External and Internal Environments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

External and Internal Environments - Essay Example The company is engaged in the business of running retail stores that come in various formats like discount stores, supercentres, neighborhood markets, etc. worldwide. The products of the company are also offered through different e-commerce websites that includes samsclub.com and walmart.com. Wide range of merchandise products are also offered by the company which comes at every day low price (EDLP). The company's operation is divided into three broad segments namely, Wal-Mart International, Wal-Mart US and Sam's Club. External Environment Analysis The external environment in which Wal-Mart operates its business activities can have a significant impact on its growth and sustainability in future. The various external environmental factors that can have an impact on the company and its corresponding retail industry can be better understood through the PESTEL analysis. It stands for Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors concerning the organization . Of all these six environmental factors the Economical and Social factors can have a significant impact on the organization and the industry in which operates its business. A detailed analysis of these two factors has been discussed below: a. Economical Factors: United States is considered to be one of the largest economies of the world with gross domestic product (GDP) of around $15.09 trillion and per capita GDP of around $49,000 in 2011 (CIA, 2012a). The recent global financial crisis (GFC) had a significant negative impact on the US economy but it recovered well. The US retail savings which also suffered a setback due to GFC is expected to have a steady growth. The disposable income of the US population is also expected to increase. All these factors can have a positive impact on Wal-Mart in increasing its sales in the forthcoming years through its low and competitive pricing strategy. b. Social Factors: The increasing healthcare costs and the ever increasing aging population o f US are major concerns for the country at present. Another major social concern for the country is the rising inequality of income. United States has been ranked 42 out of 136 nations with respect to the income equality parameter as evaluated by the Gini coefficient (CIA, 2012b). Although US economy as a whole has experienced consistent growth it has not translated into redistributive social policies and increased wages. All these social concerns can have a significant impact on Wal-Mart because it employs large number of laborers and the wages issues associated with them can hamper the future growth prospect of the company. Industry Analysis Porter’s five forces model helps an organization to assess the competitive forces which exists within the industry (Hill & Jones, 2012, p. 49). The forces which help out in the process are named as a) threat of new entrants, b) threat from the substitute products or services, c) bargaining power of the suppliers, d) bargaining power of the consumers and finally e) competition within the industry (Society for Human Resource Management (U.S.), 2006, p.38-39). Out of the five competitive forces mentioned above two most important forces that can have a significant impact on Wal-Mart has been described below: a. Buyer Power: The retailers that operate in the retail industry vary greatly in their size with respect to companies like Wal-Mart who are having large chain of supermarkets

WRITTEN PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

WRITTEN PAPER - Essay Example Given the nature of options available, the selection of role model for the given field will be Oprah Winfrey. Being a gifted and talented personality herself, various attributes of given global context such as emergence of feminism and counter culture, technological advancement and development of tabloid talk shows as an accepted genre, allowed her to progress well in her career. Oprah Winfrey managed to emerge as a leading brand name from a local radio station to a news channel and then the TV show having a viewership of millions per episode (Garson, 2004). Despite a troubled childhood, Oprah began working as an anchor in the local TV station however the monotony offered by this position pushed her to move foreword to another chat show with declining ratings. Her communication style and ability to relate to audience made the ratings spiked within months. The resultant was a creation of a leading TV show which was her own product called the Oprah Winfrey show that ran for over twenty five years (Garson, 2004). Another important name on her credentials is The Oprah Winfrey book club whose credibility has driven many authors and their work to top selling charts (Ward, 2011). Other than that, she has also worked in several movies as well. Although Oprah appears to be a media person however her PR strategies and ability to promote transparent journalism are some of the traits required for being an effective international communication strategist or a policy maker for global clients. After using TV as a medium for leaving her mark, she moved onto print media and has launched a women’s magazine with the name O followed by a launch of a radio station. It can be seen that Oprah has fully utilized all media at the right times to reach her viewers. However, more than the selection of right media at the right time, she has presented herself as a media personality who is reliable and responsible and can be trusted by audience. Her major