Assignment 7: Wal-Mart Case Study



[Name of the Instructor]

[Date of Submission]Assignment 6: Wal-Mart Case Study

Introduction

Wal-Mart is considered to be the world largest retailer that has positioned its offerings by focusing on low prices every day. This case analysis highlights the foreign expansion made by the company by taking into account the key issues, problems, opportunities, evaluation of alternative strategies and the action plan.

Identification of Key issues

Wal-Mart being a low price focused company has effectively penetrated in the market. The company provides employment to about 1.8 million people in United States. During the times when company has faced decline in its profits while operating in United States, it developed the strategies to move towards international expansion by initiating its businesses in Mexico and have a joint venture with one of the largest retailer of Mexico, Cifra. The shopping habits of Mexican are different from the Americans that at initial phases created difficulty for Wal-Mart in penetrating in the Mexican market. Later on, the company hired managers from within Mexico that enabled to make customer realize that the company cares for them. If Wal-Mart decided to move with its company strategy, it will not be possible for them to operate in the international market. Therefore, the company made its business strategy flexible with the help of adoption of strategies that focus on appropriate management implementation. As per the analysis, the best strategy that could enable the company to deal with the issues is based on its focus on geocentrism in integration with polycentrism and ethnocentrism.

Problems and Opportunities

In an attempt of foreign expansion, a number of problems and opportunities remain associated with the moves and strategies that were adopted by Wal-Mart. The major problem that the company faced relates to comprehending the cultural background of the host-country. The major dimensions that could be covered under this head of cultural background include the beliefs, values, laws, customs and other capabilities that represent a specific economy. For Example, in an attempt to enter the Asian market (Japan or China), the company required to know the business etiquettes, behavior that people use to follow, and the organizational culture and values.

Thus, Wal-Mart had an opportunity to maintain its business strategy of “everyday low prices” by integrating it with the business strategy that is followed by a country so as to win the business prospect prevailing within a specific nation.

Articulation and evaluation of an Alternative Approach

Wal-Mart ...