Walmart Cultural Norms

Wal-Mart stores serve millions of customers globally each day – and they do their best to make certain that the products on their shelves are a sign of the diverse needs and wants of their customers. Wal-Mart states they are focused on four strategies and the top one is becoming truly global. (Wal-Mart Stores Factsheets). In 2010, Wal-Mart reduced the plastic bag waste across their global operations by 47.95 million pounds, or approximately 3.5 billion bags. This represents a 21 percent reduction from our 2007 baseline. In Chine in 2010 reduced the waste by 84percent using 2007 as a baseline. Wal-Mart wants to stay on top globally where economics

Walmart’s code of ethics state their number one goal is saving people money so they can live better. “Through your ethical behavior and willingness to speak up for the highest standards, we earn and keep the trust of our customers, each other and our local communities. We believe in everyday low cost and everyday low prices, but only if accomplished through our everyday integrity”. (Walmart Handbook) Walmart says they can do this by gaining an honest relationship with their customers. Their code of ethics is, to be honest, and fair every day with everyone they come in contact with.

The People's Republic of China is the second-largest country in the world by land area, with a unique style of doing business. People from other countries would also look at America and think they have a unique style of doing business as well while we would see it as the norm. By the same token, China’s take on the business world, economy, and general way of shopping vastly differs from the American’s because Chinese business value personal relationships in comparison to American’s more impersonal style.

Walmart was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton and the first store opened in Rogers, Arkansas and has expanded to a billion dollar company that is focused on helping customers, communities, saving money and living better. Walmart’s culture has four beliefs it incorporates in day to day operations. These beliefs are customer service, respect for all employees, always striving for excellence and acting with integrity. The company prioritizes customers which every employee practices daily to serve the customer wants and needs. Walmart promotes the virtues of honesty, fairness, and impartiality in decision-making. (Lombardo,

Finally, there are Chinese cultural biases which involve negative associations between product promotions and the perceived value of that product. The Chinese think that aggressive promotions cheapen a product and that cheap products are never good.

In today’s world, science and technology are increasing at an exponential rate; in turn, we now live in a world where instant answers and fast-paced lifestyles are typical. To be a strong competitor in today’s markets, a company must have the technology and online programs to match the increasing demand of 21st-century consumers. The China Development Team must commit to finding technological services that would support a wide range of international and national payment methods, different currencies, records of international funds and inventory numbers, and strong supply-chain visibility. Although Cottage Inn may already have these programs, they must be adapted to fit the economic and financial differences in China. If Cottage Inn China’s technological capabilities do not match the needs of the local market, the business will have much more difficulty becoming successful. Again, I and the China Development Team can resolve this issue and ensure success by partnering with technological providers who can give Cottage Inn internationally-efficient programs. With a system that supports both American and Chinese financial regulations and other business methods, Cottage Inn China will

The logistics and IT departments will head this stage of the process. The objective will be to speed the flow of information to the various users while reducing costs, especially in inventory. The system will be online, making it accessible on a "real time" basis and will connect the mainframe to an Internet service provider where anyone anywhere in the world can log on. Customers will benefit from the new system the most. They will be able to check on product information such as prices, sizes, colors, availability, and even upcoming sales.

Walmart has become the leader in the discount store industry because they have perfected getting the goods people need to its stores in mass quantities as inexpensively and efficiently as possible, to offer its customers inexpensive products with the convenience of being a one-stop shop. Being a retail industry leader, especially one who is putting many smaller stores out of business, all eyes are on them. Walmart has had its share of negative press; however, now more than ever Walmart seems committed to its stakeholders locally and globally. Their four guiding principles are Respect for the Individual, Service to Customers, Striving for Excellence, and Acting with Integrity (Global Statement, n.d., p. 4). As a shareholder, it is important a company aligns with its guiding principles. This paper will look at if Walmart follows these guiding principles in their day to day actions.

Walmart’s short lived success in South Korea was due to poor planning and the overlook of the consumer’s cultural differences (Berifield,

Before Walmart, no retailer seriously considered the importance of customer experiences and how the minor differences in prices can have huge impact on customers. But Walmart, like a seed sprouse with an astonishing rate, stroke customers with its own low price and ‘trained’ its customer into a habit of shopping at Walmart with the lowest price in the market. Starting from transforming customers, Walmart has been seeking the best solutions of producing, packaging and marketing with the goal of having the lowest price. Walmart is a revolutionary company that treats market and the customers from a new approach.

First and most important thing about Wal-Mart’s information system is precisely that the customer’s needs come first. Wal-Mart had implemented a satellite network system that was used to share information between the company's network of stores, distribution centers and suppliers so orders could be consolidated, enabling the company to buy full truckloads without incurring excess inventory costs. Increase flexibility, insured 100 percent in-stock position increased store-selling space (by reducing the space required for back-room inventory storage).

On the other hand I had to learn how American culture was perceived in the minds of Chinese consumers. While we in the west differentiate between East coast and West coast cultures, or even between cities (New York = business, Los Angeles = Entertainment), from outside the country those lines blur, and — the perception is often influenced by vintage TV soap operas and outdated stereotypes.

When going global, and in order to succeed in international business, understanding consumer behaviours based on their values and perception of other countries is key for implementing a proper winning marketing strategy. Cultural dimensions help managers and multinational companies respond effectively and positively to values and behaviours that shape a given nation and that might be completely different from the way an organization is accustomed to behave in its country of provenance. McDonalds represents a suitable model of multinational companies that succeeded in translating cultural differences into their products, marketing efforts and practices. In Morocco, McDonalds serves “Halal” options that go in line with the predominant Muslim community, whereas in France you can order wine with your meal, and in a different context, the company banned beef products in India because of the taboo around it and introduced vegetarian alternatives that suit the populations’ preferences and tastes.

1. What types of information systems are used by organizations? 2. What role does information

Wal*Mart spend also 700 million US $ to develop a satellite system and a electronic data interchange(EDI) which reduces costs in certain sectors. It improves for example the internal communication between the Wal*Mart stores and the distribution centers. A bar code reader scans every product and gives information about sales and stocking so the manager is able to analyse the selling process. Furthermore information are send to a central unit to get necessary information about the stock and required goods. The system is also used to communicate and receive orders with estimated 3,600 vendors. Besides it is an immane saving of rent cost because less storage space is needed. Wal*Mart has also a 35 time higher data base then for example amazon.com (Newspaper The Economist, 25.2.2006).