Walmarts Ecomonic Status

Nicole Alonzo

GB540-02: Economics for Global Decision Makers

Unit 5 Assignment

Dr.: Barbara-Leigh Tonelli

May 31, 2012

I. Introduction

II. Relevance to the Firm

A, The employment cost index

B. Productivity and its cost

C. Gross Domestic Product

D. Seasonality

E. The consumer confidence index

F. Durable goods report

G. The retail sale report

III. Strategy

IV. Response to the Information

V. Goals for years ahead

Introduction

Wal-Mart is number one in the fortune 500 list and the largest company in the world. There are economic indicators that are of particular importance to Wal-Mart. The employment cost index, productivity and its cost, gross domestic product, the consumer price index, the consumer confidence index, durable goods report and the retail sale report are all indicators that are important to Wal-Mart and the company’s growth. There is an outline of the strategic plan that Wal-Mart should use to respond to the information provided by the economic indicators. The company’s overall goal is maximizing revenues in the years to come. Wal-Mart would use the strategic plan to avoid any issue with these economic indicators.

Relevance to the Firm

Each economic indicator has particular importance to Wal-Mart for a specific reason. The company is a one stop shop and provides different services and the indicators would help maintain Wal-Mart’s reputation of quality product at a low cost. Economic indicators have a huge impact on Wal-Mart’s current and future endeavors.

The employment cost index

The employment cost index provides a quarterly report of compensation costs The ECI is an index-based indicator that presents the changes in wages, bonuses and benefits from the previous quarter, displayed on a per-hour basis (Labor, 2012). This indicator would allow Wal-Mart to stay competitive with the information on compensation rate and benefits. It would also assist in calculating Wal-Mart...