As You've Learned This Week, The Control Process Is E 898045

As You've Learned This Week The Control Process Is Essential To The A

As you've learned this week, the control process is essential to the achievement of goals. It allows a business to track their progress, make adjustments, and stay on schedule for what they're trying to achieve. Your chosen goal from the strategic management project needs these same types of controls. This course project assignment will task you with creating a detailed control process for that goal. Think through all of the departments that might be involved in the completion of the goals and how they'll need to be tracked.

The course content from this week can be very useful in providing details on strategies and ideas for control processes. Some additional research will also prove useful. This assignment should be at least two pages in length and complete the following: Identify four separate strategies that you will use to control your strategic goal. For each strategy: Identify which aspect or metric of the goal they're controlling. Explain the reasoning and value behind the control choice.

Identify the control as feed forward, concurrent, or feedback. As an example, if my goal is to "decrease the amount of defective parts made on my assembly line by 5%", I could control it through regular maintenance checks (feed forward), thorough employee training on the machines (feed forward), and a software system that monitors production while it's happening and can print off detailed reports after work is completed (concurrent and feedback). You will need to go into much more detail on the structure, process, and purpose of your control methods, but this should give you a good idea of how to complete this assignment. Really think through how you'll keep up to speed with company progress on your strategic management goal. Company if needed to be entered into assignment I've chosen this semester is Walmart.

Paper For Above instruction

Effective strategic control mechanisms are vital to ensuring that organizational goals are achieved efficiently and effectively. For a retail giant like Walmart, implementing a comprehensive control process aligned with strategic objectives is crucial. This paper outlines four control strategies tailored for Walmart's strategic goal of expanding its e-commerce market share by 15% within the next fiscal year. Each strategy incorporates different control types—feed forward, concurrent, and feedback—and emphasizes specific metrics to monitor progress, with detailed explanations of their structure, purpose, and value.

1. Real-time Inventory Monitoring System (Concurrent Control)

Walmart's expansion into e-commerce necessitates precise inventory management across online and physical stores. Implementing a real-time inventory monitoring system allows Walmart to track stock levels, order processing times, and product availability continuously. This control involves interconnected RFID-enabled shelves, automated order update systems, and centralized data dashboards accessible by department managers.

The primary metric controlled is inventory turnover rate and stockout occurrences. Monitoring these metrics in real time ensures that stock levels meet customer demand, preventing delays and lost sales. The value of this control lies in its ability to immediately identify discrepancies or shortages, enabling swift corrective actions. This concurrent control ensures alignment with sales targets and customer satisfaction goals by providing up-to-the-minute data, reducing overstock and understock risks.

2. Customer Feedback and Satisfaction Surveys (Feedback Control)

Understanding customer perceptions regarding the online shopping experience is vital for Walmart's strategic expansion. Conducting regular customer satisfaction surveys post-purchase and after customer service interactions provides valuable feedback on service quality, website usability, and delivery timeliness. These surveys are systematically analyzed to identify trends, areas for improvement, and success indicators.

The control focuses on customer satisfaction scores and net promoter scores (NPS). As feedback control, these surveys serve to evaluate the effectiveness of current initiatives and inform adjustments in real time or through periodic reviews. The value of this control is rooted in its ability to provide direct customer insights, fostering continuous improvement in service offerings, thereby increasing loyalty and repeat business, which are essential for capturing additional e-commerce market share.

3. Monthly Sales Performance Reviews (Feedback Control)

Sales data analysis provides crucial insights into the progress against sales targets and market penetration goals. Walmart conducts monthly reviews of online and in-store sales figures, comparing actual sales against projected metrics for growth in specific regions or demographics. This control helps assess whether marketing campaigns, promotions, and operational adjustments are effective.

The key metrics controlled here include daily sales volumes, conversion rates, and regional sales growth. Using sales dashboards and analytics tools, managers identify underperforming sectors and allocate resources accordingly. As a feedback control, this process facilitates strategic recalibration—such as marketing realignment or stock distribution adjustments—to stay aligned with the overarching goal of e-commerce expansion. Its value lies in promoting data-driven decision-making, ensuring that sales trends are promptly addressed to maximize revenue growth.

4. Employee Training and Compliance Audits (Feed Forward Control)

Employee competence directly impacts customer experience and operational efficiency. Preemptively enhancing staff skills and ensuring compliance with new e-commerce protocols serve as a feed forward control to prevent future issues. Walmart implements comprehensive training programs for staff involved in online order processing, customer service, and logistics, with scheduled assessments to reinforce knowledge and skills.

The controlled aspects include employee performance metrics, compliance adherence rates, and training completion percentages. This proactive control helps identify skill gaps before they impact customer satisfaction or operational efficiency. The value of this control resides in reducing errors, streamlining processes, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement—all critical for scaling up e-commerce operations effectively and smoothly.

Conclusion

Strategic control processes are integral to steering Walmart towards its goal of increasing e-commerce market share. Combining concurrent, feedback, and feed forward controls across various aspects—from inventory and customer satisfaction to sales performance and employee readiness—ensures comprehensive oversight. Effective implementation of these controls facilitates timely adjustments, data-informed decisions, and proactive measures, ultimately empowering Walmart to achieve its strategic ambitions efficiently.

References

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