The Walmart Firm’s Strategy for Growth and Social Responsibility Essay

Walmart’s Mission and Vision

Walmart is an international retail corporation with supermarkets, department stores, and grocery stores headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walmart’s mission is “to save people money so they can live better” (Mission Statement Academy, n.d., para. 1), reflecting the social aspect of the company’s activities to improve people’s lives. The vision of the company is to “be the destination for customers to save money, no matter how they want to shop” (Mission Statement Academy, n.d., para. 7). Both statements are customer-oriented and reflect the company’s desire to become a leader in retail trade due to affordable prices.

Core Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility Principles

Walmart’s activities are based on four core values: respect, service, excellence, and integrity (Walmart Inc., 2022b). The company builds all its activities based on these values, primarily aimed at its customers. In addition, the company’s ethical code is built on its values and is based on integrity, which helps build trusting relationships within the company and with customers.

In 1982, the Walmart Foundation was created, which implements the principle of social responsibility. The basis of the Foundation’s activity is philanthropy with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (Walmart Inc., 2022c). The company provides employment opportunities to inclusive groups in society and helps build communities by supplying them with food and building assistance. The company improves environmental sustainability by raising issues of climate change, reducing the amount of waste, and preserving nature.

Internal Environment of Walmart

The main strength of the company is its scale. Walmart is represented in 24 countries, which allows the company to maintain a stable income. In addition, the company provides customers with a wide range of products for various purposes, which makes Walmart a leader in one-stop shopping. Moreover, the company has a good reputation among buyers due to reasonable pricing and customer focus. Walmart employs 2.3 million employees worldwide, of which “nearly 1.6 million in the U.S.” (Walmart Inc., 2022a). Thanks to these indicators, the company occupies a leading position among employers.

Three main weaknesses are low technological activity, overreliance on the U.S. market, and unethical practices. Even though the company is trying to develop the direction of e-commerce, it still focuses on physical stores. Walmart argues for this approach by saying that most of their customers live within walking distance of stores (Walmart Inc., 2022a). However, now most customers prefer to shop online, saving time.

Furthermore, despite its global presence, Walmart is focused on developing and maintaining a leading position in the United States while stores in other countries are less profitable.

Moreover, there have been repeated complaints about the unethical treatment of the company’s employees, including low wages and worker safety concerns. In the U.S., company workers earn only $12/hour, while they should work many hours per day to feed themselves, and the work conditions are certainly not the best (Sainato, 2021).

External Analysis of Walmart

The foremost opportunity for the company’s development is the growing demand for goods at affordable prices. Using this advantage, as well as the progress of technologies, Walmart has enough potential to establish its online presence all over the globe. It will also allow more physical stores to open outside of the US. Moreover, the use of e-commerce technologies for sales worldwide will help avoid legal nuances associated with the laws of countries.

There is quite a lot of competition in the sales area, and Walmart’s services are not unique. For the company’s development in the international market, it is necessary to consider each country’s social, political, and legal features. It is easier for local retailers to comply with these aspects, as they are more familiar with the target audience and the country’s laws. In addition, operating in the international market is associated with the risk of global calamities. These can be social and natural factors that will negatively affect the company.

Walmart’s Internal Environment Impacts on Its Strategy

Human capital is the organization’s personnel and is its greatest asset. Therefore, Walmart outsources qualified workers from prestigious colleges and other companies where such workers are dissatisfied. To achieve its business objective, the corporation will face a formidable obstacle if its personnel are well-trained and enthusiastic about their work. Walmart’s human resource management is intelligent for the company’s advantage and the excellent development of its workers. However, capital resources refer to the finances required for the growth and maintenance of a firm. Walmart invests financial capital not just in tangible assets such as factories, pieces of machinery, and other production equipment but also in intangible assets such as marketing and staff training to steer the firm’s long-term development.

Walmart’s External Environment Impacts on Its Strategy

Technology has been at the forefront of many businesses for centuries. For example, Walmart introduced InHome Delivery, its most recent invention aimed at giving families back time by bringing fresh food and supplies to their kitchen or garage refrigerators. Thus, it may assist create revenues and satisfy client requirements. Similarly, client needs are one of Walmart’s most important considerations. Walmart’s company may flourish under any circumstances without adhering to this objective since it is evident that its products are designed to meet client wants. Walmart can determine what its customers want, achieving its strategic intent.

Walmart’s Strategic Objective

Walmart has sufficient resources to develop stores outside the US. Today, the company receives most of its income from American customers, while stores in other countries are not as popular. However, the company has a high potential to become an international retail leader. In addition, it is essential to continue to invest in innovation and technology and improve Walmart services, like in-home delivery. It will help attract new customers and strengthen the store’s leadership position among existing customers.

Walmart’s Short- and Long-Term Goals for Strategic Plan

The main short-term goal in the company’s strategy is the integration of technology into the company’s activities. First is the e-commerce sector’s development, which can significantly increase the company’s income. Also, observing the customer orientation principle is necessary to improve InHome Delivery. It will help increase the number of customers and, as a result, the company’s income. After successfully launching delivery in major US cities, it would be wise to develop InHome delivery in Mexico. In-home delivery is one of the benefits of a Walmart+ membership, so expanding the service area is critical. It will lead to an increase in Walmart+ memberships and, as a result, a stable income for the company through regular membership fees.

In addition, another goal is to open new stores outside the US, primarily in Canada, Japan, Brazil, and Argentina. Walmart is already present in these countries but in much smaller numbers than in the US and Mexico. Strengthening the leadership positions of the retailer in these countries will provide an opportunity to subsequently enter the markets of countries where Walmart is not yet represented.

Metrics for Measuring Success

One measure of the strategy’s success will be increased online customers. Walmart.com now has about 100 million monthly visitors (Walmart Inc., 2022a). However, data on what percentage of website visitors make a purchase is needed to measure performance. Thus, the statistics indicator will be the presence of at least 50 million online purchases per month. In addition, an indicator of the strategy’s success will be the launch of InHome delivery in Ohio, Oklahoma, and North and South Carolina by the end of 2023. For example, you can start delivery services in large cities like Columbus, Oklahoma City, Charlotte, and Charleston. Also, by the end of 2024, it is necessary to launch InHome delivery to Mexico City. Another indicator of success will be opening 100 new stores outside the US by the end of 2025.

References

Mission Statement Academy (n.d.). Walmart mission and vision statement analysis. Web.

Sainato, M. (2021). “You can’t pay bills on $12 an hour”: Walmart employees left out of raises. The Guardian. Web.

Walmart Inc. (2022a). About. Web.

Walmart Inc. (2022b). Our values and our code. Walmartethics.com. Web.

Walmart Inc. (2022c). What do we do? Walmart.org. Web.

Walmart Stuff (2017). 5 ways Walmart uses big data to help Customers. Web.