Question 1: Who are the stakeholders of Wal-Mart in Mexico?

Answer:
Market Stakeholders: The Stockholders The Wal-Mart Executives The Employees The Communities where Wal-Mart is located Consumers Non-profit Organizations Other Retailers Online Retailers Gasoline Retailers Non-Market Stakeholders: Labor Unions International Retail Stores Politicians

Question 2: What external environmental factors have Wal-mar t taken into consideration for its business? Answer:
External environmental factors that Wal-Mart have taken into consideration are describing below through
PESTLE analysis:

Political
Wal-Mart made sure that they were aware of the political situation of every country they have operated in and the company has made sure that it has a reasonable position with regards to political issues. Wal-Mart is continuously prepared for any problems concerning the political sector.

Economic
Wal-Mart can be said to be economically stable for the past years. Its economic stature is doing well thats why they try to improve their products to give the best to their clients. It is not only the internal economic situation of the company should be taken note of but also the economy of the country, Wal-Mart checks first the economic status of the country they are operating in before making decisions if they will have a branch in that area.

Social
Wal-Mart makes sure that the products they offer will be accepted by the public. Wal-Mart does not authorize the delivery of some products they know will cause outbursts or complains from different groups in the society. Wal-Mart makes sure that they have a very good relationship with different sector in the society although some sectors hold a grudge towards them. Wal-Mart also engages in social activities that tend to develop a better relationship between them, the clients and the society they are operating in.

Technological
Wal-Mart offered new innovations in its technological aspect and introduced new concepts with regards to its industry. Wal-Mart makes use of highly advanced cash register or better performing slot machines. It also makes use of better security systems. Since technology rapidly changes Wal-Mart makes sure they are updated to what is happening and they can adjust to these changes. If other companies use new technologies to provide services, Wal-Mart has the technology capable of competing with such technologies.

Legal
Wal-Mart makes sure that it follows the different laws of a country they engage transaction in. The company doesnt want to risk their clients welfare and company image by breaking local and international laws Wal-Mart makes sure that the transactions they engage in will have a legal basis and will be sanctioned by local or international legal organizations.

Question 3: Has the company taken any business risks in Mexico? Discuss. Answer:
Wal-Mart Has taken business risks in Mexico by Offering Financial Services. Mexico is a leading example, with at least ten retail networks involved in financial services.

Retailers like Elektra offer credit card services in addition to being a bank agent and offering payment services. Supermarket chains like Soriana offer simplified savings accounts.
If wal-mart will operate in-store banking service they may encounter some of disadvantage (considered as a risk) which are describing below

Designing own and new financial products is very costly and time consuming for the bank. Customers are attracted towards other financial products like mutual funds etc. Though banks are investing heavily in technology, they are not able to exploit the same to the full extent. A major disadvantage is monitoring and follows up of huge volume of loan accounts inducing banks to spend heavily in human resource department. The volume of amount borrowed by a single customer is very low as compared to wholesale banking. This does not allow banks to exploit the advantage of earning huge profits from single customer as in case of wholesale banking.

Question 4: Who were the most important Mexican stakeholders for the company? Answer:
There are many groups and individuals who have a stake in what Wal-Mart does. These stakeholders can be divided into two groups: the market and non-market stakeholders. The market stakeholders are those groups and individuals who have an economic stake in what the company does. The non-market stakeholders are those groups and individuals who have a non-economic stake or political stake in what course the company takes. The most important Mexican stakeholders for the company are -

1. The Stockholders
The first group that has an economic stake in what Wal-Mart does is its shareholders. These are the people who actually own shares of Wal-Mart and therefore are interesting in seeing a return on their investment. They hope the value of their stock will rise and they will see dividends. According to the 2001 Annual Report, last year, Wal-Mart paid out $.24 per share in dividends (Annual Report 2001, 45).

2. The Wal-Mart Executives

The top executives of Wal-Mart also have an economic stake in the company just as the regular stockholders do. Many of the top executives received stock options are part of their salary. Obviously, they want their stock value to rise because a large part of their compensation comes from how well the Wal-Mart stock is doing

3. The Employees
While some of the employees may have stock in the company, many of them have an economic stake in the company just because their job is their primary source of income. They want Wal-Mart to do well because then they will keep their job.

4. Consumers
Consumers have a stake in how well Wal-Mart is doing. According to the 2001 Annual Report, Wal-Mart is the country's largest grocery retailer (Annual Report 2001, 7) and therefore many people rely on Wal-Mart for their groceries.