Navigating Walmarts Foreign Expansion: Optimizing Leadership Strategies

Abstract

Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date Walmart Analysis for Leadership Final Paper Preparing Walmart to Operate in a Foreign Market Companies expanding into foreign markets should consider the business culture of the target nation and how it affects the consumers’ and employees’ expectations from the business. Walmart operates primarily in North America in the United States and in Canada. The business culture for both markets is primarily the same with the needs of the stakeholders do not differ in these markets. While considering foreign growth, however, the organization must consider the leadership model that best matches the target market. Leadership styles determine the communication style that leaders use and the process of decision0making in the organization. One of the challenges that company leaders face is the means to achieve change in the organization while maintaining optimum performance. Managing change affects how companies cope with threats and take advantage of new opportunities and the approach differs depending on the culture. The leadership model analysis aims at determining the best choice for leadership styles in a foreign market expansion for Walmart. The company would have to accommodate the culture of the employees and the consumers from the country and will affect the behavior and the activities of the leaders. Walmart could employ the authoritarian leadership model during its expansion to new markets as the primary style for employee and managers’ interactions. This leadership model defines a style where the leaders spell clearly the long-term goals of the organization and the expectations that they have for their employees. In an authoritarian leadership model, the responsibility of making decisions lies with the leaders and there is minimum involvement of the employees who may be affected by the decisions that the managers make (Yao et al., 2022). Such leadership is important when the goal of the organization it to adjust to rapid changes in the business environment and accommodate change in the firm. The authoritarian leader provides clear communication to the subordinates and they are expected to provide accurate and comprehensive reports of their participation in organizational change. Each individual in the organization knows and adheres to the ranks of leadership and follows the regulations of the managers in the organization. Organizations where authoritarian leadership is established follow specific guidelines on the organizational structure of the company. The reporting is strict and is appropriate where the workers require strict guidelines and direction on how to perform their duties. Additionally, the managers want to ensure that the sharing of responsibilities is strict and that the employees understand their responsibilities in the organization (Obi et al., 2022). Consequently, it is important that the employees follow the guidelines to avoid failures within the organization and ensure that they align their actions with those of the team. Decision-making takes a significantly shorter time in authoritative leadership since there is minimal consultation between the leaders and their subordinate. It is expected that the managers have full knowledge of the goals of the organization and the expectations of the stakeholders of the company (Pizzolitto et al., 2022). Therefore, the employees are expected to perform to their level best with the resources available and the instructions of their managers in their team. There is strict sharing of responsibilities between the employees and the managers with limited overlapping duties among individuals in the firm. Despite the leadership model increasing efficiency where employees work under direct supervision of their bosses, it limits the contribution of the workers in decision-making. The most essential limitation for authoritative leadership is the assumption that there should be distinct differences among the roles of the employees and their managers. Consequently, the team members have no opportunity to contribute to the performance of the group even when they have ideas on ways to meet the company’s goals. The manages make decisions solely on the information they have about the team’s abilities without considering insights from the team members. This is an important limitation particularly when working with people from a foreign country and culture (Du et al., 2020). The team members may have important insights on how they would want the team to move forwards and their views about the consumers’ expectations. When seeking growth across cultural barriers, it is critical to consider the values and the expectations of the people in the target market to determine the way forward for the organization. Alternatively, Amazon could use a different approach when expanding to a foreign culture to accommodate the experiences of the people in the new market. In particular, a transformational approach to leadership would focus on identifying and changing the culture of the organization to match the internal and external environment. Companies may focus on transformational leadership to accommodate the views and experiences of individuals within the organization. It is important to consider the factors that define the needs of the people in the organization and how this affects change in the company. A company that employs the transformational leadership model identifies that there are constant changes within the organization that affect the needs of the workers and other stakeholders (Kurniawati & Sulaeman, 2022). The goal of the organization is to provide an environment that is accommodative of the needs of all the people within the firm while focusing on long-term goals. A key advantage of the leadership style is that it empowers the people within the organization and improves morale among the employees. Transformational leaders should ensure that their actions are in line with the combined needs of the employees as well as the goals of the organization. To accomplish this objective, they should ensure that they establish sufficient communication channels between the teams and their leaders. Determining the changing dynamics and experiences of the employees improves the capacity of the employees to accommodate the needs of the stakeholders. According to Popescu (2022), transformational leaders often engage with their subordinates to collect information about planned changes and propose new ideas on the way forward. A transformational leader should ensure that the planned changes in the organization align with the expectations and the needs of the workers. Therefore, this brings the employees onboard with the planned developments in the company and ensures that they are able to meet the obligations of the stakeholders (Zhao & Huang, 2022). A transformational leader is able to distinguish between organizational goals and the individuals’ needs to ensure that all stakeholders’ needs are met. The communication model for transformational leadership style is important since it improves the sharing of ideas among the employees and manages. Transformational leadership improves the employees’ morale and this translates to lower turnover costs for organizations. Maintaining a motivated workforce improves the retention of employees and reduces the cost of hiring and training new workers. Additionally, transformational leaders transform the organization into a more productive workplace by merging the needs of the employees with those of the company. It is important that businesses establish a sustainable workforce where the short-term and long-term goals of the organizations are met. By engaging the employees in decision-making, companies employ new ideas and proposals from the workers to facilitate change in the organization (Zhao & Huang, 2022). Transformational leaders change threats to opportunities by facilitating positive change in the organization. Additionally, the company implements changes that resolve problems while adjusting to the new threats in the work environment. Despite the advantages, transformational leadership may pose threats if it is not implemented appropriately to match the needs of the employees. The workers may feel that they are being controlled as opposed to being engaged by their leaders in the organization. When investing in New Zealand, companies should consider the culture of the country in line with how it applies to the culture of the country. New Zealand business culture is egalitarian where people expect to be engaged in decision-making especially in factors affecting their work environment. Walmart should enforce leadership policies that address the needs of the employees in the workplace while meeting the organizational goals. A company should further invest in addressing the expectations of the employees in an environment that focuses on empowering the workforce (Popescu, 2022). Importantly, a leader should have good communication skills that ensures they are able to address the changes in the organization and identify the needs of the employees. A cultural assessment of New Zealand shows that leaders should be able to work closely with their employees to ensure improve the flow of information among hierarchies. It is important for leaders in New Zealand to form teamwork among the individuals in the organization. Leaders need to accommodate the views of other people and encourage positive and negative feedback among the individuals in the organization. It is critical to present oneself as a member of the team as opposed to the sole decision-maker among the peers. This means encouraging conversation while at the same time making important decisions to facilitate action in the organization. Transformational leaders would be equipped to handle the transition from the United States/Canadian market to New Zealand for Walmart. The company should employ a leadership model that accommodates the egalitarian business environment for the company during the transition. Analysis of New Zealand as a Potential Foreign Market for Walmart The demographics of the New Zealand population influences the people’s culture and the business culture in the country. Therefore, the decision of Walmart to invest in the country should be based on the demographic and economic analysis of the country (Sajjad et al., 2020). While the organization has predominantly focused on large economies in North America, it is critical to diversify into potential smaller economies around the world. The global plan for Walmart will determine how the organization takes advantage of opportunities in new markets and its overall global strategy. The company should consider expansion in New Zealand since its unique cultural composition offers an opportunity to tap into the new market. The country is located in Oceania and is composed of two major islands with over 700 small islands. The North and South Islands have the greatest economic development and contain major cities including Tauranga, Auckland, Wellington, and Hamilton. Most of the 5.1 million people in New Zealand live in these major cities...