Strategic Planning & Implementation - Research Paper Example

The paper "Strategic Planning and Implementation: Case of Walmart" is an excellent example of an essay on management. To be able to come up with a successful strategic plan for Walmart, there is a need to carry out a research on the background of the company, its history and the management style (Pearce & Robinson, 2013). In addition to that, the research should look into the various operational objectives that Walmart as a business entity has. It is also necessary to understand the company’s vision, mission and value statement.

This is important since the three aspects of the business define and guide its current and future operations. The vision of a particular business entity defines its possibilities and the potentials that it has in the current and future market, thus allowing the management to gauge the competitive position of a business (Kvint, 2009). It is effectively created to explain why a business engages in whatever activities it does. Moreover, an effectively created vision statement expresses the objectives that the upper management have, giving the rest of the employees a sense of purpose as they go about their duties at Walmart.

The mission statement communicates what a business would like to achieve and what it will take to attain these goals (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2008). Such statements are used to define the progress needed for the vision to be achieved. It describes the overall purpose of all those involved; hence, the need to be periodically reviewed and reexamined to ensure that it remains effective. The value statement, on the other hand, is used by the organization for it to achieve its mission and vision.

It reflects the ideologies, values, and activities of the company (Rabin ‎&Miller, 2000). The first step to ensuring that the vision, mission, and strategies at Walmart are aligned to the proposed plan is through a careful understanding of these aspects of the business. Walmart is a customer-driven organization whose goals and mission are set to meet the needs of its clients. Its mission covers what needs to be executed in order to ensure that these essentials are met. The other way through which the alignment will be done is by seeking the full support of the executive.

The top management of Walmart acts as the champions of the mission and goals of the business. By involving the top management and ensuring executive support, the plan will be in line with what the business intends to do to meet the needs of its client base. The third approach is through effective communication and employee involvement (Sadler, 2013). Employees play a very vital role in ensuring that whatever is stated in Walmart’s vision and mission statement is achieved. Their involvement includes effective communication and careful organizational planning.

The development and implementation of an effective strategic plan require an extensive analysis of the internal as well as external environments in which the company is operating in. On the basis of the political, economic, social and technological factors, the internal environment can be studied in order to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the various aspects of the business (Hill & Jones, 2013). It gives an insight into the strong and weak points of the management, the existing facilities, quality of items sold and the financial capabilities of Walmart.

The major source of the information required for the internal analysis will be primary research. This will involve the direct observation of the operations of the company and the management practices. In will also entail carrying out of surveys and interviews in order to understand the various practices within the management structures that give the company its strong point in the competitive market. The employees who are working for Walmart understand the various challenges that may be facing the enterprise.

As such through the interviews, vital data on the internal structures and environment of the company will be obtained. Information needed for this analysis can also be obtained through feedback from Walmart customers. When conducting this examination, various aspects of the business like cost-effectiveness, sales, and brand relation will be considered. The external analysis is done by carrying out an independent examination of the various opportunities as well as the threats which exist in the environment that the company operates in.

The opportunities are the conditions which are favorable while the threats act as a barrier to achieving the goals of the business. This information can be obtained from secondary sources like databases which have key information on the retail market and the busying trends. Random surveys on potential customers will also be helpful in understanding the future of the retail business market. Direct and indirect responses from consumers are also important in understanding the external factors.