According to Hartley (2010), Wal-Mart’s vision and strategies implemented by its management dependent on the retailing resources and facilities that can assist the firm to expand, such as the global chain stores.
The firm therefore has a good reputation due to its global supply chain stores. The management of Wal-Mart’s chain stores mainly depend on effective and progressive form of production and distribution systems.
The chief marketing strategy of Wal-Mart’s retail stores involves delivery of goods at the least possible prices or at reasonable offers, which ensures customer satisfaction. The company has stood by this strategy even during the market inflation periods. For instance, the 2007 global financial predicament, where consumers changed their consumption trends due to lack of confidence. The crisis in the production and supply industries forced major traders to restructure their pricing (Hartley, 2010).
Wal-Mart also offers more innovative ideas on matters concerning technology, which is a very dynamic sector. The firm has always embraced the latest technology to guarantee its competitiveness in the market niche, as well as deliver quality inventory to consumers, at the most sustainable costs. A good example is the information management systems for automated systems, where the firm is able to monitor and respond to its global traders at the lowest practicable costs.
The firm also recognizes performance, which enables them to utilize resources according to needs or demands. By balancing resources, the firm is able to achieve its global demands. The constant growth of customers internationally is a clear indicator that Wal-Mart has effective administration strategies. The firm has stood firm on its inventory control measures, to ensure consumers get quality good in time and at the lowest feasible prices.
The company has been able to respond to diversity of goods, services and demands by enforcing a diverse workforce. Wal-Mart utilizes diversity of its employees to market products besides ensuring that quality, brands identity and sensitivity of pricing remain key aspects of marketing.
Certainly, Wal-Mart makes use of the five forces of porter’s model since its strategies are based on supply power, ability to overcome barriers of entry, empowerment of consumers, analysis of the degree of rivalry and implementation of strategies to fight competition (Porter, 2008). The reasons consumers stick to the supply chains is because of low product prices, affability of personnel, products availability as per demands and ability to identify with their quality of products.
Effects of Legal Issues on Management and Planning of Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart faces various lawsuits, mainly filed by personnel protesting its unethical acts such as discrimination. In accordance with Hartley, the firm faces diverse cases, and is consequently among firms with highest number of pending cases internationally, which have a connection to ethical matters (2010).
In keeping with statistics, the cases would make the firm to answer six trials in court every working day (Hartley, 2010). A good example was the case filed at “the U.S District Court of San Francisco by Betty Dukes who claimed gender discrimination in 2000.” The case was ruled in favour of Dukes but in December 2010, the Supreme Court approved Wal-Mart’s appeal and agreed to listen to the case, which is still underway (Hartley, 2010).
The effects of the lawsuits have had little impact on the firms’ performance since very few client react negatively (for instance by failing to buy from the stores) to such allegations. Majority of the court ruling favours the company due to lack of evidence and owing to the fact that some scrupulous lawyers specialize in suing such big firms. They aim at the possible huge monetary gains, if they won such cases.
Effects of Ethics on Management and Planning of Wal-Mart
One of the main concerns that Wal-Mart faces involves favouritism issues during employment and promotion practices. Complains against such unethical acts that keep reoccurring are not easy to eliminate or weigh their consequences.
The overall consequences are determinable with time, since clients are often eager to preserve a morally upright society. People have started to emphasize on respectability of the society through social interactive activities, group involvements and questioning to enforce group values.
Will clients impose sanctions and start buying from other stores due to the implications in Wal-Mart? Individual’s reaction to these unethical claims will mainly depend on personal values, but this would also require individuals to perform some critical personal analysis over the claims.
Common ethical allegations involve hiring of illegal immigrants, failing to pay overtime work, paying low wages, and discriminating along gender lines particularly during promotions.
Critical analysis of Wal-Mart indicates that the firm pays lower wages to low-income earners than what the federal authority specifies. In most instances, these low payments are part of company policies. The old personnel are also retrenched early to give way to more energetic personnel, who are willing to work at low wages without protests, since they have little or no work experiences.
Major ethical claims point towards Wal-Mart’s threat to basic human living standards such as denying employees their rightful earning levels, and this is also a threat to the general economy. The low wages is equally a compromise on other potential competitors since these retail stores are not able to maintain competition and pay their workers better than Wal-Mart. The power of the retail store often falls upon their supplies, who must supply products at lowered pricing and this compromises their worker’s wages as well.
Corporate Social responsibility
The company participates in various social development projects by funding philanthropically through different local not-for-profit organizations. The nongovernmental organizations are involved in diverse development and human conservancy projects.
These are apparent ethical acts that Wal-Mart is indirectly involved in nurturing the society. According to Hartley (2010), Wal-Mart is also emphasizing need to consider socially conscientious goods among its clients as a measure of combating the current global warming crisis. This is a good indication that the firm is keen on being socially responsible.
Conclusion
Wal-Mart faces various trade challenges and ethical issues that compromise the shoppers’ value for ethical acts. Protesting by refusing to make purchases from the stores may be a good and reasonable choice for customers, but not sufficient enough since the action fails to level the playing field for other traders. Enforcing legislations that put a stop to any of the unethical acts, such as low wages is a more viable method.
The law should strongly standardize various aspects such as wages or payment of premiums for its employees. According to Frost (2009), it is important to follow simple basic principles that cater for human dignity and justice. Great philosophers and leaders have emphasized the normative theory of differencing between right and wrong or just and unjust. Big firms with huge influences over performance procedures such as Wal-Mart ought to consider the fact that people have personal desires that should count as human demure acts.
References
Frost, M. (2009). Towards a Normative Theory of International Relations: A Critical Analysis of the Philosophical and Methodological Assumptions in the Discipline with Proposals towards a Substantive Normative Theory. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Hartley, R. (2010). Management Mistakes and Successes. New Jersey, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Press.
Porter, M. E. (2008). On Competition: Porter’s Five Forces. Boston MA. Harvard Business Press.