Walmart Case Study

Instructions:
The essay should cover these three questions
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What is Walmart currently doing to eradicate some of the negative images and feelings that some people have towards this megalithic giant in order to become a more sustainable company?

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What are some the “high costs” of “low prices” that contributed to some of Walmart’s problems, and what is it now doing to form better relationships with its stakeholders?

Answer

Case Study Wal-Mart
Name
Institution
Case Study Wal-Mart
Globalization and technology have increased business market by a large margin. And as such, most organizations are engaging in corporate sustainability activities. On the same note, developing organization strategies to help them maintain a good relationship with customers and, hence, maintain customer loyalty and remain competitive in the market. Such organizations engage in strategic plans and corporate social responsibility activities to enable them become relevant in the market and at the same time push smaller competitors out of the market (Prieto et al., 2014).
However, this paper analyzes Wal-Mart business strategies to build their reputation and become more sustainable. On the same note, examine factors that contributed to Wal-Mart’s challenges and how the organization creates conditions that help contribute to a healthy competition within the market.
Wal-Mart stores incorporation is one of the largest retail distributors in the United States. Wal-Mart corporate is; service to customers, respect for individuals and striving for excellence (Prieto et al., 2014). Wal-Mart’s corporate strategy involves selling brand name products that are of high quality and at a low price. Recently, Wal-Mart is engaging in corporate social responsibilities to build its reputation and reduce the negative image and feelings that some people have towards their organization.
Be as it may, Wal-Mart engages in multifaceted and complex relationships with different stakeholders within the organization. Recently, environmentalist groups, labor unions, grassroots organization, community members and religious groups have overly criticized Wal-Mart for lack of concern about the impacts of its business activities and policies to the community. Wal-Mart developed a community outreach program which focuses on providing customer satisfaction, providing scholarships and also involving itself with local community services. The organization puts emphasis on children and environmental issues within the communities. By and large, these programs help Wal-Mart to build its corporate image and develop a positive perception of customers and the community towards the organization.

Of late, Wal-Mart is facing challenges arising from its corporate strategy of selling high quality brand name products at low prices. Stakeholders view this approach as superfluous since it cuts the organizations profits that would have been gained from selling their products at the market price (Prieto et al., 2014). However, Wal-Mart significantly reduces the company cost by using technology and advanced warehousing facilities to store their products. On the same note, Wal-Mart negotiates deals to purchasing merchandise unswervingly from manufactures, therefore, eliminated unnecessary cost incurred by employing the services of middlemen.
Wal-Mart activities have a tremendous impact on the market price of goods and services within the environment in which it operates. Wal-Mart provides high quality goods for consumers at lower prices by selling greater quantities of goods and accepting lower margin (Prieto et al., 2014). Wal-Mart maintained a competitive edge over its rivals such as Sears, K-Mart by reducing overhead expenses and hence, sells their “high-quality” goods at a lower price. Such conditions push smaller stores that do not enjoy economies of scale out of the market since they cannot sell their products at a lower price and still enjoy a good profit.
In conclusion, Wal-Mart is growing tremendously and enjoys a customer base of loyal customers despite the challenges the organization faced. This success is attributed to Wal-Mart ability to create an effective communication as well as the strategic organization to effectively deal with issues regarding its very reputation and company image (Prieto et al., 2014).
References
Prieto, L. C., Phipps, S. T. A., & Addae, I. Y. (2014). IS WAL-MART A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE? AN EXPLORATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATE REPUTATION, CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY & FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE. Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 13(2), 51-60. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1645903414?accountid=45049

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Does Walmart create conditions that push out the smaller stores or does Walmart help contribute to healthy competition