Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A)
Choosing the right summer internship can often mean landing a plum position in the company after graduation. Ria Kumar arrived fully prepped for the summer slot interview having studied industry reports, research articles, and analyst reports. She talked to alumni and even spent time at the local Wal-Mart studying the merchandising assortment and product placement. Not surprisingly, she was offered the 12-week internship. The disguised (A) case describes Kumar's 12 weeks and allows students to think about the issues her experience brings forth. Were there red flags? Was her supervision appropriate? Would she be offered a position post graduation? Would she want it? In the (B) case, Kumar decides to work part-time in the local Wal-Mart to gain an "in-store" perspective. Again, she behaved proactively as part of her strategy to get the job offer. The in-store-experience, however, left an unfavorable view of the organization in Kumar's mind. What had her expectations been when she started the part-time job? What did this suggest about corporate management practices?
Swot Analysis of "Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A)" written by Lynn Isabella, Ria Kumar includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Kumar's Internship facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Coaching, Human resource management, Leadership, Psychology and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) casestudy better are - – customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, there is backlash against globalization, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, increasing commodity prices, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, technology disruption, wage bills are increasing,
cloud computing is disrupting traditional business models, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A)
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Kumar's Internship, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Kumar's Internship 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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Kumar's Internship
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Kumar's Internship
Strengths Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Kumar's Internship in Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) Harvard Business Review case study are -
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Leadership & Managing People industry
– Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Kumar's Internship to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Kumar's Internship to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Kumar's Internship has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Kumar's Internship has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Operational resilience
– The operational resilience strategy in the Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) Harvard Business Review case study comprises – understanding the underlying the factors in the industry, building diversified operations across different geographies so that disruption in one part of the world doesn’t impact the overall performance of the firm, and integrating the various business operations and processes through its digital transformation drive.
Digital Transformation in Leadership & Managing People segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Kumar's Internship digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Kumar's Internship 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.
Organizational Resilience of Kumar's Internship
– The covid-19 pandemic has put organizational resilience at the centre of everthing that Kumar's Internship 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 Kumar's Internship 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.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Kumar's Internship is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Analytics focus
– Kumar's Internship is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Lynn Isabella, Ria Kumar can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Strong track record of project management
– Kumar's Internship is known for sticking to its project targets. This enables the firm to manage – time, project costs, and have sustainable margins on the projects.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Kumar's Internship has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Kumar's Internship has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Innovation driven organization
– Kumar's Internship is one of the most innovative firm in sector. Manager in Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) Harvard Business Review case study can use Clayton Christensen Disruptive Innovation strategies to further increase the scale of innovtions in the organization.
Weaknesses Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) are -
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Kumar's Internship has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Lynn Isabella, Ria Kumar suggests that, Kumar's Internship is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Kumar's Internship is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Kumar's Internship needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Kumar's Internship to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A), it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Leadership & Managing People 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.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Kumar's Internship needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Slow to strategic competitive environment developments
– As Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) HBR case study mentions - Kumar's Internship 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.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A), in the dynamic environment Kumar's Internship has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Kumar's Internship has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A), it seems that the employees of Kumar's Internship don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) 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 Kumar's Internship has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Kumar's Internship 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.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Kumar's Internship has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Opportunities Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) | 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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) are -
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Kumar's Internship can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Kumar's Internship operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Kumar's Internship 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.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Kumar's Internship to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Kumar's Internship to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Kumar's Internship 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. Kumar's Internship 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.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Kumar's Internship can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Buying journey improvements
– Kumar's Internship can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Manufacturing automation
– Kumar's Internship can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Kumar's Internship is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) 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.
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. Kumar's Internship can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Kumar's Internship can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A), to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Developing new processes and practices
– Kumar's Internship can develop new processes and procedures in Leadership & Managing People 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.
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Kumar's Internship in the consumer business. Now Kumar's Internship can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Kumar's Internship to increase its market reach. Kumar's Internship 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.
Threats Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) 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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) are -
Technology acceleration in Forth Industrial Revolution
– Kumar's Internship has witnessed rapid integration of technology during Covid-19 in the Leadership & Managing People industry. As one of the leading players in the industry, Kumar's Internship needs to keep up with the evolution of technology in the Leadership & Managing People 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.
Increasing wage structure of Kumar's Internship
– 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 Kumar's Internship.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Kumar's Internship in the Leadership & Managing People industry. The Leadership & Managing People 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.
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Kumar's Internship.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Kumar's Internship with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Kumar's Internship 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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) .
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. Kumar's Internship 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.
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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A), Kumar's Internship may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Consumer confidence and its impact on Kumar's Internship 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.
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.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Kumar's Internship needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Regulatory challenges
– Kumar's Internship needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
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 Kumar's Internship business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Wal-Mart Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) 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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) 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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) 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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) 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 Through An Associate's Eyes: Ria Kumar's MBA Summer Internship (A) 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 Kumar's Internship needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
