Case Study Description of Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement
University of California, Berkeley-Haas collectionSupplement for B5792
Authors :: Kellie A. McElhaney
Topics :: Sales & Marketing
Tags :: Customers, Diversity, Gender, Public relations, Social responsibility, SWOT Analysis, SWOT Matrix, TOWS, Weighted SWOT Analysis
Swot Analysis of "Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement" written by Kellie A. McElhaney includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that B5792 Collectionsupplement facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Customers, Diversity, Gender, Public relations, Social responsibility and Sales & Marketing.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement casestudy better are - – digital marketing is dominated by two big players Facebook and Google, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, there is increasing trade war between United States & China, there is backlash against globalization, geopolitical disruptions, central banks are concerned over increasing inflation,
customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the B5792 Collectionsupplement, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which B5792 Collectionsupplement operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of B5792 Collectionsupplement
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Sales & Marketing field.
4. Making a Sales & Marketing topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of B5792 Collectionsupplement
Strengths Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of B5792 Collectionsupplement in Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Sales & Marketing industry
– Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled B5792 Collectionsupplement to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry. The sustainable margins have also helped B5792 Collectionsupplement to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Diverse revenue streams
– B5792 Collectionsupplement is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– B5792 Collectionsupplement has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
Organizational Resilience of B5792 Collectionsupplement
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that B5792 Collectionsupplement does. Organizational resilience comprises - Financial Resilience, Operational Resilience, Technological Resilience, Organizational Resilience, Business Model Resilience, and Reputation Resilience.
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the B5792 Collectionsupplement are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of B5792 Collectionsupplement in the sector have low bargaining power. Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps B5792 Collectionsupplement to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
Strong track record of project management
– B5792 Collectionsupplement is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Innovation driven organization
– B5792 Collectionsupplement is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
High brand equity
– B5792 Collectionsupplement has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled B5792 Collectionsupplement to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Training and development
– B5792 Collectionsupplement has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Digital Transformation in Sales & Marketing segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For B5792 Collectionsupplement digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. B5792 Collectionsupplement has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Ability to recruit top talent
– B5792 Collectionsupplement is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Weaknesses Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement are -
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though B5792 Collectionsupplement has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract B5792 Collectionsupplement 's lucrative customers.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement HBR case study mentions - B5792 Collectionsupplement takes time to assess the upcoming competitions. This has led to missing out on atleast 2-3 big opportunities in the industry in last five years.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at B5792 Collectionsupplement has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as B5792 Collectionsupplement is planning to shift buying processes online.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Sales & Marketing strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Lack of clear differentiation of B5792 Collectionsupplement products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, B5792 Collectionsupplement needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, B5792 Collectionsupplement has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of B5792 Collectionsupplement is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Sales & Marketing segment. B5792 Collectionsupplement needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help B5792 Collectionsupplement to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement, in the dynamic environment B5792 Collectionsupplement has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. B5792 Collectionsupplement has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement, is just above the industry average. B5792 Collectionsupplement needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Opportunities Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement are -
Leveraging digital technologies
– B5792 Collectionsupplement can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Developing new processes and practices
– B5792 Collectionsupplement can develop new processes and procedures in Sales & Marketing industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Sales & Marketing industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. B5792 Collectionsupplement can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Sales & Marketing industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. B5792 Collectionsupplement can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. B5792 Collectionsupplement can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help B5792 Collectionsupplement to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. B5792 Collectionsupplement can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, B5792 Collectionsupplement is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help B5792 Collectionsupplement to increase its market reach. B5792 Collectionsupplement will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Learning at scale
– Online learning technologies has now opened space for B5792 Collectionsupplement to conduct training and development for its employees across the world. This will result in not only reducing the cost of training but also help employees in different part of the world to integrate with the headquarter work culture, ethos, and standards.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for B5792 Collectionsupplement in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Sales & Marketing segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Reforming the budgeting process
- By establishing new metrics that will be used to evaluate both existing and potential projects B5792 Collectionsupplement can not only reduce the costs of the project but also help it in integrating the projects with other processes within the organization.
Building a culture of innovation
– managers at B5792 Collectionsupplement can make experimentation a productive activity and build a culture of innovation using approaches such as – mining transaction data, A/B testing of websites and selling platforms, engaging potential customers over various needs, and building on small ideas in the Sales & Marketing segment.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, B5792 Collectionsupplement can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that B5792 Collectionsupplement operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Sales & Marketing sector.
Threats Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement are -
Environmental challenges
– B5792 Collectionsupplement needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. B5792 Collectionsupplement can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Sales & Marketing industry.
Technology disruption because of hacks, piracy etc
– The colonial pipeline illustrated, how vulnerable modern organization are to international hackers, miscreants, and disruptors. The cyber security interruption, data leaks, etc can seriously jeopardize the future growth of the organization.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, B5792 Collectionsupplement can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement .
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. B5792 Collectionsupplement will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of B5792 Collectionsupplement business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Consumer confidence and its impact on B5792 Collectionsupplement demand
– There is a high probability of declining consumer confidence, given – high inflammation rate, rise of gig economy, lower job stability, increasing cost of living, higher interest rates, and aging demography. All the factors contribute to people saving higher rate of their income, resulting in lower consumer demand in the industry and other sectors.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– B5792 Collectionsupplement can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for B5792 Collectionsupplement in the Sales & Marketing sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement, B5792 Collectionsupplement may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Sales & Marketing .
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– B5792 Collectionsupplement has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Sales & Marketing industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, B5792 Collectionsupplement needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Sales & Marketing sector. According to Mckinsey study top managers believe that the adoption of technology in operations, communications is 20-25 times faster than what they planned in the beginning of 2019.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for B5792 Collectionsupplement in the Sales & Marketing industry. The Sales & Marketing industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Sales & Marketing field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. B5792 Collectionsupplement can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Increasing wage structure of B5792 Collectionsupplement
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of B5792 Collectionsupplement.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Wal-Mart's Global Women's Economic Empowerment Initiative Exhibit - Supplement is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that B5792 Collectionsupplement needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
