Stakeholder Analysis of Walmart's Organizational Structure

This report provides a comprehensive stakeholder analysis of Walmart, a major player in the retail industry. Task 1 analyzes Walmart's key stakeholders, including investors, customers, employees, and suppliers, assessing their levels of importance and influence on the organization's strategies. It highlights how each stakeholder group's interests impact Walmart's operations. Task 2 delves into Walmart's communication strategies, discussing methods for effective engagement with investors, customers, employees, and suppliers. The report emphasizes the need for tailored communication approaches to address the specific needs and concerns of each stakeholder group, ultimately contributing to the company's success. The analysis underscores the importance of understanding stakeholder dynamics and developing robust communication plans for sustained organizational performance.

Running head: STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
Table of Contents
Task 1.............................................................................................................................2
Analysis of the main stakeholders of Walmart and levels of importance......................2
About the organization...............................................................................................2
Stakeholders of Walmart in retail industry................................................................2
Task 2.............................................................................................................................5
Discussion based on the ways by which Walmart can develop the communication
strategies.....................................................................................................................................5
Communication with the investors.............................................................................5
Communication with the customers...........................................................................5
Communication with the employees..........................................................................6
Communication with the suppliers.............................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................7
References......................................................................................................................8

2STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
Task 1
Analysis of the main stakeholders of Walmart and levels of importance
About the organization
Walmart Inc. is an American organization which operates in the retail industry of the
country. The organization operates large of hypermarkets, discount based department stores
and the grocery stores as well. Walmart Inc. has its operations in different countries of the
world with the help of diverse range of products and services which are offered through the
different stores. The headquarter of Walmart Inc. is located in Bentonville, Arkansas and the
organization was established in the year 1969. Walmart has its operates more than 11,000
stores as well as clubs in around 27 countries of the world. The name under which the
organization operates in Canada and the United States is Walmart. The organization has
become the largest firm in the world based on the revenues which are gained in the industry.
Walmart has also been able to develop its position in the Fortune Global 500 list in the year
2018. Walmart is also considered to be the largest employer in the private retail based sector.
Stakeholders of Walmart in retail industry
The stakeholders of Walmart are able to influence the directions of strategies which
have been developed by the organization. Stakeholders are mainly considered to belong to the
group of people who are affected by the business organization and its operations. The
stakeholders are thereby able to exert high levels of pressure on business based operations of
Walmart (Andriof et al. 2017). Walmart has been able to develop many stakeholders in the
industry with the help of its global operations and products offered to the customers as well.
The managers of business organizations need to understand dynamics of relationship which
has been developed between the stakeholders and the interests. The decisions which are made
by stakeholders of the organization are based on the stakeholders (Ayuso et al. 2014).

3STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
Stakeholders of Walmart can be divided into different groups based on the policies
and beliefs of the organization. The different stakeholder groups of Walmart include,
investors, customers, employees and suppliers. The investors are considered to be highly
important for the effective and profitable operations of Walmart in the industry. The suppliers
on the other hand are provided with lowest priority in the stakeholder group of Walmart. The
decisions and strategies which are developed by Walmart are affected in a huge manner by
different stakeholder groups of the organization (Bourne 2016).
Investors – The investors of Walmart are highly interested in the profits which are
provided by organizational operations. High levels of profits which are gained by the
organization result in higher earnings based on shares which are maintained by investors. The
investors further aim at reducing the levels of operational costs of Walmart. Low costs can
lead to higher profits and this is quite beneficial for the investors of Walmart. The investors
are provided with high priority by Walmart and its strategies (Carey and Perry 2014).
Customers – The customers are also included within the stakeholder group of
Walmart. The customers mainly have an interest in the low prices of services and products
that are offered to them. The quality of products that are thereby offered by Walmart need to
be of acceptable levels. The cost leadership based generic strategy has been implemented by
Walmart in order to operate in a profitable manner in the retail industry. The organization has
gained its popularity with the help of low prices of different products which are offered in the
industry (Doh and Quigley 2014).
Employees – The human resources or employees are also considered by decision
making based process which has been implemented by the managers of Walmart. The two
major interests of employees in this case are high wages and job security. The security level
of the job is an important factor which is effective in addressing the concerns of the

4STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
employees. However, Walmart has been providing low wages to the employees which is a
major concern for the organizational operations. The interests of major stakeholders of
Walmart, who are the employees are not addressed effectively by the organization. the
programs and policies which have been developed by the organization have provided job
security. However, the wage levels are not maintained effectively by Walmart (Frandsen
2018).
Suppliers – The major interest of the last group of stakeholders of Walmart is based
on the sales of different products in various stores of the organization which operate all over
the world. The profits which are earned by the organization with the help of product sales are
also considered to be important for the suppliers. Suppliers want the organization to sell the
products in such a manner which is able to provide maximum amounts of profit. The profits
and revenues are thereby helpful in the development of the topmost position of Walmart in
the industry. Walmart is however able to influence the suppliers and the prices of raw
materials. The efficient supply chain of the organization is considered to be a major reason
behind the influence which is provided by Walmart (Loi 2016).
The different groups of stakeholders which have been developed by Walmart over the
years of its operations in the industry are capable to affecting the revenues. The organization
has been successful in addressing different concerns of these groups with the help of its
effective operations. However, the organization has not been successful in fulfilling the needs
and demands of some of the stakeholders. The wages which are offered to the employees can
be considered to be a huge issue which is faced by the organization in its long-term
operations (Marais and Young 2016).

5STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
Task 2
Discussion based on the ways by which Walmart can develop the communication
strategies
The analysis made in Task 1 has been able to depict that the stakeholders are able to
play a major role in the effective organizational operations. Walmart thereby needs to
develop effective communication based strategies in order to understand the needs of
stakeholders and develop effective strategies as well.
Communication with the investors
Walmart has provided utmost levels of importance to the investors of the
organization. The levels of communication developed with them also needs to be effective so
that the organization is able to operate in a profitable manner. Meetings are considered to be a
major communication tool which can be used by Walmart in order to communicate with the
stakeholders. The organization needs to hold meetings with the stakeholders on periodic basis
in order to understand their needs and inform them about the organizational operations as
well (Schons et al. 2018).
Conference calls can also be used as an effective tool which can be used by Walmart
in order to communicate with the stakeholders. The conference calls can be held by the
organization within short intervals of time in order to communicate with the stakeholders and
to provide them with effective information as well. The stakeholders will be informed about
the levels of profitability and the financial status of the company on a regular basis which will
be helpful for taking effective decisions (Shahzad, Rutherford and Sharfman 2016).
Communication with the customers
The customers have played the second most important role in effective operations of
the organization. The communication based activities which are performed by the

6STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
organization thereby needs to target the customers in order to provide them with the effective
information which is required for profitable operations in the retail industry. Digital or social
media is considered to be the most effective tool which can be used in order to communicate
with the customers. The social media pages which have been developed by Walmart over the
years can play a major role in the ways by which the organization can keep in continuous
touch with the customers. The website of Walmart can be developed further in order to
develop effective communication based channels with the customers (Shireesh and Kumar
2018).
Social media has been previously used by Walmart in order to communicate with the
customers. The different platforms which have been used by the organization in order to
communicate with the customers include, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest. The
platforms have been able to play a major role in the ways by which Twitter has developed the
customer base in different parts of the world. The organization has also provided effective
training to the employees so that they are able to maintain the social media communication
with customers (Tantalo and Priem 2016).
Communication with the employees
Walmart has become quite famous in the industry for the levels of employee
satisfaction which have been provided over the years. The organization has been able to
maintain an effective relationship with the employees by listening to their concerns and
trying to address them effectively as well. The communication process which is thereby used
by Walmart in order to connect with the employees is quite open in nature (Westermann-
Behaylo, Van Buren and Berman 2015). The employees are able to raise their concerns
towards the management and the organization further aims at addressing those concerns
effectively as well. However, the major issue which is faced by the employees of Walmart is
based on the low wages which are provided to them. The organization is working towards

7STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
solving the issues related to wages which are being faced by the employees in order to
increase their satisfaction levels and improve the workplace environment as well (Tantalo and
Priem 2016).
Communication with the suppliers
The supply chain which has been developed by Walmart in the industry is considered
to be a major factor which is able to affect its operations and prices of the products as well.
The performance of suppliers is managed by the organization effectively with the help of
different strategies. The organization has aimed at developing partnerships with the suppliers
in order to maintain its profitable operations in the industry (Schons et al. 2018). The
communication process which has been implemented by the organization is transparent in
nature and the suppliers are able to communicate with Walmart in an effective manner. The
organization has been offering training based programs to the suppliers which have been
useful for the services which are offered by them. The levels of importance which are
however provided by the organization to suppliers needs to be increased so that the prices can
be managed easily (Marais and Young 2016).
Conclusion
The analysis in Task 1 and Task 2 has been able to depict that Walmart has
implemented effective communication based strategies in order manage the stakeholders.
However, the organization needs to improve the processes which are used in order to
communicate with the suppliers in order to maintain the levels of prices.

8STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
References
Andriof, J., Waddock, S., Husted, B. and Rahman, S.S., 2017. Unfolding stakeholder
thinking 2: Relationships, communication, reporting and performance. Routledge.
Ayuso, S., Rodríguez, M.A., García-Castro, R. and Ariño, M.A., 2014. Maximizing
stakeholders’ interests: An empirical analysis of the stakeholder approach to corporate
governance. Business & society, 53(3), pp.414-439.
Bourne, L., 2016. Stakeholder relationship management: a maturity model for organisational
implementation. Routledge.
Carey, N. and Perry, T., 2014. Business resiliency and stakeholder management. Journal of
business continuity & emergency planning, 8(1), pp.14-19.
Doh, J.P. and Quigley, N.R., 2014. Responsible leadership and stakeholder management:
Influence pathways and organizational outcomes. Academy of Management
Perspectives, 28(3), pp.255-274.
Frandsen, F., 2018. Stakeholder Management. The International Encyclopedia of Strategic
Communication, pp.1-13.
Loi, T.H., 2016. Stakeholder management: a case of its related capability and
performance. Management Decision, 54(1), pp.148-173.
Marais, M. and Young, S., 2016. Corporate Governance perspectives and CSR: Issues for
Stakeholder Management. In Academy of Management Proceedings(Vol. 2016, No. 1, p.
16595). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.
Schons, L.M., Lengler-Graiff, L., Scheidler, S., Mende, G. and Wieseke, J., 2018, July.
Listen to the Voice of the Customer-First Steps towards Stakeholder Democracy. In Academy

9STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS OF ORGANIZATIONS
of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2018, No. 1, p. 13503). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510:
Academy of Management.
Shahzad, A., Rutherford, M.A. and Sharfman, M.P., 2016. Stakeholder Management and
Financial Performance: The Role of Managerial Discretion. In Academy of Management
Proceedings (Vol. 2016, No. 1, p. 12620). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of
Management.
Shireesh and Kumar, S., 2018. Evolution of stakeholder management approach in business: a
literature review. International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 10(2), pp.160-
176.
Tantalo, C. and Priem, R.L., 2016. Value creation through stakeholder synergy. Strategic
Management Journal, 37(2), pp.314-329.
Walmart.com 2018. [online] Walmart.com. Available at: https://www.walmart.com/
[Accessed 11 Dec. 2018].
Westermann-Behaylo, M.K., Van Buren, H.J. and Berman, S., 2015. Stakeholder Capabilities
Enhancement as a Path of Value Creation and Competitive Advantage. In Academy of
Management Proceedings (Vol. 2015, No. 1, p. 17223). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510:
Academy of Management.