Loblaw Companies Ltd: Business Ethics, Standards, and Strategic Growth

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FINAL PROJECT - RESEARCH &
ANALYSIS PAPER - PART II

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Summary
This report is prepared to analyse to the business ethics and developing business standards in
order to ensure future growth and success of the company. Loblaw’s is the chosen
organisation that has been explained in this assignment; it is a Canadian supermarket chain
that stores are located in the provinces of Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia etc. The
business organisation was founded in 1956, and its main products are – Alcoholic beverages,
General merchandise, general grocery, pharmacy and photo lab. In addition to this, the
leading brands of the company include President’s Choice, Joe Fresh, Exact, Teddy’s choice,
No Name etc. there are over 135000 employees are presently working within Loblaw's, and
its current revenue is CAD 45.394 billionCAD. The purpose of the organisation is – Live Life
Well so as to supports the well-being and needs of people who usually makes purchases from
its stores. Loblaw is positioned in the market to meet those needs by the expansion of
convenient grocery stores which span the value spectrum (Thompson and McLarney, 2017,
Pp - 234, Para 3). This report will study the impact on the internal and external environment
on business operations or practices and strategic goals; for this purpose, I will apply SWOT
and PESTLE analysis. In addition to this, I will also include motivational theory and define
the organisational structure of Loblaw's keeping in consideration to attain and retain
employees for the long run. This research paper will also provide information about
stakeholders of the company, specific recommendations and controls so as to put effective
business strategies or policies.
SWOT Analysis
Below is given advantages find out from SWOT analysis, such as –

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Strength – I get to know that Loblaw’s will gain customers’ trust or faith; the reason behind
this it is having an impulsive market reputation and brand image. Furthermore, the
organisation is also intending to restructure its functions and operations which will drive for
higher revenues and profitability.
Weaknesses – As the Loblaw’s is operating is a dynamic business environment. Thus the
major flaw of the company is it couldn't respond effectively towards market changes or
alterations (Oraman, et. al., 2018, Pp – 40, Para 2). I also find out that there is a lack of
employee collaboration and issues generated with the fulfilment of corporate social
responsibility.
Opportunities – Loblaw’s has enormous opportunities in markets as the organisation can
expand its e-commerce activities in emerging countries. It would take a step ahead to
business in contemporary aspects of the Canadian economy.
Threats – The corporate association is an efficient and rooted division of Canadian economy,
thus various threats – intense competition, the entrance of new companies, political
restrictions, economic downturns etc. I get to know that globalisation and market integration
are also affecting the business in a direct and indirect manner.
Environmental constraints – Assessment of environmental constraints which hinder
business practices should be also analysed so as to formulate business strategies or policies. It
can be done by PESTLE analysis of Loblaw’s which is stated as under –
Political factors (opportunity) – While studying about the organisation, I learned that the
political environment of Canada remains stable as the government of the nation does not
make sudden changes in its trade laws and legislation.

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Economic factors (Opportunity) – Since past decades, GDP rate of Canada is increasing at a
fast pace due to infrastructure development and globalisation. I have evaluated that there
would be an excellent opportunity for Loblaw's when it expands business in local markets. It
helps the organisation in providing strong client base, increase job opportunities and
encourages investors to invest; all these factors are highly responsive for opening doors of
success for a business (Rudolph, 2016, pp – 150, Para – 6).
Social factors (Threat) – Due to the changing needs of customers' it is quite difficult to fulfil
their needs or wants in an effective manner. There are several social factors, such as –
culture, background, values, morals, ethics etc. also plays a vital role in growth and success.
Thus, social factors are a great threat to Loblaw’s while formulating strategies as well as
business expansion in emerging countries.
Technology factors (Opportunity) – In past decades, technology has provided an extensive
growth to the retailing industry as it facilitated customers’ shopping as well as helps the
company to understand market trends. By applying new technologies or tools, organisations
can easily improve their production process or practices.
Legal factors (Threat) – With considerations of safety and security, the government of a
nation are forced to change its trade laws and apply strict rules for enterprises which must
follow by all businesses. I realised that changes in consumer laws and employment laws are a
great challenge for corporate associations.
Environmental factors (Threat) – Sometimes, local communities force businesses to fulfil
corporate social responsibilities more luxuriously; it may harm profits and annual revenues of
companies.
Stakeholders

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After recognising various environmental constraints is essential to find out information about
stakeholders of the company who have a direct and indirect impact on its growth and success.
I have found that there are some stakeholders of the organisation, such as –
Customers – The growth and success of an organisation highly depend on the number of its
customers' as they are liable for increasing sales and profitability (Van der Voet, 2014, Pp -
370, Para - 2). In this relation, it is essential for managers to determine buyers' needs and take
actions to fulfil them in an effective way. In this research paper, I learned that Loblaw's has a
vast amount of customers which assists it in achieving a competitive edge.
Employees – These are the people who are responsible for completing business activities or
tasks which creates value for customers. Employees’ find out new or innovative ideas in
order to improve the quality of work and achieve organisational goals and objectives.
Both stakeholders' have its value and place within the organisation but management regularly
in touch with employees in comparison with customers. So that customers’ should be
managed with proper interaction and communication with them.
Organisational structure and design
As a multinational business organisation, Loblaw’s is following a functional organisational
structure with an aim to work in a stable environment where the business does not needs
much updates or alterations. Under the functional organisational structure, employees are
classified on the basis of their skills, expertise and knowledge level (Aghazadeh, 2015, pp -
140, para - 4). This framework also divides the company into different functional units, such
as – human resource, finance, marketing, operations, research and development etc. The
subordinates of these units report to departmental heads, and they report directly to top

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management. Functional organisational structure allows employees to improve their skills
and knowledge level individually.
Motivating employees
Due to the competitive nature of the business environment, it is quite difficult to attain and
retain employees for the long run within an organisation. Hence, managers need to acquire
some motivational theories which encourage them to retain at the workplace and give all their
potentials in the required manner (Engert and Baumgartner, 2016, Pp - 825, Para 2). Alderfer
ERG theory is the upgraded version of Maslow’s hierarchy theory which classifies hierarchy
into three parts, such as – Existence, relatedness and growth. Alderfer believed that as you
start satisfying higher needs, they become more intense for instance - the power you get the
more you want to control, like an addiction.

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Recommendations
With an aim to formulate effective business strategies and policies, it is recommended to
managers of Loblaw’s to conduct market research so as to assess all those factors which can
affect future business growth and success. Market research would also be assistive in
identifying information about target audiences, i.e. their needs or wants as well as
competitors, i.e. their growth plans and tactics. In order to reduce the risks of legal
restrictions, manages must analyse the political environment of emerging countries before
establishing business over there. Although, diversification of product category is quite
challenging it may also provide colossal market growth and success to the company as if
managers put efforts in the right direction. Furthermore, I would also suggest to an
organisation that it needs to focus on the acquisition of new or innovative technologies as it
will contribute to improving the quality of products or services. Having efficient technologies
also improves production volume as well as the performance level of individuals by reducing
wastage.
Existence
physical well-being
relatedne
ss needs
satisfactiory relations with others
growth
needs
development of competence and realization of
potential.

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Controls and Recommendations
For reviewing overall development and growth in Loblaw's, it is mandatory to evaluate the
involvement of management in the development of activities with future aspects. There is
required to ensure that whether or not managers of Loblaw's are contributing to feedbacks
controls and concurrent to measure productivity. Furthermore, the company needs to apply
the concept of involving staff members into a decision-making process where they will also
allow to present their views and queries as well. Employees' individuals can also take a day to
day business decisions as it reduces the time they consume in the completion of tasks and
also builds up employees' confidence. It leads towards longer organisational commitment.
References
Aghazadeh, H. (2015). Strategic marketing management: Achieving superior business
performance through intelligent marketing strategy. Procedia-Social and Behavioral
Sciences, 207, 125-134.
Alshakhoori, N., Alkenaizi, A., & George, S. Business Strategies of Discount Retailers: A
Comparative Study of Target Corporation and Costco Wholesale Corporation.
Engert, S., & Baumgartner, R. J. (2016). Corporate sustainability strategy–bridging the gap
between formulation and implementation. Journal of cleaner production, 113, 822-
834.

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Oraman, Y., Unakitan, G., Konyali, S., Basaran, B., & Abdikoglu, D. I. (2018). WHAT
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL FACTORS AFFECT ORGANIC FOOD
SECTOR?. New knowledge Journal of science, 7(2), 33-44.
Rudolph, C. W. (2016). Lifespan developmental perspectives on working: A literature review
of motivational theories. Work, Aging and Retirement, 2(2), 130-158.
Thompson, J., & McLarney, C. (2017). What effects will the strategy changes undertaken by
next Plc have on themselves and their competition in the UK Clothing Retail
Market?. Journal of Commerce and Management Thought, 8(2), 234.
Van der Voet, J. (2014). The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public
organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational
structure. European Management Journal, 32(3), 373-382.