STEEPLE Analysis
Social Factors
While estimating social environment, specific emphasis should be placed on the organization’s dynamics that is closely connected with customer satisfaction. At this point, Najmi et al. (2005) have introduced the scheme of continual advancement of the quality management in an organization.
The scheme premises on mutual relation between measurement responsibility and customer’s satisfaction. Specifically, as soon as the internal processes provide new techniques for management responsibility, resource management and product realization, the customer satisfaction could be significantly increased.
In addition, measurement analysis and improvement directly influence the customer’s feedback and, therefore, this sphere should be considered.
Technological Factors
Facility management strategies are largely affected by technological factors. The degree of the organization’s readiness to technological change determines the production level, as well as employees’ technical skills (Block & Nowlan, 2011).
More importantly, it can also influence the outsourcing strategies used by Wal-Mart’s managers. Additionally, the organization should realize that wide technological opportunities could create favorable possibilities for developing a new program (Wickham & Wickham, 2008).
Technical expertise is among the primary steps that should be done before launching the production process.
Economic Factors
Wal-Mart operates at an international level and, therefore, the organization enjoys the opportunity of free trade zone.
Moreover, Wal-Mart should focus on building and expanding market share to make the retailer stores available to consumers. Economic environment has a potent impact on financial incentives, profit sharing, and bonuses.
Environmental Factors
Wal-Mart’s strong commitment to environmental protection is encouraged with non-governmental organizations. The company managers realize the benefits of considering environmental issues as they enrich corporate culture and attract new customers.
Wal-Mart stores focus on waste and energy reduction to eliminate the consequences of green house effects. The emergence of new environmental strategies made most of the organization’s suppliers reduces the percentage of energy and carbon emissions as well as provides new recycling mechanisms for packaging.
Political Factors
Wal-Mart remains of one the largest retail suppliers of products in the United States. Due to the fact that consumption constitutes over 70 % of Gross Domestic Product, the company’s development should contribute to the U.S. successful growth.
In addition, the development of retail industry positively influences the employment rates because of more than 4000 retail facilities located all over the world. The main element of Wal-Mart’s Value Chain involves affordable prices that are much lower than those offered by its competitors.
Absence of regional offices and development or favorable employed environment creates a new healthy political environment in which employees work.
Legal Factors
Following international regulations on the quality of the product is essential to enter the global market. Therefore, most of the resources and procedures are under strict control of inspectors. Additionally, the company focuses on developing strict law for employees for the purpose of security.
Ethical Factors
Strong ethical codes are essential for supporting Wal-Mart’s human resources management. Cooperating with culturally diverse groups all over the world, this issue should be a priority because it introduces strict boundaries within which these ethical norms and values should be observed.
Balanced Scorecard based on STEEPLE Analysis
As it has been mentioned in previous report, lack of personnel leads to disorganization and poor quality of services. Consequently, the organization can have problems with attracting new customers and settling internal business processes.
Therefore, relying solely on financial issues is insufficient to conducting business successfully because these aspects are only numerical indicators of the company’s performance.
Additionally, focusing on financial indicators might improve corporate behavior that establishes strong preference to short-term rather than to long value-term creation (Kaplan & Norton, 2001).
In order to define the main components of Balanced Scorecard, the focus should be on the sources of financial profits, as well as how these sources are enhanced within the organization.
At this point, to gain more profit, the company works on expanding its influence outside the United States and develops new ethical and legal frameworks that enrich organizational culture. Most of research is dedicated to the analysis of numerous approaches that complement the efficiency and high performance of organization.
The positive dynamics is another important condition that contributes to steady growth and fruitful cooperation. If Wal-Mart fails to create a new cultural diversity policy, it can have put its financial benefit under the pressure.
Value creation is an important stance for strengthening moral foundation of an organization, as well as for attracting new employees.
As Kaplan and Norton (2001) explain, “…strategies for creating value shifted from managing tangible assets to knowledge-based strategies that create and deploy and organization’s intangible assets” (p. 88).
Although the value of intangible assets is tacit, knowledge and technological advancement has a potent impact on company’s profit and performance. In this respect, positive shifts in financial outcomes can be carried by understanding cause-and-effect relations between all these facts.
Wal-Mart should take into consideration the implicit variables and introduce a number of changes. To begin with, introducing employee training can improve the quality of service and, as a result, customer satisfaction will be enhanced.
Positive feedback from customers contributes to shaping a favorable attitude and commitment to the company’s services. Increased customer loyalty leads to increased profits. Therefore, considering financial attributes in isolation from other important aspects of business management is inconsistent.
The complex relations make it difficult to evaluate such assets as employee morale, workforce capability, and leadership skills (Kaplan & Norton, 2001).
In addition, intangible assets are evaluated in the context of strategic management and organization’s environment because it cannot be considered separately from the internal business processes that transform intangible variables into financial outcomes (Kaplan & Norton, 2001).
Due to the fact that these values cannot be measured in financials terms, most managers realize that knowledge and human capital stand at the core of success (Kaplan and Norton, 2001).
It is not enough to make up a financial statement and a balance sheet to assess company’s progress because they do not focus on organization’s culture and employees’ performance.
Similar to financial incentives, learning and growth is another dimension that Wal-Mart’s executives should consider because it premises on the company’s perspectives for improving its economic and financial potential.
In this context, Wal-Mart should focus on financial aspect, customer viewpoint, and internal processes that promote learning and growth. While outlining the measures of facility management, the managers should consider workplace design and external environment (Rasila et al. 2010).
Once the viewpoints have been selected, it is necessary to define the company’s objectives. In this particular case, Wal-Mart should analyze such challenges as globalization, change management and integrating innovative technology.
From a financial perspective, cost monitoring and spatial efficiency are among the main priorities. Finally, interest groups should also be defined to bring in transparent and cooperation to the organization.
References
Block, P. & Nowlan, J. (2011). Flawless consulting. A guide to getting your expertise used. John Wiley & Sons.
Kaplan, R. S. & Norton, D. P. (2001). Transforming the Balanced Scorecard from Performance Measurement to Strategic Management. Accounting Horizons. 15(1), 87-104.
Najmi, M., Rigass, J., and Fan, Ip-Shing (2005) A framework to Review Performance Measurement System. Business Process Management Journal. 11(2), 109-122.
Rasila, H., Alho, J., & Nenone, S. (2010). Using Balanced Scorecard in Operationalising FM Strategies. Journal of Corporate Real Estate. 12(4), 279-288.
Wickham, P. & Wickham, L. (2008). Management consulting: Delivering an effective project. Harlow, England: Pearson.