Emergent or Deliberate Strategies
Wal-Mart
Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart in the early 1960 with his vision of keeping prices as low as possible. Wal-Mart’s mission has always been ‘Always Low Prices’ which was the result of Sam Walton’s beliefs when he first started Wal-Mart. These beliefs were Respect for Individual, Service to customers and Strive for excellence. Wal-Mart strategy was a deliberate strategy from the very first day Wal-Mart was started. .Wal-Mart mission of low prices and excellent customer service is the backbone behind each and very strategy implemented by Wal-Mart. Every step that Wal-Mart took to attain the lowest possible prices resulted in some of the greatest deliberate strategies that Wal-Mart implemented like cutting edge technology, a corporate frugal culture and a constant push to suppliers to get the lowest possible prices.
The technology strategy implemented by forced the retail industry to establish the universal bar code which led to all suppliers/manufacturers to adopt a common labeling which created a shift of power and information database from manufacturers to retailers. The strategy made Wal-Mart a pioneer in supply chain management. Wal-Mart’s quest for low prices led it to import almost 60% of its merchandise from outside of US. Wal-Mart has pursued the low cost leadership strategy deliberately from the start to align to its mission.
Wal-Mart’s foray into the global market is more of an emergent strategy. Wal-Mart offers value through economies of scope .Wal-Mart’s entry into UK was done by purchasing a grocery store chain. It expanded into Canada by acquiring Woolco which was floundering at that time this acquisition was made. This tells us that Wal-Mart’s international expansion is as much emergent and opportunistic.
IBM
IBM’s strategy is a deliberate strategy. The company strives to lead in innovating, development and manufacture of advanced information technologies. IBM strategy was to implement these advanced technologies to as many areas as
Sam Walton opened the first Wal-Mart in the early 1960 with his vision of keeping prices as low as possible. Wal-Mart’s mission has always been ‘Always Low Prices’ which was the result of Sam Walton’s beliefs when he first started Wal-Mart. These beliefs were Respect for Individual, Service to customers and Strive for excellence. Wal-Mart strategy was a deliberate strategy from the very first day Wal-Mart was started. .Wal-Mart mission of low prices and excellent customer service is the backbone behind each and very strategy implemented by Wal-Mart. Every step that Wal-Mart took to attain the lowest possible prices resulted in some of the greatest deliberate strategies that Wal-Mart implemented like cutting edge technology, a corporate frugal culture and a constant push to suppliers to get the lowest possible prices.
The technology strategy implemented by forced the retail industry to establish the universal bar code which led to all suppliers/manufacturers to adopt a common labeling which created a shift of power and information database from manufacturers to retailers. The strategy made Wal-Mart a pioneer in supply chain management. Wal-Mart’s quest for low prices led it to import almost 60% of its merchandise from outside of US. Wal-Mart has pursued the low cost leadership strategy deliberately from the start to align to its mission.
Wal-Mart’s foray into the global market is more of an emergent strategy. Wal-Mart offers value through economies of scope .Wal-Mart’s entry into UK was done by purchasing a grocery store chain. It expanded into Canada by acquiring Woolco which was floundering at that time this acquisition was made. This tells us that Wal-Mart’s international expansion is as much emergent and opportunistic.
IBM
IBM’s strategy is a deliberate strategy. The company strives to lead in innovating, development and manufacture of advanced information technologies. IBM strategy was to implement these advanced technologies to as many areas as
References: http://www-935.ibm.com/services/us/gbs/bus/pdf/g510-5092-ibm-strategy-and-change-services-tech-strat.pdf http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/background.wss http://ir.homedepot.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=184769 http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states/479850-1.html http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20050114/ai_n11501708?tag=rel.res3 www.walmart.com http://www.cardinal.com/us/en/aboutus/history/index.asp http://library.corporateir.net/library/10/105/105735/items/263024/2007_Cardinal_Health_Annual_Report.pdf