The Success and Failures of Home Depot - Speech Example

Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to this business forum. I am going to share with you the successes and failures of Home Depot and where it is today in terms of performance. There are many factors that have influenced the organizational operations in a positive or negative way. As you all know, the company deals with the provision of home improvement supplies. Moniester (2014), in his book, shows that the establishment of the business in the United States was in the year 1978 as a single store. With time, the organization has expanded to about two thousand and three hundred stores across the North. I will begin by addressing its success.

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The success of Home Depot is connected to the good leadership that the Chief Executive Officers provide. Another factor for the success of Home Depot is productivity. Customers recognize the company as the giant in productivity. This is displayed by its initiative to provide same-day delivery services and in-store mobile technology. In addition, the success of Home Depot is due to its ability to diversification. The company transformed from provision of home improvement supplies only to selling of garden products, building materials, appliances, and lawns.

The company also experienced hardships in its operations. The first challenge is its dependence on macroeconomic factors. Most of the stores are located in the United States, therefore, its success depends on the country's economic status. During the recession period, the revenues of Home Depot declined. High debt levels for the home depot is another hardship that affects its operations. The company has a long-term pending debt of $ 16.9 Billion in the fiscal year 2014. Lastly according to Carlson (2013), failure to conduct market research before setting its branches in foreign countries also affected Home Depot in a negative way. For example, the business did not pick in China as expected because it did not address customers' needs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Killing (2016), suggest that any company should adopt strategies to improve its organizational structure. Home Depot may come up with departmentalization like its competitor, Lowe. Since it deals with the provision of different products, let the management come up with different departments in which each section will be handling a specific product. The company may also adopt decentralization in decision making. For instance, Home Depot has a centralized form of structure whereby it has a headquarter in Atlanta where all the decisions are made. This affects its operations because if a sales representative wants to give a client a discount, it means that he/she has to contact the headquarters to guarantee him/her permission. The management at the headquarters may delay responding hence reducing innovativeness. Therefore every company is urged to adjust its organizational structure to respond to the emerging trends in the market. Thank you for listening to me.

References

Carlson, B. (2013). Why big American businesses fail in China. Global Post.

Killing, P. (2013). Strategies for joint venture success (RLE international business). Routledge.

Monestier, T. J. (2014). Where Is Home Depot at Home: Daimler v. Bauman and the End of Doing Business Jurisdiction. Hastings LJ, 66, 233.