Wal-Marts Planning Levels Essay -- essays research papers

Wal-Mart as a company employs several different levels of planning to ensure the completion of the many goals is put into motion each year. After the upper management members have attended the massive planning meetings that Wal-Mart holds in order to put projects in motion, they will relay the messages to the next layer of management. It is this level of management, better known as middle management, which we will concentrate on for this paper as they are the ones who will implement the tactical phase of any plan. An example of this would be the method that Wal-Mart devised to guarantee diversity in the management ranks. After â€Å"being sued for allegedly not paying employees for overtime, for alleged gender bias† Wal-Mart decided to start a plan of action to ensure diversity (usatoday.com, 2004). In this plan managers were required to hire the same percentage of minority managers as the percentage that applied for the job (usatoday.com, 2004). If these numbers were not met , the bonuses of all managers involved were to be cut significantly. After receiving this message from upper management, it was up to the middle management team to pass it on to the operational managers and check on them to guarantee that changes were being made that would allow the company to reach the goal. By using this tactical level of management, the mid-tier managers were able to direct the lower managers and make a positive step towards accomplishing the objective that was put in front of them.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SWOTT Analysis (Strengths)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Low prices, management strategies, and diversity are just some of Wal-Mart’s strengths. Wal-Mart is known for being one of the largest retailers that’s able to provide a wide range of quality products at a low price. Competitors such as K-Mart are unable to compete with Wal-Mart due to the lack of name brand products. K-Mart is able to provide non-name brand products at a reduced price, but cannot maintain the low prices of the name brand products Wal-Mart provides (Hayden, P., Lee, S., McMahon, K., & Pereria, M., 2002). SWOTT Analysis (Weaknesses) As a huge organization, Wal-Mart has a weakness in opening an expansion in Germany. The weaknesses in an organization need more development in order to become successful. As Wal-Mart continues to grow and expand into different countries, the diverse managemen... ...llowing all their shopping to be done at one time in one place. References: Albright, M. (2004, October 6). St. Petersburg Times: Wal-Mart strategy: Squeeze in more stores. Retrieved Friday, June 24, 2005, from: www.sptimes.com/2004/10/06/Business/Wal_Mart_strategy__Sq.shtml. Armour, Stephanie (2003). Wal-Mart takes hits on worker treatment: USA TODAY. Retrieved on June 15th, 2005 from: http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/2003-02-09-wal-mart-cov2_x.htm Fernie, J. & Arnold, S. Wal-Mart in Europe: Prospects for Germany, the UK, and France. International Journal of Retail & Distribution. Bradford: 2002, Vol 30, Issue 2/3, P92-103. Retrieved on June 15, 2005 for ProQuest. G.M.A. (2003, October). Wal-Mart Update: Supersizing the Supermarket. Times & Trends. Retrieved on June 15th, 2005 from: http://www.gmabrands.com/publications/gmairi/2003/October.htm Hayden, P., Lee, S., McMahon, K., & Pereira, M. (2002). Wal-Mart: Staying on Top of the Fortune 500. Retrieved June 16, 2005, from: http://mike-pereira.com/subpage/docs/walmartcs.htm Usatoday.com. (2004). The Associated Press. Retrieved Wednesday 15, 2005, from: http://www.walmartfacts.com/associates/diversity.aspx