Analysis of Walmart's Management Practices, Strategies, and Challenges

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Walmart's management practices, strategies, and organizational structure. It begins by outlining Walmart's mission to provide easy customer access and expand product variety, integrating both retail and technology. The report then classifies Walmart's strategies using the Miles and Snow model, identifying it as a 'Prospector' focusing on innovation and market exploration. It also acknowledges the influence of Burns and Stalker's framework, emphasizing flexibility and adaptation to the external business environment. The report details Walmart's hierarchical functional organizational structure, highlighting the importance of the human resource department. It identifies external challenges such as global expansion, strategic alliances, and e-commerce competition, as well as internal challenges related to cultural barriers and economic fluctuations. The analysis concludes with recommendations for market entry strategies, efficient labor utilization, and adherence to international regulations, emphasizing the need to strengthen e-commerce and supply chain management to enhance productivity.

Management Practice Theory

Introduction
 The primary motive of the study
has been to describe the current
mission and strategies of the
organization
 Moreover the study has also
included some of the information
that are related with the current
strategies pursued by the
organization in the current
business scenario

Current state of the mission of the
organization
 The main mission of the
company has been to
provide easy access to the
customers and thus
increasing the number of
products and their
varieties at the same time.
 To make the business more
innovative and increasing
the product list more than
1,000,000 within the next
year (Laudon & Traver,
2016).

Continued
 Combining the two great
perspectives of the real world,
which are he retailing and the
technology. These two also
have been initiated and
processed by the organization
in order to reach the desired
goals within the restricted time
frame (Xie & Cooke, 2018).
 Giving wider assortment to the
customers and giving their
favourite products for
purchasing and fulfilling their
dreams

Classification of the strategy
currently pursued by the organization
 In case of the core classification
of the strategies adopted by the
Walmart, it can be observed that
the model proposed by the Miles
and Snow has been one of the
significant one.
 The model of Miles and Snow
has classified about the
theoretical strategies for
enhancing the competitive
strategies of the organizations
all over the world.

Continued
 Walmart adopted the strategies
recommended by the Miles and
Snow (1978), which includes the
deliberation over four categories
of strategies. The four strategies
include the prospector, defender,
reactor and the analyser.
 It can be observed that the
Prospector is much innovative and
it helps the organization in
searching out new markets and
domains for exploration. New
growth and opportunities of the
company can also be identified
with the help of the Prospector.

Continued
 On the other hand, it can be observed
that Walmart has adopted the theories
and frameworks of Burns and Stalker
(1961).
 In the words of the Burns and Stalker, It
can be understood that they have
presented the shape of an organic
organization.
 They have also established the theories
and concepts that are related to the
flexibility of a company in dealing with
the public and thus adapting well with
the external business environment.

Description of the current structure
of the organization
 In case of the organizational structure
of Walmart, it can be observed that
the human resource department is
given the maximum priority other
than any departments in the
structure.
 In the current structure of the
company, the Walmart has followed
hierarchical functional organizational
structure for operating the business
organization.

Continued
 The Walmart has followed two features
and inducted within the organizational
structure, which are the function based
definition and hierarchical based
definition.
 It can be noticed that within the
current structure of the organization,
every employee are being monitored
under the supervisor and the
organization has also issued some of
the directives and mandates for the
benefits of the workers (Mazouni,
2018).

Level of uncertainty in the external
environment of the company
 In the external environment,
the organization will face some
of the problems that are
related with the global
expansion in the international
retail markets (Gauthier,
2017).
 There are some of the
uncertainties that are related
with the strategic alliance for
acquiring the shares of the
rival firms at the same point of
time.

Continued
 The e-commerce business of the
Walmart will also get hampered in
the future time span
 It can be observed that the
company will also face some
challenges those are related with
the rising popularity and
acceptance of the product label.

Identification of three main current
challenges
 The Walmart has been one of the
largest companies in the world and
the company will face current
challenges those are related with
the intense competition in the
global and local market
environment
 The cultural barriers in the different
countries have also been one of the
important criterions for the
organization and they have faced
much challenges in the African and
South Asian market (Bh, 2017).

Continued
 On the other
hand, the
organization has
also faced some of
the major
challenges due to
the fluctuations
and illegal
transactions
related with the
current economy.

Appropriate fit between the
structure of the company
 It can be observed that there is an
appropriate fit between the current
structure of the firm and the
strategies related to the organization
(Baek & Wang, 2018).
 The current strategy is much
appropriate with the Burns and Snow
(1978) theories and frameworks and
it helps in motivating the leaders and
managers of the company.

Continued
 On the other hand,
the size and the
environment of the
company has also
matched with the
Burns and Stalker
(1961) theory,
which states to
improve the
organizational
strategies (Song,
2018).

Continued
 Establishment of an organic organization has been one of the key
goals, mission and vision of the company in the early years of
business (Spicer & Hyatt, 2016).

Recommendation of the course of
action
 It can be suggested that the
Walmart should use some of the
market entry strategies at the
time of invading into the foreign
market.
 The Joint partnership business or
the sole proprietorship business
are the good alternatives for the
Walmart at the time of invading
into the foreign market.

Continued
 The Walmart should employ more
efficient labour and workers for
expanding the business globally and
enhancing the selling percentage in
the international retail markets
within the restricted time frame.
 It can be suggested the company
should maintain all the rules and
regulations of different country,
where they have expanded their
business

Conclusion
 It can be concluded that Walmart has tried to
expand their business in the South-Asian market
along with the Oceania continent with the help
of new products.
 At the same point of time, the company has also
extended their variety of products in the market
of United States of America for giving immense
satisfaction to the customers
 It can be noted that the company should also
strengthen their e-commerce channel and
supply chain management channel for
increasing the core productivity of the
organization and thus reaching to millions of
customers within the short time frame.

References

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