Corporate Charities The Right and Wrong Ways for Big Business to Give Back to the Community

Wal-Mart, the multi-billion company and the second largest employer in the world, is the most controversial corporation in the world. Wal-Mart is a global powerhouse and affects many people around the world. Wal-Mart is constantly getting attacked from unions, human rights groups, small towns and small businesses. Wal-Mart is accused of treating their workers poorly and driving small businesses out of business. But however these accusations are false or over exaggerated. Wal-Mart offers families and low income people quality products. Also, they pay their workers competitive wages and treat them with respect. Wal-Mart opens their stores in rural and under developed areas. Wal-Mart improves the lives of the people who live rural area and

Wal-Mart is an American multinational retail corporation and one of the leading discount department retail stores (Wikipedia). It is the highest- grossing company in the United States (Fortune 2008a), and is by far one of the most successful companies worldwide. Wal-Mart offers a place to buy the majority of our goods under one roof like electronics, furniture, clothing, pharmacy, sports, food, books etc. Wal-Mart sells good at lower price than the others and this is even shown by its slogan “save money, live better”.  It drives out smaller and sometimes even the expensive stores out of business due to its lower prices. Wal-Mart provides jobs for thousands of

Wal-Mart founded in 1962 by Sam Walton is now the largest American retail corporation. With thousands of chains of stores and warehouses Wal-Mart monopolized the American retail industry. In addition, Wal-Mart is the second largest retail corporation in the world employing of two million employees world-wide. As one of the most valuable corporations in the world Wal-Mart continues to improve their sales annually while offering some of the lowest prices available. Wal-Mart’s famous low price guarantee, come at a high expense of the environment, the small businesses, education, the rights and safety of the consumer, but most importantly their employees. Although Wal-Mart has plays a dominate role in American economy, this “American”

The largest corporation in America with $378,799 million in revenues and employing 2,055,000 employees, Wal-Mart has become one of the greatest success stories in American history, but also one of the most controversial stories since Standard Oil (Fortune). But with all big business comes critics. Today’s critics suggest Wal-Mart unfairly uses it power of size, which is goliath, to exploit employees and impoverish nations, ruin competition, and place undue pressure on the government. However, one item most critics fail to mention is that Wal-Mart creates consumer welfare. Throughout this paper, I will analyze each criticism of Wal-Mart and sufficiently cite evidence proving the greater good that is realized with

Similar to Carnegies steel business Wal-Mart gives money away to charity as well. The make major contributions to such organizations as American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs, Children's Miracle Network and the American Cancer Society as well as many others. The have given roughly one million dollars to American Heart Association, Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Give Kids the World, Special Olympics and the Young Men's Christian Association. However with the amount of money Wal-Mart brings in they have only donated less than one percent of their profits.

Poverty-level wages, meager benefits, unbridled outsourcing, and anti-union policies all make the list for why Wal-Mart is seen as a lousy employer. According to Dicker, for a full time worker, “average annual take-home pay totals around $18,000 a year… For a family of four, the figure is nearly $1,000 below the poverty line.” In addition, health insurance rates are priced far beyond what most workers are able to pay, making Wal-Mart employees one of the largest groups in the country to seek public assistance. Government aid includes housing assistance, free or reduced lunch for grade school-aged children, tax credit, and Title 1 education funding. The perceived result is that Wal-Mart’s low wages come with a public

Inequality.org reports on the controversy of Wal-Mart in two related articles, “The Wal-Martization of Everywhere” and “Low Road/High Road.” The first article claims that although “Wal-Mart is the world’s biggest private company, with $245 billion in annual revenues,” (Hellerman, 2004) there are reasons to be concerned with the success of Wal-Mart. One of the major claims related to class inequality in this article states that a typical employee earns $13,860 annually, which isn’t enough for a family of three to rise above the poverty line. The majority of the article focuses on some of the claims supporting Wal-Mart, more particularly an economists claim that “Wal-Mart is the greatest thing that ever happened to low-income Americans,” (Hellerman, 2004) allowing them to stress their income and buy things

The 20 Most Generous Companies of the Fortune 500 are: Gilead,Science, Walmart, Wells,Fargo, Goldman Sachs Group, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Alphabet (Google), Citigroup, Microsoft, Merck, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Target, General Mills, Pfizer, Kroger, PNC Financial, Morgan Stanley. These companies donated 3.5 billion in cash in 2015 to support charities. The 3.5 billion does not account for product, supplies or employee volunteer programs (Preston, 2016). The top 25 Givers in America are: Warren Buffet, Bill & Melinda Gates, George Soros, Stefan Edilis & Gael Neeson, Michael Bloomberg, Pierre Omidyar, Chuck Feeney, Walton Family, Hansjoerg Wyss, James & Marilyn Simons, Gordon & Betty Moore, John & Laura Arnold, Paul Ellen, Lynn Schusterman, Michael & Susan Dell, Mark Zuckerberg & Priscilla Chan, Julian Robertson jr., Stephen Bechtel jr., Eli & Edythe Broad, George Kiaser, Barry Diller & Diane Von Furstenberg, Ken Griffin, Barron Hilton, Devos Family, Steve & Connie Ballmer.

Let us first explore the functions that Walmart serves for society. First and most obvious, Walmart provides millions of people with the goods and services they require to carry on their day to day lives. When most people think of Walmart they think of a simple grocery story, but Walmart is so much more than that. At many Walmart stores, there are bank branches, small doctors’ offices, hairdressers, pharmacies, and various other business. Walmart brings together all these services and gives them a home all under one roof. Perhaps a broader view of Walmart’s function for society the amount of jobs the company creates. Everyone indirectly needs money to survive, everyone works to earn money, and Walmart provides jobs to 1.3 million people in the United States alone. ("Walmart Locations Around the World - United States.") With a nearly 478 billion dollar revenue in 2013, one could say that Walmart Corporation is a major driving force in

Wal-Mart is a “Big Business” and they have held this title for many years. That is not to say they present a negative connotation to most Americans. Quite the contrary, Wal-Mart is a global leader in offering low cost merchandise, a variety of items to choose from, a clean environment in which to shop. Additionally, they are one the largest employers in America, they are still a private corporation, whom stocks rank first and second place. They promote within and they offer training and advancement for their associates (Fishman, 2006).

Wal-Mart Does not help the Economy To some Wal-Mart is a successful company but to others, they are a corporate criminal. In this article “Wal-Mart Is Good for the Economy” Author John Semmens Explains that many people see Wal-Mart as a corporation that is a crook and who is making money off the economy and consumers. I agree with this statement; for instance, I do not believe Wal-Mart is good for the economy. Being that Wal-Mart pays poverty wages and forces their employees to work unpaid overtime and gets their products from overseas sweatshops.

They turned a small company into one of the largest corporations in the entire world. They have completely redefined what it means to be a big business, and have had many good impacts on society. While this is true, Wal-Mart has not always had the best business practices, receiving many different criticisms over the years. Some criticisms include its relations with people and businesses outside the United States, its role within local communities, and its labor policies and practices. Wal-Mart has always been the superstore that prides itself on lower prices, so much so that it has looked to manufacture in other countries for the cheap labor. Wal-Mart has become so big, that it has stores and plants all over the world. Wal-Mart even does most of its business overseas. “Chinese suppliers, or “partners,” reportedly provide Walmart with about 70 percent of the nearly $420 billion worth of goods that it sells globally each year” (SCHELL). Wal-Mart has even gone as far as to move one of its headquarters to China. Wal-Mart is helping China, and China is helping Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is bringing in lots of jobs and products for the Chinese people to buy, while China is providing everything Walmart needs to keep growing as rapidly as they are. Wal-Mart is one of the worst offenders of the global sweatshop problem, and because of this they had lots of criticism of their labor policies and practices. Wal-Mart is not a

Wal-Mart is one of the top 10 largest corporations. Wal-Mart must predict what is needed and wanted in communities. Executives have to be able to see the needs like in Brazil. Wal-Mart has gone in and created social retailing school and provide skills and services in

Wal-Mart’s lowering of prices has always been a main attraction for consumers. To provide domestic necessities at more than affordable prices draws potential customers from various other local retail stores. Being the top multinational retail company has allowed Wal-Mart stores to create economical and domestic shifts within respective communities. Despite being beneficial for consumers, Wal-Mart’s economical and business practices have destroyed competitors within local communities and affected profits in such a way as to limit adequate compensation for its employees. This issue emerges from a reciprocity that exists solely between the company and its customers. Wal-Mart’s employees and workers belonging to other local retail corporations are neglected; and thus the image of the company remains high-handed due to this incomplete reciprocity. Wal-Mart’s seemingly cost- effective strategy which has brought forth – the Wal-Mart Effect – charms its customers at the expense of the treatment of its own employees, and the job prospect of workers from local competitor retail stores.

     When you talk about Wal-Mart the first thing that you have to remember is that they are the largest retailer in the world. Wal-Mart employs more people in the United States than any other company and is second only to the federal government in the number of employees that they have on the payroll. These are important facts to consider in that due to their tremendous size, Wal-Mart has an enormous