The Strategic Management Process of Walmart - Case Study Example

Strategic Management of Walmart An Analysis Year: Supervisor: Contents Introduction.3 2. Strategic Brand Management..3 3. Human Resource Structure and Management4 4. Business Partner.4 5. Change Manager5 6. Monitor..6 7. Innovator8 8. Conclusion11 9. References12 Strategic Management of Walmart Walmart was the brain child of Sam Walton who started it in the 1940s in partnership with Sears. Today, Walmart is a living breating example of organisational transformation and goal achievement. This paper deals with the strategic management of Walmart. The two basic aspects that are relevant to Walmart's strategic management here are marketing and HRM. Strategic Brand Management A retail giant, the Walmart company shifted its strategy from mass marketing to product variety market and then to target marketing so as to cater to the growing market for its range of products. Elaboration Likelihood Model Its strategy can be studied under the elaboration likelihood model as it wanted to be a forerunner in the market where brands were emerging with each passing day. The choice of the Elaboration likelihood Model was one that came directly from the consumer oriented characteristics of brand equity and brand knowledge. Elaboration Likelihood Model identified message relevance as one of these factors. According to this model, when message relevance is high, individuals will actively process and evaluate the information in the advertisement when forming or changing attitudes. (Barrie, 2005) When message relevance is low, individuals will not actively process the information in the advertisement, but will instead rely on peripheral message cues to form or change attitudes. Brand Identity is that element of customer perception and awareness which has its focus in the results of a certain kind of projection through the brand equity building measures. This calls for an integrative model which will combine the basic elements of the brand identity and brand equity concepts so as to create a platform for the effective discussion of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. (Jorge et al, 2005) This has been of special relevance for the Walmart company as far as its foray into target market and product variation is concerned. An integrative model will serve the following purpose: (Green, 2002) - provide as detailed summation of the various factors that influence the end user to add to the brand equity; and - study these factors in context of the psychological process taking place in the mind of the consumer as he is exposed to advertisements and other brand identity elements. Human Resource Structure and Management Walmart depends to a great extent on the contribution and quality of its human capital. The human capital may be defined as that element of the organisation's operational sphere that is a living, breathing part of the activities that put the innate resources and factors of production into application. This application results in profits arising out of the activities of the human capital and the efficiency with which this resource carries out its tasks. This in turn, has a bearing on the achievement of the organisation's goals. (Jorge et al, 2005) Business Partner The first role of the human resource in today's organisation is that of a business partner. This has come to the fore with the emergence of various service oriented companies that provide intensive marketing services along with the products that are being produced. This is a formal level of institutionalised operations where the organisation profits greatly. This is done by pushing the product in quarters where the effects of regular marketing and promotion cannot reach. It is also an elevated level of salesman ship where the sales agents are offered a share in the business that they make. The advantage of this is that the business partners take a personal interest in the development of a clientele. (Green, 2002. P 111) Further, this serves the two fold purpose of sales and promotion. While there might not be immediate sales in some cases, there is a creation of awareness for future sales. This in turn, leads to increased sales and repeat orders through word of mouth and brand recall. At an informal level, the term business partner can be used to denote the modern day human resource base. This is due to the fact that the human capital in an organisation today is motivated enough to integrate the personal goals with those of the organisation in an effective way. In this way, the goals are achieved at both ends. The management of an organisation attaches great importance to the act of motivating the human capital through the use of incentives that may be material or immaterial. The material benefits include bonuses, promotions and other such means, while the immaterial ones include good reports and feedback. This helps the employee gain confidence and self esteem. Also, it caters to the employees need to achieve a certain social standing. Thus, the employee begins to realise that only by forwarding the goals of the organisation will his or her own goals be met. In this way, the human resource has emerged as a business partner that works in tandem with the organisation as far as goal achievement is concerned. (Green, 2002. P 111) Change Manager The modern day economy is one that is changing with each passing day. The state of commerce is not what it used to be, say, a few decades ago. This is basically due to the fact that the new rule of thumb is that the only constant is change. The face of politics has greatly shaped the way the economy of a country and therefore, that of an organisation, operates. In this way, there is a sense of constant interaction with the dynamic environment within which organisations today thrive. The role of communication and technology in this regard, is also an important one. With the advent of the communication and information era, there is a slow redefinition of borders and geographical demarcations. It is now possible to sell products and manage businesses anywhere in the world, from anywhere in the world. This has had a large bearing on the state of the balance of payments of entire countries and the organisations that thrive within it. This balance of payments is dependant on the exchange that flows to and from it. In this way, there is an impetus to change with the changing world, depending on how that change might affect the balance of payments or any other socio economic aspect of the country and the organisation. Therefore, change has become a vital part of the organisation's life, owing to the fact that there is a constant need for reinvention in order to keep with the changing times and the changing levels of exposure. In this regard, change management has become a vital part of every organisation's agenda. (Jorge et al, 2005) In this regard, the HR elements of Walmart, or its employees, are the major precursors of change within the organisation. They are the ones who implement the change management process at the following levels of activity: Communication Planning Resource Utilisation Cost effectiveness in Operations (Jorge et al, 2005) This makes the employees or the HR, change managers within Walmart. The impetus to change and grow with these changes comes from the fact that the modern day organisation is made up of people from various corners of the globe, with the ability to reach into their own varied personal experiences. Thus in turn, is a major factor that helps them cope with change and learn to keep changing with the changing times and trends. Also, sometimes change comes from within the organisation owing to the growth of exposure with the growth of the organisation or with activities like development and training. (Bender, 2000. P 125 to 127) This initiates the employee into a process of embracing and implementing change in order to do away with any monotony that may exist in the operational area of the organisation that they thrive in, due to repeated activities and other such factors. The basic role of change management is to develop a system or structure within which there is a strong sense of being able to forecast change, and adjust to the same accordingly. This change management structure is an informal one that is carried out by the employees in the organisation. The role of change management is as follows: To help recognise change. To help recognise the areas in which these changes must be implemented within the organisation. To help the organisation integrate its goals or modify the same, with a change in the external environment. To help the HR understand the change and grow with it. (Bender, 200. P 125 to 127) Monitor One of the most important roles or functions of the HR is to monitor various things within and outside the operational sphere of the organisation, so as to make the necessary modifications that will correct any deviations in the path towards the achievement of organisational goals. (Barrie, 2005. P 1 to 10) The monitoring system in Walmart thrives on a system of knowledge management. To monitor anything, there is a need for garnering knowledge about the same through communication and information. This needs to follow the flow of the organisational activities so as to give the right person, the right information at the right time. In this regard, many scholars have felt that there is a need to lay well defined lines of informal communication as these are important to bridge any gaps that may have taken place in the formal lines of communication. (Bender, 2000. P 125 to 127) Knowledge and information have become almost interchangeable in their ability to transform workplaces and make the rest of the aware of the various activities that take place within it. Recognizing this premise, the company is providing result-oriented solutions to various industries. It is working with its alliance partners with an unmatched level of domain knowledge. It empowers organizations with inventive and scalable technology solutions thereby increasing the industry's competitive advantage and return on investment. (Wilson, 2002) (Source: Wilson, 2002) This diagram depicts the growth of titles using knowledge management. In this regard, information management may be defined as something that involves deploying new technology solutions, e.g: content or document management systems, data warehousing and portal applications. It covers all the systems and processes in an organization for the creation and use of corporate information. Information is the most pervasive element across all human actions and interactions. Managing information has become one of man's most difficult tasks. Variety of information sources has changed information from mediocrity of data to a natural efficacy and requirement. Information management involves people, processes, technology and content. (Wilson, 2002) Knowledge management encompasses strategy, method, practice and approach in an organizational context. Data represents facts or values of results and has the capacity to represent information. Patterns of relations of data, and information have the capacity to represent knowledge. This is important in monitoring the activities within the organization so as to curb any negative trends before they become a force. This shows a strong connection with the premise that the HR today operates on in terms of the use of various tools of information technology to integrate the knowledge within the organization. This also promotes a stronger and wider base for communication. In this regard, modern HR practices show that communication management is a vital phenomenon in Walmart and is extremely important in an organization. In general, efficient communication in an organization contributes directly or indirectly to improved organizational performance. (Barrie, 2005. P 1 to 10) Effective information, communication and knowledge management should focus on recognizing and managing complexity, should deliver tangible and obvious benefits and aims to deliver faultless user experience. This helps in monitoring the quality of the work culture as well the deliverables that are sent into the world outside the organization. Innovator Any modern day organisation and its HR need the strong backing of innovation for the following purposes: To meet goals effectively. For smooth flowing operations within the organisation. To imbibe an element of freshness into otherwise monotonous activities. To help the employees grow so as to fuel organisational growth and development. To gives the employees the satisfaction of learning something new everyday. To give the organisation the confidence to branch out into new fields. (Bender, 2000. P 125 to 127) With these functions, it is important to have a process of training and development which will help show the employees how they can channel their energies into constant innovation so as to serve the organisational goals, and achieve their personal ones in the bargain. Training and development are essential activities for the maintenance of organizational health. Training takes place for strategic development of employees in order to correct any deviations in their performance towards the achievement of the organizational goal, or to help them tap into a certain pool of potential which will further their standing in the organization. The second kind of training adheres to preparing the employee for promotions and other such activities. Therefore, training and development processes may either be diagnostic or based on future role play. In this case, the kinds of training followed by an organization may be categorized into on the job and off the job training methods. Both these kinds of training help imbibe a certain quality of innovation within the organization so as to give each member of the HR a unique identity that will be well utilized and appropriately respected within the organization. The need to tap into a pool of potential can be met only through the right training and development process which will steer the employee towards doing so for the benefit of the organization. The conversion of this need into a full fledged reality is the role of training and development. This role is a major element of innovation. (Barrie, 2005. P 1 to 10) The need for innovation is met through training due to the following features of the latter, which form the necessary context for innovation within the organisation: ( i ) Identification of needs - an analysis of needs addresses the problems at hand besides anticipating future demands. The benefit of this step lies in the fact that it considers the best and most cost effective way to meet those training needs right at the onset, which make the training strategy planning and implementation process more fluid. (Barrie, 2005. P 1 to 10) ( ii ) Definition of specific knowledge requirements - this stage to examines the skills and knowledge level that is required to be developed in order to meet the new objectives identified by the training needs. This helps the management gain perspective as to which kind of training strategy will be the most effective one when adopted for the situation at hand. ( iii ) Planning process - This includes paying special attention to the training techniques that have been used in the past and their effectiveness. This helps show any deviations and how they may be modified or discarded entirely. Further, in the planning stage, one also decides on the locations of training which is generally based on the model being followed to meet training needs and objectives as well as other learning requirements. ( iv ) Trainer Competence - For competence in communication and soft skills, it is crucial to have the right mix of all factors. One of these factors include the trainer. While the organization itself may have a training department, it may also source its training projects to external trainers. These trainers are sent by training companies who conduct sessions over a period of a few weeks depending on the situation at hand and the employee requirements. Therefore, in choosing a competent trainer, the organization makes sure that it gets the best of development as these trainers know the knack of basing their training on the availability of suitable training methodologies and the degree of responsibility. ( v ) Evaluation of training - this is where the planners evaluate the training needs and prioritize them before carrying out a similar process of evaluation for the training strategy they have in mind so as to link the strategy with the needs and reach certain projections regarding success or failure. This helps bridge numerous gaps in the implantation stage and is thus extremely important and beneficial for a smooth sailing process. Through this process, there is also an increased focus on the specific training objectives so as to zero in on the best strategy which will produce the scope for improvement and enhance the effectiveness of training. ( vi ) Implementation process - In this regard, the assessment of the existing training methods are taken into consideration so as find the best option for making use of the training strategy in terms of development of individual areas. This helps save time and cut cost besides rendering a certain amount of effectiveness and authenticity to the whole process. This also brings about standardization of training practices which leads to more research and improvisation, into areas like skills, knowledge and attitudes, as well as the most effective ways of affecting these areas. (Bender, 2000. P 125 to 127) Conclusion Here, it is imperative to say that the role of the modern day HR has evolved to fit a variety of roles, such as the ones discussed above. This has helped Walmart define its goals and find a sense of identity through the effective motivation of its HR to play these roles in the operational sphere of the organization. Through systematic brand management based on the ELM, Walmart has managed to create a niche for itself with the help of a focus on HR and Marketing. References Green, Marnie (2002). Internal HR. Plublic Mangement Personal; Vol 31. P 111 Latre-Rufat, Jorge (2005) Beyond Raining Employee Benefit. Plan Review; Volume 59 Barrie, Charles. Moving Targets. Human Resources. Pp 1 to 10. Bender, S (2000) The transfer of knowledge and the retention of expertise. Journal of Knowledge Management. Pp. 125 to 127 Wilson, T D (2002). The non sense of Knowledge Management. Information Research, 8(1). Paper No. 144. Last accessed at http://informationr.net/ir/8- 1/paper141.html Read More