Walmart’s Stakeholders: Analysis & Recommendations - Panmore Institute (2024)

Walmart’s Stakeholders: Analysis & Recommendations - Panmore Institute (1)
Walmart’s stakeholders influence the strategic direction of the company. These stakeholders are the people or groups that the business affects directly or indirectly. Thus, they exert pressure on Walmart’s business to push the company to consider their interests. With its large organizational size and global scope of operations, Walmart has many stakeholders. However, only some stakeholders have a significant impact on the company. To understand the dynamics of the relationship between stakeholders and the business, managers must identify these stakeholders and their interests. Walmart can use suchinformation to guide decisions to achieve a satisfactory leadership position in stakeholder management.
Managerial decisions at Walmart are partly based on the company’s stakeholders. Thus, the company and these stakeholders influence each other.

Walmart’s Stakeholder Groups

Walmart’s stakeholders can be grouped based on their shared interests. These stakeholder groups also have different levels of priority, based on the company’s beliefs and policies.The following are the main stakeholder groups considered in Walmart’s corporate social responsibility strategy, arranged according to the company’s priorities:
  1. Investors
  2. Customers
  3. Employees
  4. Suppliers
The investors are the stakeholder group with Walmart’s highest priority, while the suppliers have the lowest priority. Nonetheless, all of these stakeholder groups are considered in the company’s decision-making process. Walmart’s prioritization of its stakeholders is similar to those of many businesses, with investors usually getting the top priority.

Investors: Stakeholders with Walmart’s Top Priority

Investors are mainly interested in profits. They want Walmart to have more profits, which translate to higher dividends or earnings per share. In relation, investors are also interested in minimizing the operational costs of the company. Lower costs usually lead to higher profits, which are beneficial for Walmart’s investors.
Walmart prioritizes investors in its strategies. This is one of the reasons why Walmart continues to minimize costs, such as through the minimization of wages. Theory suggests that the primary objective of business is to generate profits. Otherwise, there would be no business at all. Thus, in prioritizing investors as the primary stakeholders, Walmart simply fulfills this theoretical primary objective of its business.

Customers: Walmart’s Second Priority

Customers are generally included as a stakeholder group in business. In Walmart’s case, customers are interested in low prices or the affordability of goods, as long as these goods have acceptable quality. This is especially true among American consumers, who tend to gravitate toward retailers that offer low prices, such as Walmart.
Walmart addresses the interests of customers as stakeholders. The company maintains its cost leadership generic strategy, which involves offering the lowest possible prices. In fact, the company is popular because of its low prices. In this regard, Walmart is effective and successful in addressing the interests of customers as a stakeholder group.

Employees: Walmart’s Third Priority

Walmart’s employees are a significant consideration in the company’s managerial decision-making. Employees have two main interests: job security and higher wages. Job security pertains to the guarantee that Walmart will keep the employees as part of its business. Higher wages are a typical interest, especially because the firm continues to give low wages to its employees.
Walmart is only partially effective in addressing the interests of its employees as stakeholders. The company has policies and programs that provide a considerable degree of job security. However, Walmart maintains its position of minimizing wages. As a result, the firm does not effectively address the interest of employees with regard to wages.

Suppliers: Walmart’s Least Prioritized Stakeholders

Suppliers are interested in getting more of their products sold at Walmart stores in a profitable way. This interest involves not just the selling of the suppliers’ products, but also the selling of these products at acceptably profitable prices. As businesses, suppliers are stakeholders that want Walmart to sell their products at higher prices. Even a tiny increase in prices can have a significant benefit to suppliers.
Suppliers are at the bottom of Walmart’s prioritization of stakeholders. Suppliers provide the goods that the company needs at its stores. However, as the biggest retailer in the world, Walmart has the business leverage to influence suppliers. The company has more power than its suppliers. Thus, suppliers generally do not get what they want. For example, Walmart requires suppliers to offer their products at very low prices. Understandably, most suppliers comply. Otherwise, Walmart would not sell their products.

Analysis & Recommendations: Walmart’s Performance in Addressing Stakeholders’ Interests

Walmart is effective in addressing the interests of the stakeholder groups of investors and customers. However, the company only partly satisfies the interests of employees because they continue to get low wages. The firm also fails to satisfy the interests of suppliers. Thus, Walmart is only about 50% effective in addressing stakeholders’ interests.
To improve its performance in satisfying stakeholders, Walmart must implement some changes in its business. For example, the company can make a small but significant increase in wages across the board. Also, Walmart can improve supplier relations by meeting the suppliers in the middle instead of insisting on excessively low prices. While these recommendations might lead to a slight increase in selling prices at Walmart stores, they can improve the company’s standing as a corporate citizen and in stakeholder management.
References
Walmart’s Stakeholders: Analysis & Recommendations - Panmore Institute (2024)

FAQs

What are some recommendations for Walmart? ›

7 Walmart Selling Strategies That Can Boost Your Sales in 2022
  • Focus on the Lowest, Most Competitive Price. ...
  • Don't Run Low on Inventory. ...
  • Fill Customers' Needs with Otherwise Unavailable Products. ...
  • Maintain Excellent Customer Support. ...
  • Get the Word Out About Your Great Products and Service. ...
  • Leverage Walmart's Lack of Fees.

Is the government a stakeholder in Walmart? ›

Suppliers, customers, competitors, governments, and local community are the main external stakeholders of Walmart. There are thousands of suppliers working for the company globally. Without them, trading will be almost impossible. Therefore, regular communications and support for them is vital for Walmart.

Who are the stakeholders in retail industry? ›

In his proposed model, there are 12 main stakeholders in retailing: customers, suppliers, competitors, government, financial community, service providers, employees, managers, landlords, owners, community and activists.

How is a stakeholder analysis performed? ›

A stakeholder analysis is a process of identifying these people before the project begins; grouping them according to their levels of participation, interest, and influence in the project; and determining how best to involve and communicate each of these stakeholder groups throughout.

What is meant by stakeholders? ›

A stakeholder is a party that has an interest in a company and can either affect or be affected by the business. The primary stakeholders in a typical corporation are its investors, employees, customers, and suppliers.

What is a SWOT analysis for Walmart? ›

What is Walmart's Swot Analysis In 2022? Walmart's SWOT analysis identifies the company's strengths in its strategic and efficient business model. The analysis also reveals Walmart's weaknesses in maintaining thin profit margins, often culminating in low employee wages.

What is Walmart's strategy for success? ›

Walmart boasts over 11,700 stores and serves about 270 million customers. Its business strategy is mainly based on “being competitive in terms of assortment, differentiating with the way people access, leading in terms of price, and delivering an incredible experience with the motto of EDLP (Every Day Low Prices).”

What is Walmart's strategic goals? ›

The three initiatives are: Save Money, Live Better. Win, Play, Show. Fast, Friendly, Clean.

What is Walmart's organizational structure? ›

Walmart has a hierarchical functional organizational structure. This structure has two features: hierarchy and function-based definition. The hierarchy feature pertains to the vertical lines of command and authority throughout the organizational structure.

What is Walmart's mission? ›

The Mission Statement and Purpose of Walmart

Walmart's current mission statement and its advertising slogan, which are prevalent at the company's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas—the place where it all began—are the same: "Save people money so they can live better."

What is Walmart CSR? ›

Walmart CSR strategy rely on the following three principles[1]: Creating economic opportunity for our employees, suppliers and people who work in retail and retail supply chains beyond Walmart. Enhancing the sustainability of operations and product supply chains for people and the planet.

What are the 5 key stakeholders? ›

Types of Stakeholders
  • #1 Customers. Stake: Product/service quality and value. ...
  • #2 Employees. Stake: Employment income and safety. ...
  • #3 Investors. Stake: Financial returns. ...
  • #4 Suppliers and Vendors. Stake: Revenues and safety. ...
  • #5 Communities. Stake: Health, safety, economic development. ...
  • #6 Governments. Stake: Taxes and GDP.

What are the 4 types of stakeholders? ›

The easy way to remember these four categories of stakeholders is by the acronym UPIG: users, providers, influencers, governance.

What are the 5 stakeholder groups? ›

Five groups of stakeholders fall into the Primary Stakeholder category:
  • investors and shareholders,
  • employees, customers,
  • suppliers, and.
  • a Public group of governments and communities who control infrastructure, markets and who require laws to be followed and taxes to be paid.

What are the 4 steps in the process of stakeholder analysis? ›

Four Steps to Stakeholder Relations
  1. Identify Stakeholders. The first stage in stakeholder relations involves researching individuals and third-party organizations that may be relevant. ...
  2. Study Stakeholders. Once potential stakeholders have been identified, do your homework. ...
  3. Prioritize Stakeholders. ...
  4. Contact Stakeholders.

What is the first step in stakeholder analysis? ›

Whatever approach is used, there are three essential steps in stakeholder analysis: 1) Identifying the key stakeholders and their interests (positive or negative) in the project; 2) Assessing the influence of, importance of, and level of impact upon each stakeholder; and 3) Identifying how best to engage stakeholders.

What is stakeholder analysis tool? ›

The stakeholder analysis (Excel) tool developed in STAR2Cs helps to identify the stakeholders that are important for a given project and to define for each of them an appropriate level of participation (inform, consult, advise, co-create, co-decide).

What is the role of a stakeholder? ›

A stakeholder's primary role is to help a company meet its strategic objectives by contributing their experience and perspective to a project. They can also provide necessary materials and resources.

Why the stakeholders are important? ›

Why Are Stakeholders Important? To sum it up - without stakeholders there would be no projects. Engaging project stakeholders can bring many benefits to the project. They can get involved in the decision-making process and influence the organisation's actions in a way that is helpful to the project management team.

What are stakeholders examples? ›

A stakeholder can be a wide variety of people impacted or invested in the project. For example, a stakeholder can be the owner or even the shareholder. But stakeholders can also be the employees, bondholders, customers, suppliers and vendors, too. A shareholder can be a stakeholder.

What are Walmart's biggest weaknesses? ›

Weaknesses
  1. The company runs relatively low-profit margins. ...
  2. Its business model can be easily duplicated. ...
  3. It is significantly disadvantaged against premium retailers. ...
  4. It has come under fire for its hiring and HR practices. ...
  5. It does not always staff its stores well. ...
  6. It is known for offering poor healthcare to its employees.
May 24, 2021

What are 5 strengths of Walmart from the case? ›

Walmart is the world's largest company by revenue and the largest retailer in the world. It is also the world's largest private employer, with more than 2.3 million employees.
...
  • Economies of scale. ...
  • Efficient and effective use of resources. ...
  • Huge gains from implementing best practices. ...
  • Experimenting with less risk.
Oct 22, 2021

What challenges Walmart face? ›

Walmart encounters several problems that include stiff competition, negative reputation, constraints in business acquisitions and joint ventures, and stringent cultural values in foreign markets (Kneer 25). There is stiff competition from other retail stores that have adapted a low-price strategy.

What are the key factors that have led to Walmart's success? ›

Walmart's Competitive Advantage: 3 Key Success Factors
  • Strength in Both In-Store and Online Grocery Sales. ...
  • Broad Financial Services Offerings. ...
  • A Large Base of Customers That Buy Pet Products.
Aug 13, 2018

What gives Walmart a competitive advantage? ›

Low Prices

Walmart's “Every Day Low Price”, strategy of providing good quality products at lower rates has been a major competitive advantage over other retailers since decades. This was made possible by coming up with efficient and smart cost structures that enabled low prices for everyone.

What is Walmart's business model? ›

It is a publicly-traded family-owned business. The Walton family owns the company. It was the largest U.S. grocery retailer in 2019. The business model of Walmart primarily revolves around brick-and-mortar retail, however; it is gaining momentum in e-commerce as well.

What is Walmart's main objective every day? ›

We build customer loyalty and trust by offering great merchandise at Every Day Low Prices. Our model is simple: We take costs out of our business and pass the savings along to customers. We call it the “productivity loop.” By operating for less, we can lower our prices.

What are Walmart's 3 broad sustainability goals? ›

Ten years ago, Walmart set out three aspirational goals tied to sustainability: create zero waste, operate with 100 percent renewable energy; and sell products that sustain our resources and the environment.

What are Walmart's supply chain objectives? ›

Walmart's supply chain management strategy has provided the company with several sustainable competitive advantages, including lower product costs, reduced inventory carrying costs, improved in-store variety and selection, and highly competitive pricing for the consumer.

What are the levels of management at Walmart? ›

And the next level.
...
Management jobs
  • Store Manager. Manage a multi-million dollar business. ...
  • Store Lead. Prepare for managing your own store. ...
  • Coach. Manage several departments and lead teams. ...
  • Specialty Area Manager. Asset Protection and Auto Care Center Managers. ...
  • Market Manager. Lead a group of multi-million dollar stores.

What is Walmart's company culture? ›

At Walmart, every associate is expected to practice behaviors consistent with four core values - "Service to the Customer", "Respect for the Individual", "Strive for Excellence" and "Act with Integrity" which trace back to the start of Walmart and are consistent around the world.

What are Walmart's functional areas? ›

The 10 Strategic Decision Areas of Operations Management at Walmart
  • Design of Goods and Services. ...
  • Quality Management. ...
  • Process and Capacity Design. ...
  • Location Strategy. ...
  • Layout Design and Strategy. ...
  • Human Resources and Job Design. ...
  • Supply Chain Management. ...
  • Inventory Management.
Aug 21, 2020

What are Walmart's 4 core values? ›

Sam Walton founded a values-driven company that today is grounded in four core values: respect, service, excellence, and integrity. These values are timeless. When our behaviors are aligned to those four values, we'll build trust, create the right environment for our teams, and generate success.

What is Walmart's slogan? ›

The Walmart slogan of 'Save Money. Live Better' has been used by the company since 2007 and represents its desire to help customers save money. All the Walmart slogans and logos often represent the retailer's values of providing low prices, which continues to help it succeed as a leading retailer.

What is Walmart's mission statement 2021? ›

Walmart Inc.'s corporate mission is “to save people money so they can live better.” This statement reflects the ideals of the company's founder, Sam Walton. Strategic decisions in the business are a direct manifestation of this mission statement, which is synonymous to the company's slogan, “Save money.

How does Walmart benefit from social responsibility? ›

The company is also working to implement worker safety programs at facilities worldwide, including a 24-hour confidential helpline to keep all of those who work under the Walmart umbrella safe from harm. Within the US, Walmart and Sam's Clubs are carrying out responsible sourcing initiatives via the domestic market.

How is Walmart ethically responsible? ›

Our commitment to integrity is reflected in our actions. From ensuring the food and products we sell are safe; to using technology and data ethically and responsibly; to investigating concerns raised by our customers, associates, and stakeholders. Our commitments are embedded into every action we take.

How is Walmart going about its CSR activities to improve its sustainability? ›

Going Green

In 2017, Walmart announced Project Gigaton, an ongoing effort with the aim of avoiding one billion metric tons (a gigaton) of greenhouse gases across its global value chain by 2030. Hundreds of the firm's suppliers have committed to reducing their carbon output as part of the initiative.

What are the two types of stakeholders? ›

Stakeholders can be broken down into two groups, classed as internal and external.
...
External (secondary) stakeholders
  • Customers want to receive the best possible product or service. ...
  • Suppliers want to see increased demand for the business's products or services so that there is greater requirement for their own.
Jul 30, 2021

Which stakeholders are most important to a business? ›

Research reveals the most important stakeholder group of organizations are employees – who come ahead of customers, suppliers, community groups, and especially far ahead of shareholders.

What are stakeholders needs? ›

Stakeholder needs and requirementsStakeholder needs and requirements represent the views of those at the business or enterprise operations level—that is, of users, acquirers, customers, and other stakeholders as they relate to the problem (or opportunity), as a set of requirements for a solution that can provide the ...

What are the 7 principles of stakeholder management? ›

The 7 principles of Stakeholder Management!
...
Bucholtz and Carroll point out that the principles highlight action words that illustrate the spirit that should be used in engaging with stakeholders:
  • acknowledge.
  • monitor.
  • listen.
  • communicate.
  • adopt.
  • recognise.
  • work.
  • avoid.

What is the best way to manage stakeholders? ›

How to Manage Stakeholders
  1. Identify all the stakeholders at the beginning of the project. ...
  2. Ensure all the stakeholders agree on the project's deliverables and what their roles are. ...
  3. Get consensus on how to handle changes to the project. ...
  4. Practice good communication. ...
  5. Keep the project vision visible.
May 19, 2010

What are primary stakeholders examples? ›

For example, the following are normally considered primary stakeholder groups: customers suppliers employees shareholders and/or investors the community. Secondary stakeholders are those who may affect relationships with primary stakeholders.

How do you determine stakeholders? ›

First, identify who your stakeholders are. Next, work out their power, influence and interest, so that you know who you should focus on. Finally, develop a good understanding of the most important stakeholders, so that you know how they are likely to respond, and how you can win their support.

How do you categorize stakeholders? ›

Stakeholders can be classified based on their influence on the project or the project team. This method of classification includes: Upward: Senior management, sponsor, steering committee. Downward: Project team members and experts working on the project.

How can stakeholders influence a business? ›

Attracting and Retaining Employees

Treating employees as valued assets, promoting a nondiscriminatory work environment and actively involving employees in important decisions are examples of how these stakeholder influence a business, according to job and career website Indeed.com.

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