WAL-MART SUSTAINABILITY

Introduction The advancements in the global regime have resulted in the increase of supply chain activities. The recent period has witnessed the growth in the number and quantity of the supply chain activities operating gin the economy. However, despite the increase in the activities of the supply chain organizations, they are faced with the difficulty of verification of sustainability. An example of the supply chain organization is Wal-Mart supply chain that has been operational for an extended period of time. The operations of Wal-Mart have been characterized by increasing disparities because they cannot accurately ascertain sustainability and this reduces their capacity to reduce costs and their impacts on the environment. In view of this development, the management of Wal-Mart has enactment measures to ensure that the attributes of rationalization can be achieved because this will ensure ideal reduction in the costs and further results in the promotion of sustainability. With regard to this, the company has adopted new developmental projects that include transformation in their seafood supplies and adoption of the new certification paradigm to encompass the long terms prospects of growth. Long term sustainability is of immense benefits to the company and the need to attain long term sustainability has resulted din the increased collaboration with the other stakeholders (Allen, Walker & Brady, 2012). The suppliers have been advised to adopt the Marine Stewardship certification (MSC) to help them increase their sustainability. This incentive has been extremely beneficial for Wal-Mart and its stakeholders because of the development of long-term sustainability. Challenges of Wal-Mart’s supply chain Over the period, the operations of Wal-Mart have continued to be adversely affected by the disparities in the market and the implementation of poor policies for development in the organization. One of the leading challenges facing Wal-Mart supply chain management is sustainability. Sustainability is extremely essential because it provides long term growth and development of the organization. As the leading dealer in sea foods, the company has experience disparities in the attributes of resources development and allocation because they have received seasonal inventories. This aspect has been detrimental because they have not been able to supply the increasing needs of the customers. Furthermore, the customer development has been affected because the company has not adopted the aspect of providing wild fish (Peloza, Loock, Cerruti, & Muyot, 2012). In reality, sustainability has been the effect of challenges from customers, suppliers and stakeholders. However, in order to overcome this incentive, the management of the company has adopted the new policies with the aim of increasing sustainability in the long run. One of the emerging attributes that has been adopted by the organization is the consideration of adopting the Marine Stewardship Certification (MSC) program that seeks to develop the ideologies for enhancing sustainability ('Wal-Mart, 2012). MSC is beneficial in highlighting crucial set of rules because it contain guidelines developed by all the stakeholders in fishing industries. The observation of these guidelines is critical in enhancing sustainability because it enhances continues supply of fish to the customers (Wal-Mart Stores, 0010). In order to achieve, Wal-Mart has initiated measures to ensures that it major suppliers adopt the MSC standards and this has contributed towards the realization of long term sustainability realization. Reduction in goodwill Over the period, the managers and other stakeholders of Wal-Mart Company have enacted measure to ensure that the company meets its goals and objectives. However, the existences of challenges have resulted in the decline of the company and this has resulted in organizational decline. The decline in performance has reduced the capacity of Wal-Mart to service the increasing needs of the customers thereby leading to the reduction in goodwill. This is a critical challenge for Wal-Mart because goodwill is extremely beneficial for any organization and it takes significant amount of time and resources to build (Kroll, 2012, Jung, 2012). Among the things leading to the reduction of goodwill includes competitive practices, labor policies and sustainability issues. Furthermore, the organization has not adopted the measures of environmental development and this has resulted in the increased attributes of environmental degradation. Environmental degradation is detrimental for the aspect of organizational performance because it results in the lower rating of the company. This is the case with Wal-Mart supply chain that had received lower market participation because of the adoption of non-environmental friendly policies. The records have shown that 8% of the consumers have stopped shopping at Wal-Mart because of the company practices and this represents a critical challenge (TELESCA, 2012). Environmental challenge The periods of the recent past has been characterized by the rising concerns for the preservation of the environment. The concern to preserve the environment emanated from the realization that the increase in the activities of mankind and other organization has resulted in the emission of detrimental substances. Therefore, there has been a call for the organizations to adopt the attributes of green technology (Allen, Walker & Brady, 2012, DUKE, 2010). Green technology is an extremely beneficial aspect of development because it increases the chances of environmental preservation. This issue of environmental conservation has continued to be a challenge for Wal-Mart because the existing polices have limited regards for the preservation of the environment. There is the need for the company to adopt the green technology which is ideal in enhancing sustainable environment. In reality, both Wal-Mart and its stakeholders have not adopted the attributes of environmental conservation attributes and this has largely contributed towards the reduction of sustainability and reduction of rationalization (Gallagher, 2006). In the recent past, consumers have sported measures of adopting relationships and associations with the companies that have concerns for development because they are viewed as efficient companies and this improves the usability of their products thereby increasing the scope of demand. The aspect of environment al challenge is an extremely essential idea that ha impacts on the development of the organization and the stakeholders have realized the necessity to formulate new improved environmental and social benefits. Environmental policies adopted by the company have acted as challenges and enhanced reduction in the sustainability of the company both in the short run and in the long run because they have the impact of influencing the decisions taken by the company individuals and also by the consumers (Gilligan & Wilson, 2009). In this regard, sustainability problems have continued to rise in the company because the management has enacted adverse environmental policies. Fluctuations in fish supplies The operation of Wal-Mart seafood has been adversely affected by the fluctuation in the supply f fish. The aspect of fluctuations in the supply of fish is characterized as one of the critical challenges that affects the operations and suitability of the company. Over the period, Wal-Mart has continued to operate in the market and has been identified as the leading retail dealer in sea food. As the leading dealer in seafood, it is extremely crucial for the company to have continuous flow of fish to their warehouses because this will ensure that all the needs of the customers are realized. The realization of the customer’s needs is an incentive that enhances profitability which is the objective of the business. A disparity in the organization surrounding the supply of fish is detrimental and has been classified as one of the challenges of the organization (Gilligan & Wilson, 2009). The advents of the organization have enacted measures to ensure that there is a critical control policy that governs the flow of fish in the company. As the leading retail in the supply of fish food, the fluctuations in the fish from the suppliers have continued to be one of the detrimental challenges affecting the performance of the Wal-Mart. In reality, Wal-Mart has been established as the leading supply chain in the united sates with more than 1000 supercenters that deliver products to the consumers. This consideration has resulted in the reduction of the customer satisfaction and this result in the derivation of increased reduction in the performance (Halweil, 2006). The establishment of the organizations based on the realization of the goals and objectives and the occurrence of the challenges has affected the realization of these goals and objectives and this has further resulted in the accumulation of losses. Transportation challenge High cost of transportation has continued to be a challenge for the organization because it has increased the value of expenses thereby leading to the reduction in the profit margin. The aspect of high transportation costs has continued to be a challenge for the organization because it has sort to transport the products to the Chinese firms for processing before delivering them back to the United States where majority of the retail stores are located (Halweil, 2006). This incentive is extremely detrimental because it represents channels of misusing the organizations funds. Even though the company is forced to engage the foreign firms in the aspect of processing of the fish products, Wal-Mart spends critical amount of money on transportation and this is reflected on the aspect of reduced profitability. Ideally, it is more beneficial for the company management to consider buying their materials from the American firms because they will significantly enhance realization of cost reduction by a critical margin. The development of this incentive is essential and leads reduction of company goods. Pricing strategy is largely dependent on the activities of the market, customers and the stakeholders (Jung, 2012). The pricing strategy adopted by the organization is focused on the alteration of prices and this may have an impact in reducing the earnings of the organization. Therefore, it is a challenge to the Wal-Mart organization. Wal-Mart Recommendations Over the period, Wal-Mart has continued to experience critical difficulties in their operations and this has resulted in the emergence of sustainability problems and in the realization of high management costs. These two attributes are detrimental for the performance of the organization and it has prompted the organization to seek crucial measures of reducing the dominance of these factors because they will result in the reduction of the market share and consumer satisfaction. Sustainability is extremely important and the company must identify aspect of rationalizing its undertakings to ensure that the attributes of sustainability and high costs are rationalized. This step is increasingly beneficial and has the prospect of increasing the earnings of the organization. Long-term survival of the organization is ideal and this is only achieved through rationalization. In view of the aspects and performance of Wal-Mart, the rising disparities have critical influence in reducing the sustainability of the venture. Therefore, the organization must ensure that they enact critical changes in the organization (Lai, Cheng, & Tang, 2010, Kroll, 2012). As the leading supplier of seafood, the management of the Wal-Mart has enacted measurers to ensure that the company increases its supplies and profitability and these suggestions are recorded as recommendations for development. Adoption of Marine Stewardship Certification (MSC) One of the major challenges that have continued to derail performance of Wal-Mart is the aspect of fluctuation in the supply of fish. In this regard, the management and stakeholder of the company have recommended the transition in the supplies of the inventory where the new propped and recommended supplies are denoted by the MSC certification. Given the rising challenges in the fluctuation of fish supply, the sustainability of the organization has been faced with critical challenges. Therefore, the enactment of MSC certification policies has been adopted to offer solution to this perennial problem that has affected the company (Parkes et al. 2010). This incentive calls for the transition from processing to the usage of the wild caught fish. The transformation to the aspect of wild caught fish is essential and the management of the company must continue to collaborate with the suppliers to ensure that they continue to supply these commodities. In reality, the implementation of this recommendation has been considered as an ideal challenge because it involves the aspect of training the suppliers to attain MSC certification. The award of this certificate takes a period of two years. Apart from this certification, Wal-Mart managers have also called for the development of more processing firms to cater for the high demands. The aspect of transforming to wild caught fish and establishment of more processing firms incentives that will increase the supply of fish to the distribution centers and it will also ensure that the satisfaction of the customers is achieved. MSC certification has also enhanced the adoption of Salmon fish as the preferred fish because of its quality and its availability (Peloza, Loock, Cerruti & Muyot, 2012). Therefore, rationalization of the sustainability and costs through the adoption of MSC has been of immense benefits and has also enhanced increased satisfaction of the customers. There are numerous reasons stating why the provisions of MSC certification should be adopted and one of the integral reasons is that the management of the company will be able to ascertain quality of the fish from the suppliers. Over the period, the company received rising cases of complains and disparities associated with the purchase of stale fish from the suppliers. It’s essential to consider the authenticity inventories as suggested by the certification incentive because this aspect will increase satisfaction of the customers. The strategy to adopt the provisions of marine stewardship certification in the management and processing of the commodities has significantly enhanced participation and development of the organization. This recommendation has been of immense benefit because it has resulted in the aspect of increased collaboration with the stakeholders of the company. The collaboration with the stakeholders and specifically the suppliers has the attribute of enhancing long term sustainability of the organization. Therefore, rationalization of sustainability through MSC is crucial for the realization of long term sustainability of Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart Stores, 2010). Finally, the aspect of partnering with marine stewardship council will be extremely beneficial for Wal-Mart because it will ensure that the standards of operation are advanced as stipulated by the MSC certification. Furthermore, this recommendation will be essential in enabling Wal-Mart to overcome the rising challenges that concern the attributes of quality. Another critical recommendation for enhancing the sustainability of the company and continuity of the supplies is that consideration of adopting other strategies with the aim of ensuring continuity of fish stocks. The presence of fish stocks in the warehouses is essential and results in the continuity of the organization because they are able to offer supplies to the consumers. Wal-Mart has continued to experience the problem of stock depletion and this can be rectified in various aspects. Even though the adoption of MSC incentive by the leading suppliers is an incredible idea of increasing continuity of the flow of fish, the advents of continuous flow of fish can also be achieved through the concept of purchasing fish that has been caught and processed using the sustainable fishing practices. This recommendation is beneficial because it provides the management of Wal-Mart with an opportunity to reduce their costs while maintaining the same policies of the company. The adoption of this recommendation is however faced with one disadvantage because it involves using the provisions and certification policy of the third party and this may challenge the authenticity of the fish purchased from the third party. The aim of adopting this recommendation is to guarantee the company and its participant’s ideal reduction in the costs of operations and an increase in profitability. This has the effect in the long run because it increases the realization of organizational goals and objectives. Finally, this recommendation is based on the consideration of the need to reduce transportations costs because Wal-Mart commodities are transported form transportation in China and Alaska (Lai, Cheng & Tang, 2010). The aspect of making these purchases will enhance reduction in operation costs and increase in the profitability of the company. Hence, the adoption of this recommendation will increase the aspect of sustainability of the company. Environmental concerns Over the period, the operations of Wal-Mart have continued to experience back drop and reduced performance in the market because of the chain contexts of technology. The global regime has witnessed the emergence of critical technological advancement and this has resulted in the development of ideal methods of manufacturing and at the same time preserving the environment. Since the realization of global warming and other adverse environmental conditions, the consumers have also decided to contribute to the attributes of environmental wellbeing through the incentive of supporting environmental friendly companies while sabotaging the companies with practices that affect the wellbeing of the environment. In view of this realization, Wal-Mart has been faced critical factors that have adversely affected the operations of the company (Lai, Cheng & Tang, 2010, Allen, Walker & Brady, 2012). The management of Wal-Mart have not enacted the measures that necessitate stable environment and this has made the consumers to reject some of the products of the company. In order to rectify this attribute, there is the recommendation for Wal-Mart to adopt green technology. Adoption of green technology is an extremely beneficial incentive because it has the attributes of incorporating the aspects of technology into the management and production of the inventories without adversely affecting the environment. This consideration has been of immense benefits and has further increased the participation of the company in the economy of the United States. As the leading retail distributor of seafood in the economy, adoption of green technology is paramount and has ideal depiction on the performance of Wal-Mart. In reality, the competitors in the market initiated ideal company that was based on the environmental and labor factors to outwit the Wal-Mart and its customers (DUKE, 2010). This activity resulted in adverse effects and resulted in the decline in the customer base by 8%. Supplier development and partnership The recommendation to develop suppliers is another critical recommendation that seeks to transform the operations of the Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart development and operation is essential are results in the increased performance of other factors in the market. The management and other stakeholders of the organization have collectively stated the supplier development represents one aspect of attaining sustainable development. The art of building long term relationship with the suppliers is an incentive of greater benefits because the suppliers will have the consideration of forming a formidable relationship with Wal-Mart based on the market factors and joint long term concerns. The formation of the partnership with the suppliers is essential for the realization of sustainability because is fosters the development of nonprofit relationship that is based on dependency. An example of the benefit of this system is depicted by the relationship between the company and the leading fish suppliers (DUKE, 2010). The fish suppliers have undergone the certification of Marine Stewardship Council with the view of long term benefits. The development of this relationship is a beneficial recommendation that involves identification of managerial problems and other adversities faced by the organization. Resolution of the problems is an indication of increased performance and the strengthening of the partnership results in the formation of development. Other crucial benefit attained from the partnership with suppliers involves the strengthening of the management practices, reduction of environmental impacts and rebuilding of stocks (Gallagher, 2006, Gilligan & Wilson, 2009). The conduction of these attributes results in the aspect of increased certification of fisheries and further development of quality of the companies involved. In the wake of the development of these non-profit partners, the Wal-Mart has lost critical amount of profits and it is recommended that the managers should review their depiction of the partnership and individual development. The company has witnessed the advent of financial risks that has resulted I the reduction in the performance of organizational activities. The presence of high number of non-profit networks and individual groups may be detrimental for the realization of profitability because it has the attribute of derailing the usage of finances in the organization. The recordation should be geared towards the development of sound financial management attributes as this increase sustainability and growth of Wal-Mart. Summary The development of the recent past has necessitated the emergence of critical challenges for the business organization. Wal-Mart has continued to offer its services to the consumers as the leading retail dealer in seafood. The operations of Wal-Mart has been characterized by disparities because it has not been able to undertake the attributes of sustainability and long term growth because the profitability paradigm has been reduced by the atrocities in the management and the market. Some of the factors that resulted in the reduction of sustainability are the high cost of transportation, poor technologies amongst others. In order to reduce the detrimental effects of these factors, some of the recommendations have been enacted to enhance changes and these includes the adoption sustainability provisions, adoption of green technology and the establishment sustainability development partners. Finally, analysis conducted across the recommendations has advocated for the establishment of Marine Stewardship Certification. References Allen, M, Walker, K, & Brady, R 2012, 'Sustainability Discourse Within a Supply Chain Relationship: Mapping Convergence and Divergence', Journal Of Business Communication, 49, 3, pp. 210-236, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 April 2013. DUKE, M 2010, 'Next Generation Walmart', Vital Speeches Of The Day, 76, 9, pp. 425-427, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 10 April 2013. 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