Free Essay on the Strategies that Walmart Should Use to Achieve Sustainability

Organizations exist in a dynamic environment, and it is important for the management to ensure that their future has been guaranteed. Many external variables should be taken into consideration before making a decision on the long-term plans for an organization. For instance, the government policy in the line of business should be considered because organizations carry out their business in a regulated environment. For efficient administration, the management must focus on the future of the company while implementing the short-term plans. It, therefore, means that short-term plans lay a foundation for the achievement of the long-term objectives, meaning that the management should find a way of bridging the gap between the two programs. If they are not consistent, then the possibility of survival will be negligible. Some of the key variables that should be considered in ensuring organizational sustainability include social, economic, and environmental. The paper will be focused on the strategies that Wal-Mart should use to achieve its sustainability.

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Economic Variables

Economic variables represent one of the main factors that need to be considered before making a decision on the viability of an organization. Some of these economic factors include external environmental variables such as the market demand and shifting of customers levels of disposable income. The economic variables can take different forms including the macro and micro environmental variables. It should, however, be noted that Wal-Mart has some limited resources like any other organization (Boons, Montalvo, Quist, & Wagner, 2013). For instance, even if it is one of the well-known organizations, some products may lack in its stores because of the economic considerations. For example, some foreign food products may not be seen on the shelves because they do not have a ready market, they are perishable and that holding them in the store will lead to unnecessary controllable losses.

There are particularly social, economic, measurements and environmental variables that Wal-Mart needs to consider it to remain competitive in the market. The primary analysis is the impact that the organization has in its future, and this can be determined by its ability to achieve short-term plans that are consistent with the long-term objectives. If Wal-Marts activities are accepted in the society and fosters development, then the possibility of a guaranteed future is achieved. Additionally, the management should observe ethical and professional standards in making and implementing decisions because if they use their influence in making an economic decision, such decisions will later come to haunt them.

Wal-Mart is one of the organizations that are profit oriented. However, the management has devised a professional way of achieving this objective, and that is why its guaranteed future has been sustained. Through sustainable economic development, the organization has been experiencing an increase in its returns because its business practices lead to a consistent increase in customer base and thus, profits. It is important to understand that any organization needs finances to run its activities, but it is also important to have a guaranteed future by observing the standard ethical principles even if it may seem to be an expensive venture.

Social Considerations

The professional and ethical business practices fostered by Wal-Mart have led to a tremendous impact on its sustainability. Additionally, the effects have positively affected social welfare in various areas such as fair wages, community services, diversity, and agricultural production. The most important factor that has made the organization to be recognized and even guarantees its sustainability is the issue of giving back to the society. Through various programs such as community outreach services, the members of the society can enjoy the services offered. Even if may perceive this as a one-sided benefit (for the society), the fact is that the organization is ultimately accepted. This is the best strategy for ensuring sustainable development because, in the end, the community will assist the organization in its growth agenda.

Another social consideration that Wal-Mart should continue fostering is the issue of complying with the political leadership of the countries in which it operates. This means that the management should devise business practices that fit particular countries instead of having a standard policy. The strategy will guarantee the organization its future in the industry because it will be considered as one of the business ventures that always observes the ethical standards and is in line with the political dynamics of the country (Svensson et al., 2016). This is because, in one country, there is a possibility that particular products have been declared illegal while in another, it is still legal. Therefore, there should be different business policies governing the various branches of the organization. Another strategy that can guarantee sustainable development is the ability of the human resources manager to promote corporate social responsibility initiatives. One of such initiatives includes the construction of roads within their areas of operation. However, even if Wal-Mart has fostered this action, it is necessary for the management to collaborate with other private sector organizations and the local leaders in implementing the strategy.

Sustainability Efforts

When Sam Walton came up with the idea of starting a company, his ideas immediately made him prefer an organization that could go global in the future. In the end, Wal-Mart was founded and based on the pillars of sustainability. His mission was to bring household products to the doorstep at an affordable price, an idea that has made Wal-Mart be recognized internationally. One of the strategies that the organization uses to ensure its future is putting the interests of the customers first and the building of a strong company based on sustainability programs (Werbach, 2013). This idea led to the collaboration with other organizations such as The Sustainability Consortium (TSC). The TSC is one of the recognized global organizations whose goal is to enhance development and growth for startup companies. Through the collaboration, Wal-Mart was able to strategies on selling sustainable products to their consumers, and this had a positive impact on the market. Eventually, the strategy was used as a competitive advantage to gain the market and thus, its success story.

Consumer focus should be the aim of any organization that wants to prosper, and Wal-Mart was based on this pillars. The idea explains why the company became successful at n alarming rate, unlike its primary competitors. TSC has members across the world and may include retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. The primary focus of all the members is on environmental and social issues as this is one of the proven ways of ensuring acceptance, and thus sustainability. Wal-Mart is among the first thirty initial members that founded TSC, and this forms the success story of the company. There are retailing organizations that Wal-Mart can also collaborate with in the bid to make the society a better place to live and confirm its sustainability. For instance, Kroger and Marks & Spencer make the cut because they all have the same objective, sustainability. If these three organizations merge their efforts, the society will be an assured and better place to live and their sustainability will never be in doubt under normal circumstances. The union will increase the sales potential and even if this means cost implications, its advantages can justify that. The return on investment period (ROI) is always shorter in cases where an organization has been accepted in the society in which it operates. This is because the acceptance means high sales base and thus, profits that can be used as plough back and the remainder used to pay the shareholders as dividends and other business related expenses.

Environmental Considerations

No company exists in a vacuum, and there are business policies that every organization must comply with for it to be allowed to carry out business transactions. Some of the strategies that Wal-Mart uses in the bid to conserve the environment include sound disposal of solid wastes as this forms the pillar for environmental conservation. Every day, there are a lot of wastes that Wal-Mart must dispose of, and this includes both decomposable and non-decomposable products. If the management could not consider this significant environmental aspect, then the society could have considered Wal-Mart to be an organization whose primary aim is to pollute the environment. There are two main sustainability theories that the group is based on (Jia, Govindan, Choi, & Rajendran, 2015). They include the Natural Capitalism and the Four Capital Model. The primary factors under natural capitalism are land, labor, and capital. Wal-Mart has met this theory by ensuring that the three pillars have been factored in its policy and planning phase. This is why the company had collaborated with the TSC to make the society a better place for its customers to live. Additionally, the Four Capital Model is another theory of sustainability that needs to be considered regarding policymaking. It comprises of human, environmental, financial, and manufacturing capital. Wal-Mart has considered all these types of capital in its policy-making initiatives as a way of confirming its sustainability.

Measurement

Wal-Mart has a strong mission statement based on the future, and thus sustainability. The statement reads, Saving people money so they can live better (Walmart.com, 2016). From this mission statement, it is clear that the management has focused on the future of the company and the best way to achieve this is by using some tactics that can make them accepted in the society. In totality, Wal-Mart has dedicated its efforts to ensuring that any business transaction is always cost effective and that the customers are left with something after doing shopping. The company is not focused on making profits only, but also on ensuring that the client interests have been considered. The mission statement is therefore in line with the theory of the Four Capital Model. There is nothing mush that needs to be done in terms of Wal-Marts sustainability initiatives because the mission statement, in which the business is based, has already focused on that.

To this end, the paper has highlighted all the variables that need to be considered by an organization that wants to go global and ensure its sustainability. If Wal-Mart could not focus on the future and acceptance by the customers as explained by the mission statement, then the possibility of success could not come right as it is now. Therefore, for an organization to have a future in the competitive marketing environment, there are some factors that it must comply with.

References

Boons, F., Montalvo, C., Quist, J., & Wagner, M. (2013). Sustainable innovation, business models, and economic performance: an overview.Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 1-8.

Jia, P., Govindan, K., Choi, T. M., & Rajendran, S. (2015). Supplier selection problems in fashion business operations with sustainability considerations.Sustainability, 7(2), 1603-1619.

Svensson, G., Hogevold, N. M., Petzer, D., Padin, C., Ferro, C., Klopper, H. B., ... & Wagner, B. (2016). Framing stakeholder considerations and business sustainability efforts: a construct, its dimensions, and items.Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 31(2), 287-300.

Walmart.com. (2016). Walmart Corporate - We save people money so they can live better. Retrieved from...