Essay on The Global Wal-Mart Effect

Wal-Mart is one of the largest corporations today in America. It has been changing the lifestyles and economies of both America and China. However, is it good for the economy? You can share either opinion in this matter depending on what your views are on it. I personally believe that it is pulling our economy down with its cheap prices, and at the same time strengthening the economy of a communist country that could be a future threat to this nation; China.

Wal-Mart is good for the economy because of their low prices, every dollar saved by consumers that shop at Walmart lets them buy other items. When prices are lower the consumers’ needs can be more fulfilled rather than when prices are higher. Wal-Marts’ size proves the success of their strategy and also benefits the economy. With Walmart growing into the largest business on the planet it shows that it is accurately fulfilling consumer needs and efficiency. Wal-Mart helps people get more for what they pay for and provides jobs for people willing to work. “It is making suppliers want to achieve greater economies in manufacturing”.

“The need of constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the whole surface of the globe. It must nestle everywhere,settle everywhere.” Such a statement echos Karl Marx 's fears of the exportation of capitalism and the subsequent importation of capitalistic values. If one were to take into account previous statements of Marx 's work with regards to how the bourgeois find themselves unable to satisfy their hunger for profits, then it comes as no surprise that a corporate entity such as Wal-Mart would also be driven to expand into overseas markets. Wal-mart however does this not by producing high quality and low priced products and importing them into foreign markets. No, as highlighted in the video Walmart takes it a step further by dominating the means of production in foreign markets to reduce costs on overhead. Walmart achieves this of course by taking advantage of international wage labor laws by paying its factory workers only a few dollars a day. For a company like walmart with a net worth of billions dollars the cost of providing a fair wage and benefits to employees at an international and domestic level is insignificant as pointed out in the video. However it matters little to a capitalist powerhouse like walmart that almost exactly mimics Marx 's words. This globalization of capitalism proves to be an economic problem as well as a social problem in the sense it impacts domestic and foreign economies while simultaneously projecting

customers unbeatable prices that their competitors find difficult to challenge. But in providing those “great deals” it deducts from other sources. Walmart directly imports from Asia and in turn Asia produces cheaply made items and sells to Walmart for a low cost. Thus,

In Jack and Suzy Welch’s essay they attempt to debunk common myths and assumptions about Wal-Mart because they believe that the company’s success has made it a “fat target for critics who, for reasons of their own, won’t concede how

Working long hours, carrying heavy boxes, low pay, and dealing with irate customers all day sums up the life of a retail employee. As someone that has worked several retail jobs over the last decade, they have all shared this common set of duties. Even speaking with individuals that have worked for different retail companies then I have worked for; they can describe their retail working conditions the same way as I have described them. However, Wal-Mart is the only store that is regularly accused of bullying their employees, and treating them poorly. They are also one of the few stores that promote themselves as a family store across the nation. Wal-Mart has developed a marketing initiative that shows how amazing and wonderful it is to work

Wal-Mart is affordable, convenient, fast, and many more things to the average American, however, Wal-Mart has failed to hold up ethically in the global market. Not only are small businesses in America poorly effected by their malpractices, but countless young workers in China, Bangladesh, and Mexico are morally and financially bankrupted. The current American Wal-Mart employee starts their wage at around $9.00 an hour, which is hardly something to complain about in today’s economy. The issues we have had with Wal-Mart about maltreatment of workers in the U.S, seems to be subsiding.

Walmart is one of the wealthiest companies in the world. It has over 1,100 stores in 28 countries. Although Walmart is one of the top employers in the nation, it has a negative effect on the economy. For example, locally owned store go out of business whenever Walmart comes to their town. Walmart cost taxpayers $44.8 million in 2009. The New York Times did a story on Walmart and how the bribed officials in Mexico to allow the company to open stores in that country. Does Walmart really have that bad of an effect on the economy?

More specifically, he discusses impacts including the suburbanization of shopping, the downward trend of local prices, the pressure to lower local wages, the downward pressure on inflation, and a persistent cost scrutiny that is at the root of the entire company. In doing so, Fishman suggests The Wal-Mart Effect is not inherently good or evil as it provides consumers with lower prices but does so by pushing its suppliers to implement extreme measures in order to cut costs. This ability to wield such power derives from the fact that Wal-Mart is simply too great a force to be controlled and does not follow conventional market forces or rules, rather, it makes its own. Ultimately, Fishman concludes by arguing that Wal-Mart itself is also neither good nor evil; it is simply a by-product and symbol of modern consumerism. Through anecdotal evidence and use of economic theory, Fishman is able to craft a work that successfully supports his thesis on the multi-faceted personality of Wal-Mart as a major

Since the early ages of man there has always been dominating individuals, people that that are either physically stronger, smarter and/or both, compared to others. It is because of these individuals that the human race has survived. The stronger, smarter individuals became leaders and were the guides for the lesser individuals. As is in the case of Walmart, the world's largest corporation, a dominating leader, in the business of offering consumer goods at low prices. Any leader will come under scrutiny at some point during their rule, so it seems natural that Walmart would. In the past few years, Walmart has been criticized publicly for a number of reasons. Though, as with any negative information ever received, one must always consider

When people are placed into a group and these people have to deal with some situation, the group as a whole typically has some overriding attitude toward the situation” (). Wal-Mart focus on the individual to separate them from a group. Once they are separate the loss of their job or pay cuts take a bigger toll on the individual. Also Wal-Mart may play individuals against each other to create self doubt. In the documentary it showed how Wal-Mart would play individuals against each other by ignoring actions such as racism towards those who defied the system. By focusing on the individual, Wal-Mart is able to increase their profits through creating the inequity of power.

If Wal-Mart were to reform its health benefits program, raise their product prices by as little as a penny, and create a bias free working environment for women, Wal-Mart would be in better terms with its employees and improve the reputation it sacrificed from the start.

Wal-Mart emerged in the early 1960’s as a one-stop shop, advertising everyday low prices. The idea quickly took off and expanded beyond the original store in Arkansas to all across the U.S. by the 1980’s. People loved the convenience Wal-Mart provided, eliminating multiple trips to different stores and saving time. They also saved money by shopping here, so it was an obvious choice for many consumers to shop at and support Wal-Mart. But behind their low prices and convenience, a more sinister motive exists. The true price of big business like this is unfair wages, unethical practices, destruction of the environment and damage to local companies.

Wal-Mart is an American-based retailing company that has ventured into the international market with the aim of taking over some of the emerging markets across the globe. The company has dominated the local market in the United States, and it is looking to dominate the international market by providing consumers with some of the cheapest alternatives to the products purchased on a daily basis. It follows that Wal-Mart is among the companies that are always complaining when the economy of the United States weakens. A weaker dollar lowers the profit margins of the company because its supply chain is based overseas; hence, the purchasing power of the company decreases. This implies that when the economy is weak, Wal-Mart spends more dollars to acquire products. This paper looks into some of the fundamental principles applied by the authorities to stimulate or weaken the economy, with a close focus on the effects of these strategies on Wal-Mart.

No one can deny Wal-Mart as the corporate superpower of this generation. A company that has international interests, its power in today’s world is overwhelming. Taking a closer look into the giant’s superpowers we are able to specify exactly how Wal-Mart interfaces with the world and exerts it power therein. In doing this it must first be determined what power is. Sociologists have identified three distinct faces of power. The first is power to direct action. The second is to set agendas and decide what is to be discussed. Finally, the third power is the ability to shape desires. By examining how it is that Wal-Mart exerts power in these ways, it is possible to qualify just how