Overview The midterm is based on a mini-case from your textbook and concepts from past units. Note that Turnitin is enabled for this midterm. Requirements Final document should be at least 3-5 pages, which does not include the cover and reference pages. Paper should be APA format. Resources Please refer to the Technology policies in the Course Overview to familiarize yourself with how the originality reporting tool works. Mini-case Refer to "The Globalization of Walmart" on page 255 of your textbook. Directions Answer the 3 questions stated at the end of the case study. Then identify three concepts from Units 1 through 4, that relate to the information in the case study. Briefly explain the concepts Explain how the concepts relate to the case study content Explain how the concepts helped to solve a problem within the case study 1 University of Houston Visual Analysis Monumental Statue of the Pharaoh Ramesses II Enthroned Abhishek Prajapati ARTH1380-Art and Society Prehistoric to Gothic February 23, 2020 John Doe 2 The work being addressed in the analysis is a visual artwork, which is a statue of (n.d ,2020) Pharaoh Ramesses is a historical ruler of Egypt who reigned from 1279 B.C. to 1212 B.C. The making of the statue in his remembrance is associated with his reputation as one of the Egyptian kings, who had great military success. The statue is one of the many that were created in his honor and remembrance. In the addressed artwork, Ramesses is depicted sitting with his arms placed on his thighs. As described, the statue was given by Caroline Wiess Law Foundation as a gift to the museum. The statue represents the religious beliefs of the Egyptians, who regarded Ramesses II as having an origin from a god. The name of the person being depicted is inscribed at the back of the statue and the belt buckle, which makes it easy to identify it with Ramesses II, an Egyptian Pharaoh. The design of the sculpture and its elements give a clear visual indication of the setting of the art of work and convey a deep meaning concerning the person being depicted and the associated culture. A proper analysis of the appearance of the statue can help derive some facts about the artwork. First, the figure depicts a person sitting down on a cube with the hands placed on the thighs. The pose is unique and is easily related to the pharaohs according to the Egyptian culture. The statue has been carved from granodiorite, which is a form of a rock that was commonly used to make statues that have proven to be durable as seen but the work. One element that suggests that the sculpture relates to the Egyptian culture is the inscriptions made at the back, and on each side. The inscriptions contain symbols that symbolize the Egyptian heritage. The inscriptions, including the name of the person being represented, give a visual identity to the statue, and one can easily relate its origin. ...

1. Overview
The midterm is based on a mini-case from your textbook and
concepts from past units. Note that Turnitin is enabled for this
midterm.
Requirements
Final document should be at least 3-5 pages, which does not
include the cover and reference pages.
Paper should be APA format.
Resources
Please refer to the Technology policies in the Course Overview
to familiarize yourself with how the originality reporting tool
works.
Mini-case
Refer to "The Globalization of Walmart" on page 255 of your
textbook.
Directions
Answer the 3 questions stated at the end of the case study.
Then identify three concepts from Units 1 through 4, that relate
to the information in the case study.
Briefly explain the concepts
Explain how the concepts relate to the case study content
Explain how the concepts helped to solve a problem within the
case study
1
University of Houston

2. Visual Analysis
Monumental Statue of the Pharaoh Ramesses II Enthroned
Abhishek Prajapati
ARTH1380-Art and Society Prehistoric to Gothic
February 23, 2020
John Doe
2
The work being addressed in the analysis is a visual artwork,
which is a statue of (n.d

3. ,2020) Pharaoh Ramesses is a historical ruler of Egypt who
reigned from 1279 B.C. to 1212
B.C. The making of the statue in his remembrance is associated
with his reputation as one of
the Egyptian kings, who had great military success. The statue
is one of the many that were
created in his honor and remembrance. In the addressed
artwork, Ramesses is depicted sitting
with his arms placed on his thighs. As described, the statue was
given by Caroline Wiess Law
Foundation as a gift to the museum. The statue represents the
religious beliefs of the Egyptians,
who regarded Ramesses II as having an origin from a god. The
name of the person being
depicted is inscribed at the back of the statue and the belt
buckle, which makes it easy to
identify it with Ramesses II, an Egyptian Pharaoh. The design
of the sculpture and its elements
give a clear visual indication of the setting of the art of work
and convey a deep meaning
concerning the person being depicted and the associated culture.
A proper analysis of the appearance of the statue can help
derive some facts about the

4. artwork. First, the figure depicts a person sitting down on a
cube with the hands placed on the
thighs. The pose is unique and is easily related to the pharaohs
according to the Egyptian
culture. The statue has been carved from granodiorite, which is
a form of a rock that was
commonly used to make statues that have proven to be durable
as seen but the work. One
element that suggests that the sculpture relates to the Egyptian
culture is the inscriptions
made at the back, and on each side. The inscriptions contain
symbols that symbolize the
Egyptian heritage. The inscriptions, including the name of the
person being represented, give
a visual identity to the statue, and one can easily relate its
origin.
One undeniable fact is that the statue is not whole, with some
parts such as the head
and the feet missing. However, the lower parts of a headdress
that was worn by pharaohs are
3

5. still intact. Other components such as the left hand are worn
out, which could be because of
movement. The dimensions of the statue, even without the head
and the feet, suggest that it is
bigger than a normal human being. The figure is three
dimensional and requires a viewer to
view it from all sides to understand it well because different
elements are depicted from each
side. From the front view, a viewer can deduce that the statue
depicts a Pharaoh sitting on his
throne due to the pose. The back-view exposes inscriptions that
give a message associated
with the statue.
A further inquiry about the statue reveals that it was originally
whole and missing
parts mentioned were intact. The appearance of the statue is
fascinating and prompts one to
be curious of the technique used which seems to be advanced
for the ancient times. The
visible parts of the body have been carved from a rock.
Although the statue is bigger
compared to a human, it is an accurate representation of a
person. From visual observation,

6. the accuracy depicted by the statue must have demanded a lot of
time considering that there
was no advanced technology during the time it was made. It is
also evident that the ancient
Egyptian sculptors had a good choice of materials for making
statues that had a good visual
appeal and lasted for long without being damaged. As observed,
the whole statue is of the
same color due to the use of a solid rock for its carving. Thus, a
differentiation of its
components have been achieved through an accurate carving
technique.
From observation, the surface of the sculpture is moderately
smoothened and does not
contain any coat of paint. Despite having some parts missing,
the statue suggests that it was
designed to be symmetrical, with both the right and the left
sides almost similar. As
mentioned above, the statue was made using granodiorite, and
the technique used was sunken
relief. The technique was commonly used in Egypt, where the
inscriptions were done using a

7. 4
chisel to bring out a shape. Before the inscriptions were made,
the statue was first carved
from a rock, though the original work is believed to have been
modified. The deep cuts on the
statue are essential because they help to enhance its visual
appearance when viewed under the
light as the inscriptions become heightened by shadows.
The sunken relief technique improves the 3D impression of art.
Additionally, the
technique ensures that the elements of the work that are carved
from a surface remain to be a
part of the material in the background. The advantage of the
technique is that the artwork is
more firm compared to other techniques. The statue indicates a
pharaoh being represented but
does not give proper hints on his age. Thus, from the texture of
the artwork, one can
approximate that the pharaoh depicted is a youth. Due to the use
of sunken relief technique,
the statue has proven to be durable despite some wear that has
led to the loss of some of its

8. parts.
The statue of Ramesses II is an excellent example of the ancient
works of arts, and its
analysis aids in understanding the techniques that were used and
the meaning the work
carried. The statue is old and has managed to prevail up to date,
suggesting that ancient
techniques could produce durable artworks. The analysis of the
statue illustrates the
consideration of 3D appearance by the artist behind the work.
Additionally, the work was
conducted to be visually appealing, especially in a lighted
environment. The statue was
carved from a stone and then shaped using sunken relief
technology. The inscriptions were
also made using sunken relief technology, which entailed the
use of a chisel to cut deep into
the surface. The technique ensured that the whole statue was
made of one material. The
visual observation of the statue gives a good background of the
person being depicted and the
culture from which it came from, which provides it with an
identity in the field of art.

9. 5
Reference
n.d. (2020) Pharaoh Ramesses II. . The Museum of Fine Arts in
Houston, TX.

10. WRITING ASSIGNMENT 2
CONTEXUTALIZING A WORK OF ART
This assignment involves putting the work of art
you chose for Assignment 1
back into its historical and cultural context. This paper
should be
approximately 5-6 pages in length (SEEGeneral
Information & Writing
Guidelines on Blackboard for further format
instructions).
v GOALS: You are not looking to study the
specific work of art you wrote
about for Paper #1 so much as to relate
it to its broader cultural context. In
fact, you are not likely to find information directly
about the Houston work.
[If you do, be sure you also answer the following
bigger questions] This
assignment asks you to discuss the subject and
the religious, social, and
political or other cultural context of the work of art
you wrote about in
Assignment 1 in order to put it back into
that context.
o CRITICAL THINKING: As you do your research
and look again at the
work you selected to writeabout, be sure to define
a thesis to guide
you. The thesis could be a question or a
particular issue that you want
to find out about in relation to this object.

11. ALSO: Think about the
sources you are using as making an argument,
not only as sources
of information. What assumptions might they be
making? Do different
sources give different perspectives on the work or its
role in its
culture? What do you find compelling or, in
contrast, not convincing
based on what you have learned in the course.
v RESEARCH: What does the object tell us
about the culture and people
from which it comes?
v TIP: Think of taking the work out of the
museum and putting it back into
the world from which it came. INTEGRATE
the visual analysis of the
work you did for your first assignment (revised, using
feedback from the
grader, and selected to be relevant) into a new
paper that explains how
the work of art you chose reflects its original
cultural context. DO NOT CUT
AND PASTE your previous paper word for word.
v RESEARCH TIPS & PREPARATION FOR WRITING
LOOK FOR THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION
Ø ID the type of work you wrote about for
Assignment 1 and the parts of
its culture to which it relates. Since you
are not likely to find many (if

12. 2
any) sources that deal directly with the exact object
you are working
on, these will be your starting points for research
Ø TO GUIDE YOUR RESEARCH & WRITING,
CONSIDER THE
FOLLOWING QUESTIONS in relation to your work of
art:
o What kind of function or purpose might this
work have served for its
culture and what did it mean for the people of
that culture?
§ Was the work connected to the culture’s religious
practices or
beliefs?
§ Is it related to the political structure or to
power politics?
§ Is it related to the social structure of the
society?
§ Is it connected with specific historical events or
circumstances of
the work’s time and place?
§ Be specific about the social, cultural ideas,
experiences, or
values the piece reflects
o Investigate the subject matter, but don’t go

13. overboard with details
that don’t contribute to the goal of this assignment!
(you may
have to drop some of the details you had put in
Assignment 1) Make
sure you can relate the subject matter to the
culture and the part of
the culture it addresses.
§ Is it a figurative theme (represent people,
buildings, animals,
plants) or purely decorative – eg plant forms
or geometric or
organic shapes; or just lines?
§ Is it related to the religious system or beliefs
of the culture?
SOURCES
Use your textbook AND a minimum of TWO OTHER
SOURCES [See Choosing,
Using, and Citing Sources on Blackboard for
information about acceptable
types of sources to use]
These sources may include:
Ø RECOMMENDED OR REQUIRED READINGS on
Blackboard
Ø E-BOOKS (equivalent to printed books)
Ø NO MORE THAN HALF OF ALL THE
SOURCES YOU USE MAY BE FROM THE
INTERNET and the internet sources you use MUST
be connected with a
MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY or other ACADEMIC site.

14. (usually .org OR .edu)
3
o See CHOOSING, USING AND CITING SOURCES
for more detailed
information on acceptable types of sources
and how to use and create
citations acknowledging your use of them
Ø FINDING BOOKS AND ARTICLES
Ø Here is an online research guide put
together by the Arts
Librarian:
https://guides.lib.uh.edu/c.php?g=432806&p=4612923
Ø GO TO: http://libraries.uh.edu/branches/jenkins/
Ø SCROLL DOWN TO: Research Tools
o SELECT Art Databases
Ø CHOOSE FROM (or try several!)
o Art Full Text (art history journals with articles on
line) OR
o JSTOR (on-line journals with articles in various
disciplines,
including art history but also history, religion, etc)
o Oxford Art Online (encyclopedia written by art
historians and
acceptable for art history papers)
Ø Do a Keyword or use “Boolean” searches
(using two words with AND or

15. OR between them are often better than simple subject
searches as they
usually produce more focused and useful results
o Examples: Hellenistic AND sculpture; Greek AND
bronze AND
sculpture; Roman AND sarcophagus; Roman AND
sculpture
Ø USING SOURCES FROM THE INTERNET (other
than the databases you
can find on the Art & Architecture Library
website) ONLY those
associated with a museum or university will be
accepted for papers
in this course. These can be identified by the
url that ends in .org
for museums or .edu for universities
Ø Here are some good places to search for general
background
information on the type of object you are writing
about and the culture
from which it comes
o OXFORD ART ONLINE (remember Wikipedia is
NOT an
acceptable source for a college paper –
See CHOOSING, USING,
AND CITING SOURCES)
o The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah
o The British Museum:

16. http://www.britishmuseum.org/default.aspx
Ø Googling a topic is not an acceptable way to
find a reliable source.
4
Ø RE-READ THE TEXTBOOK and other assigned
readings (as well as
relevant recommended readings) that pertain to the
culture and type
of object you have chosen. TAKE NOTES on
those readings if you didn’t
the first time. REVIEW the powerpoints from class
relevant to the
work of art you are writing about.
o NOTE: If you wrote on a work of Greek
pottery, BE SURE to use
the Recommended Reading selection on Greek pottery
as one
of your sources. IF YOU WRITE ON ANY GREEK
WORK OF ART,
USE THE POLLITT READING on Blackboard OR
the full book from
which it is excerpted.
Ø WRITE DOWN THE PAGE NUMBERS from
which you have taken
information and/or ideasnext to the material you
have taken from that
page. [You will need this information for your
footnotes or in-text
citations when you writeyour paper] If you are

17. using an online source
there probably will not be page numbers.
o REMEMBER: If you use information or ideasof
any kind from a
source (including your textbook) other than class notes
you
must provide a citation at the end of the
sentence or paragraph
where you have used a source
o Make sure you understand the information and
ideasand PUT THEM
IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
§ Do not quote secondary sources, but do cite any
information
or ideasyou get from them.
§ If you copy the words of your source into your
paper that is
PLAGIARISM and may lead to your failing the course.
Changing
just a word or two is not enough to claim it
as your own.
Ø OUTLINE THE MAJOR IDEAS, VALUES &
INFORMATION about the
culture that you will use to put your work of art
back into its original
context
v WRITING YOUR PAPER:
KEEP IN MIND: The goal is to writea single,
coherent paper that talks about
the work of art as an expression of its culture

18. Ø INTEGRATE
o STYLISTIC ANALYSIS you did for Assignment 1
(taking into account
the grader’s comments
5
§ Use only those parts of your first paper that
help you explain
the object as a product of its cultural context
o WHAT YOU LEARNED FROM RESEARCH
o INFORMATION, CONCEPTS, TERMS you have learned
in the course
Ø Write a separate INTRODUCTION that identifies
the work of art you
discuss AND sets out your THESIS or main ideasabout
its cultural
context and significance.
Ø Write a CONCLUSION that summarizes the main
points you have made
in your paper (You will lose points for “fluffy”
endings that do not pull
together important elements of your paper.)
Ø ADD an extra page for the Bibliography with the

19. full bibliographic
information for each source you use.
Ø USE FOOTNOTES OR IN-TEXT CITATIONS for
each source and page
from which you take information. If you know a
standard citation
format you may use it. If you don’t know a
standard citation format
SEE CHOOSING, USING, AND CITING SOURCES on
Blackboard
o You will also have to CITE THE MUSEUM WALL
LABEL again for this
paper
SEE Choosing, using, and Citing Sources and General
Information &
Guidelines on Blackboard for further details.
Submitting Your Writing Assignments
We are using TURNITIN assignment tool in
Blackboard as a means of
detecting and preventing plagiarism. TURNITIN
also records the time and
date that you turn in your paper.
You WILL NOT turn in a hard copy of your paper
but ONLY upload it to
TURNITIN.COM.

20. To post your papers on Blackboard you do NOT
need a code!
-Go to the course homepage on Blackboard
-Click on the computer-like link for the Assignment
you want to upload
-This should bring up a screen with an
option to upload your paper.
6
-Click Upload to submit your paper. Be sure all
your pages are in one
document!
BE SURE TO PRINT OUT A RECEIPT
TO SHOW THAT YOUR PAPER HAS UPLOADED
CORRECTLY!
IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE UPLOADING YOUR
PAPER
-Immediately contact the help line at the bottom of
the course Blackboard
homepage
-Notify me through mail on Blackboard.

21. Running head: WAL-MART
1
Wal-Mart Globalization
7
WAL-MART:
Ellington, David
Park university
Concepts in the case study
The concepts within the case study include globalization,
strategic management, and competitive advantage. Globalization
is the process by which the world becomes connected as a result
of increased trading activities and the cultural exchanges (Noe,
2017). Through economic globalization, different countries have
managed to come together as one economy thus making the
international trade much more comfortable. It is through the
concept that Wal-Mart managed to expand its operations to
other countries in the continent, thereby increasing the level of
trade and cultural exchange.
Strategic management is the company’s continuous
planning, analysis, monitoring, and assessment of all the
requirements of the company to meet its goals and objectives
(Freeman, 2010). In analyzing the strategic management, the
company needs to factor the porters’ five forces emanating from
the horizontal competition, threat of the company substitutes

22. and the established rivals as well as the possible entrants. The
company also needs to consider the vertical competition, which
includes the bargaining power of both the customers and
suppliers. Strategic management is relevant to Walmart’s
planning since the business will have to plan on how to manage
the external forces to enable it to penetrate the market.
Competitive advantage is a set of unique features of
business and its products that are believed by the intended
market as superior to the competition (Noe et al., 2017). The
primary competitive advantages that the company may work
towards include differentiation, cost, product or service, and the
niche strategies. The competitive strategies are relevant to
Walmart since it will enable the business to increase the sale of
its products and also identify the potential areas to perform
marketing.
1. Why has Wal-Mart viewed international expansion as a
critical part of its strategy?
Wal-Mart is subject to Uncontrollable forces emanating outside
the company trying to influence its growth and performance.
The company started showing signs of expansion between the
1980s and 1990s of which by the 1990s, it began its operations
in Canada (“Walmart.US,” 2015). It later opened more branches
in other countries like Germany, China, South Korea, United
Kingdom, and Japan, all of which formed the business potential
market for growth. The limitations that were there in the home
country enabled Walmart to develop another vision on the
company success thereby allowing it to open more branches in
other countries thus pushing for the company success in the
United States. China and other overseas offices also formed part
of the potential markets where the company saw as the possible
targets for success. The foreign countries in Asia contributed to
the bulk of business success, where Wal-Mart derived the
majority of its revenue. However, the major part of the company
focus remained in Mexico, which lies in Latin America.
Walmart established its first international stores in Europe,

23. Canada, Argentina, and Brazil, which later enabled it to
penetrate more potential markets and thus to give it easily reach
to the customer destinations. Consumers preferred to purchase
from the neighborhood stores that they were familiar with thus
pushing for the company’s desire to open up more stores. The
consumers’ wants, therefore, increased the willingness of the
company to expand into broader markets overseas.
2. What did Wal-Mart do to enable the company to achieve
success in Canada and Latin America? Why did Wal-Mart fail to
achieve similar success in Europe?
Success factors
Under the leadership of Sam Walton, the company allowed
more of instant discount, thus enabling it to win more
consumers in the regions that it had opened up stores like
Canada and Latin America. The retail sales factor and the
increased discounts catalyzed the firm’s growth in sales by
increasing the staggering product sales and also raising the bar
in the industry as the world’s leading retail outlet. Latin
America, with a focus on Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil formed
the first targets for the business due to the large population,
thus creating potential markets. Mexico, for instance, the people
preferred the use of buses in moving to various locations within
the town. The company saw it as an opportunity then procuring
bus shuttles then secured parking lots such that the customers
would be picked and dropped quickly from their residence to the
business premises. The way the business also focused on the
international market. Notably, America also contributed to the
company’s growth and success. The firm handled the roadmaps
for its trade zones with much interest since it considered the
foreign trade as part of the company’s great success strategy.
The strategy enabled Walmart to expand its territories within
Canada and Latin America, thereby resulting in more sales.
Failure factors.
Walmart also failed to attain its success goals in the
Europe and America regions. The international market required
the managers to focus their attention on the interaction between

24. the home market, and global forces which proved to be a tall
order for the Walmart team based on the rate of expansion is
experienced. The managers in Walmart never paid enough
attention to the cultural environment within the global market,
especially in the areas of operation, thereby resulting in an
inadequate response by the customers. The managers intended
to impose to the customers in the new regions their preferences,
culture, and actions, which resulted in self-reference criterion,
which is among the biggest challenges that today’s businesses
experience. The cultures in the new markets were utterly
different from that of the United States, thus making it difficult
for the company to pick up as intended. A good example was
the stores in German, of which the managers who had no
knowledge of the country’s culture and the German language
tried to impose different schedules which went against the
country’s laws. The actual retail prices for the local companies
were low and also discounted, thereby hindering the
profitability of Wal-Mart. The environment in German was not
favorable to Walmart global expansion plans, but the company
managers treated the region as a priority, thereby failing its
strategy. The Europe market had most of the products selling at
low prices, which became a problem for Wal-Mart to adjust,
thus hindering its success strategy. Walmart also encountered
difficulty among its competitors since they shared the same
market, thereby reducing the level of sales and profitability. In
German, the business environment was already established, thus
making it difficult to penetrate and influence. The region had
most of the products discounted, whereas Walmart used the
discounting strategy to enter the market which would not work
as expected.
3. What should Wal-Mart do or not do to help ensure that the
company achieves success in China and India?
In China, the government was entirely in support of the local
business, thereby making foreign companies’ entrant a
challenge. The government viewed the local territories as a
political matter, thus creating difficulty for international

25. companies to join the market. Walmart, on the other hand,
followed the globalization strategy to attain its expansion goals.
The merchandising strategy that the business follows is that of
the international business strategy of which it capitalizes on
given opportunities as seen in the case of Latin America and
Canada. Walmart should try to focus more on the areas that the
consumers are more active to ensure that they sell effectively in
the competitive environment. The company needs to identify the
market niche and specialize in the products that are likely to
sell more within the market segment. In the Indian market,
Walmart needs to improve on the technology used to enable it to
maintain product quality and customer satisfaction level
(Bellman and Hudson, 2006). The company will need its
managers to learn the local language and also employ more
managers from India who are familiar with the culture of the
area. Adopting the global culture will enable the business to
understand consumer demands, thereby resulting in more sales
while trying to fulfill the market gap (“Walmart blog,” 2015).
The company needs to seek political goodwill from the
authorities in India to enable it to operate without much
interruption. Since there is already intense competition in the
local market, Walmart needs to differentiate its products to
increase its competitive advantage in India. Differentiation will
enable the customers to identify the company’s products easily,
thereby increasing the level of sales.
References
Bellman, E., and Hudson, K. (2006).The Wall Street Journal
(2015). “Wal-Mart Trains Sights on India’s Retail Market,”
January 18, 2006, retrieved from
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113753852793448955
Freeman, R. E. (2010). Strategic management: A stakeholder
approach. Cambridge university press.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M.
(2017). Human resource management: Gaining a competitive

26. advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Walmart blog (2015). What should Walmart do—or not do—to
help ensure that the company achieves success in India?
Sources: Walmart 2013 Annual Report. Retrieved from
http://stock.walmart.com/ microsites/annual-report-2013/.
Walmart.US. (2015). Walmart Reports FY15Q3 EPS of $1.15;
Walmart U.S. Delivers Positive Comp Sales. Retrieved from:
https://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-business.