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Walmart Technological Advances

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Definition

The term "Small Medium Enterprise" has a broad definition that often varies from nation

to nation based on a number of factors. Most of the time, it would rely on who was presenting

the definition and what their particular economic background considered to be a SME. Small to

medium-sized firms, or SMEs, are often organizations or businesses with annual gross revenues

that fall below certain thresholds. According to Lu and Beamish (2001), some of the criteria used

to define SMEs in most areas include the size of the firm, whether it produces products or

services, and sometimes the number of employees. For example, in Canada, a small firm is one

that employs less than 50 people or less than 100 people, depending on whether the company

produces products or services. Any business that is larger than these thresholds but has fewer

than 500 employees would be categorized as a middle-sized business.

In the majority of industrialized and emerging economies worldwide, small-medium

firms are shown to outnumber large organizations or corporations (Moeuf et al., 2018). The size

of the company or its autonomous ownership whether it's a family firm or a group investment

determine the most prevalent characteristics of Small Medium Enterprises across the world.

As can be seen, SMEs have a variety of potential advantages, which emphasizes the

necessity of a thriving small and medium-sized firm sector in every growing country. One of the

main advantages of this kind of entrepreneurial activity is that it provides significant job

opportunities for a nation, particularly for low-skilled workers.

The ability of SMEs to be more flexible than huge firms makes them more sustainable,

which is another exceptional benefit. Small and medium-sized businesses are also shown to have

the important benefit of being less mobile than huge firms. This characteristic makes SMEs more

sustainable for growth and progress in emerging countries.

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In nations like the United States, several forms of business administration would

categorize enterprises into different tiers depending on factors including ownership structure,

industry, amount of money generated, and staff count (Ali, Wu and Dougal, 2010). Since there

isn't really a single, widely recognized definition of SMEs, numerous categories of SMEs in the

U.S. are used for different kinds of enterprises, as was already noted in this study.

In general, regardless of the nature of the firm, the United States International Trade

Commission has classified SMEs as companies with less than 500 workers (Ali, Wu and Dougal,

2010). The product SMEs and the service SMEs are the two primary kinds of SMEs in the USA.

Generally speaking, both groups are essential to the growth of the nation's economy, therefore

the importance of SMEs cannot be understated in any way.

The U.S. International Trade Commission estimates that SMEs export nearly one-third of

all items annually, with Canada serving as the main market for the majority of these exports ( Ali,

Wu and Dougal, 2010). SMEs have in fact established themselves as a significant employer in

the United States, accounting for more than half of all private sector jobs and fueling the nation's

ongoing employment expansion.

More significantly, SMEs have consistently made major contributions to the nation's

innovations in goods, services, and business methods. Due to these factors, SMEs are widely

considered as innovative projects that can help the nation fully recover from the lasting

consequences of the 2007 financial crisis as well as other economic turbulences like the present

high unemployment rates. According to Lu and Beamish (2001), the business environment in the

USA presents SMEs with comparatively few obstacles compared to major multinationals, giving

SMEs a solid foundation for survival.

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Walmart, is a prime example of a SME business in the United States. This is a privately

owned business that is well-known in all 50 states. The organization offers a variety of goods

and services. According to estimates, the mid-sized firm currently brings in between $20 and $50

million annually.

A hundred to two hundred and fifty employees of the business operate in several

departments. According to Banerjee (2015), Walmart is undoubtedly one of the nation's fastest

growing consulting firms. In the rankings of the Best Small and Medium Workplaces in the U.S.,

the firm was just named the second best medium-sized workplace. More significantly, the San

Diego Business Journal and Washingtonian magazines both named the firm as a major employer.

Introduction

The existence of SMEs is essential for economic progress in many nations. Globalization,

fierce rivalry, and the revolution in knowledge and information, however, have assimilated into

the environment. The ownership structure, high labor intensity, uneven development, and

balanced dominant areas are frequently used to categorize SMEs. SMEs are adaptable to

environmental changes and responsive to them. SMEs also tend to have specialized knowledge

in particular fields, are less bureaucratic, and are more flexible in their decision-making (Chang

and Hu, 2020). The ability of SMEs to adapt and be innovative under constraints is a crucial

characteristic. The adoption of new technologies has the potential to have a big influence on the

nation's sectors, particularly economic development. SMEs must incorporate technology into

their daily operations. Technology may be seen as an investment made in a company to gain a

competitive advantage. Technology adoption may provide businesses a competitive edge over

their rivals. The use of technology by SMEs, however, has not received much research attention

(Chang and Hu, 2020).

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When it comes to increasing an organization's competitiveness in the global market,

technology is crucial. Organizations are implementing technology to help them improve the

productivity of their manufacturing operations. They are now able to provide customers items

that effectively fulfill their demands as a result (Tan et al., 2018).

Major corporations nowadays are able to interact with a variety of consumers who have

varying preferences for the things that the corporations produce since they have made most of

their operations worldwide (Tan et al., 2018). As a result, businesses have been compelled to

innovate while creating their goods in order to make them more desirable to customers.

The emergence of technology has increased competition among enterprises.

Organizations have also acknowledged that employee loyalty is a key factor in productivity. As a

result, a lot of businesses use sophisticated techniques to inspire staff members and increase

productivity. Technological innovation, however, have given individuals new work options.

Employees are finding it simple to transition from one job to another as a consequence.

However, the majority of employees lack the necessary abilities that most businesses want. As a

result, many business executives are putting policies in place that will help them keep their most

productive workers.

It follows that managing developing trends in the global business environment presents a

challenge for executives of various firms all over the world. Therefore, the majority of CEOs are

putting plans into place to ensure that their businesses adopt cutting-edge technology so they can

provide their clients high-quality items.

Additionally, they are putting a lot of effort into embracing diversity and globalization so

that they can cater to the various demands of clients throughout the world. Additionally,

businesses are concentrating on lengthening their supply chains in order to reduce the price of
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the goods they create. Additionally, they are making sure to keep their most productive workers

on board so that the productivity of their business may continue to increase.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

The most well-known retail chain in the world is Walmart, where millions of people shop

every day. About 60 million goods are available in its online store. It generated $500 billion in

revenues in 2020, making it the best-performing publicly traded firm in the world (Chang and

Hu, 2020). It recently purchased Flipkart, a powerhouse in Indian e-commerce, as well as British

supermarket chain ASDA. Additionally, it worked with Bharti, the biggest retailer in India. The

company's international initiatives have had great success (Chang and Hu, 2020).

With the help of its three commercial divisions, Walmart International, Walmart.com,

and Sam's Club, it manages around 11,000 shops and clubs across the world. US Over 50

different names are used to refer to Walmart's international websites, which has helped the

business expand its market share and financial success. It can provide such low pricing because

of its marketing approach, which is focused on economies of scale. As a result, it is among the

world's most cheap shopping locations (Banerjee, 2015).

Walmart is renowned for its logistics and shipping capabilities. It monitors the sales of

each item in each nation's store using information technology. The employees at Walmart is its

most valuable resource. It makes significant investments in the development of its human

resource. A strong hold of assets, including data systems, logistics, supply chain networks,

knowledge, and other talents, is ensured by the large workforce and resource management

structures. The organization has a good management strategy for its data systems, distribution
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centers, supply chain networks, and expertise. Internal operations are outstanding everywhere.

All of its locations have outstanding operations (Hassan, Sistani and Raju, 2014).

Walmart may exert market influence on suppliers and partners thanks to its extensive

corporate infrastructure and worldwide presence. E-commerce has been successfully

implemented by the business. In the first half of 2020, Walmart's sales reached an all-time high

(Chang and Hu, 2020). The majority of the company's revenue came from in-store sales.

Following past mistakes, Walmart strengthened its e-commerce skills, which greatly increased

online sales. Walmart's overall sales reached new highs. a result of robust online and in-store

sales (Banerjee, 2015).

Weaknesses

Walmart workers have been the target of legal disputes and complaints. Inadequate pay,

inadequate health care, and unfavorable working circumstances are a few of the problems

mentioned in the media. Walmart is vulnerable in some locations because of its enormous size

and power. It yet keeps pursuing a cost-cutting agenda. The company's profit margins are thus

quite small. Its reputation has been marred by the fact that it was the subject of a lawsuit in 2007

that claimed gender discrimination. Female employees have been the target of discrimination in

the company, as seen by disparities in pay and promotions.2019 (Chang and Hu, 2020)

The business strategy of Walmart is straightforward to imitate. The firm has no obvious

competitive edge over its rivals except from its enormous corporate size. Recent systemic racism

protests have compelled businesses to reconsider their strategies. In June 2020, uproar erupted

over Walmart's practice of locking away products for ethnic hair care while leaving products for

white hair care unlocked. Walmart was forced to end its discriminatory practice. Walmart has

also been sued for violating safety regulations, which led to the deaths of employees (Chang and
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Hu, 2020). With 4,700 stores in the United States and 11,000 sites internationally, Walmart

generates more than $120 billion in revenue annually. Walmart's reputation was damaged by

lawsuits, including claims that it bribed foreign authorities in China, Mexico, and other nations

(Banerjee, 2015). In order to end the bribery litigation in 2019, it promised to pay $280 million.

Opportunities

Walmart may seize the chance by expanding its business into other regions. They might

be Latin American, Chinese, or Middle Eastern in origin (Chang and Hu, 2020). Walmart may

join up with other important firms in strategic alliances or merge with other retail goliaths.

Walmart may gain from transactions with small businesses. The chance to introduce cutting-edge

human resource techniques to Walmart might be amazing. The potential to introduce innovative

methods of human resource management is crucial given how dependent the company is on its

staff.

Low-cost goods can occasionally be mistaken for being of low quality and endanger

customers. To allay the concerns of its customers over their health, Walmart has built systems to

monitor the quality of its products. Online shopping by customers has significantly risen during

the past few years. Walmart may seize this chance by developing its online sales platforms

(Banerjee, 2015). By 2020, Walmart planned to invest $1.2 billion in the purchase of Flipkart

(Chang and Hu, 2020). In the US, Walmart runs four healthcare centers. To satisfy industrial

requirements, healthcare services could be expanded. Its most recent foray into the healthcare

industry is Walmart Insurance Services LLC (Banerjee, 2015).

Threats
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Recent media attention on Walmart as a result of the "Impeach 45" scandal. It advertised

T-shirts that allegedly inspire violence. Walmart claims that independent sellers on the

company's Marketplace rather than the company itself distributed the T-shirts.

Walmart faced criticism in 2017 for selling fake artisan beer. The beer was marketed and

sold as being made by an illegitimate company. Competitors frequently target Walmart. Direct

competitor Target provides comparable but better-quality goods. Contrarily, Costco permits

customers to make bulk purchases. These companies have an excellent reputation for treating

their employees properly compared to Walmart. The government assists businesses and

customers in a number of industries (Banerjee, 2015).

The identical products are now being sold at the same prices by a plethora of small-scale

internet selling businesses and lone sellers. It may jeopardize the company's long-term viability.

Customers frequently complain about technological issues with Walmart's website. The website

loads slowly and has disorganized material. Amazon is renowned for its lightning-quick,

efficient, and well-organized website, which offers users a remarkable online buying experience.

Walmart had outlets in over 25 countries as of 2020, including more than 400 in China (Chang

and Hu, 2020). As a multinational firm, it is vulnerable to trade conflicts and retaliatory tariffs

between the US and China.

PESTEL Analysis

PESTEL, an acronym for a macro-environmental analysis, stands for Political, Economic,

Social, Technological, and Environmental Factors in an Industry.

The political environment in which the retail industry functions is the first factor to be

addressed. The media and certain politicians have demonized Walmart for its entire existence for

"killing the little person," "unjust compensation for labor," and "inhumane" treatment of its
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employees through low labor costs and low prices. Walmart has been under political fire for its

views on these matters, although it has maintained that despite its lowest-paid employees'

salaries occasionally being close to the minimum wage, it is the largest employer in numerous

regions. According to Chang and Hu (2020), Walmart is the largest employer in Florida,

Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia.

Recently, Walmart has battled for an increase in the minimum wage, winning the backing

of several of its most vociferous political rivals. As a result, Walmart is currently inclined to give

its employees a greater wage. This significant shift in strategy casts doubt on the company's

stated objectives. In light of potential pay increases that its competitors may never be able to

afford, it is useful to observe that Walmart has invested significantly in self-checkout systems. If

the minimum wage rises, Walmart could benefit in the long run since its competitors would have

to pay their employees more, which would reduce their already slim profit margins.

The legal system and politics are intertwined. Walmart's legal potential is currently

greater than its legal issues. It has the resources to handle upcoming challenges including food

standards and labor restrictions. These legal challenges will arise in markets where Walmart is

unable to operate since the majority of Walmart's competitors lack the financial resources to

handle them. Walmart's prosperity might be threatened by tax policies. To deal with such a legal

danger in a way that competitors would not be able to, Walmart and its legal and financial

officials are likely to use practically every legal technicality (Banerjee, 2015).

Walmart has profited from the strong economy. Due to the grave conditions, several

companies have been classified as not necessary, and the majority of Walmart's prospective

competitors have closed their doors and may never return. Regarding Walmart, every location

was deemed necessary during the pandemic and the corporation saw more income because of the
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economic climate of the nation (Hassan, Sistani and Raju, 2014). It manages supply lines in the

US and is the most successful company on the planet. Walmart might impose conditions on

businesses who want to sell their products on Walmart's shelves in order to exert control over its

supply chain.

Walmart has always been and will always be a significant part of American culture. Due

to Walmart's dramatic price reduction and thousands of retail locations, the social problems

brought on by suburban growth are now much more manageable. Walmart's business operations

have an impact on communities both domestically and internationally, and thousands of its

employees offer many individuals with job opportunities that they either directly or indirectly

rely on. Through the roles it offers and indirectly through the distribution network that reaches its

stores and consumers across the world, it actively contributes to the development of jobs.

Walmart is facing its most difficult technological challenge and threat as it competes with

Amazon in the online retail market. Being an early adopter and active investment in technology,

Amazon has an edge (Hassan, Sistani and Raju, 2014). There is a lot of space for growth, but it is

not completely vulnerable. It can still use its supply chain network to compete with Amazon's

sales channels, though. Walmart has made it a major strategic goal to improve its technical and

financial components, and in order to stay competitive, it has started utilizing business

automation, data analytics, and business intelligence (Chang and Hu, 2020).

Wal-Mart present form analysis

Organizational structure

An international firm with its corporate headquarters in the US is called Wal-Mart. It is

among the largest private employers. The company employs around 2 million people. The
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individuals in charge of leading the company at the regional level are known as Regional Vice

Presidents (RVP).

The RVPs are situated in Bentonville, but they typically spend three weeks each month

traveling to their different areas to make sure that they are operating in accordance with the

company's objectives. The Bentonville-based corporate executives demand a meeting with each

regional manager so they may go through the different issues that all of Wal-Mart's shops are

facing.

There are around eleven districts each area. There are typically 7 stores each district.

However, a district manager's responsibility is to make sure that all organization-wide operations

are carried out efficiently at the district level. The Regional Personnel Managers (RPMs) and the

District Managers often collaborate to ensure that any concerns pertaining to the operations of

the businesses are effectively addressed. The RPMs are responsible for choosing the managers of

each store.

As a result, Wal-Mart stores are created in a way that the organization's management are

in charge of assigning tasks and keeping an eye on employees' activities. In order to make sure

that all of the production processes inside the stores are in accordance with the objectives of the

overall business, the managers also identify any adjustments that need to be made to the stores

(Lacity and Van Hoek, 2021).

Workforce diversity

All workers are treated similarly at Wal-Mart. As a result, Wal-Mart makes sure that all

of its workers are treated equally with regard to their access to the company's resources. It makes

sure that every employee has enough assistance to enable them to reach their maximum potential

and consequently considerably boost production.

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Wal-Mart considers diversity to be the cornerstone of a long-lasting company. Because of

this, it values every employee that works there. It makes sure that everyone in the company

works well together, keeping the company at the top of the field when it comes to giving clients

high-quality goods and services. Wal-Mart makes diversity a part of its business plan to enable it

to effectively take into account all of the demands of its employees and guarantee that it

maintains its position as a worldwide leader in all of the activities that it engages in. According

to Wal-Mart, valuing diversity makes it possible for its employees to coexist peacefully (Lacity

and Van Hoek, 2021).

Customer diversity

The majority of commercial firms use manufacturing techniques that satisfy their clients.

As a result of the emergence of globalization, the majority of corporate businesses now

participate in production methods that allow them to make goods that precisely satisfy the

demands of their clients. As a result, a lot of multinational firms search for markets in regions of

the world with diverse consumer tastes. Therefore, most businesses develop items that

sufficiently meet the demands of the various consumer groups in order to enhance their sales.

Wal-Mart offers a broad variety of items for clients to pick from in order to get a sizable market

share. In accordance with the requirements of its clients in various regions of the world, it also

customizes its goods.

Wal-Mart does market research to determine the precise demands of its consumers in

order to make sure that they are happy with the things they purchase from the retailer. This

approach directs Wal-Mart as it customizes the items for its many consumer types who are based

all over the world.

Communications technology
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The way that organizations connect with their clients has been revolutionized in large

part by developments in information technology. Information technology advancements have

made it simple for businesses to engage with their consumers in an effective and quick way.

Additionally, it has made it possible for businesses to significantly lower their production costs.

Therefore, as part of its expansion plan, Wal-Mart made an investment in a communication

infrastructure that has allowed it to enhance its customer interactions. In the US, Wal-Mart has a

satellite communication network that connects all of its shops to the corporate office. This has

simplified the process of administering the company. Additionally, Wal-Mart employs Retail

Link and EDI technologies online, enabling the corporation to seamlessly share data with its

suppliers anywhere in the globe. Additionally, it makes use of Web 2.0 and social networking

capabilities to improve consumer interactions.

Wal-Mart Future trends

Today's workplace is undergoing considerable transformation. This is a result of

individuals being more educated, which has an effect on how they go about their everyday

business.

Nowadays, people are more effective in their daily duties. Additionally, education has

gone worldwide, allowing people from all over the world to exchange ideas and advance their

professional abilities. Wal-Mart employs competent individuals from all over the world,

allowing it to take advantage of the variety of abilities that each employee possesses ( Sharma

and Kumar, 2021).

Technology has also had a significant impact on how well individuals can go about their

daily lives. Organizations are able to increase staff productivity via the use of technology, which

has a favorable effect on their profitability. Organizations have been able to dramatically
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enhance their sizes and competitiveness as a result of the current situation. Additionally,

globalization and technology have made it easier for people to relocate from one nation to

another in quest of decent employment.

Today's workplace is changing at an exponential rate. As a result, how individuals go

about their everyday business is also evolving. The workforce will therefore be entirely different

from what it is today by the year 2020. For instance, it is predicted that staff diversity would be

the norm by 2020. This is due to the fact that workplaces will face cultural variety. Employees

within the firm will thus have a wider range of values and beliefs than they have at the moment.

According to others, the age gap will lead to differences in how young and old individuals

approach their jobs. Therefore, it is crucial that firms develop management skills for dealing with

various cultures and expectations. Wal-Mart sees people from many cultural backgrounds

because it is a worldwide company.

As a result, Wal-Mart will need to develop leadership methods that will enable it to bring

together the various employee groupings so that they can each contribute to the organization's

total productivity. Since the work force will be more mobile, employment is anticipated to

transition to deployment. Additionally, working from anywhere in the globe at any time will be

available. Therefore, Wal-Mart should make sure that it recruits highly skilled individuals from

many countries in order to ensure that it offers the greatest items to its consumers. In order to

keep the most brilliant and productive staff, it should also offer competitive compensation to all

of its employees.

High level qualifications will also be necessary for the employment accessible in 2020.

However, development and innovation are anticipated to face significant difficulties due to the

lack of competent workers. The majority of the population in developing economies is reportedly
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getting older. Approximately 25 percent of Europeans will be over 60 by the year 2020. As a

result, the aging workforce will either want to retire early or only want to work part-time, which

will lower companies' profitability.

More than one-third of data transmissions by 2020 will take place over the cloud.

Technology will therefore bring together workers, clients, and partners. This will boost

organization-wide collaboration and openness. Wal-Mart should employ highly skilled

employees who will help it to remain competitive in the global business climate and enable it to

cope with the different issues that are brought about by globalization if it wants to be prepared

for the shift.

By 2020, more women are anticipated to hold the majority of leadership roles in the

workplace. It is predicted that women will make up one out of every three workers. Since women

adopt a different managerial style than males, this will alter the culture of many corporations.

A study that looked at 500 Fortune 500 businesses found that the organizations with more

women in leadership roles had greater return on equity. According to studies, most women

manage businesses with greater caution than males.

According to Price (1996), many women concentrate on the organization's long-term

objectives. Therefore, it is critical that Wal-Mart take into account the problem of recruiting

more women in executive roles in order to guarantee that it benefits from the distinctive

leadership style that women employ.

Telecommuting is a unique work environment that is anticipated to significantly alter

how businesses conduct their everyday operations. Due to its ease, this kind of work structure is

being adopted by many firms. Opportunities like video conferencing, Hot Desks, and smaller

workplaces are made possible by telecommuting. Organizations that utilize telecommuting

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benefit from flexible workforces and lower hiring expenses. Businesses that permit remote

working will see a considerable decrease in problems like road congestion. Therefore, it is

crucial that Wal-Mart adopt certain parts of telecommuting in order to cut down on the amount

of time employees waste on commutes and to provide them more flexibility at work.

Leadership trends impacting on Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart employs distinctive leadership techniques that help it run its business

successfully. The business makes sure that data is efficiently sent from its corporate office to

each retailer. To learn more about competition and any other difficulties the stores may be

encountering, representatives from the headquarters send staff members to the stores. Contrarily,

the employees from Wal-Mart's rivals' local stores are required to travel to the corporate offices

in order to provide information on the operations of the company. Due to Wal-Mart's distinctive

business model, regional shops can establish tight ties with corporate staff. Due to the current

situation, Wal-Mart is in a position to promptly meet client requests (Heller, 2017).

Close communication, respect, and high expectations form the foundation of the

relationship between top executives and staff members at Wal-Mart. The employees typically

receive other advantages including retirement plans, health insurance plans, and profit incentives

despite the fact that they do not receive significant pay.

The corporation also promotes an open-door policy and offers a range of advancement

chances, helping the staff to stay dedicated to achieving the organization's goals. Despite the fact

that this tactic is uncommon in large businesses, it often enhances the value of Wal-Mart's

employees, allowing them to give their whole attention to their duties and provide the consumers

with high-quality services (Cidell, 2018).

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Technology has been crucial in helping Wal-Mart to run its business successfully.

Technology has aided Wal-Mart in strengthening its bonds with both its clients and staff. As a

result, clients may quickly access the different services the business provides online. As a

consequence, buyers have the opportunity to learn more about the items before making a real

purchase. Additionally, the business has a highly responsive support staff that often responds to

any inquiries from clients.

Walmart Technology

Technology has a big part to play in simplifying Wal-Mart's operations. Wal-Mart

effectively links its financial, inventory, and customer service operations to its accounting,

inventory management, and customer management systems. The company depends on

technology to enhance customer service, guarantee accurate inventory management and fair

financial reporting, as well as support goals for international development.

Kinds of Technology

Wal-Mart utilizes three main organizational technologies: accounting, inventory

management, and customer management. The accounting systems assist Wal-Mart in controlling

its financial outlays and income sources. The management of the company uses the invention to

process payments, keep track of invoices, and provide financial reports for decision-making. The

inventory management systems help the company manage its resources and inventory, give a

quick overview of the current stock, and track new purchases or sales while retaining reliable

records for decision-making (Simms, 2020). Additionally, Wal-Mart and its customers must

communicate in order for the customer management systems to function. Among the major

technological tools used by Wal-Mart to keep track of consumer interactions and feedback are

the phone and email systems.

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Competencies Created By Technology

The aforementioned technological systems provide Wal-Mart value. Using built-in

frameworks, accounting systems evaluate, analyze, and manage company risks (Simms, 2020).

To assist the purchase of loans or to entice additional investors to support long-term business

objectives, they also generate balance sheets to disclose the financial status of Wal-Mart. The

inventory control systems extend the life of the firm. Hui, Hailong and Peng (2021) recognize

that effective warehouse management is aided by a well-planned and managed inventory. The

fundamental competency of the inventory system is to prevent many errors including

overstocking and understocking of goods and raw materials. Last but not least, the primary goal

of customer systems is to boost revenue produced by a business while maintaining current

clients. To preserve Wal-Mart's suitable reputation and image, customer complaints and issues

are peacefully addressed over the phone and by email.

Impacts of Technology on Wal-Mart’s Organization

The organizational culture of Wal-Mart is built on four guiding principles: giving

consumer’s outstanding service, valuing people, pursuing excellence, and behaving with

integrity. The customer relationship management system at Walmart enables the corporation to

prioritize its customers' demands and enhance customer service. As a result, the inventory system

is simplified to reward each employee's commitment to the long-term success of the company.

Because each employee can account for their own productivity at each level of operations,

operational efficiency is increased when the inventory system is simplified (Zhiping and Zehou,

2016). Additionally, the accounting system simplifies Wal-Mart's financial operations while

maintaining accountability and integrity. As a result, Wal-Mart has been able to uphold its

stakeholders' trust in its financial integrity and openness.

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How Technology Can Enhance Organizational Effectiveness

Technology may be used to monitor and assess how well an organization is performing

and how far along it is in reaching its objectives. Technology may be utilized to increase

manufacturing efficiency so that items can be provided to clients quickly, according to Mounika

et al (2021). Additionally, technology may be used to increase worker connectedness, which may

include requiring that they be able to work remotely. By examining how employees use

organizational time, decision support systems can enable managers to assess the job

contributions of each employee. Technology may also improve the efficiency of teamwork

among disparate employees and personnel in various locations. The management at Wal-Mart,

for instance, may put task management systems in place to assign tasks and evaluate employee

performance in real-time.

How Technology Can Propel Organization’s Global Expansion Strategies

By easily moving organizational data exchange, marketing, and sales to online platforms,

technology may help a business establish a global presence. Setting up cloud data storage and

sharing can help Wal-Mart manage and keep an eye on retail locations throughout the globe. An

corporation may be able to meet consumer demands, ship requested items, and contract out

services to franchisees and intermediates all over the world by using cloud computing.

Technology can also make job scheduling simpler when dealing with remote workers from

nations with various time zones. For companies looking to grow their operations into

international markets, remote working is rapidly becoming a key component.

Recommended Changes for the future

Leadership actions to be taken

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Today's global business environment is extremely competitive. As a result, it is crucial

for an organization to make sure that it adopts policies that will allow it to function efficiently.

Therefore, there are several actions that Wal-Mart should do to maintain being competitive in the

modern world.

Wal-Mart should make an investment in its staff. It should make sure that all of its

personnel are knowledgeable about the most advanced production techniques. Given how

quickly technology is developing, Wal-Mart should make sure that all of its employees receive

the necessary training. This would guarantee that employees' productivity inside the company

remained stable. The business should also think about employing competent individuals who

would be in charge of managing delicate jobs within the corporation.

Wal-Mart should pay its employees competitive salaries and reward them when they

perform well in order to draw in extremely competent individuals. This would have the result of

raising staff productivity inside the company, hence enhancing its competitiveness (Pandey et al.,

2021).

While conducting their routine business, firms also need to take digital skills into

account. The production processes of firms that use digital technology in their operations are

often quite effective. In order to accelerate and improve the efficiency of its production

processes, Wal-Mart must make sure that digital technology is integrated into every aspect of its

business (Xin and Qhi, 2021).

The executives at Walmart should spend some time researching the tactics used by their

rivals. In this approach, the business would be fully informed on the tactics it has to implement

to be able to handle the strain of global market competition. As a result, the business may be able

to deploy additional techniques to counteract those used by its rivals. Therefore, it is crucial that
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Wal-Mart periodically recruit a team of researchers to help it understand market trends and the

kinds of strategies it should implement in order to flourish in the market.

Concepts Application

Diversity Management

A circumstance where an organization is able to manage a varied set of people who work

for the same company is referred to as diversity management. When diverse cultural

backgrounds are represented in an organization's workforce or when young and old individuals

are forced to work side by side, diversity in the workplace is typically evident.

Wal-Mart is an example of a corporation that practices diversity management because it

is able to coordinate the efforts of the many employee groups to achieve the organization's

objectives (Makridakis, 2017).

Leadership models

When managing other employees inside the same organization, select key individuals

within the organization are given the responsibility. This circumstance is known as a leadership

model. The leadership structure of Wal-Mart is hierarchical in nature. The Regional Personnel

Managers of Wal-Mart are in charge of overseeing all of the operations of the stores throughout

all of the areas. On the other side, it is the District managers who notify the RPMs about the

performance of the stores at the district levels.

Ethics

The term "ethics" describes the appropriate standards of behavior in any business. By

making sure that all of the rights of the company's employees are upheld, Wal-Mart demonstrates

its commitment to ethics. Additionally, it makes sure that employees are paid reasonably and that
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consumers are treated equally. Additionally, Wal-Mart uses environmentally responsible

production techniques.

Decision making models

These speak to the process used to make choices inside an organization. To make sure

that the decisions taken inside the business are sound and that every employee is able to abide by

them, Wal-Mart's senior management provide employees with a chance to participate in the

decision-making process.

Problem solving

This is a circumstance in which an organization is able to promptly resolve any issues

that develop inside it. Wal-Mart, for instance, is often quite careful when it comes to addressing

problems like the manufacture of faulty items. In order to keep clients loyal to the company, it

consistently makes sure that any issues are resolved as quickly as feasible.

Conflict management processes

A scenario where a company is able to handle any disagreements that develop between

employees and clients is referred to as conflict management. Wal-Mart makes sure that its staff

members and consumers get along well. It does this by ensuring that all staff members are

properly educated to respond courteously to all client inquiries. Customers now trust the goods

and services that Wal-Mart provides as a result.

Conclusion

The accounting, inventory control, and customer management systems are three of the

most important organizational technologies advances used by Wal-Mart. Technologies have had

a major role in changing corporate culture. By measuring performance, accelerating production

processes, and fostering better teamwork among employees, technology may significantly boost
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organizational effectiveness. Technology may be used to manage distant employees and

subsidiary stores as well as advance an organization's worldwide strategy by moving data storage

and sharing to online platforms.

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