Germany Walmart vs. Colombia Walmart Essay (Critical Writing)

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

When introducing its services into the setting of a different country, an organization needs to be quite elaborate and meticulous with its business strategy. Based on the specifics of the local environment and especially eh needs of customers, the business strategy may need to be tweaked. The German Walmart’s approach toward managing its business appears to have been stakeholder-oriented initially, which has increased the company’s competitive advantage and the chances to attract customers (Head & Jing, 2014). In turn, the Colombian Walmart has been utilizing a target-centric approach, which, combined with Walmart’s trademark low prices has produced quite a stunning effect, attracting multiple customers (Head & Jing, 2014). However, the lack of effective infrastructure has reduced the opportunities to explore the Colombian market. Therefore, the German experiment in developing a business strategy can be considered rather unsuccessful compared to the Colombian one.

Customer Retention Approach

Due to the unsuccessful business model initially applied to the environment of the German market, the German Walmart has been struggling to establish the strategy for retaining customers ad gaining their loyalty. The specified challenge has been aggravated by the fact that Walmart’s approach toward managing its staff members has been known as rather inefficient (Head & Jing, 2014). However, due to the focus on quality, the German subdivision of Walmart has managed to find its target audience and appeal to it in the way that has led to a slight rise in customer retention and engagement levels (Head & Jing, 2014). In its turn, the Colombian Walmart has selected a slightly different strategy, following strictly the established Walmart formula and using its pricing framework as the main tool for keeping customers engaged (Head & Jing, 2014). However, the specified approach seems to have been failing due to the recent complaints concerning product quality (Head & Jing, 2014). Therefore, Colombia Walmart will have to focus on quality control as an essential tool in retaining buyers.

Supply Chain

In turn, the approaches toward building the supply chain within the target environments are quite close in both German and Columbian Walmart. The German Walmart’s supply chain can be characterized by high levels of efficacy and timely management of key processes. In turn, the Colombian Walmart seems to suffer from a rather disjointed infrastructure of its supply chain and poor communication with key stakeholders, primarily, with suppliers (Head & Jing, 2014). Therefore, further adjustments in the exploration of the local infrastructure and the search for effective tools for controlling the transfer of information and resources across the supply chain will be needed for the Colombian Walmart.

Human Resource Management

The issue of human resource management (HRM) has been a major problem across all Walmart’s offices, the Colombian and German ones not being an exception to this phenomenon. Due to the need to cut costs significantly and provide goods to its target audience at the lowest prices possible, Walmart has been deflating on the update of its HRM framework, hence multiple issues with the management of its staff (Head & Jing, 2014). In addition, the way in which staff members are treated at Walmart both in Germany and in Colombia is quite low (Head & Jing, 2014). Namely, employees’ personal needs are rarely taken into account, whereas the extent of the workload with which they have to deal daily increases regularly (Head & Jing, 2014). The described issue can be observed both at the Colombian Walmart and at the German one, although the extent of the specified problem varies significantly in the specified states. However, despite the changes in the degree of the concern are different, the problem of poor HRM remains a significant hindrance to successful performance both at German and at Colombian Walmart.

Reference

Head, K., Jing, R., & Swenson, D. L. (2014). From Beijing to Bentonville: Do multinational retailers link markets? Journal of Development Economics, 110, pp. 79-92.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2022, February 19). Germany Walmart vs. Colombia Walmart. https://ivypanda.com/essays/germany-walmart-vs-colombia-walmart/

Work Cited

"Germany Walmart vs. Colombia Walmart." IvyPanda, 19 Feb. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/germany-walmart-vs-colombia-walmart/.

References

IvyPanda. (2022) 'Germany Walmart vs. Colombia Walmart'. 19 February.

References

IvyPanda. 2022. "Germany Walmart vs. Colombia Walmart." February 19, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/germany-walmart-vs-colombia-walmart/.

1. IvyPanda. "Germany Walmart vs. Colombia Walmart." February 19, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/germany-walmart-vs-colombia-walmart/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Germany Walmart vs. Colombia Walmart." February 19, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/germany-walmart-vs-colombia-walmart/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1