Running Head: STRATEGIC IMPLEMENTATION, EVALUATION AND CONTROL 1

Strategy Implementation, Evaluation and Control

Student’s Name

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Strategy Implementation, Evaluation, and Control

Walmart has for the last few decades ruled the retail industry both in its home country

and the international markets. But before embarking into the global markets, the world-class

retail giant achieved extraordinary success in its home country. But its entry into the

international markets has not always been rewarding. This s because the retailer has to consider

all the cultural and social aspects of the country it wishes to invest in. A good example where

Walmart failed is in Germany and North Korea where it exited the country within ten years of

opening. To curb this, Walmart has developed some strategies that will help in selling its Every

Day Low Prices in the international markets. One of the most common strategies used by

Walmart is the merging of the local market models with its culture. This helps reduce the

pressures that may arise due to the difference in culture and social beliefs and thus being able to

operate in such a market successfully (Chen, Chen, & Zhou, 2014). Additionally, Walmart takes

good time to study each country’s demographics, infrastructure, economic and political systems

and even shopping practices. Having a clear understanding of the target market is the key to the

success of Walmart in international markets.

Strategic implementation is essential to the success of any company. Walmart is not that

different and thus invests a lot of resources in developing and implementing its domestic and

international strategies. This involves environmental scanning of it business environments while

addressing who, when, where and where questions. Walmart strategic implementation occurs

after it has carried out a thorough environmental scan followed by a SWOT analysis. This helps

to identify the strategic issues that the previous implementations had and how they could be

avoided. In order to stay competitive in both the domestic and international markets, the retail

giant has over time shifted its interest from external strategic planning to internal strategic
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planning. Walmart’s low price policy requires that it reduces its operational costs to the

minimum level possible. To do this, Walmart invests in its employees heavily so that they could

increase their productivity and lower the size of the required labor force. The company also

offers higher wages to its employees thus making them be motivated and thus offering better

shopping experiences to the customers (David & David, 2013). The world today is going online

in every aspect and Walmart is not left behind. It has developed a continued focus on the e-

commerce sector and thus ensuring that it remains competitive among its online competitors.

To remain at the top, every organization has to ensure that it undertakes its social

responsibility and builds a good relationship with the society. Walmart invests in the social

values considerably, and it is among the core aspects that have contributed to its success. To

become the most trusted retailer among its competitors, Walmart works with all the players in

the market. This includes NGOs, suppliers, thought leaders and even political leaders. This

impacts the society positively and thus being able to attend to societal issues that matter most to

the communities and all the stakeholders of the company. Walmart has included in culture the

social responsibility as it is a responsible thing to do. It also maximizes the value of the

company(Panibratov, 2017). Walmart believes that social sustainability contributes a great deal

to the success of any business and thus they have incorporated it in its organizational culture to

assist the society transform.

Over the last few years, Walmart has moved from being a traditional mega-retailer to a

high tech world-class retailer. The store was traditionally known for its selection and competitive

prices. But the 21st century has seen the company change the look of things in its stores through

the numerous innovations that it has adopted. To solve the threats posed by other retailers like

Amazon and eBay that had taken the online markets, the company started with developing its
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online platform so as it can compete favorably with its competitors. Among the most significant

innovations that have been adopted by Walmart are the online voice shopping and the global

shipping. This is a great milestone for the company as it can comfortably serve their customers

regardless of where they are on the globe.

Additionally, Walmart recently filed a patent for facial recognition. This could help

recognize frequent shoppers and even determine how customers feel about their shopping

experience. This could help protect the brand against negative sentiments as a frustrated

customer could be assisted even before getting out of the store. Walmart has also advanced its

diversification strategy to a great extent. Walmart is one of the most diversified retail businesses

in the global market (Andersen & Ross, 2016). The retailer has a number of subsidiaries

businesses that sell a variety of goods and services. A good example is the Neighborhood

Walmart that focuses on groceries. Walmart supercenters sell the general products, and the

Walmart.com explores the online markets. Regarding the services offered, Walmart has also

diversified them depending on the location. This includes pharmaceutical services, optical

services among others. This kind of diversification also contributes to the success of the

company in the retail industry. The company has a number of legal limitations that are meant to

protect the customers and also the company form exploitation. This ranges from the disclaimer

and liability limitations. The company in its terms and conditions specify all the terms of use and

also how often they are subject to change. The company also has the third party legal limitations

that inhibit its users from endorsements and recommendations by third parts. Finally, the legal

limitations pertaining to order placing and billing.

Strategic metrics are the measures that are used by a company to measure its strategic

performance. Among the strategic metrics used by the company is consumer satisfaction. This is
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reflected in the return customers who shop in the Walmart stores. The more loyal customers are

means that they are getting the kind of satisfaction they expect from the brand. Another strategic

metric is the annual revenues. The revenues that a firm receives is a perfect measure of its

performance. Low revenues mean that the strategies employed did not work as expected but

increased revenues mean that the strategy used throughout the period worked. Among the key

financial ratios utilized by Walmart is the price-earnings ratio. The ratio compares the share price

to the earnings per share. The ratio is used by potential share buyers who have the intention of

investing into the company. The second ratio is the price to book ratio that compares Walmart’s

market value with its book value. The third ratio is the return on equity that expresses the net

income of the company. This is done relative to the shareholder’s equity. The fourth ratio is the

Equity ratio (Chen, Chen, & Zhou, 2014). This reflects the ability of the company to manage its

financial debts. Walmart’s equity ratio is 64.2% and thus shows that it has a healthy debt level.

Finally is the current ratio. It is used as the ability of the company to pay its existing debts. This

is a comparison between the current liabilities and the current assets.

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References

Andersen, P., & Ross, J. W. (2016). Transforming the LEGO group for the digital economy.

Chen, X., Chen, A. X., & Zhou, K. Z. (2014). Strategic orientation, foreign parent control, and

differentiation capability building of international joint ventures in an emerging

market. Journal of International Marketing, 22(3), 30-49.

David, F. R., & David, F. R. (2013). Strategic management: Concepts and cases: A competitive

advantage approach. Prentice Hall Professional Business.

Panibratov, A. (2017). International strategy of emerging market firms: Absorbing global

knowledge and building competitive advantage. Routledge.