Walmart today is a global retail giant. According to Carbonara (2018), Walmart is the world’s largest
retail company with continued plans for global growth. There are many competitors, one of which is
Amazon. How will Walmart continue to be a global giant in the years to come? In order to maintain the
market leader position Walmart will be required to continually look for ways to out grow its’ global
competitors (2018).
In order to understand Walmart and where they are today and what tomorrow holds, it is important to
understand their foundation. “Sam Walton opened his first five-and-dime in 1950. His vision was to keep
prices as low as possible” (Wilbert, 2018, para1). Walton opened the first Walmart in early 1960’s in
Roger, AK (2018). One thing that has and will always remain a key component for all Walmart stores is
to keep expenses low. There has always been a mentality behind the vision of Walton to demand that
employees always keep costs to a bare minimum (2018). On average, “Walmart saves a typical American
family of four about $2500 a year. That’s about what a family of four gets from the government in food
stamps. That makes Walmart a major antipoverty force in the United States” (Kestenbaum, 2017, para3).
Another factor to consider when thinking about Walmart is that “since 1990, the global rate of poverty
has been cut by two-thirds. That’s the sharpest decline in human poverty in all of history, more than one
billion people have been lifted out of poverty during that period and Walmart is a major force in that
effect” (2017, para 3).
Today, Walmart has grown considerably and continues to expand. Just to get an idea of how large this
retail giant is:
• Walmart employs 1.6 million people.
• Walmart has 6,200 retail outlets. In contrast, Home Depot has 2,040. (Wilbert, 2018, Para4)
One might question, what does Walmart do to continue to be successful and keep costs to a minimum?
There are several things that this retail giant has incorporated into the operations. First, “Walmart became
the first major retailer to demand manufacturers use radio frequency identification technology (RFID).
The technology uses radio frequencies to transmit data stored on small tags attached to pallets or
individual products. RFID tags hold significantly more data than bar codes” (Wilbert, 2018, para6).
Another interesting fact is that “Walmart is the single most important pipeline distributing wealth from
rich countries to poor countries” (Kestenbaum, 2017, para3).
One concern pertaining to Walmart is how the employees are treated. It is well known that Walmart not
only pays low wages, but they also will cut corners (Kestenbaum, 2017). Walmart tends to hire mostly
part-time workers (2017). Some may even say that Walmart “pay their workers poverty wages” (2017,
para 4). There have long been ethical concerns in how Walmart operates and manages their employees.
Case Study Assignment
Throughout your MBA program you will be covering various subjects as they relate to business. You will
initially have an opportunity in this class to create and build your own Walmart in a new global location.
Your choices of location include: Czech Republic, Egypt, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, and United
Arab Emirates. As you progress through each course in the program you will build upon your case study
for Walmart.
The purpose of this Walmart Case Study is to give each student an opportunity to apply subject matter
from each course in the MBA program to an ongoing strategic development. The knowledge gained on
the case in each course will be cumulative. The knowledge will assist the student in demonstrating his or
her ability to conduct critical analysis and decision making across a wide range of subject matter
throughout the MBA program.
Methodology
The case is based upon past and current information about Walmart and the country of destination.
1. Each student will select a country to develop his or her case from. The student will use the same
country in each course of the MBA program.
2. The student will be responsible for gathering as much information as needed that will help the
student with determining the course of action that Walmart should pursue in the company’s quest
to growth and meet the needs of international markets.