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Wal-Mart Stores Inc., employs more than 1.3 million associates worldwide. The company has more than 3,000 stores and offices across the United States and more than 1,000 stores internationally. It has also expanded online with Walmart.com, which has brought the vision of Sam Walton’s to the internet. After researching on the internet and several books based on the conduct in which Wal-Mart does business, this paper will touch upon the overall environments of the organization and the changes they should consider. At Wal-Mart there are specific environments that define the culture of the company. The main objective of the organization is their customer base. The mission of Wal-Mart is to give people high value, low prices and a warm welcome. The major clientele Wal-Mart caters to is the blue collar individuals, who are searching for savings and value in their one stop shopping. In order to closely monitor the changes in taste of its clients, Wal-Mart was one of the earliest users of an EDI system. The electronic connection is served on domestic and international levels. In the 1980s, Wal-Mart and Proctor & Gamble started sharing sales data so P&G goods could be automatically replaced as they were sold off the shelves. For example, Proctor & Gamble would instantly distribute Pampers to Wal-Mart stores without managers having to place an order. Today Wal-Mart expects all manufacturers to manage its own in-store inventory and use EDI networks linked to Wal-Mart’s private collaborative hub called SupplierLink, Large retailers like Wal-Mart have gained much clout, thus allowing them to dictate contracts instructing suppliers what to make, how to make it, and how much to charge for it. Wal-Mart’s extensive supplier standards, for example, require CD companies to edit songs and visual covers and remove “offensive material” if they want their product(s) on Wal-Mart’s shelves. One incredible fact is even with these strict standards, Wal-Mart sells more than fifty million CDs yearly. The music industry is not the only ones who have changed certain components of their product, magazine publishers have come to the same fate. Wal-Mart has refused to sell copies of certain magazines which enclose photos or stories which might offend some customers. To minimize an incident such as that, publishers provide this retail giant with advance copies for review. Should a publisher refuse to supply an advance copy, Wal-Mart will delist the magazine and never sell it again. The stern principles are held in attempt to strengthen community ties and reduce the activists who block two or three new stores a year because of certain products.
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