Walmart Stores, Inc. And Green Innovation Games Research Papers Examples

Walmart Stores, inc. Background and Corporate Sustainability Efforts

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. just like other major outlets is an international retail company that runs several departmental stores and warehouses in the United States (www.walmart.com). The Walton Family controls the organization because they have 50% of its shares. However, its headquarters are located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Wal-Mart started its operation in 1962 through its founder Sam Walton. Currently, Wal-Mart has more than 11,000 retail stores in 27 nations and employs around 2.2 million workers worldwide.
Walmart’s management understands the importance of corporate sustainability. Sustainability involves meeting the demands of the present generation without destroying the capacity to cover the demands of the following generations (Tencati and Perrini, 2011). The management implemented a sustainability program in 2005 (Seligmann, 2014). The first corporate sustainability effort of the company is protecting the environment. Walmart refurbished its products from lighting bulbs to construction materials. The company renewed its stores to become eco-friendly, energy-effective, and generate fewer greenhouse gases. The organization increased solar panels in all stores, mounted technologies that saved fuel on its vehicles, enhanced its routing system in order to minimize fuel usage, and acquired wind energy.
Currently, Walmart concentrates on maximizing its profits and at the same time meeting the requirements of citizens and communities in the United States. Additionally, Walmart is currently working with many suppliers with the goals of reducing their ecological impact and guarantee their obligation to protect the environment on a long-term basis (Seligmann, 2014). The second goal of Walmart concentrates on selling recyclable and eco-friendly products to consumers. The third goal concentrates on creating zero waste. The retailer has placed many dustbins in different stores and cities in order to curb waste.

Strategies and Managerial Roles Presented in the Green Innovation Games Article

Strategies
The Green Innovation Games article provides four strategies for corporate sustainability. The first strategy is the Rationality Game. The Rationality Game facilitates the creation of value using eco-efficiencies and evolutionary green innovations (Lampikoski, Westerlund, Rajala, and Moller, 2014). Various green innovation processes concentrate on added cost savings, incremental processes, and products improvements, as well as independence.
The second strategy is the Collaborative Game. The Collaborative game creates value through outside partnerships (Lampikoski et al, 2014). It underlines evolutionary improvements in the value structure of familiar trade partners. The game also entails extensive and motivated partnership with partners, suppliers, and new stakeholders in order to inspire, influence, and network with associates to implement and increase ecological methods, process, and practices.
The third strategy is the Radical Game. The Radical game creates revolutionary improvements in experiments and innovative technologies with emergent and ground-breaking business paradigms (Lampikoski et al, 2014). The game facilitates the setting of motivated development objectives for partners and employees. Similarly, the game facilitates and maintains radical experiments through heavy investments on research and development and innovations deployment.
The fourth strategy includes the Clarity Game. The Clarity Game replicates the challenging possibilities of universal green innovation (Lampikoski et al, 2014). The game focuses in corporate sensemaking following organizational complexity created by different actors; competing and analogous logics.

Managerial Roles

The article also provides three key managerial roles for managers in organizational sustainability. The first role is unlockers (Lampikoski et al, 2014). The role is mostly applied in Radical Game and the Rationality Game. It focuses on cognitive paradigms and organizational structures. Some of the necessary tasks of the roles entails challenging the overriding cognitive structures and removes system constraints. Onlookers allow new experiments through trial-and-error. The role also establishes platforms for thinking and brainstorming through new ecological lenses.
The second managerial role is connectors (Lampikoski et al, 2014). Connectors remain relevant in the Rationality Game, Collaboration Game, and the Radical Game. The role concentrates on changes in operation and organizational strategy. Activities of connectors include attaching the ecological vision of organizational culture, leadership, strategy, including stakeholders. The second task of connectors involves linking corporate sustainability with the individual program of the CEO and gaining support from top management. The third task involves linking ecological objectives with employees’ creativity and connecting their talents with resources, knowledge, skills, and partners. The fourth task of connectors includes infusing the scorecards of top leaders with ecological objectives.
The third managerial role provided in the article includes transformers (Lampikoski et al, 2014). Transformers remain relevant in the Clarity Game. The role concentrates on the usage of resources, overriding operational sense, corporate values and culture, including revenues and financials. The role allows organizations to value natural reserves used in financial and accounting reporting. It alters the operational sense to allow recycling of resources rather than destroying them. It enhances short-term objectives driven by profits to sustainable development plans. The role redefines the goal of a business. It concentrates on balancing temporary monetary demands with lasting green vision.
Discussion and Conclusion of how Lampikoski, Westerlund, Rajala, and Moller could Categorize Sustainability Efforts of Walmart Lampikoski et al (2014) define sustainability as meeting demands of the present generation without destroying the capacity of the next generation. Corporate sustainability emphasizes on the advancement of ecological principles and ideologies in business operations and strategies. In doing so, companies eliminate the social and ecological harm resultant from the generation and use of their services and products. Lampikoski, Westerlund, Rajala, and Moller can categorize Walmart as an organization that understands the importance sustainability. The company maximizes its profits without placing its customers in danger. They would categorize the company in the Rationality Game. The main reason for placing Walmart in that category is because Wal-Mart’s management focuses on productivity and cost effectiveness using eco-effectiveness approaches. For instance, the company uses products and processes that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Therefore, the company has upheld its corporate sustainability mandate.

Discussion of Wal-Mart’s managerial roles and their categorization by Lampikoski, Westerlund, Rajala, and Moller

Walmart maintains several managerial roles. The first role is the connectors’ responsibility. The role is evident within the company since Walmart’s management bonds corporate sustainability with operations of the company through a motivated roadmap. The top management at the company is also involved in the ecological objectives of the company. The company provides budget and incentives that support the development of green products. Walmart also involves its employees in protecting the environment. The second managerial role of Walmart includes transformers. Walmart redefined its goals in order to accommodate processes that advance the interest of the company and the consumers, stakeholders, and those involved in its operations. The company generates recyclable materials rather than destroying them. The company remains cautious to avoid environmental destruction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Walmart has topped the Fortune 500 list for two consecutive years since its implementation of the sustainability program. Its ability to redefine its future organizational objectives ensured that profits remain high and at the same time protect people and the environment. The top management has also contributed to the success because they brainstorm ideas on how to create eco-friendly products and services. That success also originates from connecting corporate strategy, stakeholders, culture, and employees with its ecological vision. Therefore, companies should uphold corporate sustainability in order to maximize their profits and also protect people and the environment.

References

Charles, F. (2006). The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works—and How It's Transforming the American Economy. New York: The Penguin Press.
Lampikoski, T, Westerlund, M., Rajala, R., & Moller, K. (2014). Green Innovation Games: Value Creation Strategies for Corporate Sustainability. California Management Review, 57(1), 88-116.
Seligmann, P. (2014). Walmart: The Corporate Empire’s Big Step for Sustainability. Accessed on April 10, 2015 from http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/walmart-sustainability-corporate-environment-conservation-suppliers
Tencati, E. & Perrini, F. (2011). Business Ethical and Corporate Sustainability. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Walmart Website (2015). Walmart Retrieved from www.walmart.com