Walmart’s Marketing Strategy Selection Process Report (Assessment)

Introduction

The current memo concerns the description of the data collection method to be used in this report. The integration of an interview is critical to the process of data collection since it will allow gathering the information that can be utilized to facilitate a seamless transition from the U.S. market to Indian and Brazilian ones for Walmart. For this purpose, one will need to interview both the company’s employees and its target customers in the selected markets to ensure that the firm will be able to function in a new economic setting (Rong, Wu, Shi, & Guo, 2015). By focusing on the identification and assessment of its key stakeholders’ needs, Walmart will be able to determine the marketing strategy and the approach for entering the selected economic settings.

The paper is going to address the methods of data collection to be used for the project. Specifically, a thorough description of the process involving gathering the key facts will be provided. Afterward, the tools for testing the proposed instrument will be introduced. Finally, interview questions, including both situational and behavioral ones, will be listed to give a general idea of the data to be processed during the analysis.

Detailed Description of the Interview Process

The interview is expected to help to shed light on the current issues faced by Walmart and the means of avoiding them in the new markets. The interview will be performed on day offs so that they are not distracted from work. Thus, the interview will take place at a natural pace and in a relaxed environment, inviting the participants to share important data. It is critical to create the setting in which the target population will feel inclined to share their experience and impressions, thus providing an insight into the current HR-related issues at Walmart. Specifically, the concerns associated with the management of managers’ cultural needs, the issues related to diversity in the workplace, and the problem of the current public image of the company will be discussed in the course of the interview. To obtain the required amount of data, it will be necessary to use a semi-structured interview format, which will help to set the framework for data collection and at the same time provide the interviewer with a significant amount of flexibility.

Testing

In the course of the interview, the participants’ skills and perception of the concepts of diversity and stakeholders; needs will be evaluated. Currently, there are several testing options for the process. In order to assess the current skills of Walmart’s managers in meeting the needs of the firm’s diverse stakeholders, including its staff, one may need to consider the evaluation of their abilities and skills. Specifically, the capability of using appropriate communication strategies and tools for managing the needs of the company’s stakeholders. These should include the strategies for avoiding and managing conflicts, the methods of performing a cultural analysis, and the approaches toward obtaining and processing feedback (Petre, 2018). It is expected that the problems in the current attitudes toward the assessment of the stakeholders’ needs are identified in the course of the testing process.

Therefore, personality, skills, and aptitude testing should be regarded as the best option for the testing process. By incorporating the identified perspectives into testing, one will obtain crucial data about the issues that Walmart has been facing when addressing the communication concerns. In addition, personality-driven questions will encourage the participants to communicate actively and share important information about the internal processes within the company, the rationale behind its choice of the current communication framework, and other important details. As a result, the approaches toward managing the needs of Indian and Brazilian potential stakeholders will be designed.

Situational Interview Questions (R&D Manager)

The concept of a situational interview question (SIQ) is rather simple. According to Goldstein, Pulakos, Passmore, and Semedo (2017), a SIQ implies creating a scenario in the context of which a question is placed. In order to answer it, the participants will have to apply their managerial skills and resolve the proposed dilemma. In the course of the interview, the participants will have to answer the following questions:

1. If you were to enter a new market, with what would you start developing your communication strategy?
2. What would be your communication priorities in a new market?
3. How would you address cultural concerns and possible misunderstandings?
4. How would you use cross-cultural issues to elicit important lessons and improve your communication technique?

The questions were selected to reflect the realities of operating in a foreign market. After entering the Brazilian and Indian markets, Walmart will face significant challenges in communicating with its stakeholders unless appropriate changes are made to the company’s current set of values and strategies. Therefore, these questions will help define the course for future change.

Behavioral Interview Questions (HR Manager)

A behavioral interview question (BIQ) is another critical component of a successful data collection process. A BIQ is a question aimed at understanding the current behaviors accepted in the organizational context (Singh &‎ Davidson, 2016). The following BIQs will be included in the study:

1. How do you approach cross-cultural communication?
2. How do you manage staff-related concerns and conflicts?
3. What strategies do you use to motivate and empower employees/
4. How do you receive feedback from your staff members?

The questions provided above will help elicit the information about the problems in the current human resource management (HRM) strategy. Thus, opportunities for improving employee-manager relationships will emerge. Consequently, the performance levels at Walmart will be improved to a significant extent.

References

Goldstein, H. W., Pulakos, E. D., Passmore, J., & Semedo, C. (2017). The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of recruitment, selection and employee retention. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

Petre, C. (2018). Engineering consent: How the design and marketing of newsroom analytics tools rationalize journalists’ labor. Digital Journalism, 6(4), 509-527. Web.

Rong, K., Wu, J., Shi, Y., & Guo, L. (2015). Nurturing business ecosystems for growth in a foreign market: Incubating, identifying and integrating stakeholders. Journal of International Management, 21(4), 293-308. Web.

Singh, D. J., &‎ Davidson, J. (2016). Facing and acing a behavioral interview: Knowing more about how to come out a winner. New York, NY: Mendon Cottage Books.