for kim woods only CAREER CONNECTION: Final Strategic Plan

Running head: WALMART 1

WALMART 8

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Wal-Mart

Lourde Owens

Bus/475

Jul. 14, 2016

Dr. Tem E. Bugarin

Introduction

Organizations operating in the competitive market have a lot to do when it comes to ensuring that they succeed by remaining profitable and maintaining a competitive edge. Wal-Mart has managed to be one of the best organizations within its line of production. The purpose of this paper is to present a SWOT analysis, as well as the external and internal environmental analysis of the organization. Different forces affect business success, and Wal-Mart is not an exception. In addition, supply chain analysis and an analysis of how the entity adapts to change has also been provided.

Wal-Mart Inc.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths	Weaknesses
Loyal consumers	Large inventories and poor inventory keeping practices
Affordable pricing	Lack of variety of commodities to provide consumers with choices.
The entity hires full time employees hence increased effectiveness in operations	Part time employees do not receive benefits which is demotivating
Wal-Mart retail stores are located at convenient locations for easier and convenient accessibility by consumers.	Communication channels are complex
Opportunities	Threats
Expansion into other countries	Current economic crisis and unpredictability of economic situations
Improvement of local community perceptions about organization brands	High taxation rates in all countries it operates
Promotion of local trade and human labor laws and regulations	Harsh employee unions due to the increased demands made by labor groups
Promotion of the green word which fosters environmental protection	High competition by warehouse retailers such as Costco.

Economic forces

Economic factors play a major role in enhancing the success of Wal-Mart. Economic forces influence the organization set up and operations (Ferguson, 2016). The level of income of the main market segments of the organization includes its profitability. The lower the income levels, the lower the purchases and the lower the profitability at Wal-Mart. Inflation in the economy may be too high, and economic crisis leads to an increase in raw materials, hence the increase in products at Wal-Mart. The company has realized the best strategy to deal with the economic forces affecting the effectiveness of the organization (Ferguson, 2016). Over the years, Wal-Mart has been able to increase its market share which has helped during the financial crisis. Through the introduction of the new division, sales will increase, and the target markets will be of major help to the entity.

Legal and regulatory forces and trends, and leadership

Different forms of regulatory forces and legal factors play a role in influencing the effectiveness of the new production division embraced by Wal-Mart as an organization. The retail industry suffers the most, especially considering the changes in the employment practices as authorized by the law for the case of the retail stores in different regions. For example, the law requires that the recruitment and selection of employees should be conducted based on the criterion which is bound to offer more opportunity to diverse groups of people. There is a need to consider all the ethnic, social, cultural and religious groups within the region s in which Wal-Mart operations are based. Likewise, gender and age aspects of employees are not to be used as a criterion for employment. Such considerations may lead to legal issues and problems in Wal-Mart. Another legal factor is the inability of the management at Wal-Mart to follow equal employment regulations and procedures. There is a need to treat all personnel fairly and follow all employment regulations (Ferguson, 2016).

How well the organization adapts to change

Change is inevitable in organizations, and needs to be embraced. Wal-Mart has had its share of problems when it comes to embracing change in an entity. However, in my view, Wal-Mart has made the best move in trying to consider change in the different functional units. The management in the team has been on the forefront to embrace and encourage the use of change management strategies, such as the use of the porter’s five approach to increase effectiveness in the implementation of the change process. The porter’s five forces of change have ensured that employees embrace change introduction. Wal-Mart has managed to conquer all challenges and change has been effectively introduced across all departments and Wal-Mart chain stores.

Supply chain analysis of the new division of the existing business

Supply chain logistics are very important to all entities. The supply chain of the new production division at Wal-Mart is aimed at ensuring that the success of Wal-Mart is achieved for best results in the competitive industry. Produced units are to reach the final consumer through four basic levels of distribution. Core competencies which need to be emphasized on include the development of personnel, through training to enhance efficiency in operations. At the same time, such efforts are bound to have an impact on the sales and delivery processes to the markets, depending on the products and professionalism needed (Ferguson, 2016).

There is a need to consider the impact such measures may have on the business models and the stakeholders in Wal-Mart. First, distribution processes with many agents will have an impact on the organization product pricing strategies. The longer the channel the more expensive the commodities which might end up being rejected by consumers in the market. There is a need to ensure that the supply chain operations implemented are for the sake of shareholder wealth and profit maximization, and for the sake of enhancing transparency and effectiveness sin business operations at Wal-Mart as an established entity.

Issues and/or opportunities

Wal-Mart faces different issues and opportunities, which all contribute towards the growth of the entity. The organization has an opportunity to expand into other countries. Expansion of business operations and venturing into new international markets will help Wal-Mart achieve its effectiveness and profitability. Other opportunities include; to improve the local community perception of commodities produced, lobby federal government for tax breaks and benefit from incentives and more so, promote the green world.

Hypothesis

Trade and human labor laws are the most important but may have an effect on the ability of the organization to prosper.

Corporate social responsibility benefits Wal-Mart as it directly contributes to the success of the organization and its operations.

Research questions

The impact of trade and human labor laws on ability of Wal-Mart to venture into international markets.

The importance of engaging in social responsibility such as promoting the green world to Wal-Mart and other entities.

Circumstances surrounding each issue

Human labor laws need to be put into consideration at Wal-Mart. The implementation of human labor laws within Wal-Mart as an organization is extremely beneficial, but has been hindered by various aspects. First, the management of the organizations not keen towards enhancing the employment laws at Wal-Mart. Such circumstances make it harder for the proper and effective application of the issue (McKeown, 2014). The importance of embracing such laws is that employees will feel more valued and appreciated productivity will increase and organization effectiveness will be realized. Corporate social responsibility is another issue as well. The shareholders in this case, are only focused towards wealth maximization and profit maximization. The organization new product division requires support and the smaller numbers of commodities which are to be produced should be of high quality. Fast moving goods require good inventory keeping methods and Wal-Mart needs to find a way to necessitate the improvement of all aspects hindering innovation and operational effectiveness.

Conclusion

Wal-Mart is a clear example of how organizations are affected by both internal and external forces. There is a need to ensure that all entities are well versed with the aspects which affect their respective operations. Wal-Mart management should ensure that effective market research is embarked on for the purpose of identifying market gaps and providing effective goods and services for its loyal and potential consumers.

References

Mckeown, M. (2014). The innovation book: how to manage ideas and execution for outstanding results. Harlow, England New York: Pearson.

Ferguson, E. (2016). Wal-Mart’s Vision, Mission, Generic & Intensive Strategies: Panmore Institute. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/walmart-vision-mission-statement-intensive-generic-strategies