SWOT Analysis
Question 1
Gogoi P. (2007). “Wal-Mart’s New Growth Opportunities”. July 16, 2012. http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-10-09/wal-marts-new-growth-opportunitiesbusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice
Kiran R. & Jhamb D. (2011). “A strategic Framework for Consumer Preferences in Emerging Markets”. Journal of Emerging Knowledge on Emerging Markets. 3
Kushner (2010). “Costco Scores High Marks on Consumer Reports Survey”. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/HouseandHome/consumer-reports-survey-customers-choose-costco/story?id=10797478#.UARPMZGYJQw
Liedtke M. (2011). “U.S. Companies Feel the Impact of Europe’s Financial Mess”. http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/story/2011-11-19/europe-crisis-affects-us-businesses/51300498/1
Wal-Mart Stores (2012). “Wal-Mart 2012 Annual Report”. July 16, 2012. http://www.walmartstores.com/sites/annual-report/2012/WalMart_AR.pdf
Information concerning opportunities and threats is readily available on the internet. Threats and opportunities refer to factors that are external to the organization but which have an impact on the organization (Griffin, 2012). Opportunities present advantages to the business while threats present risks to the business. Analysis threats and opportunities will focus on issues such as; competition, technological changes, changes in the political, social and economic environments. Information about Wal-Mart’s external environment is readily available on the internet. This information can be accessed from online journals, government websites, company websites and internet based news organs such as “The Wall Street Journal”. Weaknesses and Strengths are internal business factors which have an impact on the performance of the company.
Analysis of strength and weakness will involve analysis of issues such as the organization financial performance, marker share, organization efficiency and human resource issues (Griffin, 2012). Wal-Mart is a public company, and therefore certain information, such as financial performance, is readily available on the on internet. This information can be accessed from company’s online annual reports, company websites and other news sites. However, there certain information, such as human resource performance and information concerning routine operation of the business, that is not readily available.
Question 2
1.Wal-Mart 2012 Annual Report
This would be considered the most reliable source of information. An annual report is a comprehensive summary of the organization’s financial performance. Every public company is expected to submit this report after the conclusion of each financial year in order to promote accountability to the shareholders. There usually strict rules concerning the filing of this report in order to ensure accurate reporting.
2.Kiran R. & Jhamb D. (2011). “A strategic Framework for Consumer Preferences in Emerging Markets”
This is scholarly article that has been published in a peer reviewed journal. This means that the content of the article has been reviewed by professional in the relevant field for reliability and accuracy. This implies that the content of the article has met the professional standards that govern publications within the field.
3. Gogoi P. (2007). “Wal-Mart’s New Growth Opportunities”.
4. Kushner (2010). “Costco Scores High Marks on Consumer Reports Survey”. ABC News.
5. Liedtke M. (2011). “U.S. Companies Feel the Impact of Europe’s Financial Mess”
The three sources above are new paper articles. Though these sources have not been reviewed to evaluate their reliability and accuracy, they are written by professional journalists, who have great expertise in the business field.
Question 3
As a manager, I would be confident in using information sources that were selected from the internet to make strategic decisions. This is because these sources have been carefully selected and evaluated for their reliability. Sources which are likely to give biased or unreliable information, such as information sharing websites, have been excluded in order to enhance the accuracy of the information gathered. Information may also be obtained from other sources including; company records, government records and periodicals.
Reference
Griffin R. (2011). “Management 10th Ed”. USA. Cengage Learning
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