The lecture today by Professor Li Yuelin related to competitive intelligence. As we discussed the methods of web browser research along with surveys and interviews to gain insights to competitor's companies, one company stuck out in my mind as having successfully implemented competitive intelligence that which is Wal-Mart. While researching the home page of Wal-Mart I found their mission statement to be, "We save people money so they can live better". Given the current economy I don't think there is a better statement in which to hit the market.
Wal-Mart not only operates in all states of America but also in other countries, such as China using this same mission. With the economy in a slump, people still want to maintain their current living conditions, but would like lower prices. Wal-Mart offers just that with quality products at low prices. They even offer a match guarantee by allowing customers to shop around and if they find another store that offers a lower price it will match it as long as the products are the same. Professor Liu Jianhua's lecture stated that the Chinese look for a cheaper price hence the bartering system offered here. Wal-Mart fits into the Chinese lifestyle along with American's lifestyle by adapting to lower prices without having customers suffer quality of the products. We also discussed companies gaining competitive advantages by proposing more than their competitors. Wal-Mart does this by offering extra services other than just a supermarket, such as banking and pharmaceutical services. The idea of adapting to cultures in international business was demonstrated by the Tasly Company as well by saying they must market their products differently in diverse countries. By studying the Chinese culture I feel I'm gaining a personal competitive advantage by being able to conduct business effectively with the Chinese. Hopefully I will be able to devise a statement someday for my company that will be adaptable internationally like Wal-Mart has.
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