The corporation takes advantage of the numerous cost-cutting approaches, which enables it to maintain prices at a competitive level. For example, the firm is able to achieve low costs in operations by using automation and other technologies, as well as by minimizing the amount of money spent on human resources.

Differentiation Strategy

Walmart implemented a complicated differentiation strategy in order to assure the continued growth of the company and the loyalty of its customers. In addition to this, they developed the company such that the consumer and the company both serve each other's needs. By implementing a differentiation approach, Walmart is capable of giving their products and services a distinguishing quality that their rivals lack and that consumers perceive to be superior (Ferguson, 2018). In the event that suppliers raise their prices, Walmart has a good opportunity of covering the increase by transferring on the cost to clients due to the distinctive future they provide in their goods and services.

Particular aspect of the company to focus on.

Ethics and integrity

The company should establish international ethics to aid in fostering a culture of honesty by formulating and enacting norms for ethical conduct applicable to all parties around the world. International ethics is accountable for fostering an institution's integrity culture. This includes defining and enforcing ethical conduct policies for all parties worldwide. The company should encourage integrity as a daily practice by providing ethical consistency education. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, the objective of this research was to identify an organization, discuss its nature, organizational structure as well as its business strategy. Walmart is a retail business that was established in 1962 by Sam Walton. In 1993, under the leadership of Bobby Martin as president, Walmart established its international business. Walmart has a significant client base as a result of the low prices of the goods and services they provide. The organization has a hierarchical organization structure led by the CEO. Walmart has a number of business tactics that give it an advantage over its rivals. The two generic approaches this company employs are cost leadership and differentiation. Implementation of these models provides the company with a competitive edge by attracting a larger clientele.

References

Bruijl, D., & Gerard, H. T. (2018). The relevance of Porter's five forces in today's innovative and changing business environment. Available at SSRN 3192207.

Burbach, C. (2021). Walmart Strategic Analysis.

Ferguson, E. (2018, August 22). Walmart's generic competitive strategy and Intensive Growth Strategies. Panmore Institute. Retrieved August 24, 2022, from https://panmore.com/walmart-generic-competitive-strategy-intensive-growth-strategies

Pope, D. G., & Pope, J. C. (2015). When Walmart comes to town: Always low housing prices? Always? Journal of Urban Economics, 87, 1-13.

CEO

Assistant CEO Administration

Human Resource Mangers

Marketing Managers

Assistant CEO Finance

Regional Managers

Management Trainee

Customer Care Supervisors

Cashiers, Stockers and Sales Associates