Wal-Mart Strategic Management - Essay Example

The restructuring of Wal-Mart also aimed to change the company store operation under a single leadership. A single leadership team would ensure easy management and operation of stores. In addition, the company also realigned its merchandising in order to bring new assortment decisions in the Wal-Mart stores. Due to this, the company has restructured its hard lines and home divisions to team-related categories (Freshman 2006, 24-27).

Wal-Mart uses the cost leadership strategy in which it fights to be the lowest-cost producer in the industry but marinating the greatest quality o its products. In this strategy, Wal-Mart sets its prices quite lower than the average industry prices in order to win greater market share. The firm makes all efforts to improve process efficiencies. Since it is a multinational corporation, it targets a broad market to cover its costs. This cost leadership strategy is very effective at the global level of operations.

Wal-Mart re-engineering and E-engineering
Wal-Mart strives to be ahead of its competitors by incorporating satellite communication between cash registers, distribution centers, and stores. This is something that makes it easy for customers in different areas to purchase products from stores in different regions meeting the customers’ needs at the immediate point of demand. The customers do not require traveling physically to particular stores that have the product needed since the items are easily purchased and shipped to the customer’s destination via satellite communications between the different departments of the entire corporation (Jacobsen 2011, 56). Its strategy of using solar panels as compared to other sources of energy is a differentiation strategy that is cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Another form of differentiation strategy employed by Wal-Mart is the use of a satellite communication system, which enables Wal-Mart, makes its products available to customers irrespective of the distance from the store possessing the product.

The general strategy that Wal-Mart has been employing in its operations is the low-cost, high volume strategy that targets its businesses at the global level. Because Wal-Mart has numerous stores in many countries, it therefore successfully undertakes this strategy of lowering its prices and producing in bulk to cover the costs by a considerable amount. It does this to increase its market share. It also manages this because it has lower operating expenses as compared to the industry level (Lampel 2002, 51-52). This control strategy aims at ensuring reduced costs, high volume production, and improved quality.
It is apparently clear that part of Wal-Mart’s strategy to remain competitive in its operations is to make products that prove to have fewer negative effects on the environment. In this regard, Wal-Mart regulates what products to sell in their stores. It has also come up with sustainable waste management strategies aimed at reducing pollutants and ensuring a clean environment. For instance, it takes up proper waste management by implementing strategies to recycle paper products. This is seen through its efforts in the Go Green initiative. Apart from environmental friendliness, it seeks ways to lower its costs in operations and instead uses the saved monies in technological advancement (Massengil 2003, 66).

Wal-Mart Reciprocal interdependence and Information sharing
Wal-Mart reciprocal interdependence encourages communication from one department to the other whereby an input in one department becomes the input of the other. This means Wal-Mart communication is at the highest level of communication or interaction. The reciprocal interdependence of Wal-Mart stores has made the company enjoy a large market share in the business since there is organized coordination from one department to the other.

Wal-Mart Downsizing and Rightsizing
The financial crisis of 2008 made Wal-Mart stores to its employees in order to cope up with the weak economy. It is important to note that when Wal-Mart announced its downsizing plan, it aimed to manage its human resource and retain the reputation of the company. The company communicated its downsizing decision in order to reduce the effect of the decision on the local society. 

The decision caused low motivation and stress among employees who retained their work. Fortunately, Wal-Mart’s human resources implemented measures such as salary improvement and increased packages in order to instill confidence in its workers.