Innovation

Walmart joined with CleanTech Group to focus on environmental innovations that provide profitability and lower costs. Walmart will began installing LED lights in stores to reduce power consumption. Solar panels will be installed in stores located in Hawaii and California, which will account for nearly 30% of the power for those stores.

Human Capital (12)

Walmart escalates human capital by incorporating "business simulation" programs to coach employees on how to react to various situations. People are one of the most important aspects of the organization, so Walmart offers training on a continuous basis to keep employee's skills up-to-date. "Stores of Learning" and "Assistant Management Training" programs to help managers make good decisions and become better leaders.
http://walmartstores.com/careers/7740.aspx

Org. Structure

Walmart operates under a functional organizational structure. The Bill Simon, COO and executive VP, announced in January 2010 that American Walmart division will restructure the organization. Walmart will divide the US stores into Walmart North, Walmart South, and Walmart West.

Wal-mart's Corporate Goveranace (10)

Within the past few years,Walmart has been criticized for their poor corporate governance. Poor internal controls led to reports of gender discrimination,employees being forced to work extra hours without compensation, using unethical measures to pressure employees to not vote for unions.

Strategic Alliance

Earlier this year, Walmart formed a strategic alliance with Li & Fung to form Global Merchandising Centers (GMC). This alliance will enable Walmart to lower cost and increase their speed in the global market.

Walmart's International Risk (ch8)

Walmart opened their first international store in 1991, which was located in Mexico. in 1992,Walmart International was created to oversee the operations in other countries.

Walmart had to closed stores in Germany due to their lack of equating the risk of that country's international market. German Regulations prohibited Walmart from offering weekend or extended hours. Strict unions laws kept Walmart from achieving low operational cost. Furthermore, German shoppers tend to split the shopping activites among different stores, so Walmart's revenue was not as high in Germany.

New Acquisition (CH 7)

Recently, Walmart announced their plan to acquire VUDU. VUDU, a top digital services provider, enables instant access to digital movies on HDTVs or blu-ray players. Walmart's goal is to improve the home entertainment experience of customers by merging the digital expertise of VUDU with the retail knowledge of Walmart.