What do you think of when people talk about business? A business textbook, “The Future of Business”, defines a business as “an organization that strives for a profit by providing goods and services desired by its customers” (McDaniel and Gitman), and following this, there is an idea of “money” being involved – sometimes “big money”. Ever wondered how business giants like Wal-Mart got to be where they are today? The root of all successful businesses is in its workforce. Now, thanks to the growing phenomenon known as globalization, businesses in retail are seeking elsewhere for labor, yet their position in the market grows stronger still. This is because Multinational retail chains like Wal-Mart prosper from outsourcing labor, by taking …show more content…
The Independent Institute also asserted in their research, that MNCs give back by creating jobs in the less developed nations that they supply from (Powell and Skarbeck). While this is true to a certain extent, MNCs do take advantage of the abundance of cheap labor that is available to them. For one, most MNCs outsource manufacturing labor in less developed countries with a dense population and low Gross Domestic Product per capita. For example, the Washington Post reported that China, with a population of 1.3 billion and growing, is a popular choice for Wal-Mart, and that at the time of the report, 80% of 6000 Wal-Mart suppliers are in China (Goodman and Pan). Although MNCs create jobs, MNC factories also have poor safety standards. There are many reports of poor safety conditions of these facilities, for example, the New York Times reported that a 16 year old Wal-Mart factory worker in China was found to have hands covered in blisters from handling dangerously hot plastic molding machines (Barboza). MNCs may be contributing to the economy but their concern for the welfare of the workforce is very minimal. Wal-Mart themselves have claimed that they conduct inspections audits regularly to ensure manufacturing facilities are being run legally and ethically. Their statement is disagreeable as many MNCs, including Wal-Mart, conduct unethical auditing practices when they source from less developed nations. Firstly, audit information on
Walmart requires honest and accurate reporting of financial information. All financial records and accounts must accurately reflect financial transactions and events. They must conform to GAAP and to Walmart’s internal controls. No Walmart document or record may be falsified and no undisclosed account of their assets can be established (Walmart 6).
Poverty is not only an individual problem, but a societal problem. Harrell R. Rodgers wrote an article, “Why are People Poor in America?” Rodgers gives two categories of theories that are used when cultural /behavioral or structural/economic. Behavior/culture theorists look at the behavior, culture and values of the poor as the reason for poverty. While structural /ecIn western culture statistics are an excessively used tool in describing social issues. Numbers help explain a situation, but in excesses, can dehumanize a population. A serious social issue that suffers from desensitization is poverty. Poverty, as it is defined by Webster, is the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of supporting; the condition of being poor. The condition of poverty plagues many American families. According to the Census bureau, 15.1 percent of the United States population falls below the poverty threshold. 15.1 percent does not draw the same effect as the actual 46.6 million individuals living in those circumstances. In the United States, poverty has become a growing problem. There are 15 million more people living in poverty today than in the year 2000 (U.S. Bureau of the Census 2013). The poverty threshold, developed by Molly Orshansky, is a tool used to help indicate how many Americans are in poverty. According to the census, 46.6 million of America’s total population makes less than the poverty threshold for a family of four. The condition of being
In this world, poverty exist, even to this today. Some people in this world are extremely fortunate to have a lot of money or even have enough to be able to support themselves and their family. However, some people do not have the money to get necessities such as food, shelter and water. People should work to reduce poverty because it can help a lot of people who can not get necessities, and this will help people realize that it is important to help people out to make their life a little easier. People who a lot of money should donate as much as they can to programs to help out not people within their own countries. An example of this is if someone makes over a million dolars a year, then they can donate to a group of people that can buy some
Imagine this: you go to your fridge or your cupboard and find nothing…..there is no food. You go to your wallet and there is no money to feed your family. More than 45 million people in the United States live in poverty as of now. That is 14.5 percent of Americans in the United States. That is an extremely high number. It is vital that we take control of this poverty issue at hand before it is too late.
By the end of January 2003, Wal-Mart took direct control of its factory audits for direct import merchandise. This has given Wal-Mart greater visibility
The term “Big Business” immediately draws a negative connotation for many people. Furthermore, it appears that over the past decades globalized businesses have been found guilty of corruption, tax evasion, child labor, and harsh working conditions. The BGS’s interactions with Wal-Mart have helped the conglomerate become the largest retailer in the world (Bethel University, 2017). Moreover, now it is one of the leading, cutting edge, and most prosperous businesses in American history.
Poverty is “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor” (Dictionary.com, 2017). Based off this definition poverty is a condition that can cause a cascade of cause and effect actions that is detrimental to families and individuals both physically and mentally. Haan, Kaplan, & Camacho (2017) completed a study on the correlation between social and economic status and health in adults in Oakland, CA. They found that the lower the socioeconomic class the higher incidents of diseases and deaths related to chronic diseases (p.1161-1162). Just being without money or little money was not the only indication of health indication, a person living in an area with higher poverty issues
Since the central contradiction of corporate social responsibility ethics is reduced to a matter of noblesse oblige, not human rights. Wal-Mart have been breaking the labor in which it is unethical practices because the labor department felt they were not being treated properly and the customer felt they were not giving the right quality of merchandise in which they paid for. According to report all outlets along with the suppliers are to fully abide to the law regulations in relation to the immigration labor, safe environment health. Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 in Arkansas by a mean named Roger’s Sam in 2002 Wal-Mart had become a very popular store for consumers to shop however
The practices of Wal-mart has impacted American workers and our economy in unthinkable ways. Charles Fishman reported that the chain is ‘helping accelerate the loss of American jobs to low-wage countries such as China.” Walmart has doubled its imports from China from 1999 to 2003, buying some 12 billion in merchandise in 2002. Fishman also states that “The giant retailer is at least partly responsible for the low rate of U.S. inflation, and a McKinsey & Co. study concluded that about 12% of the economy's productivity gains in the second half of the 1990s could be traced to Wal-Mart alone.” One way that I as a consumer confront the problems caused by globalization is to shop at local business that do not produce their products in low wage
Wal-Mart would rather bribe factories money to move on and brush it under the carpet instead of taking responsibility for their involvement. So, one would have to think this is not due to the lack of knowledge of the practices in the factories, but the choice to ignore and not care of these practices. In 2012, Wal-Mart choose to “make payments to Mexican officials of more than $24 million noted by The New York Times and in Asia there were 90 reports within a year and half period” (Sethi) to cover situations up demonstrating that money talks.
Functionalism essentially means that everything in society serves a purpose or a function, including the things we may consider as obscure or useless. Poverty serves a function so that society’s “dirty work” will be done (Gans, 64). Every society, no matter the cultural differences, has work that is considered as “physically dirty or dangerous” (Gans, 64). Society can fill up these jobs by paying higher wages to the “clean” work, or it can force people who have no other choice to do the dirty work, consequently, at low paying wages. The poor buy items and foods that others may not want, as a result this prolongs the economic usefulness of these goods. They occasionally make spending that could be considered as unwise, and may have an income that would be insufficient for basic needs. In these circumstances, some counseling and assistance with budgeting may result in a significant difference and improvement of the economic situation. Thus, providing those that are considered as the “middle class” with more employment opportunities.
The logic of poor peoples purchases as they attempt to meet a wealth image they cannot obtain is obscene. It is impossible to provide for their families and live a rich lifestyle under little earnings. Stated by Isabel Sawhill, “None of this means that providing lower-income families with more money is necessarily a bad thing” (Sawhill). The political system works in a matter to benefit poor families with money they do not earn. Poor individuals complain about being poor while it is quite simple to overcome poverty and rely on a career. Pursuing a career and presenting a humble attitude can help with overcoming poverty and presenting a better reputation. Poor individuals need to visualize more than spending money on unnecessary items, work to flip their money without relying on the government, and be themselves not a false image.
There are three main arguments believed to be the explanations for the existence and persistence of poverty. The first account is the Dependency-Based Explanation that puts the blame of poverty to the individual or to their cultural background. The Exclusion-Based Explanation and Structural-Based Explanation are the next two which establishes the society that condemns people to poverty.
Over the past twenty years one company has dominated the discount retailer market. It has been hailed as the most admired company in America twice in the past five years by Fortune magazine. As of 2006 the company employed 1.6 million people that worked in one of their 6200 facilities worldwide. Despite this company’s unmatched success, it has been demonized by many in American culture, often being depicted as a destroyer of small business and the symbol of corporate greed. The company that I am referring to is Wal-Mart. No matter if you are an advocate or adversary of Wal-Mart and their business model, one thing must be mutually understood: They have mastered
Wal-Mart is certainly credited with changing the retail world as we know it with its low prices and big stores with huge selections but it has come at a price. They have struggled with issues that question the ethics as a company and legal issues that question how they manage people. These issues will continue to hurt their organization unless a complete change in management thinking and actions are changed. As a socially responsible organization, their management planning in this area is second to none. Lets hope they take the same effort in improving their image when it comes to ethics and legal issues.