External and Internal Environments Assignment Walmart: Business & Marketing Essay

Week 6 External and Internal Environments Assignment
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BUS499 Business Administration Capstone
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Week 6 External and Internal Environments Assignment
Internal and external factors influence a business activities and operations. Some of the factors may be beyond the control of the business but a business often adapts to most of the other factors. The combination of these factors shapes the marketing environment, which the business operates. This paper provides an analysis of Walmart’s internal and external environments.
General Environment
The general environment explores the broader influences of a company or industry. Firms may not have the capability to directly control these aspects (Hitt et al., 2016). The two segments of the general environment that rank highest in influencing Walmart are sociocultural and global segment.
Sociocultural Segment
The sociocultural segment explores consumer perceptions and preferences. Over the years, Walmart has managed to capitalize and address shifts in product and service preferences within its customer base. For example, within the Walmart groceries and consumables, the company provides products focusing on consumer preference for a healthy lifestyle. The company focuses on eliminating or reducing foods with high sugar, salt, and trans-fat to include more healthy choices (Banerjee, 2015). Consumers that need organic foot items can access the products across all of Walmart’s retail stores. The company also recognizes that people including seniors prefer online shopping. The company has recently expanded and exploited its ecommerce business.
Global Segment
The global segment is another environmental segment for Walmart. Walmart has capitalized on critical global markets creating significant profitable business (Banerjee, 2015). The company has stores in 27 countries with its most successful being in Mexico, Central America, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, and India (Banerjee, 2015). Walmart success in these countries is because of developing unique business models based on the culture and needs of consumers in these countries (Banerjee, 2015). Consumers in these countries can relate with the company and the products it produces.
Five Forces of Competition
Competitive forces allow a firm to analyze its competitive strategies. The five forces model has been used historically to analyze how firms can examine their position in relation to their competition (Hitt et al., 2016). Firms can use the information to enhance or alter different areas of operation to remain competitive. Walmart’s two major significant forces of competition are rivalry among competing firms and threat of substitute products.
Rivalry Among Competing Firms
Rivalry among competing firms is a force that Walmart has had to deal with especially over the recent past. While the firm achieved significant growth in the years following its founding, in the recent past many retail stores have emerged. Walmart competes with different and almost equally balanced competitors. For example, Target, Costco, Kroger, Amazon, and Home Depot remain some of the fierce competitors (Parnell & Lester, 2008). Walmart has managed to address the ...