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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the largest retail company in the United States and has

ID: 377832 • Letter: W

Question

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the largest retail company in the United States and has been ranked number one on the Fortune 500 Index by Fortune Magazine. Wal-Mart is the largest retail store in the United States, and is larger than any other retail chain in the world. Currently Wal-Mart operates over 4,150 retail facilities globally.

Wal-Mart provides general merchandise: family apparel, health & beauty aids, household needs, electronics, toys, fabrics, crafts, lawn & garden, jewelry and shoes. Also, the company runs a pharmacy department, Tire & Lube Express, and Photo processing center as well (www.walmart.com).

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. decided to start its operation in Saudi Arabia. The Company hired you as CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Saudi.

4. Explain the different types of planning for the different levels of management in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. KSA. Include the typical time frame for which each plan is created. (300 – 400 words)

5. Discuss the components of the acronym SMART in goal setting of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. KSA. (100 – 200 words)

6. Identify the strategic management process of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. KSA. (200 – 300 words) 7. Organizational culture is important for a US based company to operate in Saudi Arabia. What functions does organizational culture serve in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. KSA? (300 – 400 words)

8. In making decisions, ethical concerns need to be considered. Describe what are the ethics and laws within your Disney Land. (300 – 400 words) 9. Conclude your report. (300 – 400 words)

Explanation / Answer

There would be 3 layers of management - 1. Top management for adhering to the mission and vision of the parent company and for interfacing with the environment in KSA, 2. The middle management for chalking out strategies and goals of the company in KSA. Systems, structures and process flows would be developed and implemented by them 3. The operations management for the management of the day to day operations of the store in KSA. The top management along with the middle management should take around 6-8 weeks and within two weeks thereafter the operations team should be in a position to open their store for the customers.

SMART is the name given to the inventory management system of Wal-Mart. They have developed a RFID based EPC (electronic product code) that allows them to track inventory and shipments automatically. This displaced the manual bar code scanning of the past. The SMART system automatically replenishes products with low or nil stock. The SMART system interfaces with Texlon, a wireless handheld barcode scanner and thus makes it possible to for the SMART system to track inventories,whether in warehouses or in transit.

The vision statement dictates the strategies of an entity which translates the vision into reality.

Wal-Mart's vision is to promote ethical culture, ownership and global expansion.

Wal-Mart has been able to grow and expand globally by being able to embrace and implement its vision. Thus Wal-Mart helps its customers and shareholders to embrace this culture of doing the right things and making the right decisions. From this follows the ethos of Wal-Mart: respect to the individual and service to the customer. Thus Wal-Mart has this slogan, "We save people money so they can live better."

Strategically, Wal-Mart has been the one shop stop for the average middle class. To service such a large and diverse market, it has a strong fleet of over thousands of trucks to manage its logistics independently and reliably.

To ensure success into the future, Wal-Mart extended its expansion globally and focused on newer domestic urban areas while also concentrating on its existing markets.

Ethics in Disney Land

The company has the best-in-class business standards as a key to its business practices.

Training is imparted to all its employees through their learning management system known as Disney Development Connection. This ensures that all its employees and Cast Members are trained to conform to ethical practices and act within the legal framework.

It is an equal opportunity employer and has a policy that prevents harassment to any employee, guest or other persons in the conduct of their business.