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Autism Spectrum Disorder ( Asd ) - 1948 Words
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects individuals whose brain development is outside of the norm. ASD is a complex disorder and each individual that suffers from has a unique set of conditions. The symptoms of individuals with ASD vary in severity. That is, the disorder is characterized, in varying degrees, based on how difficult social interactions and communicating are for the person. Before, all types of autism were considered as distinct and subtypes of autism. Each type of autism was termed as a unique disorder. For example, there was Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger syndrome etc.â⬠¦ (Autism Speaks, 2016). However, the DSM-5 diagnostic manual merged all degrees of autism disorders intoâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦In an investigation, completed by Takahashi et al. (2016), MEG was used to measure signal variation during free watching of videos, without sound, in younger and older children with ASD and without ASD. The childre n were in the age group where neural network maturation is critical. Results from their study revealed an expected age-related increase of brain signal variability children that werenââ¬â¢t on the autism spectrum, whereas atypical age-related brain signals were observed in the ASD group. Additionally, brain signals deviated from the norm a lot more in children with ASD, particularly for younger children. These results are in line with a recently reported theory of increased brain signal variability during development and abnormal neural connectivity in persons with ASD, especially during early childhood (Takahashi et al., 2016). Additionally, these deviations of brain signaling and neural connectivity from the norm the basis of the numerous complex sign and symptoms that is associated with ASD. Considering Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, parents and caregivers can detect signs of autism very early on in children by monitoring their childrenââ¬â¢s developmental milestones. According to Autism Speaks Canada (2016), some red flags that may be indicative of children being at risk for an autism spectrum disorder
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Implementation of Global Strategy Free Essays
Manag Int Rev (2011) 51:179ââ¬â192 DOI 10. 1007/s11575-011-0071-6 R e s e a R c h a Rt i c l e Effective? Global? Strategy? Implementation Structural? and? Process? Choices? Facilitating? Global? Integration? and? Coordination Attila? Yaprak? à ·? Shichun? Xu? à ·? Erin? Cavusgil Abstract:? 0 0 this article offers a contingency framework of global strategy implementation effectiveness on firm performance. The research question we seek to address is what the structural and process requirements are for MNEs to successfully implement global strategy through increased efficiency and effectiveness of integration and coordination across world markets. We will write a custom essay sample on Implementation of Global Strategy or any similar topic only for you Order Now Our central premise is that MNEsââ¬â¢ capabilities in establishing supporting structural and process mechanisms will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing their global strategies which would, in turn, lead to better firm performance. Keywords:? Integration and coordination à · Global strategy à · Firm performance à · contingency framework Received:? 25. 12. 2009 / Revised:? 15. 08. 2010 / Accepted:? 11. 10. 2010 / Published? online: 02. 04. 2011 à © Gabler-Verlag 2011 Prof. A. Yaprak (? ) Department of Marketing, Wayne State University, Detroit, USA e-mail: Attila. aprak@wayne. edu Asst. Prof. S. Xu Department of Marketing and Logistics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA Asst. Prof. E. Cavusgil Department of Marketing, University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, USA 180 A. Yaprak et al. Introduction The globalization of the world economy and markets has given rise to the growth of multinational enterprises (MNEs). With the expanded geographical scope and disp ersed operations across national borders, managing MNEs effectively has become a challenging task for managers. As such, numerous studies have been conducted to understand what contributes to the success of MNEs in the global market. Many studies have adopted the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm as the theoretical basis of such an exploration, arguing that the competitive advantage of MNEs is sourced primarily in their ability to access and acquire rare and inimitable resources that create better value for customers around the world (e. g. Peng et al. 2008). These resources are considered indicators of firm performance levels in the global market (Lu et al. 010; Peng et al. 2008). While RBV has been instrumental in explaining the performance differences among MNEs, arguments have been advanced that the mere possession of resources is insufficient to generate superior performance (Sirmon et al. 2007). For instance, Barney and Arikan (2006) state that assuming appropriate strategic action will automatically follow from the recognition of valuable resources within the firm is an intellectual ly naive assumption. Specifically, how resources can be used through strategic actions to create superior value to create a competitive advantage for the firm remains unclear (Priem and Butler 2001). While firm resources have a more or less direct impact on the strategic courses of action a firm may pursue, implementation of such strategies to realize value creation potential remains an under-researched topic (Barney and Arikan 2006). This deficiency in the literature has led to the distinction between resources and capabilities. Lu et al. (2010) propose that resources and capabilities are clearly distinguishable from each other. While Grant (1991) defined resources as stocks of tangible and intangible assets which firms use to convert into products and services while capabilities are viewed as intermediate goods generated by the firm to enhance the productivity of resources (Amit and Schoemaker 1993). As such, capabilities are different from resources since they act as enablers for firms to create value more effectively from the resources they possess. This distinction between resources and capabilities has encouraged researchers to examine the effect of MNEsââ¬â¢ capabilities on firm performance. Research regarding the capabilities of MNEs has mostly focused on those that facilitate global strategy formulation. For example, Elango and Pattnaik (2007) propose that networking capabilities have a direct impact on the internationalization strategy of the firm. Peng et al. (2008) articulates a framework in which firm resources and capabilities are viewed as one of three antecedents of a firmââ¬â¢s international business strategy (the other two being industry based competition and institutional conditions and transitions). Thus, the current literature sheds light only on how the capabilities of MNEs enable them to formulate appropriate strategic choices that match their resources with opportunities in their external, that is, their global, environment. However, mechanisms that ensure successful implementation of the chosen strategies remain unclear. While we assume that MNEs should be able to establish appropriate structures to match their strategies, research has shown that there is a lot of incongruence between MNE strategy and structure (Duysters and Hagedoorn 2001). Effective Global Strategy Implementation 181 Based on this backdrop and drawing from the strategic fit literature, the purpose of this paper is to offer a contingency framework of global strategy implementation effectiveness on firm performance. The research question we seek to answer is what the structural and process requirements are for MNEs to successfully implement global strategy through increased efficiency and effectiveness of integration and coordination across world markets. Our central premise is that MNEsââ¬â¢ capabilities in establishing supporting structural and process mechanisms will enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing their global strategies which would, in turn, lead to better firm performance. That is, we argue that firms need to achieve a harmonious configuration among strategy, structure, and process to better deliver superior value from the resources they possess. The remainder of this article is organized as follows. After reviewing the literature and presenting a comprehensive picture of the integration and coordination dimensions of global strategy, we offer propositions for future research. We discuss the merits of exploring each of these and conclude with suggestions for managerial practice. Conceptualizations? of? Global? Strategy The globalization of the world economy has pushed many organizations, particularly those MNEs with abundant resources, to rethink how they compete in this expanded market. The increasingly interdependent financial, product, and labor markets are all advancing at different paces towards a ââ¬Å"globalizedâ⬠system (Buckley and Ghauri 2004). As the political, economic, and cultural forces increasingly promote a global environment, many industries have become global in nature (Morrison and Roth 1992; Kim et al. 2003). Such global industries are largely driven by three structural forces: economies of scale, comparative advantage, and standardized markets (Birkinshaw et al. 1995). Firms competing in such industries have gradually been adopting a global strategy in which they no longer view their subsidiaries located across the world as independent subunits, but as a highly interdependent network (Kim and Hwang 1992). Global strategy is thus characterized as developing competitive advantage through operating in interdependent national markets by exploiting differences in national resource endowments, the flexibility of MNC networks, and economies of scale and scope, as well as learning (Malnight 1996). Extant literature suggests that the strategic choice of a firm competing in global markets is a function of firm traits and aptitudes and market contexts (Peng et al. 2008). The positive relationship between financial and market performance and global strategy is also well documented in the literature (Roth 1992; Kim et al. 2003). We further argue that these relationships are mediated by the interplay among strategy, structure and processes of the firm (Fig. 1). We now discuss these, in turn. Firm Traits and Aptitudes Firm traits and aptitudes refer to the resources and capabilities that a firm possesses to compete in the global marketplace. These resources and capabilities can take on different forms such as culture, knowledge, orientation, experiences, and learning capability. 182 A. Yaprak et al. Firm Traits Aptitudes Innovative Culture Firmââ¬â¢s strategic creativity in its marketing strategy making Latitude in autonomy vs. control Local Embeddedness Depth in local market knowledge Local market orientation International Embeddedness International Orientation International Experience Firm Capabilities in Cross-subsidization (Leverage) Organizational learning Market Contexts Degree of international integration Degree of similarity with the primary international market Processes Degree of integration of strategic design and implementation [Integration vs. Independence] Configuration Perspective Strategy Degree of standardization . n marketing strategy [Standardization vs. Adaption] Coordination / Integration Strategy Performance Structure Degree of Concentration of value chain activities [Concentration vs. Dispersion] Contingency Perspective Fig.? 1: Strategy, structure, and processes as mediators of the firm, market and performance relationship. (Source: Constructed by the authors from Lim et al. 2006), Menon et al. (1999), Ozsomer and Prussia (2000), Solberg (2000), Xu et al. (2006), Zou and Cavusgil (2002)) Studies suggest that a fundamental antecedent to superior performance is the corporate culture of the firm, particularly those associated with innovation capabilities. They show that innovative culture, reflected by the firmââ¬â¢s creativity in its marketing strategy making, is a key ingredient in influencing strategic performance. They fu rther show that focus on effective se of the firmââ¬â¢s marketing assets and capabilities and prudent resource commitments across markets will upgrade its cross-market integration skills, and thereby enhance its market performance (Menon et al. 1999). The firmââ¬â¢s ability in reverse-innovating products, distributing them globally, and its skills in expanding opportunities in difficult markets and pioneering worthy segments in different types of market settings, all manifestations of creative strategy making, will also upgrade its market performance (Immelt et al. 009). A second key firm trait involves local market embeddedness. Local market orientation underscored by increasing depth of local market knowledge will lead to higher levels of global market penetration. When coupled with the ability to adapt to cultural diversity and affinity to the local market intermediariesââ¬â¢ aspirations to extract common denominators for many markets, this will likely lead to higher deg rees of strategy effectiveness (Solberg 2000). Equally important is international embeddedness. International orientation, bolstered by previous international business and/or marketing experience in the major markets of the firm will give the firm latitude in integrating and coordinating its competitive moves across world markets and thus lead to network-wide efficiencies, effectiveness and synergies. This valuable organizational resource will also help simplify worldwide planning and help establish the firmââ¬â¢s brands with a consistent image across markets; thereby enhancing the firmââ¬â¢s marketing strategy performance (Zou and Cavusgil 2002). Effective Global Strategy Implementation 83 Firm capabilities in organizational learning and cross-subsidization will affect global market performance positively. The firmââ¬â¢s ability to learn more and faster than its competitors and from its alliance partners in foreign markets will advance its marketing capabilities. Its skills in leveraging resources, information, experience, and ideas across markets and affiliates, sacr ificing competitive gains in some markets for the benefit of other markets, and sharing organizational learning gains across its affiliate network will help the firm maintain a strong configural advantage, nd will improve the firmââ¬â¢s marketing strategy performance (Craig and Douglas 2000; hamel 1991; Lim et al. 2006). In light of these arguments, we propose that: P1: Firm traits, such as innovative culture and strategic creativity and firm aptitudes such as local and international embeddedness, along with capabilities in organizational learning and cross-subsidization, will enhance the adoption of a global strategy, which in turn, will positively influence firm performance. Market Contexts Porter (1990) suggests that the industry in which a firm finds itself competing largely determines its strategic choices. Market contexts specifically examine the external environment and the opportunities it presents to the firm. Market contexts, such as global industry and the firmââ¬â¢s global orientation and international experience, will also give firms an incentive to adopt a global strategy which will, in turn, enhance marketing strategy performance. One argument here is that global strategy seeks benefits from both comparative and competitive advantages by leveraging economies of scale derived from common market demand and dispersion of operations across world markets to benefit from factor cost differences (Kim et al. 003). The degree of similarity among markets will incentivize firms to adopt a globally-integrated strategy which will lead to efficiencies and strategy effectiveness, and this will improve performance (Zou and Cavusgil 2002). Participation in multiple markets offers the firm the ability to identify different opportunities with which to exploit its resources. For example, the f irm can extend its product life cycle by launching products with different pacings across global markets. Market contexts offer greater flexibility in implementing global business battles against competitors. Participation in multiple markets also helps firms identify different value chain activity locations based on the unique comparative advantages of each location. The degree of integration in the firmââ¬â¢s markets will foster easier leveraging of resources and capabilities and will ease learning from these. As the firm expands increasingly into dissimilar markets, however, it will be inspired to develop creative solutions, innovative marketing mix adaptations, and imaginative strategies. The degree of coordination and differentiation in marketing strategies the firm is able to implement in global markets and its ability to harmonize competitive tactics across regions will also improve performance (Lim et al. 2006; Schilke et al. 2009). Since markets are dynamic, their changing nature will require emerging strategic mechanisms, inspiring the firm toward developing creative market-based learning, rather than deliberative solutions (Ozsomer and Prussia 2000; Vorhies and Morgan 2005). Thus, we propose that: 184 A. Yaprak et al. P2: Similarities and dissimilarities among the firmââ¬â¢s market contexts will move the firm toward adopting a global strategy, which in turn, will enhance marketing strategy performance. Integration and Coordination in Global Strategy and Implementation As the competitive advantage in adopting a global strategy lies in the firmsââ¬â¢ ability to effectively link competitive actions across national markets, global integration becomes a critical task in coping with the challenges posed by the integrated global competitive arena (Kim et al. 2003). Thus, firms adopting a globally integrated strategy seek to integrate their globally-dispersed activities in a manner that will help them develop combinations of comparative (that is, location-specific) and competitive (that is, firm-specific) advantages that will foster more effective responses to cross-national competitive forces (Roth and Schweiger 1991). Global integration, that is the coordination and control of business operations and functions across national borders (Cray 1984), is viewed as the ideal indicator of the degree of comparative and competitive advantage combinations within the firm (Kobrin 1991; Rangan and Sengul 2009). Roth and Schweiger (1991) describe these two sources of advantage in a global strategy as that developed through international scale economies and economies of scope (competitive), and that which results from exploiting the differences in factor costs across country locations (comparative). Comparative advantage arises from the geographic configuration of location choices while competitive advantage resides in geographic coordination or organization (Rangan and Sengul 2009). Thus, integration allows the firm to disperse its value-adding activities across national markets while integrating some of these within the firmââ¬â¢s own boundaries. Two major activities in achieving global integration goals are coordination and control (Kim et al. 2003). The purpose of coordination is to achieve concerted action among the subunits and functional areas toward a unified organizational goal (Roth and Schweiger 1991). Coordination is essential in managing the interdependencies across the subunits of an organization. As coordination effort in an international business organization can range from low to high, the demand of a global strategy puts its coordination effort on the high end. A high degree of coordination implies that functional activities are tightly linked with one another and that these are tightly-integrated across geographic locations (Roth 1992). This integration leads to configural advantage (Craig and Douglas 2000). Thus, we propose that: P3: Superior performance of the MNEââ¬â¢s global strategy will be positively linked to increased integration and coordination of its value chain activities; that is, to the degree of its configural advantage. Structural and Process Requirements for Global Integration and Coordination Even though MNEs enjoy the benefit of abundant resources and capabilities coming from firm traits and aptitudes and the opportunities their environments present, designing the organizational structures and processes that best support the strategies they deploy that Effective Global Strategy Implementation 185 use the resources and capabilities that suit the demand of their external opportunities is mandatory in realizing superior performance. In fact, the task of management is to formulate strategies based on the resources and capabilities of the firm and match them with identifiable opportunities in the external environment by selective market entry. Strategy, as such, is seen as an outcome of the process of identifying the alignment of the resources and capabilities of the firm and the opportunities present in the environment. Implementing such a strategy relies primarily on supporting the organizational structures and processes that are in place. Without the appropriate strategy, processes and structure, firm traits and aptitudes and market contexts may each present benefits by themselves, but they may also lead to detrimental performance when inappropriately combined. As such, firms need to examine both their internal strengths and the external opportunities they face and attempt to achieve the best synergy between these two. While strategy is mostly focused on identifying market opportunities that best utilize the resources of the firm, the reverse is also possible; the firm may identify opportunities in the environment but find that it lacks the resources to exploit these. Unique combinations of these structure and strategy elements will yield unique levels of strategic performance (Olson et al. 2005). Interrelationships among the internationalizing firmââ¬â¢s strategy, structure, and processes are positively associated with market performance and will lead to strategy implementation types that can serve as major sources of sustainable global competitive advantage (Xu et al. 2006). Structure A critical determinant of success in implementing a global strategy is the development of effective structures that will carry firm strategy toward superior performance. Organizational structural forces are crucial to effectively deploying and integrating firm resources (Fang and Zou 2009). One element of this effort is the global configuration of value chain activities such that achievement of the firmââ¬â¢s objectives is rationalized. Sourced in competitive advantage theory (Porter 1990), this effort involves selectively concentrating and dispersing activities across the firmââ¬â¢s global network so that it can differentiate, pursue cost efficiencies, focus on market niches, and achieve economies of scale in doing so (Roth 1992). It also involves assigning various roles to the firmââ¬â¢s affiliates so that they will serve the firmââ¬â¢s objectives in the most effective manner. For instance, subsidiaries might play such roles as strategic leader, implementer, and contributor, depending on their level of local competencies and the strategic importance of their markets to the firm or can be early or late movers in carrying the firmââ¬â¢s products throughout its network, depending on their special strengths and competitive advantages (Bartlett and Ghoshal 1989, 1992). The firmââ¬â¢s aims with regard to each local market as it incrementally internationalizes, and its desire for control over affiliates vs. encouragement of autonomy in local markets, can lead to subsidiary roles as local barons or implementers of headquarters strategies (Solberg 2000). These roles can then create internationalizing networks modeled as federations, confederations, and the United Nations (Bartlett and Ghoshal 1989; solberg 2000). Of the different dimensions of organizational structure, three dimensions are recognized as the most influential on global integration and coordination: formalization, departmen- 186 A. Yaprak et al. talization, and centralization. Formalization is defined as the degree to which organizational norms are defined explicitly (Hall 1982). It essentially prescribes the acceptable and unacceptable behaviors within an organization. Roth and Schweiger (1991) argue that formalization boosts integration and coordination efforts by decreasing the discretion of the managers at both the headquarters and the subsidiary levels. Formalization reduces the direct involvement of the headquarters in subsidiaries by offering rules and procedures that fertilize the emergence of dominant logic within the organization. This dominant logic fosters similar actions from managers at different geographic locations. In addition, firms also increase integration efficiency by formalizing the ways functional activities are performed across units. By establishing standardized procedures, policies and rules, the effectiveness of integration will increase as the process of conducting activities is codified, a form of coordination by standardization (Kim et al. 2003). Centralization is concerned with decision making authority and is regarded as an important means of reaching coordination goals within an MNE (Roth and Schweiger 1991). A global strategy leads to higher levels of interdependencies among the subunits within a global organization. This would require a higher level of coordination among the functional activities. Adopting a centralization structure in an MNE means that critical decision-making lies at the top management level because better understanding of the various activities and units scattered around the world is possible there (Kim et al. 2003). It could be argued that while formalization facilitates coordination of global integration, centralization plays more of a role in the control of global integration. The assumption here is that with a decentralized structure, each subunit will focus on achieving its individual goals and tasks resulting in the sacrifice of the overall goal of the organization. Formalization and centralization along the firmââ¬â¢s value chain configuration will also affect its strategic behavioral orientations, such as customer, competitor, and innovationorientation, and by extension, the firmââ¬â¢s strategic performance. Departmentalization is defined as the degree to which the tasks are confined to a predetermined domain and members of departments are isolated from cross-functional interactions (Mintzberg et al. 1976). Departmentalization is believed to be detrimental to the integration and coordination effectiveness in business. It is argued that resource integration, especially as it involves knowledge integration, is an essential way to generate new ideas, particularly for new product development purposes. By isolating the subunits or functions from each other, members of the organization lose sight of the overall picture and the unique goals of the organization. Thus, we propose that: P4: Formalization and centralization of structure will positively influence integration and coordination effectiveness in firms that adopt a global strategy. P5: Departmentalization of structure will negatively influence integration and coordination effectiveness in firms that adopt a global strategy. Processes The major characterization of global strategy is focused on the integration of the firmââ¬â¢s global network of activities and the coordination of functions and resources that will yield enhanced strategy performance. This perspective is concerned with whether subsidiaries Effective Global Strategy Implementation 187 are standalone profit centers or parts of a more holistic design of deliberately integrated units (Lim et al. 2006). Its focus is on the dependence of affiliates on the headquarters and the interdependence among the subsidiaries for materials, resources, learning, efficiencies, and company-wide decision-making (Bartlett and Ghoshal 1989; Lim et al. 2006). When combined with the market offering and the concentration dimensions of strategy (Lim et al. 2006), and under the umbrella of contingency theory (Van de Ven and Drazin 1985), this perspective provides a window into our understanding of the spread of strategic autonomy, functional and operative control over affiliates, resource sharing, and cross-market consultation in he internationalizing firm. Dependence of the firm on its local affiliate or subsidiary for market knowledge due to lack of its own proficiency would lead the firm, for instance, to nurture interdependencies with its affiliates and strategic control over them. Low dependence of the subsidiaries on the headquarters, along with low interdependence among subsidiaries and high subsidi ary autonomy are associated with worldwide mandates assigned to subsidiaries (Lim et al. 2006). The organizational processes of MNEs largely involve the control aspects of organizational activities. Gencturk and Aulakh (1995) classify formal control mechanisms as market-based and hierarchy-based. Birkinshaw and Morrison (1995) add the heterarchy model as an alternative control process. While the market-based control process intuitively works against the goal of integration and coordination, the hierarchy- and the heterarchybased control mechanisms facilitate integration and coordination to a greater degree. We argue, however, that the heterarchy-based control process is more appropriate for a global strategy. First, the hierarchy concept is incongruous with interdependence among the various regional and strategic business units that make up the global enterprise. Second, the hierarchy model implies unidirectional control, imposed by the headquarters over the subsidiary units, a notion incompatible with global integration. Finally, global integration requires stability and instrumentality to succeed and at least one of these, instrumentality, is less present in the hierarchy model than the other models of control. The heterarchy control model, in contrast, is based on three characteristics that global integration requires: dispersion of resources and capabilities; existence of lateral relationships among subunits; and coordinated activities. We feel that all three of these are consistent with the coordination and integration efforts of an MNE and foster greater integration. Thus, we propose that: P6: Adoption of a heterarchy-based control model will positively influence the integration and coordination effectiveness of firms that adopt a global strategy. The Interaction of Strategy, Structure, and Process While each of strategy, structure, and process may have a direct impact on firm performance, the interaction among the three may exert even greater influence on that performance. Viewing strategy as matching resources with the environment focuses essentially on strategy formulation. This relies largely on the fit of the external environment with the firm. However, strategy implementation requires achieving the firmââ¬â¢s intended benefit. It relies more on the internal fit within the organization; that is, the fit between structure and processes (Venkatraman and Camillus 1984). Venkatraman and Camillus (1984) argue 188 A. Yaprak et al. that effective implementation of any strategy requires congruence among a large number of internal elements. This implies that the supporting role of structure and process cannot be separated from each other. In addition, the dominant logic in the strategic management literature is that strategy is the overriding concern, while structure and process are derived from strategy. Strategic performance is determined by how effectively the firmââ¬â¢s strategy is implemented, and by extension, how marketing objectives are accomplished (Olson et al. 2005). While there are many dimensions to performance measurement, financial and non-financial measurement metrics are typically used in strategy performance contexts. Among these are profitability, ROI, and sales volume, as well as the strategic position of the firm relative to its most relevant competitor, its relative market share in key markets, and expectations compared to relevant competitors and satisfaction with achieved expectations (Olson et al. 2005; Zou and Cavusgil 2002). We argue that a holistic view should be used in measuring strategic performance; a measure that would incorporate both financial and non-financial considerations. We also argue that, all things considered, the strategy, concentration, and integration/coordination conceptualizations of global strategy will mediate the relationship between the firm and market antecedents of performance and strategic performance itself. This is evidenced by recent research which shows that the interplay of strategy, structure and processes lead to higher levels of performance when they are mediated by co-alignment of strategy with the market context (Xu et al. 2006). Thus, we propose that: P7: Firm and market antecedents of firm performance will be mediated by the interplay among the strategy, structure, nd process components of internationalizing firms. The Capability of Configuring Strategy, Structure, and Process The capability of an MNE to successfully configure a harmonious strategy, structure, and process could be a source of competitive advantage. Unlike the tangible resources such as plant and raw materials, intangible resources and capabilities such as t he ability to align structural and process dimensions with the chosen strategy cannot be easily copied or substituted. When skillfully leveraged, these capabilities offer bases of competitive advantage and increase the effectiveness and efficiency in implementing a chosen strategy. Capability development is viewed as path dependent (Nelson and Winter 1982). Firms accumulate knowledge and capabilities by learning by doing. Dosi et al. (1990) views the firm as a historic entity in which repetitive activities offer the opportunity to learn and form routines and search processes. In this perspective, capabilities are viewed as emerging from the past history of learning by doing. Firms may also actively invest in organizational structures and processes to make constant improvements of routines and practices (Ethiraj et al. 2005). As such, capabilities are a combined result of passive learning by doing and active investment in learning. MNEs with extensive internationalization experiences would have the opportunity to nurture the capability to align their structure and process with their strategies. As such, we propose that: Effective Global Strategy Implementation 189 P8: The international experience of an MNE will be positively associated with its capabilities to configure organizationally effective strategy, structure, and process combinations. Discussion? and? Suggestions? or? Future? Research The relationship between global strategy making and its performance outcomes has generated a rich stream of research in the extant literature during the last few decades. This interest was heightened recently with the explosive growth in international business activity, especially by internationalizing firms from the emerging economies. This recent interest has resulted in conceptual developments attempting to explai n the roles of various antecedents in explaining strategic performance and empirical testing of these frameworks (e. . , Katsikeas et al. 2006; Lim et al. 2006; solberg 2000; Zou and Cavusgil 2002). More recent work has explored the significance of the roles played by various moderators in explaining the strength of the antecedents-performance relationship (Schilke et al. 2009). All of these studies have deepened our understanding of the strategy making-performance relationship, but we do not yet have a comprehensive picture of many of the actors that might mediate this relationship. In this paper, we attempt to contribute to this void by developing one such picture. We propose that firm traits and market contexts will positively affect strategic performance, but this relationship should be enhanced when mediated by the interplay among the strategy (standardization vs adaptation), structure (concentration vs dispersion), and process (integration vs independence) dimensions of strategy making (Lim et al. 2006). We offer propositions about each of these dimensions and the interface they have with the antecedents and outcomes of strategy formulation. Our work is exploratory and thus aims at offering a conceptual framework that should lead to empirical research. Some empirical questions that future research might explore include the following. First, what are the theory bases that might give us a better understanding of this relationship? The extant literature is full of studies that are anchored in the contingency and the configurational theories, but other theories/paradigms, such as agency theory, transactions cost economics, the resource based view, and social exchange theory might be fruitful avenues of inquiry in explaining the strategy making-strategic performance relationship. For example, agency theory may shed greater light on the impact of principal-agent relationships on product introduction rollouts in international markets and how these might shape the strategy formulation-strategic performance linkage. Social exchange theory might explore the significance that such constructs as trust, commitment, forbearance, and lack of opportunism might render on this relationship. The resource based view might explain the significance of the role played by the interdependence among the firmââ¬â¢s affiliates as they share certain types of esources; participate in decision-making contexts; and leverage capabilities across the firmââ¬â¢s network in the strategy making-strategic performance link. Second, what is the role of culture in defining and predicting the outcomes of the strategy-performance link? Culture, for instance, might influence conceptualizations of the degree of control desired, what it means to be autonomous or interdependent, what kinds 190 A . Yaprak et al. f gains autonomy and interdependence might bring to subsidiaries and how desired these might be, and how norms and values might shape value chain configurations and levels of adaptations needed in different markets. Third, what role does time play in the shaping of this relationship? Longitudinal studies might show, for example, that the strategy making-strategic performance link changes in short time frames for some products, medium time frames for others, and long time frames for still others. Finally, are there other dimensions of strategy and/or performance that should be considered and how might these interact with the three discussed in this paper? For example, the firmââ¬â¢s position along its internationalization path or the level of its participation in its global markets might be dimensions that need to be considered more formally to better understand the strategy-performance relationship. The interactions among these and the dimensions already considered in the literature are also worthy of further study. Our purpose is to depict a more comprehensive picture of the strategy formulationstrategic performance relationship in international business and to suggest that the interplay among strategy, structure, and processes of the firm mediates that relationship. We also aim to offer questions for future research. We hope that our work will provide a deeper and broader picture of that relationship and the questions we ask will inspire future research in this interesting domain of research. References Amit, R. , Schoemaker, P. (1993). Strategic assets and orgizational rent. Strategic Management Journal, 14(1), 33ââ¬â46. Barney, J. , Arikan, A. (2006). The resource-based view: Origins and implications. In M. Hitt, E. Freeman, J. Harrison (Eds. ), The blackwell handbook of strategic management (pp. 124ââ¬â 186). Oxford: Blackwell. Bartlett, C. A. , Ghoshal, S. (1989). Managing across borders: The transnational solution. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Bartlett, C. A. , Ghoshal, S. 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Consumers And Sustainability Walmart - Click to Get Solution
Question: Discuss about the Consumers and Sustainability at Walmart. Answer: Introduction In this report Walmart, which is one of the well- known retail industry of Australia is selected. The main aim of the organization is to save the money of the people by offering products at lower prices (Lukic 2013). The report covers the evaluation of sustainability activities on the employees, society and environment, ethical issues related with the organization and ways to improve the ethical issues, discussion about the corporate social responsibility of the organization, stakeholders key and ethics in communication and practices. The report also contains some recommendation in order to make Walmart more ethical organization in the future. Sustainability of Walmart The main goal of Walmart is to supply products entirely by renewable source of energy without creating any waste and sell those products that help in sustaining both the people and the environment (Stankevià it et al. 2012).For achieving its goals, the organization has built its relationship with influential people in the companies of the suppliers, NGOs and government (Lukic 2013). With the help of those associations the company has built and created Sustainable Value Network in order to integrate and evaluate its effort in the practices of renewable energy. Evaluation of Sustainability activities of Walmart regarding employees In the year 2012, Walmart has implemented 115 onsite rooftop solar installations in different seven countries that help in providing 71 million kilowatt of electricity(Hyatt 2012). The company has completed almost 26 installations of fuel cells in the United States. Walmart low cost practice of sustainability helps in translating the renewable energy endeavours by signing the contracts with the help of renewable energy providers. This contract that was offered by the organization at low cost was provided to the different clients. All the activities of the organization are beneficial for the employees of the organization (Waller et al. 2015). With the development of sustainability in the organization, the employees of the organization have to work in environmentally sustainable environment of the organization. The green products supplied by the company are beneficial for everyone including the organization. For measuring sustainability, Walmart has launched Sustainability Index. Evaluation of Sustainability activities of Walmart regarding society The organization is in the goal of zero waste and therefore the company has successfully converted 1.2 millions of pounds of cooking oil into biodiesel soaps (Malhotra et al. 2013). The organization is also testing recycling methods that aims to allow the company to reduce its use of global plastic bags by 35% (Carter and Jayachandran 2012). In addition the organization has stated installing micro-wind in different sites for reducing the use of non0renewable energy. For conserving non- renewable energy for the future generation, the company has become the third largest purchaser of green power in the world and second largest onsite green power generator. Evaluation of Sustainability activities of Walmart regarding environment The organization has financed its own renewable energy projects. In order to reduce the consumption of energy, Walmart has facilitated conservation of energy by following two major methods (Chekwa et al. 2014).The company has implemented new stores with the daylightning features that help in enabling the stores to turn off light as the daylightning feature helps in reducing the demands of electricity. Secondly the organization have managed the energy consumption by having control on the heating and cooling of the stores of Walmart (Vanleer and Squires 2016). The company has opened a store with LED lightning that helps in opening freezes with the help of the secondary refrigerator system. This helps in reducing the greenhouse gas emission (Foley and Havice 2016). The organization is in the attempt of reducing the fossil fuel use. With the help of green products the organization has reduced the emissions of carbon by 41000 tons. Ethical issues of Walmart Ethical issues faced by Walmart Walmart have faced many ethical issues. In the year 2005, Thomas Coughlin who was the board vice chair was forced to resign. This is because he has stolen more than $ 500 000 from the organization in the form of expenses, compensation and unauthorized gift vouchers (Martin 2015). In the year 2006, Coughlin has decided to beg as he was guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion charges. He have taken away millions of dollars in the name of compensation and gift vouchers, he has secretly used the organizations fund for paying the personal expenses including the expense of haunting vacation (Ferrell and Fraedrich 2015). Coughlin dishonesty was discovered when he has asked one of his subordinates to approve his $2000 expense payment without providing him any receipts. For this crime Coughlin was sentenced to 27 months of home confinement and a fine if $ 440 000 and 1500 hours of service towards the community. The confidence level of Walmart leadership rises when the CEO became the next CEO as the organization was warned by next bribery case. In the ear 2012, a specific number of Walmart non-family shareholders vote against the re- election procedure of Mike Duke (Weiss 2014). They have also voted against the re-election procedure of other members including the former CEO Robert Walton. The people were against but this does not stop the members of the board in re-electing them but it proves to be a signal of disappointment and lack of confidence I the leadership process (Nygaard et al. 2015). This is because they have prevented the store from getting involved in the matter. For reassuring thee investors it is very much necessary for Walmart to demonstrate a renewed commitment by ensuring ethics and compliance standard of the company. The response of Walmart for reducing the Ethical issues Walmart have faced many ethical issues in the year 2012, therefore in order to avoid such kind of situations in the company, Walmart follows some ways in order to minimize the situations that arises ethical issues (Collins 2015). Walmart is working in order to improve the ethical reputation of the company. In the year 2004, Walmart has formed its Global Ethics Office and helps in releasing a revised statement on Global Ethics (Mick 2015). The main intent of the Global Ethics Office is to spread a corporate ethical culture among the stakeholders of the company. It also helps in providing guidance and in making ethical decision. The Global Ethical helpline is one of the confidential ways for the associates for contacting with the company in order to avoid ethical issues. The organization has an Ethical Standard Team for monitoring the obedience of the provider factories with the help of the companys typical for contractors and local laws (Biong et al. 2015). Walmart claimed that in a shorter time period the organization have interviewed 1000 markets personnel of different countries and this is dedicated to $ 53 million of new processes and procedures. The organization is also providing ethical training to more than 19000 associates for avoiding as well as reducing the ethical issues. Assessing Wal-Marts Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation that is integrated into the business model. A business corporate social responsibility encompasses a huge number of tactics from giving away a portion of organizations proceeding to charity in order to implement greener business operations (Barnett 2016). A Four type of CSR model contains economic responsibility, legal responsibility, ethical responsibility and philanthropic responsibility. The four models of the CSR are discussed below: Economic Responsibility: This field is amply fulfilled by Walmart. The company is profitable as the total sales assemble in the year is $256.3 billion in the year 2004 (Hopkins 2012).Therefore, the foundation for all other different aspect of CSR is set well. Legal Responsibility: Walmart has a rather poor showing in the area of legal responsibility. It is embroiled in number of different lawsuits and the organization has number of questionable practices (Elder and Dauvergne 2015). The organization is reputed due to low wages and discrimination. It is inevitable for Walmart to get sued by many parties on the same ground. Figure 1: Diagram of Corporate Social Responsibility (Source: Glavas 2016) Ethical Responsibility: The ethical responsibility is partially met by Walmart. Walmart Buy American and Environmental Awareness are the best examples of companys attempt at ethical responsibility (Vracheva et al. 2016). The employers of the organization are offered stock options in order to enable their share in the wealth of the organization. Philanthropic Responsibility: In this section the organization has fared well. Walmart have huge number of corporate initiatives which includes college scholarship, fund raisers and many more (Prieto et al. 2014).It has established The Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation in order to provide facility of their philanthropy. The greatest complainant about Walmart is that it puts other organizations or small companies out of business. The low price strategy of Walmart had created a difficult situation for small companies to compete in the market (Orlitzky 2015). The organization is often accused of being responsible for the downward pressure on salaries and benefits in areas where the company is located. Small organizations have filed lawsuits against Walmart, claiming that the organization uses predatory strategies and procedures in order to put other small companies or organizations out of business (Tian and Slocum 2016). In order to compete against Walmart, other companies have to reduce their wages. Studies revealed that the payroll wages including the wages offered by the company is reduced by 5 per cent after it enters the market of Walmart. Due to this, many citizens have refused to allow Walmart to take residence and this creates another social responsibility issue. Walmart entry can be made detrimental to the environment of the company and its people that causes sprawl, traffic congestion and unwelcome changes to the landscapes. One of the greatest concerns that are associated with Walmart is the urban Sprawl. The construction of Walmart has taken acres of land and as a result the construction procedure created stress on the constructions of roads, parking and many more (Elder and Dauvergne 2015). There is a concern about the number of acres of land that is used for the construction purpose. The construction of Walmart has also created the problem of traffic congestion. The constructions have Walmart attract more number of customers towards the area creating traffic congestion in the areas (Vracheva et al. 2016). The resources used by the organization have also raised any environmental problems like pollution and excess use of resources. The organization is trying to compensate the damages by promoting green products. The responsibility of Walmart towards their competitors is fair. The organizations have contributed greatly to the community by following the methods of volunteerism and donations. This has also increased the efforts of reducing the cost if the commuting by working with the help of the local government for improving the issues related with traffic (Orlitzky 2015). The organizations have promoted the use of green products that minimizes the use of non- renewable resources and also help s in reducing environment pollution. Therefore, Walmart is trying its best by becoming responsive towards the community where it enters. Walmarts Key Stakeholder The stakeholders key or the three attributes helps in identifying the groups of the stakeholders. The three attributes are as follows: Power: It is defined as the power of the stakeholders for influencing the organization. For achieving the goals and objectives of the organization, customers are very much important. Without their support it is impossible to flourish the organization. The organization has provided products to the customers at lower prices by maintaining the quality of the products (Carter and Jayachandran 2012). This helps in influencing the customers more towards Walmart. The communication process between the organization and the customers are done in an ethical manner and as a result it will create a positive impact on the customers (Malhotra et al. 2013). The employees re treated well in Walmart by providing them facilities so that they will became loyal towards the organization. Business partners and suppliers of Walmart collaborate with other business organization properly in order to increase the interest of other company. Figure 2: Diagram showing the attributes of stakeholders key (Source: Martin 2015). Legitimacy: The second attribute legitimacy helps in identifying the relationship and actions of the stakeholders in terms of properness and desirability. Legitimate power is also known as positional power. It is required in Walmart for exercising different activities in the organization. For positional power to be exercised effectively Walmart have associates or employees that wield it must have deemed to have earned it (Chekwa et al. 2014). In Walmart there are power structure and every employee of the organization having some power. The power flows towards the one who readily achieves it in the sense that a leader will exercise more power than the legitimate power by accepting additional acceptance (Ferrell and Fraedrich 2015). Walmart uses the legitimacy power in order to flourish its business and for achieving its goals and objectives. The organization uses various strategies and practices in order to use the attribute of legitimacy within Walmart. Urgency: It is the requirement being set of any organization by stakeholders in terms of the criticality and time sensitivity. Walmart uses the methods of urgency in critical situations. Urgency of any organization is related with the people (Waller et al. 2015). It is comprised of two elements. The first element of urgency is criticality or how importance is it to that organization and person (Lukic 2013). Time sensitivity is known as the second element. Walmart uses the urgency attribute during two situations, either in the critical situations or at the time of sensitivity. On the basis of analysis, the above three attributes are considered as the key of the stakeholders of Walmart. The organizations have created relationship with both the suppliers, customers and the employees of the organization. The stakeholders of Walmart have influences the strategic direction of the organization. Some of the stakeholders have created a positive impact on the organization (Chekwa et al. 2014). The organization uses information in order to guide decisions for achieving a satisfactory leadership position in the management of the stakeholders. Walmart aims at expanding and dominating the market for serving the goals of the employees. Ethical in communications and practises It is very much necessary to have proper ethical communication as well as practices in organizations like Walmart. Ethics concern an individuals moral judgement towards a decision. Ethical practices and behaviour means that Walmart must behave and communicate in an ethical way (Vanleer and Squires 2016). It is important for the organization as it provides number of advantages to them. It helps in attracting customers towards the product of Walmart, thereby increasing and boosting the profits of the organization. It makes the workers less stressed as they have received ethical environment for work which is very much beneficial for them (Nygaard et al. 2015). The leaders and the employees of Walmart who adhere the code of ethics will help in creating an environment that will be suitable. It will be beneficial for both the customers and the employees of the organization. It helps in improving the morality among the employees of Walmart. It can also be helpful in increasing the productivity of Walmart (Stankevià it et al. 2012). For example: The ethics helpline implementation led the employees of the organization to communicate with the companys ethical issues. This has helped in minimizing the number of cases that are ethical related. The Walmart ethical standard team helps in monitoring the compliance of suppliers factories which has increased the production of the organization (Nygaard et al. 2015). Walmart has interviewed more than 10,000 employees in different countries for promoting proper ethical communication and practices in the organization that has increased the internal ethical issues in Walmart. Walmart can adopt more strategies that would help the organization to be more ethical company in future. The recommendations include: Passion: It is very much important for Walmart to adopt policy that would motivate the employees towards avoiding ethical issues in organization. Organizations like Walmart are comprised of number of people, it is very much necessary to excite them towards implementation of new strategies in organization so that they will provide extra effort towards Walmart. Focus on Customers: Organization like Walmart must focus on the communication. The communication process between the customers and the organization must be done in a ethical way so that more number if customers get attracted towards the organization, thereby increasing the profitability of Walmart. Implementation of new strategies: Walmart must re-implement or implement new strategies in order to avoid the ethical issues that it had faced. The organization must adopt strategies and practices that are ethically sound. Result-oriented: Ethics matter a lot in the result of an organization. Walmart should not aim at the results at any cost. Results must be attained in the context of developing something that the customers need and producing and delivering products at cheaper prices. Walmart uses this practices but the organization needs to promote this strategy in such a way so that other small organization does not get out of business. Risk Taking: Walmart must take risks for innovating new technologies and practices within the organization. The organization needs to use ethical innovative ideas for promoting new technologies and practices within the organization. Conclusion It is concluded that the main aim of Walmart is provide products and services at lower prices for saving the money of the customers. The organization uses sustainable methods in order to minimize the uses of non- renewable resources. It is analysed from the study that the organization have implemented certain strategies that have reduced the ethical issues,. Walmart uses ethical practices and way of communication for achieving its goals and objectives. The main weakness of the study is that it does not illustrate the ways of avoiding the ethical issues and bribery in the organization. The strategies that were implemented in the organization minimize the ethical issues but in order to avoid them, Walmart needs to implement some necessary strategies. References Barnett, M.L., 2016. 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