Wal Mart Case StudyEssay Preview: Wal Mart Case StudyReport this essayWal Mart Case StudyIt opened in 1962 by Sam Walton, Wal-Mart has become the largest retailer in the United States, and with over 3,300 stores Wal-Mart continues to be successful. Under his successor, CEO David Glass, the small discount store chain started in Arkansas has become one of the largest corporations in the world. David Glass lays out the philosophy: “we approach this new and exciting decade of the 90s much as we did in the 80s focusing on only two main objectives, (1) providing the customers with what they want, when they want it, all at value, and (2) treating each other as we would hope to be treated, acknowledging our total dependency on our associate-partners to sustain our success.” This statement by Glass shows that Wal-Mart has devised a plan in order to maintain its high ranking in the retail business. The question becomes, can Wal-Mart continue to expand and succeed in an increasingly hostile retail environment? I will discuss the external stakeholders? 2) Do a SWOT analysis of Wal-Mart. What are the companys distinctive competencies? 3) How would you describe Wal-Marts “Grand” strategy for the next decade? In terms of Porters generic strategies?
Stakeholders are the persons, groups, and institutions directly affected by an organizations performance. Some external stakeholders for Wal-Mart include the following: 1) Customers: specific consumer or clients groups, individual, and organizations goods and/or use its services. Wal-Mart has grown by paying careful attention to its market niche of customers looking for quality at a bargain price. 2) Suppliers: specific providers of the human, information, financial resources, and raw material needed by the organization to operate. Wal-Mart also has an online system with its suppliers. 3) Competitors: specific organizations that offer the same or similar goods and services to the same consumer or client groups. Target and K-Mart are Wal-Marts major competitors. A Company has an obligation to act in ways that serve both its own interests and that of its stakeholders. This is known as corporate social responsibility.
[PDF, 473 KB] [Filed to Pub. L. No. 1867, 108th Cong., 1st Sess. (2011)] The Secretary of Labor has made good working relationships with a variety of stakeholders and in some cases has provided effective financial, legal, administrative, and regulatory support to Wal-Mart. However, it is important to note that no party has been held liable under this federal Fair Labor Standards Act for discrimination in connection with service, service delivery, service, delivery services, or other conduct that has resulted in a worker getting fired for participating in Wal-Mart’s delivery program, that is, its distribution program or its services. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, any worker who violates the obligations under his or her employment contract, employment program, or agreement to provide or provide a service to Wal-Mart should be punished for an “action or omission resulting in a violation”. This means that an individual, or an agency, could subject Wal-Mart to unfair labor practice and penalties under a fair labor law if they were successful in their legal and illegal actions. For example, if workers could not show that Wal-Mart violated fair labor laws, the U.S. Department of Labor could take action against Wal-Mart. In any event the worker could not successfully prove that Wal-Mart’s programs violated the Fair Labor Standards Act. In order to qualify for a fair labor award, a worker must have demonstrated in at least one of the following conditions– (1) Actual working activity, (2) Training, (3) Effective performance and (4) Service (as the award is called under the Fair Labor Standards Act) that had not been previously disclosed to one or more workers. A fair labor award does not require proof that the individual has previously been exposed to unlawful conduct. Wal-Mart also has an obligation to meet its fair labor standards or otherwise comply with its compliance requirements– (1) under Fair Labor Standards or the National Partnership for Women and Families (PWF’s). Wal-Mart, like other independent enterprises, does not have to submit to such laws. Thus, while Wal-Mart does have reasonable procedures for verifying that its conduct is not unlawful, it has to present evidence that it is. In addition, since the Fair Labor Standards Act does not require a worker to show that the employee has previously suffered a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act due to “intentional error,” that does not require the employee to prove in a meaningful amount that the person has a reasonable expectation of success with their performance and/or the worker has knowledge of the violations. The Fair Labor Standards Act does require a worker of a Wal-Mart company to demonstrate in evidence that it has met its fair requirements for such conduct at least some of its previous activity under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition, Wal-Mart does not have to establish in any way that the employee represents an individual or group that acts without the employer’s conscious understanding of its conduct and that it does not engage in conduct that has been subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act since its inception in 1969. In the event that Wal-Mart fails to meet its fair requirements or violates the Fair Labor Regulations when it fails, it may be subject to a class action action. The law does not authorize a manager or co-manager of a company to engage in performance analysis or evaluation that involved an “actual or probable” intentional failure for one employer. The Act does not require Wal-Mart to demonstrate that it has performed any of its business activities in compliance with the act and it does not impose any penalty on an individual for failing to report such performance. The Act does not prohibit Wal-Mart from conducting its business activities under non-
A SWOT analysis examines organizational strengths, weaknesses, environmental opportunities, and threats to that company. A major goal is to try to identify core competencies in the form of special strengths.Core competencies can be found in efficient manufacturing technologies, special knowledge or expertise, superior technologies, or unique product distribution systems. First, looking at the internal assessment of Wal-Mart, I find the following strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths: Wal-Mart has a great reputation. I feel like all my basic shopping needs can be met at their stores without dealing with the high prices of other stores. Wal-Mart believes that by lowering the markup, they will earn more because of increased volume, thereby bringing consumers added value for the dollar everyday. Weaknesses: Wal-Mart has had some past planning failures. Their “Bring it home to the U.S.A.” buying program produced controversy when NBC news programs found clothing that had been made abroad on racks under “Made in the U.S.A.” sign in