As Wal-Mart becomes a new service provider of cellular service to the market, Wal-Mart’s Family Mobile will face many challenges and one such challenge is pricing. As according to Armstrong and Kotler, “The introductory stage is especially challenging. Companies bringing out a new product face the challenge of setting prices for the first time” (p. 280). That service is cellular service, known as Wal-Mart’s Family Mobile. Wal-Mart has partnered with T-Mobile via the use of T-Mobile towers to create a low cost cellular services that average families can afford. Though Wal-Mart services cost as low as $29.88 a month, the demand and supply of the service can be affected by macroeconomic variables just like any other product. Such variables as …show more content…
unemployment rate, inflation, and government regulation can all have drastic impacts on the supply and demand of Wal-Mart Family Mobile Plans. Risk and financial impact of a new production introduction must be thoroughly established, discussed, and addressed in order to circumvent devastating financial loss.
Risk may be internal or external and in a variety of forms. An external risk for example may be the unemployment rate in that if people are unemployed they do not have disposable cash for desires. Only necessities are purchased and for many cellular service is not a necessity and cannot be afforded without adequate income. An internal risk to the company may be a divisive organizational structure. If various departments in the organization are not in agreement and backing of the new product, this will create internal tension and potentially hinder the success of the product or in this case the …show more content…
service. For a company to be successful, one must develop a risk mitigation plan that will address previously mentioned risks and others that may arise. By developing this plan Wal-Mart Family Mobile will develop options, actions, and strategies that will reduce the risks/threats to the service launch. As mentioned, an external risk to this service is the unemployment rate. Of course, this rate varies from country to country and between subgroups, therefore for the sake of this paper we will consider the unemployment rate in the United States of America which stood at 4.1 percent in February 2018 (www.bls.gov, 2018). This rate changes and the change is at times in a positive direction and at times, a negative direction. To mitigate this risk, Wal-Mart must evaluate the unemployment rate on a continual basis and ensure that the low costing cellular service the company is offering is actually priced to be low-costing to all levels of wage earners, more specific low to middle class. The internal risk, is just as vital as the external.
As mentioned the internal risk addressed in this paper is the cohesiveness of the organizational structure. Wal-Mart must ask itself, “Are all of our departments and employees supporting the successful launch of the service?” To answer this question, the successful company must develop a cross-sectional team that is representative of stakeholders in the company. This includes human resources, operations, manufacturing, sales associates and so forth. To combat this risk, the mitigation plan must include a cross-functional team. Forming a cross-functional team is an important aspect of new product or service introduction as the diversity of the team make-up should promote effective communication and technical competencies amongst team members as well as foster innovation and creativity. “New product development is crucial in determining which firms gain a competitive advantage and become market leaders, and is a key factor driving business success owing to the importance of new products to a firm’s prospects”, (G. Huang et al,
2009). Following the assembling of the cross-sectional team, one must develop a strategy to effectively manage said team. The strategy I have developed is as followed: • Shared vision: your team must understand the common goal of the new product/service launch. This ensures that there is a mutual understanding amongst team members as you begin this journey together. • Know your employees strengths/skills: talk with your employees, learn about their skills and ensure that their skill set is a match for the task. • Maintain effective and meaningful communication: communication ensures that all team members are on the same page as this can make or break a product introduction. Through adequate tools, processes, and communication channels this will create opportunities for team members to share information, collaborate on ideas and create a cohesive working environment. • Set expectations: understanding what is expected of you is important to an employee. Team members must have expectations to meet in a timely manner. As these expectations are set and met, the team member will feel a sense of accomplishment which will positively affect the team morale. • Lastly, know when not to micromanage: this will provide the team with a sense of trust and independence. Employees who are not overly micromanaged develop are empowered from the feeling of autonomy. This autonomy allows for ideas and creativeness to flow which may result in more product introduction and possibly development. Product/service introduction does not end with the creation of a cross-sectional team. There are other important aspects that can assist with product introduction. One such tool is total quality management. Total quality management (TQM) consist of five principles which are, producing quality work the first time; focus on the customer; produce a strategic approach to improvement; improve continuously; encourage mutual respect and teamwork amongst employees in all departments (Russell & Taylor, 2017). Total quality management (TQM) requires an effort from all members of the company to participate in improving processes, products/services and the overall attitude of the employees. Through total quality management (TQM) employee engagement and morale will be fully invested in the introduction of the Wal-Mart Family Mobile service. Customer expectations for the Wal-Mart Family Mobile service must be considered and addressed. Through total quality management (TQM) each department in the company can ensure and assess that customer expectations are met in their specified areas. Let’s briefly discuss below. • Sales: through monitoring sales volumes we will know if the service is selling at a profitable rate. If this is occurring, customer expectations are being met as revenue for the service is increasing. • Operations: are the for purchase phones moving as it relates to inventory, are more services being activated through the T-Mobile cellular tower partnership. If this occurring, customer expectations are being met. • Human Resources: is there a need to hire new employees to handle the increased sales from the Family Mobile service. If this is occurring, customer expectations are being met. • Administrative: this includes accounting who reviews the sales numbers, profitability, losses and so forth. A review of these numbers will reveal a loss of profits, a revenue increase or a steady growing flow of revenue. An evaluation of these numbers will certainly assist with assessing customer expectations of the service and if they are being met or exceeded. References Huang, G. et al. (2009) A Study of Cross-Functional Teams in the New Product Development Process, Dept. of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-10430-5_30 Jha, V. & Joshi, H. (2013). Relevance of Total Quality Management (TQM) or Business Excellence Strategy Implementation for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) –A Conceptual Study. Retrieved from: mitiq.mit.edu/iciq News Release: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved from: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf Russell, R. & Taylor, B. (2017). Operations and Supply Chain Management. Ninth Edition. Spencer, J. (2017). Five Tips to Manage an Effective team for Your Business. Retrieved from: https://www.entreprenuer.com/article/292083
The first chance a company is a new product may not be what the clienteles want and see it as the necessity. This risk is severe when you base your concepts for new merchandise merely on an impulse, or without conducting sufficient market investigation. Businesses that are not in touch with their clienteles are also likely to issue with the product. One issue that is often met by product designers is determining on what features must be encompassed in the product. There problem that occurs among merchandise because it has too little features and having too much. The second risk is product growth procedure may include mechanical hurdles and functioning risks that must be overcome. The corporation may be developing completely new merchandise that will deliver new and better assistance to clients. The item may also select to adapt its existing product by adding new features that will make it more interesting to the market. The third risk is a financial risk. A new product that you have established may not be able to produce sufficient demand at a price that will transport revenue for the business. The cost of production, as well as the costs of advertising the product, may not be enclosed by the selling value. The company needs first to identify what the risk is how they really will affect everyone involved. The company must do a risk assessment. This assessment will help the company be able to understand the weight of the risk will have on the company. The company will need to prioritize the risk in order of importance. The final step is to mitigate planning, implement, process motoring of the risk that will be affected. The company need create surveys for employees and for customers to see what feature should be offered with the new product. These elements are essential and will show how customer friendly it will be for customers. The company needs to make sure the customers
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.
Walmart is a big retail store which offers a number of items to customers. It offers place utility as it is opened at a number of locations in Vancouver. A handful of people think that due to the growth of Walmart in surrey, the community of surrey is losing its distinctive character. But I am strongly disagreeing with the statement. In this essay, I will discuss the pros and cons of the growth of Walmart and its impact on the
With its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart was commissioned in the hands of its founder Sam Walton. Generally, the Wal-Mart effect is structured in a manner that it aids economic experts to evaluate attached global and local economic effects to the famous Wal-Mart retail. The term Wal-Mart effect is often employed by analysts to refer to the wide variety of both negative and positive influences of the retail business (Hiltzik 1). Evaluation of the retail’s effects is significant as the business is not only a key figure is the world’s economy but also it is arguably the most performing private economic retail. Briefly, Wal-Mart has conventionally caught the eyes of consumers since it not only boosts their experience by suburbanizing local shopping but also it avails low commodity prices for necessities (Neumark, Junfu, and Stephen 406).
Wal-Mart has been a huge debate subject in the news since it began to pop up in large quantities across the entire United States. The majority of that conversation focused on the negative impacts that Wal-Mart has on the communities and economies in which its super stores are located. Richard Vedder and Wendell Cox take a different approach and while they recognizes the downfalls and negative impacts that Wal-Mart can have, he focuses more on proving that the positives that Wal-Mart has on economies and communities outweigh those negatives.
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.
Wal-Mart initially began its operations in 1945, when Sam Walton leased a ‘Ben Franklin’ franchise variety store in Newport, Arkansas. After relocating to Rogers, Arkansas in the early 1950s, Sam Walton’s ‘Ben Franklin’ became ‘Walton’s 5 & 10’. By 1962, Walton found himself the chain owner of 11 different Walton’s stores across Arkansas. He then decided to rename the chain ‘Wal-Mart’, after himself. On October 31, 1969, after further expansion across the state, the chain was incorporated as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Three years later, Wal-Mart was approved and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
"Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices." Top Documentary Films. Web. 8 Aug 2011. .
Walmart is one of the largest supermarket chains in America. They have mastered the technique of how to get customers to buy their products once in their store. Walmart has an abundance of products ranging from groceries to gardening to automotive. Walmart’s easy flow and strategic placement of an abundance of products entices customers to buy more than the customer anticipated.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in the discount, variety stores industry. It was founded in 1945, Bentonville in Arkansas which is also the headquarters of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart operates locally as well as worldwide. It operated 1209 discount stores, 1980 super centers, and 567 Sam’s Club by January 31, 2006. It has also extended its operations to many international countries. It runs its retail stores in two forms: Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart Stores. The Sam’s Club sells assorted product lines such as hardwares, electronics, jewelry, and to mention a few. The Wal-Mart stores also offer similar products in addition to the following: health and beauty products, apparel for women, men and children, household appliances etc (www.yahoo.finance.com). The Vision Statement, Mission Statement, Values and Code of Conduct, Corporate Governance: Directors, Executive Management, Committees and Stakeholder will be the key elements that will discussed in this report as it relates to Wal-Mart. In addition to that, the major trends in the general/macro environment and industry will be analyzed.
Walmart's have been raising their prices as more competition falls around them; their high prices are effecting more than just the people's grocery budget. The Foundation for Economic Education says, "the absence of rigorous competition (for Walmart) leads to high prices in our communities" making people pay more for their groceries and other necessities (Semmens). Walmarts are getting rid of the customers for local businesses by promising their low prices. The local businesses then close down leading to the rise of Walmart's prices; if there is no competition for them then they can raise their prices as high as they want. The Journalist Resource tells us " a Walmart store actually increases housing
The purpose of this presentation is to provide a comparative analysis of business activities of two well-known representatives of the US retail industry, Target and Walmart. My research is focused on a business strategy of these largest and most experienced American merchandising companies; particularly, on their activities in Canada. Based on the data collected from the various sources, I would like to detect, analyze, and demonstrate the obvious causes that have lead to a catastrophic failure of Target in its unsuccessful attempt to win a Canadian market.
Organizations face risk from many angles, including internal and external financial, infrastructure, reputational and marketplace risks (IRM, 2010). Risks with positive impact are known as opportunities, while risks with negative consequences are called hazards (ISO/IEC, 2008). Risk can impact an enterprise at all levels: strategic, tactical (also known as program or project risk) and operational (IRM, 2010).
Many large retailers such as Target and Nordstrom did not do well during the recessionary economy. Many of those large retailers had to shut some of their stores down due to low sales during the recessionary economy. During a slow economy the Wal-Mart Incorporation did great. Wal-Mart Inc. did great during the recessionary economy was due to Wal-Mart’s everyday low cost marketing strategy (Ferrell, Hirt, & Ferrell, 2009). The working class consumers are Wal-Mart Inc.’s primary target market clientele. As a result of the recessionary economy, Wal-Mart gained the competitive edge over its competitors and caused their upper class consumers to begin shopping at Wal-Mart Inc. (Collins, 2011).
In addition to urgency, Gustavsson could not create a powerful guiding coalition. He established a cross-functional team to develop a new moisture-resistant product. But the team did not include a sales manager who knows customers' needs and eventually sells the product. Although the team developed a commercially-viable product, their efforts, at least in the short term, were unsatisfactory, because with sales people's own doubts about the new product, they were afraid of jeopardizing the reputation of current product. Moreover, these cross functional teams operated within the established organization maintained the company's dominate culture and past norms. We know that structurally independent teams that are tightly integrated into the existing hierarchy with different cultures and processes are often more successful.