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Assessment of Company Resources

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Institutional Affiliation

Assessment of Company Resources

Company Resources

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is an organization that is involved in the running of retail stores in several forms in nearly all parts of the world. Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company has various forms of resources (Ghazzawi, Palladini & Martinelli-Lee, 2014). They include: financial resources, technological, human, and physical resources. From a financial perspective, the organization records annual revenue of approximately $485, 651 million, and a operating profit of $27,147 million. The company also has a pool of highly talented and educated workforce. People are assigned roles that match their expertise. The company also makes use of advanced technologies such as ecommerce, CRM, and management information systems to support its operations and activities (Warren, 2008). Its physical resources are in form of buildings and technological hardware that support its operations.

How the contribute differently in Different Cycles

Wal-Mart uses its financial resources to work towards its goals. For instance, the company had an inventory of approximately $34 billion towards the end of 2015. Since the company enjoys an annual sale of over $400 billion, it is able to maintain its account payables and key activities. The company has embraced some of the latest technologies to support its operational efficiency (Ghazzawi, Palladini & Martinelli-Lee, 2014). For instance, due to adoption of ecommerce, Wal-Mart is able to connect its stores with the largest data warehouses in the planet. This also supports market analytics and strategic decision-making. The organization also has a team of highly talented and educated employees, who work in teams to realize the company’s objectives (Ghazzawi, Palladini & Martinelli-Lee, 2014). Wal-Mart also motivates its employees and makes use of their talents by allowing them to share their innovative ideas so that they can improve the company.

How they are impacted by Age

Age influences the above resources in many ways. For instance, in the short-run, the company rotates its inventory nearly every month. This reduces its overhead costs. In the long-run, the organization uses its financial capability to expand its operations beyond the national frontiers. The company’s technological resources are also influenced by age. This means that every year, Wal-Mart has to adopt new and more efficient state-of-the art technologies to replace its current ones. This effectively meets consumer needs and employee’s ease of work. In addition, age affects human resources since current workers are more experienced than new ones on issues related to the company (Warren, 2008). However, as time elapses, the company has to allocate sufficient resources on a regular basis to constantly train its employees so that their skills can be in line with recent developments in the industry.

How they are impacted by Competition

The company’s financial resources are important source of competitive advantage. This is because all its competitive strategies, ranging from training its skilled workforce, to branding, advertizing, and expansion of market, relied in its financial capabilities. Its human resources are also influenced by competitive forces in that employees are most likely to go to a more competitive firm that pays more (Ghazzawi, Palladini & Martinelli-Lee, 2014). Therefore, in order to retain its most talented workers, it has to pay them fairly and engage in fair labor practices such as good working conditions. Technology is also affected by competition in the sense that the organization seeks to embrace the latest technologies in order to differentiate itself from its rivals and set itself apart.

Key Components Related to the PEST Model

Political

Political factors affect Wal-Mart’s operations in many ways. These factors relate to government policies and political climate. For instance, the company is likely to operate in countries that are politically stable. Countries that are politically unstable such as Syria are likely to adversely affect its profitability. In addition, the organization’s success depends on political goodwill from the country that it operates (Warren, 2008). This is normally influenced by diplomatic relations between home country and the foreign nation.

Economic

Since Wal-Mart is a multinational corporation, its profitability and sales are affected by the state of both local and international economy. For instance, the 2008/2009 world economic recession and financial crisis adversely affected its sales and revenue since it reduced consumers’ buying behavior. Moreover, the constant economic growth of third world countries presents an opportunity for the company. The declining unemployment rates favor the organization in terms of low wages. Countries that are rich in terms of infrastructure such as transport and telecommunication are conducive for the company’s investments (Warren, 2008).

Socio-Cultural Factors

The main socio-cultural factors that affect the company’s operations mainly revolve around consumers’ tastes and preferences. For instance, there is an emerging social and cultural movement towards healthy diets. This presents an opportunity for Wal-Mart to develop healthy brands. Cultural diversity and urban immigration also provide cheap labor and diversified workforce. Diversified workforce also encourages sharing of ideas by people from different cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds, thereby increasing creativity and innovation.

Technological

Technological advancements also influence the organization’s success and operations. For instance, the company is increasingly embracing automation systems, which speeds up business transactions an ease workers’ burden (Ghazzawi, Palladini & Martinelli-Lee, 2014). In addition, it has put in place decision-support systems that are supportive of strategic decision making for the future growth of the organization. The improvement of Smartphone technologies also means that the company can reach out to as millions of mobile users who are connected to the internet.

How the Resource Analysis can be an Advantage for the Company

There are various ways in which resource analysis can be of benefit for the organization. For instance, an analysis of financial resources can give the management an insight into ways in which it can cover costs, acquire other resources, and settle liabilities (Warren, 2008). In addition, understanding human resource helps the organization to seek better ways of improving the knowledge and skills of its workforce, and motivate them to improve their performance.

References

Ghazzawi, I. A., Palladini, M., & Martinelli-Lee, T. (2014). The Wal-Mart stores, inc.: An

American Dream that touched the world. Journal Of The International Academy For

Case Studies, 20(2), 13-33.

Warren, K. (2008). Strategic Management Dynamics. West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.