Examining Walmart's Management Style, Challenges, and Strategies

This essay critically examines Walmart's management style, highlighting the challenges the company faces due to its large size, competition from online retailers like Amazon, and decreasing customer service standards. The analysis points to a disconnect between management and customers, emphasizing the need for improved employee training and a customer-centric approach. The essay suggests that Walmart's slow adaptation to changes in the retail environment has damaged its core business. It argues for a realistic business strategy that includes change management to regain a top position in the market, emphasizing that transformation is essential in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Students can use this document for learning purposes; Desklib provides all the necessary AI based study tools.

Running Head: NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Newspaper Article
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Walmart’ Backdated Management Style
Walmart has been enjoying a superior reputation for so many qualities. Their large stores,
the affordable prices for the customers, excellent logistics and also hard bargaining strategies
with small manufacturers. It is the story of Walmart’s becoming the largest retailer with huge
sales that accounts for almost 3 % of the economy of US. It converted the early investors into
millionaires such as Sam Walton who was the founder. In the recent years, the business of
Walmart has seen several challenges. Surprisingly, the large size of the stores fitted well in the
rural areas but failed to fit in the metropolitan cities. It failed to succeed specifically in the
overseas where the country regulations limit the size of the retail store. However, Walmart has a
significant impact on the retail industry in the world.
Moreover, the low price policy of Walmart has also been challenged by the online market
giants like Amazon. The decreasing standard of the customer service has led the commentators
comment against its reputation. The lack of proper training of the Walmart employees is a reason
behind the service related issue. Hence, the company should conduct effective training sessions
for the employees. However, apart from it, there is another challenge hovering around, i.e. the
failure to make connection between the management and the customers. It is reported that
Walmart will be eliminating a management layer inside the 4,500 stores in the U.S. The CEO of
the U.S Walmart Greg Foran has taken the oath to make the shopping at Walmart more
appealing. He promises to simplify the organization and the empower the stores. It is true that the
possession of power corrupts everyone which can be observed in this case of Walmart. The
established brands like Samsung, Ford Motors have always preferred the customer’s service and
customer orientation over anything else. Likewise, the bigger brands are expected to provide
greater customer services and gain the competitive advantage in the market which will be helpful

2NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
for the company to emerge in the market. May be the problem is in the middle level who misuse
their absolute power but cannot address the basic concerns such as the customer service as it is
one of the least concerned areas for such management levels.
It is evident that Walmart is in dire need of a realistic business strategy which will
change their name and the logo too completely. Notably, the damage has already happened that
needs to be fixed first. It is also seen to be failing in maintaining the change in the retail
environment. Their slow reaction towards the change killed the core of Walmart. Since the
business landscape is also going through rapid change and people are being less tolerant about
any sort of inconvenience, transformation has become a permanent part of that business
landscape. Therefore, the business organizations undoubtedly need to be more sophisticated
regarding the change management. This change can help Walmart to gain top position in the
market.