Robinson Walton
- My name is Robinson Walton, and I took control of the Company in 1992 upon my father’s death, Sam Walton. My father is the founder of Walmart and the eldest son of Sam and Helena Walmart. Born and raised in the US, I attended the University of Arkansas and Columbia Law School where I perused my education. Being a multibillion company based in the US, Walmart has over ten thousand stores across the globe. Currently, the Company is operated by both the second and third-generation children of Sam Walton. In this regard, John Furner is presently the named president and CEO of Walmart Inc. after the Company changed its legal name from Walmart stores to Walmart Inc. On the other hand, James’s son, Steuart, is on the board of the Company as the second generation prepares for the transition to the third generation. The strengths we face include deeper infiltration than other retailers and a reputation that precedes us. Weaknesses include developing technologies that force out of physical stores. However, embracing e-commerce has been one of our prospects lately, thus facilitating the buying and selling of products online to our customers.
- The Company is different from the earlier days in the sense that technology has facilitated selling and buying of products across all stores in the contemporary world. In this prospect, there are Walmart websites where one can purchase products online without going to the store physically. The defining moment in the history of the Company is when the Company bought thirty thousand shares that depicted the prosperity of the Company globally. I believe the Company’s future will be marked by the pursuit of green energy and the influence of AI.
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- The Walmart Company has four cultural attributes, namely, respect for customers and people, service to the clients, strive for prosperity, and Integrity. These narratives relate to our moral values as a family in pursuance of social growth and developments in society. Through this perspective, the Company provides organizational charity work that empowers social participation and inclusivity hence promoting social development. Additionally, with the provision of quality products at lower prices, we tend to maintain cultural values as a family, Company, and as a society.
- Challenges faced by the Company include the price pressure in the sense that many stores are providing low prices of products due to the economic recovery of the country. This notion has been out of the strategy for a long time and that it forces the Company to cut its prices even more to increase the profit margins. We prefer both bold and proactive methods towards risks where we seek to find and solve the problems earlier before they become significant. The approached does not vary, and both management and the family practice it. However, Steuart approaches are more analytical compared to James and myself. Our method towards risk had to change with time as we embraced the analytical perception of Steuart through the use of big data that identifies patterns of threats and countermeasures in the industry. We do favor a niche strategy at times.
- The Company’s innovations mostly focus on processing and marketing in the sense that we tend to be creative in providing solutions in the competitive market by delivering products. The external drivers of marketing are the target audience. For instance, young people tend to shop online, and it is our duty as a company to embrace online shopping, marketing, processing, and delivering of products to the online customer. In this regard, there was a time when we thought about moving ultimately to e-commerce then shun our physical stores. We regarded the initiative as a risk and later settled on both online operations and physical stores. With all innovations over the past and present years, the most significant today is the delivery application system used in Mexico and its environs.
- I would say that we engage in both radical and incremental innovation, depending on the locations’ prerogative. For example, we prefer a radical approach in the US and Canada to incremental method. We use incremental process in countries such as Mexico, where we are yet to study the market diversity proficiently. In 2006, the $4 plan facilitated the reduction cost of medicine while it enhanced the competitive landscape of the Company. Technology innovations have been at the forefront in the Company today, and I acknowledge Walmart’s efforts to create an application that allows customers to access products in the online and physical stores.
- The Company has an innovation center where concepts and designs get nurtured by the innovation team before they get to the management for implementation. We do have timeframes on ROI for purposes, although this is relative. Usually, Walmart has shorter timeframes compared to other non-family owned organizations. For instance, members of the Company, including managers, employees, and the Walton family, came up with most ground-breaking ideas, although each has to undergo a due process before its incorporation.
- The Company has an executive team that runs Research and development programs, and smaller units in various countries that facilitate research and development. I have managed the establishment of joint ventures and other startups for Walmart as a board member and owner. The reduced shareholding in Walmart Company as a family gives the management a higher position in identifying, facilitating, and making resolutions on which inventions to front. The Company uses prototypes as a way of identifying riskier radical innovations and their perceived impacts. Having visionary corporate governance and a young analytical team to assist on innovations and inventions is preferable and the best approach. Time, efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction come out as performance metrics for the radical change, which defer from cost variance for incremental. We are mindful of the changing world and can be willing to act where there is a need.
- Yes, Walmart Company gives preference to self-financing innovations and considers partnerships where there is no enough capital to cater to the project or the innovation. As a multibillion public company, private-public associations proved to be significant in the sense that the use of the legacy business approach gives private companies the strength to uphold innovations while building the Walmart brands.
- We care about our employees through the provision of rewards and promotions yearly. In most cases, we enable them to take part in innovative roles and visit the innovation hub upon unfounded credible invention and innovation. Also, these new ideas are compensated through promotions and rewards. Therefore, the bonuses and promotions motivate employees to provide new ideas that can be used to develop the state of Walmart, and constructive criticism is offered where necessary. As described earlier, the Company plays an essential role in social development through charity work in most communities hence promoting the social wellbeing of individuals. Additionally, employee motivation begets employee mentoring and an increase in various startups, and the opening of stores in other countries has enhanced job creation in the contemporary world, thus community engagement.
- Social impact, in this case, has engaged community members in innovations, job creation, and social development as we consider the impact of our family and its operations concerning values and ethics in Walmart Company in pursuance of excellence and positivity in the society. The results are reflected in the Company’s vision and practices.
- We articulate the family values since Walmart’s inception in 1962 in our company documents and website. We have detailed historical events on the Company’s website that depict the values and ethics of our family since the inception of Walmart. Discussions within the family on our role in the business are regular as we even meet to solve inevitable challenges.
- Our investment over the past years has impacted the twenty-first century in the sense that technology through the internet has promoted globalization, and the world is becoming a global village. As described earlier, technology continues to play a crucial role in the Company. Therefore, we seek to use technology to promote efficiency and manage product deliveries as we create a more connected world. Also, we utilize technology in our efforts to promote the use of green energy.
- Social impacts are activities that take longer economic prospects in a manner likely to suggest that there is a massive investment in societal projects and innovations in terms of funds and time. We tend to use the help of experts to know various timeframes within the projects. The measurement taken during societal activities involves social factors such as health conditions in an area, living standards, and employment abilities. During Sam Walton’s era, he considered his role in improving the community as more important compared to earning profits within the Company. In this regard, social impact only assures longevity in the industry across the globe.
- The Company also prioritize national and global concerns, and our store managers embrace the same at the local level within the US and other countries. Prioritizing such issues helps the Company to be at par with the current affairs and matters that might affect the Company positively hence increase in profit margins. As mentioned earlier, we prefer our family values, and aligning them with the business venture whenever necessary is the best approach for the Company’s growth. For example, we aim at employing more people as we eradicate poverty and promote access to services. We use about 2.3 million people globally, and the numbers will grow. This narrative is fostered across generations.
- In my mind, I believed you were going to ask the incorporation of the Walton family in our business and whether our family is likely to terminate or maintain doing business with them. At this particular time, I am not sure what the future generation holds and whether they will decide that the Company should operate separately as a family. The initiative is risky, but we will keep our shares if the future generation prefers to operate independently. If the Company happens to work as a family, it will outsource the business interest by offering other family members active roles in management among other departments hence promoting productivity.