...Aubrey Weekes Cross Cultural Perspectives The Walmart Corporation is a large, major, and successful retailer in the United States. Walmart’s attempt at branching out in countries such as China, Mexico, Brazil, and Germany has failed. Globally Walmart is not performing well; they have had difficulties in these countries. Their global revenues, “grew by a mere 1% in 2013, and its revenue per square feet declined by 4.2%” (Team, 2014). The China market does not add much to Walmart’s profits, but it is important to Walmart in regards to enduring perspective. Mexico is a principle global site, but there are many problems there also. In Germany, Walmart failed basically because they thought they could implement American standards in the stores. Walmart is handling these issues, and solving them would be their main concern (Team, 2014). Walmart Culture Issues Hong Kong, Indonesia, and South Korea are failures for Walmart, mainly due to not adhering to the cultures of these countries, and abiding a code of ethics. A couple of obstacles are food and products were placed on shelves, not in line with the country, and stores were constructed a long distance from the cities making it difficult for people to reach them. Foreign people many of them walk to stores or take public transportation. American people will travel to buy food stocking up for a month or more. Buying in bulk is a major issue in Walmart. Foreign people either walk or take public transportation...
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...In the beginning when Walmart was small and maturing business, they were an ideal company in the eyes of employees. But as the company grew into a worldwide empire, so did the number of ethical issues they faced. With promises of low prices to keep to its customers, they have made decisions which have impacted employees. People say Walmart has poor management, have poor wages for both local and outsourced workers. Many people would call these things uneithical, but Walmart claims otherwise. They claim they are helping people by creating jobs, which meet minimum wage standards, and they care about the ethics within their company. There is an abundance of arguments that call out Walmart as being unethical, but what people easily ignore are these lesser known ones that argue for Walmart’s ethical side. The most predominate unethical issue Walmart has received criticism over for countless years is their poor treatment of employees. The retailer is known for paying its store associates minimum wage. These low wages make it tough for an employee to support a family let alone themselves. Because of the low wages that Walmart pays its employees, many of them have to use government assistance such as food stamps in order to survive. This is not only bad for the employees but it is also costing taxpayers. Walmart does not offer benefits to their part-time workers who work less than twenty-eight hours a week. This can be seen as unethical because the employees are already being paid such...
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...Is Walmart Ethical? Walmart Stores Inc. is an American-based public multinational corporation which runs a large number of discount retail stores. In recent years, Walmart has become the world’s largest public corporation. It owns over 8400 stores and employs more than 2.1 million people (Answers.com par. 1). But, with the extreme popularity, and continuous media attention, this world-leading company has faced numerous criticisms regarding its unethical business practices. On the contrary, Walmart is a business, and like any other business, its main focus is to maximize profits, and outperform competitors. Although Walmart has been negatively judged, it has not been recognized for the various positive contributions it has to offer. While Walmart may not conduct business in a solely ethical manner, most companies are guilty of this as well. Walmart’s business practices may not be the most angelic, but it still serves its owners, customers and employees in a moral and sufficient way, and therefore should not be criticized. Low wages is one of the criticisms that Walmart faces, although employees are aware of their pay before they agree to work. Also, Walmart has been accused of unjust business practices, but in reality they are just an expanding corporation that thrives on their price-leading strategy. A lack of Corporate Social Responsibility is an additional misconception the public has regarding Walmart, as the corporation has multiple initiatives concerning the environment...
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...ethical or unethical to shop at Walmart? “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone… we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.” –Sam Walton (“What We Do”) Walmart was founded on the belief stated above by its founder Sam Walton in 1962. “Saving people money, so they can live better,” was the main objective when Sam Walton opened the doors to the first Walmart (“History”). Today, Walmart is the world’s largest retailer and corporation in the United States and have been awarded and recognized by various organizations for being the best employer throughout United States and other countries. By the Fortune magazine, it is listed as one of the most admired companies in America and many others praise Walmart for its accomplishments (“Is It Ethical to Shop at Walmart?”). Although, Walmart has earned popularity for the low price it provides, they are frequently faced with a lot of criticism and law suit for its employment practices made nationally and internationally. Some of the unethical practices the public criticize Walmart for are discrimination against women, low wages, and bad working conditions. Today, Sam Walton’s promise of a “better life for all” is questioned by employees, unions, environmentalists, recording artists and human rights organizations [Source]. This leaves many consumers to ponder if it is ethical or unethical to shop at Walmart? As mentioned in the above paragraph, Walmart is one the...
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...Cross Cultural Perspectives The Walmart Corporation is a major American retailer. Walmart is the largest and most successful general merchandise retailer from the US. However, when Walmart attempted to branch out into new countries they failed time and time again. Is this report I am going to cover a few of the reasons they failed in several countries. Identifying the actual issues at fault. Then describe the issues in detail and how they affect Walmart as a result of being a global company. Walmart Cultural Issues One major issue Walmart ran into is bulk sales. In America people travel longer distances with their own cars and buy enough food to last them a month or more in one trip. It is typical for foreign countries to buy food daily. Foreign cultures are more accustomed to buying fresh food from butchers or local markets. Additionally Walmart is notorious for selling items in bulk. This again is an American cultural habit. In most foreign cultures people take public transportation or walk to the stores. This they do not have the ability to buy multiple bottles of shampoo at once, and prefer to buy it one bottle at a time. On a different note, Walmart failed again on the design of their stores. I will use South Korea as example here, mainly because I lived there for four years and have experienced all of these. In South Korea everything is about presentation. Their largest vendors, E-Mart, Home-Mart, etc. are all finished with an artistic design. They...
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...Examples of unethical practices range from small to largely unacceptable. These practices have been around since the start of business only due to laws and policy have we been able to deem them inexcusable. By definition meaning lack of moral principles; unwilling to adhere to proper rules of con duct. In the 21 century in the United States we are very concerned of political correctness and fairness. We love the whistle blower and protect those who speak out against these injustices. Walmart will be the subject of discussion for list unethical behaviors. Walmart is the community super store, able to provide everything a shopper needs in one stop shop experience. From groceries to home and garden to optical care, Walmart is a powerhouse as a provider. Along with having multiple locations in major city and counties they have employed 1% of Americans. Walmart employs an astounding 2.1 million people. In the United States alone, the company employs 1.4 million people. This is a staggering 1% of the U.S.'s 140 million working population. Being a power house with employing just a vast amount of Americans they had many back lash with how they manage and treat these employees. But not limited to the locations in the United States, etablishments in Bangladesh, Mexico and 26 other countries worldwide. Cases dealing with exploiting workers, by increase the profits for the owners at the expense of their workers. Tax loopholes, to avoid paying taxes in the United States, while raking in...
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...Walmart Movie Analysis Threat Level Midnight MGMT 382, 12:00pm Monday Class Rheanna Ladron De Guevara Mohammad Shojaei Danielle Seymour Teresa Radtke Curtis Anson Amy Self Walmart is quite arguably one of the largest multinational grocery retailers in America. The corporation routinely produces record sales, earnings, and employs more than 2.1 million full time employees. Last year Walmart earned a record four hundred and five billion dollars in revenue. The company was founded in 1962 by business entrepreneur Sam Walton. Walmart’s past (2006) advertising slogan, “Low prices, always”, accurately reflects the appeal the store has to the masses. In an attempt to attain a wider and more diverse customer base, in recent years Walmart has adopted the new slogan: “Saving people money so they can live better lives.” While there’s no doubt about Walmart’s low prices, it’s questionable as to whether Walmart actually allows people to “live better lives.” Not only this, but the ethicality of Walmart’s business practices seem unsound to say the least. After watching the film “Walmart: the High Cost of Low Cost”, the ethicality of Walmart’s business practices and the impact the company has on the communities in which they expand into become apparent. While some argue that Walmart makes unethical decisions quite often that harm the communities they expand into, others assert that Walmart operates within the law and is simply doing business rather than acting unethically...
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...Business Ethics UGB 210 |Content |Page number | |Executive Summary |3 | |Introduction |4 | |Main Ethical Dilemmas |5 - 7 | |Dealing with Ethical Issues |8 - 10 | |Walmart ASDA Best Practice |11- 12 | |Recommendations and conclusion |13 | |Reference |14 | Executive Summary This report will outline the ethical challenges faced by Walmart Asda. It will include the previous accusations made against the company and a list of the main ethical dilemmas. The report will then develop into covering the elements that ASDA are implementing in order to overcome its main...
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...ethically are better off and live more fulfilled lives, and unethical behavior can destroy an organization and the individuals who take part in it. Conducting business in the appropriate manner may not always generate the greatest profits however in the end it will lead to greatest personal satisfaction, fulfillment, and a successful outcome. What is Ethics? Ethics is the study of what constitute right and wrong behavior, it focus on morality and application of moral principals in the everyday life, also what is conform to our personal beliefs Business ethics focus on what constitute ethical behavior in the world of business, however it is not a separate behavior. Understanding business ethics is important to long viability to the business and the well-being of the officers and directors as well as the welfare of the employees (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Ethical Standards and Behaviors The minimal acceptable standards for ethical business behavior are the compliance of the law. Ethical standards such as those in the company's policy and code of ethics must also guide decisions. Nevertheless, simply complying with the laws does not always does not necessarily make the business practice ethical. When can sometimes be ethical and still constitutes as being illegal? During the mortgage fraud, many families were pursued to purchase home priced way beyond their financial means, this was not illegal, but it was unethical in the end, the bank forecloses on those homes they sold...
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...Culture Change Paper Walmart is a global retailer with one of the most profitable business strategies on the planet. Walmart’s objective to offer the lowest prices to a diverse customer base has proven successful over several decades. Walmart began with a humble business model in the early 1960s. Sam Walton, original founder, wanted to provide people with the best prices possible. Sam Walton launched over a dozen locations to the public in the late 1960s. The profitable groundwork and strategy of every-day low prices spread rapidly through the next several decades. Throughout the 1990s, Walmart’s growth soared globally as they continued to facilitate a cost cutting strategy. America’s recent recession encouraged many low-income families to shop for Walmart’s low priced products. Walmart’s low prices may attract budgeting Americans, but their questionable operations are steering many others away. Walmart’s public perception is declining because of their negative organizational culture. Walmart’s employee wages are consistently below the American average, resulting in workers resorting to government aid. Discrimination lawsuits occur annually because of management’s stereotyping and poor leadership. Even Walmart’s ignorance to safe working conditions in other countries is beginning to surface in America’s media. Walmart’s leaders have attempted to address these issues, but ultimately failed to create a climate for change. Walmart’s future leadership must overcome...
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...ethical dilemma concerning sustainability. This the fact that without utilizing sustainable practices the earth is suffering, this has a direct impact on our lives. From using up our earth’s natural resources for power, we have created pollution and increased global warming effects. Besides everyone on an individual basis needing to practice sustainability, it is highly important for companies to utilize sustainability ethics. Companies big and small have immensely contributed to dwindling our natural resources and polluting our planet. Raw material suppliers, manufacturers, distributers and the companies they operate for all need held accountable for their part, and each link in the chain needs to develop and implement a sustainable ethics policy. Walmart has been a big contributor to this ethical dilemma. Walmart not only operates unethically regarding sustainability in their retail, warehouse and distribution locations; they also are responsible for the unethical actions of their suppliers. Walmart has received many different scolding from activists and has been boycotted for many different unethical actions and inactions. The company has decided to tackle the ethical dilemma of sustainability directly. Walmart is taking steps to develop a standing sustainability ethics policy throughout their entire supply chain. The results of their actions are being applauded. Every small change Walmart makes is important. The universalism moral decision making principle best describes the...
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...head: THE UNETHICAL WORLD OF WAL-MART.1 OL 500: Human Behavior in Organization Final Draft SNHU Dr. Castellon Roger McGinness Abstract Ethical issues are problems faced by thousands of corporate workers on a daily basis. With technological advances these problems are more magnified than ever before and when you are the world’s largest employer and sit atop the Forbes Fortune Fifty list your ethical dilemmas become the focal point of millions. Building ethical principles and guidelines are vital to help Wal-Mart remain on top of the Fortune Fifty list and prevent unethical or immoral issues from rising. This paper will take an in depth look into policies, procedures and practices that are in place at Wal-Mart and have the nation if not the World debating their fairness. There are a number of people in which the blame can easily be placed to include corporate leaders and political figures however a vast majority of Wal-Marts unscrupulous business practices could be elevated by simple satisfaction of a smaller profit margin. Bigger Not Always Better In the internet, 24 hour news world we live in today business practices are more visible and evident than ever before. There is a saying that when you do something nice for a person they may tell one or two people, however do wrong by them and they will notify everyone they know. This saying holds very true with employees and corporations today. A quick internet search on unscrupulous business practices and you...
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...that merits study at this point in the course? According to this case, the major issue is the conflicts between Walmart and local manufacturers. Because of the low price in Walmart, local manufacturing business cannot survive in the market. Also, production process in Walmart creates many environment problems. Meanwhile, importAlso, to produce low cost merchandise, Walmart provides extremely low wages and benefits to labors, which put workers in a hard condition. taking advantage of illegal immigrants. •Gender discrimination against women. • Most sued company in America in respect of lawsuits. 3. What sub-issues or related issues are present in the case that merit consideration now? Analysis and Evaluation 1. Who are the stakeholders in the case and what are their stakes? What challenges, threats or opportunities are posed by these stakeholders? From government perspective, US government gain good reputation. Walmart, as a US company, brings many good reputations. For Chinese government, it is a good supplier to Walmart. Walmart creates many job opportunities in China. However, Walmart harms nature environment in China. From owners perspective, The Walton Family earns a lot of money. However, it gets bad reputations in the society. To fix this problem, it can give back to society , such as donations. From Employees perspective, employees in Walmart get jobs. However, they can only get low wages. Labor unions argue for labors rights. It is against Walmart’s...
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...As per the fortune magazine, Apple Inc. was ranked the number one admired company in the ear followed by Google and Berkshire Hathaway. These score is based on the votes of the business people all around. All of these companies have to make sure that their stakeholders are comfortable in view of their long term goals. And to achieve stakeholder’s satisfaction, companies need to secure and gain trust in the companies. This is done by a company’s governance and code of conduct. Every company has different governance factors and code of conduct that they adopt. For instance Google’s Code of Conduct is “Don’t be evil”. This is adopted in all the levels of the organisation. This conduct makes them achieve high standards, which helps them hire great people, who build great product, which attract users. This process as a whole makes the stakeholders feel comfortable and secure. The following is the list of Google’s Code of Conduct 1. Serve our users 2. Respect each other 3. Avoid conflicts of interest 4. Preserve confidentiality 5. Protect Google’s Assets 6. Ensure financial integrity and responsibility 7. Obey the law Companies today are constantly innovating ways to remain in touch with their shareholders and investors. There are specific sections on websites which focus specifically on investor relations where they highlight their code of ethics and companies vision. Financial reports are updated constantly and the news that would...
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...Assignment 1: In the article “How unethical behavior becomes habit”, the writers find that questionable behavior and unethical decisions in the workplace are common occurrences for working Americans. The article continues to explain that the research they found showed that people “often start their misconduct with small transgressions and then slide down a slippery slope.” Getting away with those smaller transgressions encouraged them to commit bigger and bigger offenses as time went by. (Gino) I think this can apply to both the workplace as well as academia. In reference to the University of Central Florida Cheating Scandal, I would have to agree with the statement that cheating has become so widespread that many students have shifted their view of it all together. I feel like this has a lot to do with the generation of millennial students that are currently attending college and how they view higher education. The millennials are a challenging generation that see higher education as an expensive necessity to succeed and do not value the hard work it takes to get there. Cost of higher education keeps going up, and the more money they spend to receive their education, the more they view college as a purchase rather than a privilege. They believe they are making this investment as a way to open the doors to high paying careers and they feel entitled to their degree since they are paying for their classes. This results in these students wanting to receive their degree...
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