Examples Of Environmental Analysis Of Walmart

1094 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impacts of business environment

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

Trends and Potential Events
To do a true evaluation of Wal-Mart Stores, the environment surrounding the market it is in must be observed. In doing so, the firm can neutralize threats or jump on opportunities that affect it in any way. “The goal is to identify and evaluate trends and events that will affect strategy either directly or indirectly” (Aaker, 1985).

Political Environment:
One thing affecting the Political environment of Wal-Mart is the firm’s decision to support specific political candidates. In 2006, Walmart gave California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, over $20,000 and funded $200,000 for initiatives he supported. California receives more money from Walmart for politics than any other state; the company has donated $300,000 to its GOP and local politicians. It’s been noted that the firm progressively increased its “contributions to…politicians, just as such politicians have been taking on bigger roles in deciding key issues concerning the company's operations, from the local minimum wage and required health-care benefits to zoning for big-box retailers.” Sam Walton stated that politics should be ignored by the firm because customers weren’t benefited by its involvement in political matters—but this is no longer the case for the firm. “Today, Wal-Mart has become one of the most active corporations in the U.S. At the federal level, Wal-Mart is already the No. 1 corporate political contributor, giving $943,455 in the 2006 election cycle” (Gogoi, 2006).
The firm monetarily supports politicians who don’t focus on the climate crisis. “Between 2005 and 2012, Walmart and the Waltons gave $2.1 million…to members of Congress with lifetime scores of 30 or less on the League of C...

... middle of paper ...

...er to have success, but financing it is a whole other issue
For each of the following environments, provide a description of key events or trends in each environment, the strategic implications to your firm for each trend/event, the relevant time frame or expected time frame for each trend/event (urgent, near future, distant future) and the relative importance of each trend/event to your firm (high, medium, low)

Legal Environment

Scenario Analysis
Outline two potential scenarios for your firm based on the trend analysis above. Relate each scenario to your firm’s current strategy and new options. Finally estimate the probability of each scenario actually occurring (highly unlikely, unlikely, likely, highly likely).

Key Strategic Uncertainties
Outline the key strategic uncertainties that have been revealed in this analysis and the importance of each to your firm.

Show More
Related

  • Is Walmart Good For America

    552 Words  | 2 Pages

    But Wal-Mart’s care for us goes beyond that simple relationship. As many of us have seen if we have been to a Wal-Mart, they hire people who normally would not be able to get a job. The company knows that by broadcasting itself as positive and helpful in nature it can increase its revenue and in turn increase the amount of assistance it provides to us the consumer. “In 2004 Wal-Mart donated over $170 million. More than 90 percent of these donations went to charities in the communities served by Wal-Mart stores.’ Even more heartfelt than this, Wal-Mart was the leader in goods based relief efforts for victims of hurricane Katrina. “Walmart’s response to the hurricane was lauded even by its critics: it donated more than $20 million worth of merchandise, including food for 100,000 meals, and it promised jobs for all of its displaced workers.” And the first supply truck to arrive at the superdome was a Wal-Mart truck.

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart

    1714 Words  | 4 Pages

    A prior market firm used by Wal-mart (GSD&M) warned Wal-mart of the public image issues they were facing and had not addressed, even though they had been advised of them for over two years. GSD&M wrote in one review to the company that “sadly, after two years of empty rhetoric and ineffective publicity stunts, we now know that Wal-Mart has not only needlessly hurt its Associates and their families, but has pointlessly hurt the image and success that Sam Walton built.” (wakeupWalMart.com, 2007). Wal-mart has acted in a manner that blends with the theory of egoism. This theory “sets as its goal the benefit, pleasure, or greatest good of the oneself alone.” (wofford.edu, 1997). “Egoist use personal advantage…as the standard for measuring an action’s rightness.” (Shaw, 2008, p. 45). Clearly Wal-mart today is acting with interests geared toward their personal advantage and not considering the wreckage it is leaving all around them.

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart: The High Cost of a Low Price

    515 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wal-Mart represents the sickness of capitalism at its almost fully evolved state. As Jim Hightower said, "Why single out Wal-Mart? Because it's a hog. Despite the homespun image it cultivates in its ads, it operates with an arrogance and avarice that would make Enron blush and John D. Rockefeller envious. It's the world's biggest retail corporation and America's largest private employer; Sam Robson Walton, a member of the ruling family, is one of the richest people on earth. Wal-Mart and the Waltons got to the top the old-fashioned way: by roughing people up. Their low, low prices are the product of two ruthless commandments: Extract the last penny possible from human toil and squeeze the last dime from its thousands of suppliers, who are left with no profit margin unless they adopt the Wal-Mart model of using nonunion labor and shipping production to low-wage hellholes abroad." (The Nation, March 4th 2002 www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20020304&s=hightower).

    Read More

  • Impact of Wal-Mart on the US Economy

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wal-Mart has had a significant economic impact on the US, as well as the economies of countries that have relations with the US. Wal-Mart is the world’s biggest company of any kind, with 80 percent of the households in America purchasing something from the superstore; it is the nation’s largest retailer. Wal-Mart’s continuing price reduction has given Americans the advantage of being able to afford 15 to 20 percent more than they previously could. (Hansen) In a world governed by globalization and greed, competition has become rigid; as a result firms like Wal-Mart have utilized advanced marketing strategies to insure that they are on the ‘neck’ of competition, and are the core deciders of the market. (Ortega) However, Wal-Mart made decisions that were of a disadvantage to aspects of the economy, including the depletion on a small scale of Small Town USA.

    Read More

  • Examples Of A Good Monopoly

    1033 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Macro-Sized Microcosm describes how Wal-Mart is a ‘macro-sized microcosm’ for America’s socioeconomic problems. New technology in the marketplace has created a conflict between labor and capital. This is ruining the U.S. manufacturing base. This reading states that Wal-Mart benefits by relying on suppliers and subcontractors. Wal-Mart buyers demand the lowest price possible, making it competitive with their suppliers. A way they do this is by adding cost efficiencies. These demands make it difficult for suppliers to provide employees with decent wages and suitable working conditions. The government endorses these circumstances. The federal and state governments support Wal-Mart with about $4 billion. This includes “free or reduced price land, tax breaks, sales tax rebates, state corporate income tax” et cetera. Most Wal-Marts in the U.S. receive government subsidy. This makes the price of commodities low and keeps them ahead of the

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart's Competitive Environment

    1679 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wal-Mart’s competitive environment is quite unique. Although Wal-Mart’s primary competition comes from general merchandise retailers, warehouse clubs and supermarket retailers also present competitive pressure. The discount retail industry is substantial in size and is constantly experiencing growth and change. The top competitors compete both nationally and internationally. There is extensive competition on pricing, location, store size, layout and environment, merchandise mix, technology and innovation, and overall image. The market is definitely characterized by economies of scale. Top retailers vertically integrate many functions, such as purchasing, manufacturing, advertising, and shipping. Large scale functions such as these give the top competitors a significant cost advantage over small-scale competition.

    Read More

  • Is Walmart Good Or Bad For Health And Social Care?

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    and 2000 for a spokesperson had publicly mentioned that more than two thirds of our people are not trying to support a family that 's why our jobs are designed for, and yet it seems that they 're low wages and 2000 for a spokesperson had publicly mentioned that more than two thirds of our people are not trying to support a family that 's why our jobs are designed for, and yet it seems that they 're low wages don 't even support those who aren 't trying to support a family. So who do they help? Walmart doesn 't provide adequate healthcare, the healthcare isn 't just for the family it is for everyone who would like good health. But while Walmart has its downs it also has a few pros, like their genius inventions such as the Telon, And their ingenuity have helped make and bring Walmart to the top. They have intelligently used their barcodes on products to bring about information, such as how many our soul, how many are expected to be sold, prices and even discounts. Then Walmart brilliantly patented the idea so if other competitors want to stay in the game, they have to buy this idea from Walmart just to keep up with Walmart. It 's pretty brilliant when you think about it. They also use a open price system where you are drawn into a department by the low prices they stick in front and you stay because you assume that other products in this department will have similar low prices, when in reality they might be more expensive than other

    Read More

  • The Marketing Environment: Wal-Mart Corporation

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wal-Mart is one of the world's greatest assets to most people. It provides consumer's a place they can go to virtually get anything they need from, car repairs, to groceries, prescription's, even the latest toys and electronics. With all that said, this paper relates to the different forces in business that affects business: competitive, economic, political + legal + regulatory, technological, cultural + social, demographic, and natural forces. Although there are technically seven we are going to focus on competitive, political, technological, and natural forces.

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices

    1949 Words  | 4 Pages

    Walmart has had a long-standing presence in America society since the middle of the 20th century, seen as a place to get everything done, Walmart has become a fixation in our society. From grocery shopping, to changing your oil and even filing your annual tax returns, Walmart is always there, everyday. Started by Sam Walton in 1962, it began as a small operation catering to a small Arkansas community. It was started on principles very similar to small local businesses in small towns. Today Walmart has gotten a different, darker reputation. On the surface, Walmart may seem like the solution to everyday issues. Low-income families are attracted to the low prices, and people who work odd hours benefit greatly from the 24 hours a day that many Walmarts are open. Lately, Walmart has also managed to be publicly recognized as a store that sells many of today’s green products, including organic food, environmental conscious cleaning products, as well as, paper products made from recycled paper. However, underneath all this, Walmart has a different side. Exploitation of its workers is widespread amongst Walmarts who do not belong to a union, especially in the United States. Wal...

    Read More

  • Strategic Analysis of Ryanair

    4040 Words  | 9 Pages

    This is a crucial part of a strategic analysis because ‘…organisations do not exist in a vacuum, they are part of a complex world’ (Bowman 1987:61) and many factors can influence operations, beneficially and unfavourably. However, these can be difficult to comprehend due to their complexity, diversity and fast changing nature. Necessarily a number of techniques have been developed to facilitate the process and to ‘…contribute to answering the key managerial question…’of what ‘…opportunities and threats might arise in the future’ (Johnson & Scholes 2002:99).

    Read More

  • Strategic Management at Virgin

    2066 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...ring the basic premises of strategic management'. Vol 12 pp. 449-461. San Diego: Strategic Management Journal.

    Read More

  • Diagnosis Of Strategic Issue Diagnosis

    1995 Words  | 4 Pages

    Strategic issues have been defined as ‘environmental trends and possible events that may have a major and discontinuous impact of the firm’ and early research focused on identifying and assessing these important phenomena (Ansoff, 1975, p. 24-25, 1980). Later scholars introduced the concept of strategic issue diagnosis: the evaluation and infusion with meaning of environmental data with the intent of generating organizational momentum to respond (Dutton & Duncan 1987b; Dutton et al., 1983; Dutton & Jackson, 1987), a process that involves the following steps (Julian & Ofori-Dankwa, 2008). Decision makers scan the environment in attempts to detect signals of potential importance to the firm, collating and reifying a variety of related stimuli into a “strategic issue” (Dutton et al., 1983). This issue joins similar issues in the “strategic issue array,” the list of different strategic issues being potentially considered at any given time (Dutton & Duncan, 1987a; Dutton, 1997). Based upon their interests, beliefs and inclinations, different individual executives and managers, as well as groups, attempt to sell, promote and champion a particular strategic issue’s significance by means of different diagnoses (Dutton & Ashford, 1993; McMullen et al., 2009). By means of analysis and negotiation, the upper echelon of the firm comes to a more or less commonly agreed upon diagnosis of the issue in question as to its nature and possible effects (Dutton et al., 1983; Dutton, 1993, 1997). Once more or less established, the strategic issue’s diagnosis influences the formulation and implementation of a response, which may unfold over time and which itself may lead to further altered diagnoses (Dutton, 1997; Chatto...

    Read More

  • Walmart Social Responsibility Case Study

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    While keeping in mind they are a business which rely on profits. Walmart is a popular company that is known for their low prices. This corporation is also known for giving back to communities by making charitable contributions of 100,000 grants annually, as well providing disaster relief to various countries burdened by disasters and donated $100 million dollars to neighborhoods and law enforcement agencies. They also provide employees with college grants to obtain a two or four year college degree, Walmart is investing in their employees by giving them an advantage in their future. Walmart has also found ways to reduce waste by creating materials that are nontoxic and are recyclable friendly. With the use of sustainability, strategic philanthropy, causing marketing, shared values and stakeholder that is why this company was ranked number one by Forbes list in

    Read More

  • Sonic Drive-In Restaurant

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    • Hitt, Michael A; Hokisson, Robert E.; Ireland, RD. Strategic Management. 6th Ed., Masson, Ohio: Souht. Wester 2005.

    Read More

  • Team Deliverable: 7.6: Communication Plan Analysis

    593 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to a case study by Hayden, Lee, McMahon, and Perelra (2002), Walmart’s manage their stakeholders in a manner that maximizes the mega retailer’s tactical advantage. Walmart maintain a high relationship with their key stakeholders by corporate statements, communication, and keep close contact with the external stakeholders such as the US Congress via lobbying staff (Hayden et al., 2002). According to a SlideShare by Dolezal (2014) Walmart uses mass Medias from “television, ads, social media, websites, and a lot more” to communicate to their customers and shareholders (Dolezal 2014). (See figure 1).

    Read More

More about Examples Of Environmental Analysis Of Walmart

Open Document