Business Ethics, Stakeholder Relationships, And Social Responsibility

Karen Olsson believes that Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer company, under pays their employees for the amount of work they do daily. They do not offer good working conditions for their employees or enough medical benefits to support themselves and their families. Sebastian Mallaby says that Wal-Mart is not wrong for the way that they run their business; he feels as though Wal-Mart does their consumers a favor by keeping the wages low and offering “low prices” (620). It’s just business! They have to do what it takes to remain the world’s top retailer and continue to, “enrich shareholders, and put rivals out of business” (620). Karen Olsson and Sebastian Mallaby both address the topic of big

The employees were getting paid a low hourly wage and they were not receiving any benefits. Sam Walton was chasing after power, it might not have been the power of having money, but making sure whenever someone talked about him in a positive way. Employers such as Walton are not generous and they are more than harmful when they stifle activism; for example “[w]hen workers tried to join unions and Wal-Mart ruthlessly crushed them, firing anyone foolish enough to speak out”(Packer,354). This example shows how the employees were powerless while working at Wal-Mart. Consequently, Wal-Mart was not the only company. If the Wal-Mart’s corporate heard anything about any worker wanting to receive more benefits about what was actually happening they would quickly act upon that and fire the employee. In addition, the power that corporate would show when other workers saw this would prevent any further action. While the workforce might be powerless, at least they are protected from the streets. On the other hand, women living in the ghetto who do things for safety is a source of power for them. In both of these situations, they are doing more harm than justice. Joan Morgan explains the struggle that takes place in the black community and more so in the black women’s community. Both groups, the low paying employees and African-American women are born to fail, but sadly either one are doing anything to try changing this problem and allows it to continue. The employees at

As stated on the corporate website (2017), “Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, where 2.3 million associates meet the needs of more than 260 million customers every week.” These numbers are huge, and with so many locations around the globe, they have had allegations been made by employees regarding their dissatisfaction about poor work conditions, gender discrimination, low wages, poor benefits, and inadequate health care. Walmart has been criticized for its policies against labor unions and this issue has prompted public outrage, (Johansson, 2005) which is of great concern for the market. The company has also faced criticism for being anti-union, but it has claimed that it is rather pro-associate, whereby employees

In the United States Walmart effects negatively retail worker wages as well as retail employment. In addition, University of California researchers found that workers in Walmart earn on average 12.4 % less than retail workers as a whole (UNI Global Union, 2012). Walmart’s workers demonstrated thier dissatisfaction with working conditions and low wages by protesting on Black Friday 2012, which is the day the company is making the biggest profit. Walmart workers stood up and more than 1,000 demonstrations in a hundreds encouraging Walmart to act ethicaly towards them. For workers protesting it was a huge risk as they are oficially not protected by any labour union (Progress, 2012). Another evidence that Walmart treats its employees unfairly are discrimination claims. Women workers in California pursue discrimination claims saying that Walmart systematically treats them unfairly. According to women workers retail giant denied to pay raises and promotions due to gender bias (Levine & Gupta, 2011).

Walmart employees, customers, and suppliers have seen their fair share of Walmart’s bad side. While Walmart’s founder, Sam Walton, claims to make their employees feel like they “are working for them” and that they care Walmart has done such a horrific job with the way they treat their employees that one day, the workers decided to walk out and go on strike. They walked out on the grounds that they “were emblazoned with the workers’ grievances: poverty wages, miserly benefits, dignity denied” (Eidelson 1). They felt like they weren’t only taking a stand against Walmart, but also taking a stand for the younger generations to come. Walmart’s employees are getting treated unfairly and are underpaid. The CEO’s, Michael Duke, annual salary gives him more money in an hour than an employee who works full-time would make in an entire year. In Bangladesh, over 100 workers “died in a factory without outdoor fire escapes, NGOs blame Walmart for pushing deadly shortcuts” (Eidelson 1). Not only are the employees being poorly paid by Walmart, but they are paying their life to Walmart just to make enough money to barely get by. Walmart even made a pregnant employee work around chemicals that eventually made her ill. After a trip to the doctor, Walmart allowed her to be put on a lighter duty, so they made her a door greeter; however, they

The Cheesecake Factory has been one of the more successful chain restaurants in recent years because they have provided great food and outstanding customer service in a fun atmosphere. The cheesecake factory employs a high standard of general conduct and moral aptitude. As a chief executive officer in today’s society, it is my responsibility to ensure The Cheesecake Factory abides by the laws and ethical duties that are mandated by today’s society. There is a copious amount of benefits to being a chief executive officer, however there is an equal amount of risk as chief executive officers are held liable for almost any action or infraction that their company has induced.

Up Against Wal-Mart is an article written by Kate Olsen that describes the treatment or mistreatment of Walmart employees. Karen Olsson is a senior editor at Texas Monthly but has also written for big papers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post. The article “Up Against Wal-Mart” has also appeared in a non profit magazine Mother Jones. Olsson uses personal testimonies of employees like Jennifer McLaughlin to illustrate the treatment as a Wal-Mart employee. She also uses facts such as lawsuits, the union busting strategies and more. Olsson could be targeting walmart for a plethora of reasons. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer and private employer in the United States. Since Walmart is such a powerful business in the U.S and their

After reading Olsson’s long essay about employee’s treatment and pay-rate, I’m glad she began her essay by describing one of the worker’s life. By describing her life, Olsson gives the reader a chance to relate to the worker and to imagine this experience in their own life. By doing this, I easily picture her experience and immediately found myself agreeing that this treatment is unacceptable. Through starting the writing with the worker’s story, the writer later continue to quote other employees of Walmart to get their personal point of view, which unsurprisingly is similar to the first employee described in the introduction. Olsson requote McLaughlin words saying "It's stressful," she says. "They push you to the limit. They just want to see how much they can get away with without having to hire someone else." Through these words, Olsson immerge the reader in his situation and seek their compassion and justice to change this treatment, which is very effective. Mallaby began his essay accusatorily. He immediately put me in a defensive position because he said “Only by summoning up the most naive view of corporate behavior can the critics be shocked -- shocked! -- by the giant retailer's machinations”, he adds “Wal-Mart aims to enrich shareholders and put rivals out of business! Hello?

From the beginning, Wal-Mart intended to combine, mix, and meld perceptions of the family with perceptions of the store. The roles of women in Wal-Mart production and consumption became a key facet of this conglomeration of household and workspace. Indeed, employment at Wal-Mart appealed to the “white, native-born mothers” of the Ozarks. Healthcare coverage and benefits might be negligible, but the trade-off for women was palpable. By working for the chain, women could stay at home, work reasonable hours, and secure their family’s income beyond the finances of a sole breadwinner. This dedication to the benefits of working at Wal-Mart allowed women—and by extension, Wal-Mart—the unique opportunity to “integrate work and family” (a core tenet of Wal-Mart’s new model for business). Simply put, Wal-Mart began a process of “adapting…domestic labor to the retail store” in order to capitalize on the economical, often overlooked benefits of a female labor force content to engage in decent work with a “savage time deficit” in order to effectively and continually care for their families. Accustomed to long hours working on the

Walmart has grown from humble beginnings since Sam Walton first established his store in Bentonville, Arkansas. Over the last 50 years, that one store has become huge in the retail world with more than 11,000 locations, over 2 million employees and revenues in excess of $480 billion (Sharf, 2015). While impressive, the company has also courted considerable controversy of the years due to the way it operates. In fact, this paper will argue that Walmart has failed to adequately address employee concerns over wages, failed to stop hiring undocumented citizens, discriminate against women. As a result, Walmart has failed as a corporation because its employees are treated badly.

“Up Against Wal-Mart” by Karen Olsson, a senior editor at Texas Monthly and who’s article appeared in Mother Jones, introduces her article through the perspective of a Wal-Mart worker. She focuses on the negatives of Wal-Mart by telling the real life struggles of different Wal-Mart employees. “Progressive Wal-Mart. Really.” by Sebastian Mallaby, a columnist for the Washington Post, focuses his article on what Wal-Mart critics say and attempts to defend Wal-Mart by comparing Wal-Mart to other retailers. Even though Karen Olsson and Sebastian Mallaby both examine the negative effects of Wal-Mart, Olsson berates Wal-Mart’s unfair treatment towards employees and the unlivable wages that the world’s largest retailer provides while Mallaby

The sex discrimination case against Wal-Mart, in which the U.S. Supreme Court handed an important victory to the retail chain on June 20, 2011, revives a longstanding debate: are disparities in the workplace due primarily to gender bias or to deep-rooted gender differences? The answer is anything but simple. Women make up nearly two-thirds of hourly workers at Wal-Mart but only one-third of management. The complaint argued that such disparities can be explained

Wages and benefits are not the only complaints Wal-Mart is now facing. Recently, Wal-mart was accused of denying women equal pay and opportunities for promotion (Bianco, 2003). Wal-Mart attempts to distract from their past and present diversity issues by devoting an entire section of their webpage to this subject but until Wal-Mart can show statistical proof reflecting their claims of fair wages, good benefits, and equal treatment, the complaints by the unions and consumers will continue. These upper level management decisions are having a negative impact on the company and providing an unhealthy organizational culture for the organization.

Is the deception of consumers worth making a profit? The Ford Pinto, popular car of the 1970s, made a profit off of a vehicle that endangered the lives of hundreds of people. In his essay “Pinto Madness” Mark Dowie, author and Pulitzer Prize nominee, exposed the unethical decisions made by Ford Motor Company. When it came to their customer’s safety and profit for the company, Ford made a decision that led to consequences their customers had to pay the price for. Should the business be held accountable for these actions? In his essay “The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profit” Milton Friedman, powerful economist, discusses what a business should prioritize in the economic system. Friedman declares what a business is responsible for and the guidelines they must follow. Due to Friedman’s view, he would not have condoned the actions and decisions that the executives at Ford Motor Company took.

ITC Ltd has worked exremly hard to start several procedures that have led to compliance of the standards of social responsibility. ITC’s dealings within the tobacco industry have contributed to the increase in company revenues and the company has worked towards following the triple bottom line and giving back to society. Most, businesses pay little attention to their social responsibilities and make it part of their overall strategy, instead they concentrate more on financial benefits from the sales of products. Consequently, managing business in a socially responsive manner contributes to the best combination of business success and societal acceptance, trust and loyalty. Giving back to the community in ways that benefits only society such as planting trees to curb pollution and help the environment or using biodegradable materials in packaging can reap financial benefits to a company by building loyalty among the community. The notion of business ethics and corporate social responsibility is becoming a defining concept in all industries worldwide. ITC believes in the Triple Bottom Line philosophy where the performance and perception of a corporation should not be judged only on the basis of its financial statements or revenues, but its environmental and social performance as well. ITC is one of the only companies in the world to be carbon positive, water positive, and conduct solid waste recycling. ITC provides water to areas where water is very