Group Case Presentation Assignment
Module 4 /Strategic Management Competency/ Week 9
Wal-Mart Stores in 2008: Management’s Initiatives to Transform the Company and Curtail Wal-Mart Bashing
Please think about the following questions in preparation for class discussion and for background in your presentation:
1. What impresses you about this company?
2. What accounts for Wal-Mart’s success over the past 25+ years?
3. Is it a great strategy, superb strategy implementation and execution, or great leadership?
4. What aspects of Wal-Mart do you find unimpressive?
5. Which of the five generic strategies is Wal-Mart employing?
6. What are the chief elements of its strategy?
7. Is Wal-Mart’s strategy working well?
8. What does the information in case Exhibit 1 reveal about the company’s strategic and financial performance during 2000-2008?
9. What policies, practices, support systems, and management approaches underlie Wal-Mart’s efforts to execute the company’s strategy?
10. What are its chief elements and characteristics of Wal-Mart’s culture?
11. Why does the culture seem to be so much stronger in Bentonville than out in the stores?
12. What is your assessment of Lee Scott’s transformation initiatives?
13. Are the initiatives “sincere” or just calculated to garner better PR for Wal-Mart?
14. Are more transformational initiatives needed? Why or why not?
The core of your 15-minute group case presentation should address the following issues drawn from your analysis of the above questions:
1) What issues do Lee Scott and Wal-Mart management need to address?
2) What recommendations would you make to Lee Scott regarding these issues?
At the beginning of class in Week 9, please be prepared to hand in to me a copy of your presentation slides, as well as a list of references used in the assignment.