Innovation iNSPIRED: Breaking the Rules of Retail
Sam Walton was once laughed out of the room by executives of the company he worked for. He had shared his ideas to expand their market to under-served rural Americans by cutting prices, cutting out the middle man, and providing easier access to goods with bigger and more stores. His ideas rejected, he decided to do it himself.
He started his own trucking system and let store managers, not the top executives, make major purchasing decisions. He always had strong connections with his customers and kept innovating. For Sam Walton, the status quo represented an opportunity to be different and to make a difference. He was a rule breaker, replacing the standard retail policies with greater efficiency and rewarding the customer with the savings. The ripples of his vision, beginning with a single discount store in Arkansas, now provide employment to more than 2 million people worldwide.
Sam Walton – Disrupting an Industry
This mini-lesson is part of the Economics Arkansas iNSPIRE series and can be used to start a class on many related topics including management styles, quality, or distribution. The included activities will help your students apply management and logistical strategies as they relate to their own entrepreneurial goals.
Concepts
Customer Service
Logistics
Management
Supply Chain
Objectives
Students will be able to:
Discuss the value of CUSTOMER SERVICE in establishing long-term relationships with customers.
Differentiate between centralized and decentralized MANAGEMENT structures.
Identify the key individuals within a simple business SUPPLY CHAIN.
About iNSPIRE
The free-enterprise system has enabled countless individuals to realize their ideas for the betterment of many. Their entrepreneurial success - and the economic system that made it possible - is inspiring. In 2018, Economics Arkansas partnered with Stephens Inc. to develop lessons and lesson plans about our free-market economy based on the video series "This is Capitalism."
Developed in partnership with Economics Arkansas by James Wilcox, director of the Center for Economic and Entrepreneurship Education at The University of Southern Mississippi, these lesson plans are available for previewing and downloading at no charge on the Economics Arkansas website.
