Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Walmart: Operations Management
Walmart Management Strategy
Organizing management at walmart
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Walmart: Operations Management
Team Deliverable: 7.6 - Communication Plan Critique For Group 2 communication plan critique, two ideas were presented. Initially, the ideas for consideration were: A. Walmart Communication Plan. B. Ford Motor Company Customer Awareness Communication Plan The communication plan chosen is that of Walmart; According to 2015 Annual Report from Walmart.com (2015) the company has an “open door” communication policy that helps their management operations (Walmart.com, 2015). Trying to obtain Walmart’s communication templates was unsuccessful, however the company communicates with their shareholders and stakeholders through periodic communication. The tools used are reports, which are available upon request without charge via formal letter or through their website. …show more content…
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). Note: Reprinted from “Strategic communication advice” Copyright 2014 by George Dolezal, ShareSlide Reprinted without permission. Figure 1. Circle of
Walmart is a company that can be seen from many different perspectives. Due to its vast size; it can be easy to identify its faults and environmental issues surrounding the company. However, they are well aware of these problems and criticisms and have made many efforts towards issues around the world. The motivation and desire Walmart have to improve the world we live in today can be seen through their treatment of employees, suppliers as well as their efforts towards the environment and other humanitarian issues. Given this, there is still endless resources on the web proving the company to be one of a negative burden on society.
This report discusses the evaluation of Wal-Mart’s strategic planning process. The purpose of this evaluation is to compare and analyze the performance to help better measure our operation and financial conditions as well as enable us to accomplish our future objectives and to continue growth.
Wal-Mart employs three basic beliefs which are respect for the individual, service to their customers, and striving for excellence (Hayden, 2002, p. 2). Wal-Mart’s corporate management strategy involves selling high quality and brand name products at the lowest price possible. In order to keep low prices, the company reduces costs by the use of advanced electronic technology and warehousing. It also negotiates deals for merchandise directly from manufacturers, eliminating the middleman. Wal-Mart’s new slogan is “save money, live better” (Wal-Mart Stores, n.d., p. 1). According to the company’s website, “saving money is a means of helping our customers live better. By offering the best possible prices on the products our customers need, we can help them afford a little something extra” (Wal-Mart Stores, n.d., p. 1). For each strategy that Wal-Mart promotes in flyer ads or television commercials, they measure the return on investment from these promotional strategies. If a strategy does not have a return on investment of a certain percentage in sales, those strategies are revamped or discarded. Backward expansion strategy is another key to Wal-Mart’s success. Unlike other retail stores, Wal-Mart opens their stores in a small town first before entering into metropolitan areas. “Wal-Mart spreads out like molasses from its Arkansas base by constructing new stores strategically located near distribution hubs and smaller towns, rather than leapfrogging across the nation like the other retailers” (Harper, 2004, p. 2).
The theme emerging from the data collection will support the research questions in the action plan. After collecting both qualitative and quantitative data it was discovered that the current communication strategies were inappropriate for the organization structure. The leadership style was autocratic, which gives the leader sole control over the organization without receiving input from other employees. According to the text, “leadership will need to become more focused and more distributed, because the task of leading these changes is just too large for one person” (Buczynski & Hansen 2014). An effective leader display strong communication skills by listening, communicating, and involving others in the decision making
Being a communications teacher yourself, you’ll understand the importance of communication within a department. This report evaluates the current communication method of an area school district and includes my recommendations to improve the communications between department heads and their direct reports.
Brux stated in the book economics issues and policy that “Walmart has market power because it is the world’s largest privately owned company, with thousands or employees and earning profits of tens and thousands of dollars”. Walmart has been in the rise above its competitors because they have adopted a business concept of reducing costs, and then challenging their competitors on price.
Sam Walton's 1992 book Made In America has all the details, but let me sum up: Wal-Mart knows relationship marketing. Rule No. 8 of "Sam's Rules for Building A Business" holds the secret to this winning formula of success. He says, "Let them (your customer) know you appreciate them."
Cardon, P. W. (2014). Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
As a public relations practitioner, it is important to follow guidelines when developing a strategic communications plan. By following a step-by-step guideline, over time, consistency will develop and the margin for error will decrease or that is at least what one can hope for. The six steps to creating a well-organized and strategic communication plan includes identifying the situation, research, strategy, action plan, implementation, and evaluation. In this paper one example per step will be provided to deliver a complete understanding of each step and ensure the reader is clear on the step and function.
The immense power that Wal-Mart controls is evident and can be expressed through its
Wal-mart has a reputation for caring for its customers, of course their employees, and for the prospective public. So Wal-Mart can be an industrial leader for the world of shoppers with an eye for lower affordable prices, company decision makers would continue it's systematic strategies that it's founder and president established years ago. Sam Walton believed in three guiding principles in his strategy planning they were to provide the customer with good value and service, to have a good relationship with its associates, and to be involved with the community.
Steyn, B. (2003). From strategy to corporate communication strategy: A conceptualisation. Journal of Communication Management, pp. 168 - 183.
Public relations is a very complex practice that utilizes many fields in social sciences and humanities. The multidisciplinary application used by public relations practitioners helps them further understand the people to which they are trying to relay their company’s message to. In my opinion, it is very smart to incorporate research from fields like sociology, psychology, and political science. Without the advancements of these fields public relations would not be as effective as it is today. Public relations practitioners use theories from other disciplines like sociology and psychology, which aids in understanding how people respond to forms of mass and strategic communication. I think it is important for company’s to make smart public
Lattimore, D., Baskin, O., Heiman, S., & Toth, E. (2004). Public relations: the profession and the practice. New York: Macgraw-Hill .
Many groups have a stake in what Wal-Mart does. Stakeholders can be broken down into two diverse groups: market stakeholders (shareholders, employees, consumers, and suppliers and non-market stakeholders (labor unions and environmental stakeholders).