Walmart Stores And Its Impact On Society Essay

In 1962, Wal-Mart opened their first store in Rogers, Arkansas. In 1970, Wal-Mart's first distribution center and home office in Bentonville, Ark. open and Wal-Mart went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Just nine years from that, Wal-Mart's annual sales exceeded one billion dollars. In 1988, Wal-Mart super centers opened across the country. In a merely three years from that, Wal-Mart opened their own store in Mexico City, Mexico; making Wal-Mart an international corporation. Not even sixty years has past, and yet, Wal-Mart is over-powering our country.

Its size, power, and low prices are what make Walmart so helpful to America. So why do some people think that Walmart is so bad for the American people? Many people believe that this is a true debate. Everyone has his or her own point of view. If you think about it, is Walmart really good for America? Walmart has made many changes since it was first opened in 1962, by Sam Walton. By August 31, 2014 there were 11,095, retail Walmart stores and there were 642 Sam's Club's. After going over all the facts, Walmart is good for America.

The purpose of this business report is to gain familiarity with Wal-Mart and to learn about the different aspects that make Wal-Mart a successful company. This report gives an in-depth analysis of the company history, services and products provided, the company philosophy, business methods, organizational structure, and financial and competitive analysis.

Karen Olsen pulls at our heartstrings using the specific people, places and things that we can possibly relate to in a pathos/ethos type method of description. She pours out examples of infringement, dollar signs, inequality and discrimination. Using names and painting a picture of a subject to explain how [Wal-mart] broke the law using intimidation, denying benefits and firing those that support the union. Sebastian Mallaby rebuttals by using facts and reasoning in a logos/ethos way. Examples include but not limited to; “Wal-mart has a war room to defend its image! Well, yeah, it’s up against a hostile campaign featuring billboards, newspaper ads, and a critical documentary movie.” Mallaby goes on to discuss different ways that many of

Wal-Mart, a "Big-Box Retailer" employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide and has two-thousand seven-hundred stores in the United States with many more in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Central America, Chile, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, India, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United Kingdom, making Wal-Mart the largest retailer in the world. "Wal-Mart accounts for upward of 30 percent of U.S. sales, and plans to more than double its sales within the next five years" (Lynn 29-36). Why is Wal-Mart so successful, and is Wal-Mart actually bad for America?

In 1950, former J.C. Penny employee, Sam Walton opened Walton’s Five and Dime in Bentonville, Arkansas. By 1965, in the same small town Walton would open the first Walmart store unknowing that his investment would become the world’s largest retailer. By keeping sales prices low Walton was able to get ahead of the competition and successfully opened an additional store within the same year. Walton’s success continued and by 1967 his chain of stores had grown to 24 locations, and was bringing in about $12.6 million dollars in sales annually.

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.

“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

Whether it's a brand new 59” LCD widescreen television or merely a pack of gum, each purchase you make from a Walmart store inadvertently results in a higher price paid; both within your community as well as the greater world around you. Relying entirely upon you-the ever consuming scavenger – to fuel the bustling utopia of the manufacturing industry, exists Walmart. More importantly, Walmart relies upon the oblivion towards matters outside of our own lives that we as society generally project. However, by looking past our own greed in a world full of price cuts and sales, we can expose Walmart for what it truly is; an entirely corrupt corporation feeding off of countries' vulnerabilities and reaping the benefits.

Yes, I do believe Wal-Mart is doing enough to become more sustainable. Wal-Mart is one of the most powerful companies internationally. As with all things that come with power, Wal-Mart’s business practices are scrutinized thoroughly. This includes their relationships with suppliers, employees, consumers, and the environment. In recent years, the environment has become such a big issue that Wal-Mart, as well as other companies have had to respond to this growing concern.

What if a dream never amounted to anything more than a dream? What would be the point of dreaming that dream? Wal-Mart makes dreams for many locally owned businesses nothing but a lie. Wal-Mart, like many monopolies use their enormous power to influence, and take advantage of society in whatever way they see fit. The American Society has adopted subjective vision, either because they care not to look further than the inexpensiveness of their product or the owner are blinded by their profits. Wal-Mart takes advantage of a system by exploiting cheap labor and poor working conditions. The same company that advises these poor standards receive large quantities of subsidies from The American Government. Some people would claim that this is

 Illustrates low prices and at the same time, not portray a cheap image to consumer.

Walmart is the world’s largest retailer with more than 4,300 stores in the United States and over 8,000 worldwide, with global scales topping $400 billion in 2009. It plays a vital role in the U.S economy. Walmart success includes: low–wage labor, Limited health benefits, and leveraging of government subsidies. The company 's controlling family, the Walton’s, is the richest family in America, with nearly $150 billion in wealth. That is more than the total wealth of 43 percent of American families combined, yet most Walmart workers make less than just $25,000 a year.

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

"Wal-Mart, is an American retail corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores. The company is the world's second largest public corporation, according to the Fortune Global 500 list in 2013, the biggest private employer in the world with over two million employees, and the largest retailer in the world. The company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962, incorporated on October 31, 1969, is also the largest grocery retailer in the United States" (Wikipedia, 08). A leader with a solid vision, Sam Walton started the company, and made it into the forerunner in discount retailing that it is