Scenario: Walmart
The U.S. Justice Department is suing Walmart, alleging that it unlawfully dispensed controlled substances through its pharmacies. This is on top of other civil lawsuits against Walmart from states and city governments and individuals for filling opioid prescriptions.
As background, go to NPR’s December 23, 2020, article on https://www.npr.org/2020/12/23/949525020/walmart-is-latest-big-name-company-embroiled-in-opioid-crisis
Additional background information can be found at:
Walmart’s: https://www.walmartethics.com/content/walmartethics/en_us/code-of-conduct.html
Glassdoor’s: https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/learn-best-walmart-builds-corporate-culture/
You work for Walmart’s marketing team and are now on the marketing crisis team. You need to develop a strategy to address this issue.
Discussion Issues
1. For this situation, identify what you consider to be the main marketing-related problem for this scenario. Add any additional research and citations needed to support your statements.
2. To address this problem, recommend a strategic goal for external marketing. Analyze the pros and cons of this plan.
3. Recommend an internal marking implementation strategy that would fit the marketing culture of Walmart and indicate the pros and cons of this approach.
4. Specify how you should evaluate your strategic plan’s success.
