Contraversy of Wal-Mart as An Ethical Company Essay

This article is written using an enlightened self-interest approach. The author describes Wal-Mart behaving in a way that increases its own benefits, with the outcome of their actions being the most important consideration. An example of this is the author’s notion that Wal-Mart’s low prices are due to “the exploitation of its workers” (McLachlan, 2009, pg. 289), “systematic use of ‘maquiladoras’ in conditions of extreme exploitation” (McLachlan, 2009, pg. 289), and Wal-Mart’s threat to move production to China to obtain lower prices. In this article, the author implies that Wal-Mart’s actions demonstrate that they are not concerned with finding the most ethical behaviour; they are merely interested in the action(s) that most closely achieve their goal to remain the “biggest chain of direct sales to the consumer in North America”. (McLachlan, 2009, pg. 289)

In a state analysis, the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2003, Wal-Mart covered only 52% of total health care premium costs compared to K-Mart which covered 66%, Target which covered 68%, and Sears which covered 80%. Wal-Mart takes advantage of their employees and suckers them into their costly healthcare plans. But, if something happens to an employee, lets say two months after their hire date, they will not be covered by any healthcare plan whatsoever. "Part-timers—anybody below 34 hours a week – must wait 2 years before they can enroll. Moreover, part-time employees are ineligible for family health care coverage. Full-time hourly employees must

Environmental Studies is the academic field, which systematically studies human interaction with the environment in which we live in. It is a broad field of study that includes the natural environment, built environment, and the sets of relationships between them. Environmental studies takes into account many different factors that help provide an enjoyable, fruitful way of life, such as national policies, politics, laws, economics, sociology and other social aspects, planning, pollution control, natural resources, and the interactions of human beings and nature.

Walmart is bad for America, as some say. The Globalization essay that was handed out in class had many good points. It states that Walmart puts many smaller businesses out of service. A recent study by

While many use the fact that 5 percent of its workers are on Medicaid against the company, the fact remains, that such a number is common for large retail firms and the nation average is just 1 percent below that of Wal-Marts. For the same people who loudly fought for a system that allowed Medicaid workers to work while keeping benefits, Mallaby declares it, “ironic” that they would now be critical of the policy being used to help its workers.

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in 1990. It forbids employment discrimination against people with disabilities who are able to perform the essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. Under ADA, individuals who are defined as disabled are people who have a physical or mental impairment that substantially affects one or more major life activities. Some examples would include impairment in walking, performing manual tasks, speaking, hearing, and learning. The ADA requires that employers only make decisions about applicants with disabilities only on their ability to perform essential job functions.

One the main reasons people go to work is for their physicology needs (salary) and Wal-mart make it clear in their ethics statement that the comply with state or national laws regarding pay. Managers in the business are expected to carry this out fairly without discrimination. It’s also a violation for managers to forces colleagues to work off the clock.

“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

New York Times reporter David Barstow uncovered a shocking story against retail giant, Wal-Mart. His investigation started after Wal-Mart shut down its internal investigation over the possible bribery of Mexican officials. Wal-Mart used these bribes to accelerate growth in their Mexican zoning areas. These allegations surfaced when a Hispanic lawyer contacted Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville Arkansas. This lawyer had inside information on Wal-Mart’s bribes, as he represented them in their acts. He was used as a middle man for Wal-Mart’s payoffs to these officials.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is the world 's largest retail enterprise, with total revenue of $421.8 billion and a net income of $16.4 billion in 2011. 1 It is also the world 's largest employer, with 2.1 million employees worldwide in 2010 2, not including workers hired by its providers. In my opinion, Wal-Mart provides a clear illustration through which to look at how many multinational companies (MNCs) take part in an illegal and unethical behavior. They use their bargaining power and market control to pressure countries to overlook environmental degradation and violation of national labor laws. They dictate expected pricing for products, particularly through imports from overseas countries. Labor is fulfilled mostly by underage and underpaid employees. In the United States, since 2005, Wal-Mart has paid about $1 billion in damages to U.S. employees in six different cases related to unpaid work. 3 Furthermore, Wal-Mart opposes any form of collective action, even when employees are not seeking unionization, but simply more respect. 4 The fact that Wal-Mart opposes unions exist. The company has a long history of fighting them, to the point of closing stores after employees organize. Managers have been instructed to talk to their teams about why unions are so unwanted in their business. Overseas, the company was involved in a series of scandals, including multiple cases of bribery. In April 2012, The New York Times published a story that

Wal-Mart is widely recognized as one of the leading discount variety store chains. It is the nations largest discount department store chain, and also one of the largest discounters in the nation in terms of sales dollars.

The public was scared that purchasing Wal-Mart products could kill them. Unlike Johnson & Johnson, Wal-Mart was not suffering from a murderous product, it was dealing with an image problem and potential legal implications. While Johnson & Johnson was forthcoming and honest about the problems that they faced, Wal-Mart chose to go against its own code of ethics and cover up the problem. While the corporate giant has spent over $650 million on its internal investigation, and it create a Global Compliance program, their actions point to a company that is merely playing damage control instead of a Johnson & Johnson style overhaul.

If Wal-Mart has such little regard for their own employees, it would make it difficult for a company to have minimal regard to where their merchandise is coming from. On the documentary, The High Price of Low Cost, informs of the countries and Wal-Mart’s effects on these countries, including its presence for manufacturing in China. The workers work in conditions of extreme temperatures from morning until dawn and provided boarding, which is shared with several others and lined with bunk beds. The board and utilities are deducted from their wages even if the workers choose not to stay on the facilities the board is still deducted from their pay. These workers that are looking for employment to make a better future for their families are

Wal-Mart, the big giant, the place where a lot of people usually do their shopping for the low prices and the variety of products were founded by Sam Walton. Walton was an entrepreneur with an innovative vision started his own company and made it into the leader in discount retailing that it is today. In fact, Wal-Mart is considered to be the biggest company in the U.S. and it has stores worldwide. According to PBS, “Wal-Mart employs more people than any other company in the United States outside of the Federal government, yet the majority of its employees with children live below the poverty line.”(www.pbs.org) In addition, Wal-Mart likes to portray itself as a seller of U.S. manufactured goods

1. What is the ethical dilemma facing Wal-Mart in this case ? Do Wal-Mart’s associates also face an ethical dilemma? If so, what is it ?