Walmart
Walmart, one of the great stories in American history but, how does it compare to other retail stores like Target or K-mart, but, it also has a history of discrimination toward women and minorities. Mr. Sam Walton, a military man, a captain in World War II could not have imagined that his business would grow into one of most productive retail stores in modern history. Even today, with Walmarts, overseas, Walmart has cornered the retail market by storm. But, it also has a bad image, over its business deals against women and minorities and especially not giving equal pay for equal work, or denying workers the opportunities for advancements that are offered to white males in his business. I guess this wouldn’t be Mr. Walton, but his board of governors should be held accountable. Everyday people file law suits against the company, how long will the company last? Next, they have become so large that they can afford to move overseas, and hire workers that will work for less than the average American will, now, that will be exactly what was needed for the company,(globalization.) Walmart has stores in countries that the common American has never heard of. In the 1940’s, a young man named Sam Walton, of Newport, Arkansas, was using another stores business model, and that was, get products at a reasonable price, and they had to be American made. His idea was so simple anybody could have done it, but anyway, his idea was to look for bargain deals from suppliers and sell them at a very low price. What he found out was, he could leave his prices unchanged and pocket the extra money. But what he finally realized was, he can not only pocket the money but he could give that extra savings to his customers by offering very low prices and continue to earn his money through volume, what a great idea. By 1962 Mr. Walton was well on his way to opening his first Walmart. He continued to use the same old model that had made him so successful in the past.
According to Frank, T.A. of the Washington Monthly, the quest for low prices came naturally to Mr. Walton, but he was freakishly cheap. Although he was ranked one of richest men in America in the 1980’s, he continued, it is said, to have his hair cut by a local barber which was a five dollar expense that he never supplemented with a tip. (Perhaps he wasn’t satisfied.) Cost cutting was, as one might also expect, an obsession in the Wal-Mart culture, and Walton was almost as chintzy with his executives as he was with his cashiers. On business trips, everyone including the boss flew coach, and hotel rooms were always shared. Even a cup of coffee at the office required a ten cent contribution to the tin. T.A. Frank continues to say, Walton understood that a major requirement for keeping cost down was controlling the payroll. As he would write in 1992 autobiography, “Made in America”, “No matter how you slice it in the retail business, payroll is one of the most important parts of overhead, and overhead is one of the crucial things you have to fight to maintain your profit margin.” Not only did Walton prefer to hire as few people as possible, but he also dreaded paying them more than he had to. Unions were particularly feared, and Walton did everything he could to fight them, almost always successfully.
After all, he based his cheapness on the American consumer, he would tell everyone that the reason he rode in distasteful vehicles was to keep the standard of living for the average American at a level so that they could have a better quality of life. So, to sum his life style up, some of his employees would say that he was a cheap individual. But to other employees he would let his stinginess take a back seat to his employees.
How does Walmart compare with a giant like K-Mart and Target, well Kmart and Target at one time was larger in sales compared to Walmart, but today has managed to relinquish its domination to Walmart. People never hear of unfair practices at Kmart or Target of its female and minority workers. Then there is Target what a great place to work, the pay is about the same but its employees rarely see discrimination in the work place. When Target and Walmart is compared they are nearly equal in terms of gender split between their employees. Target has fifty three percent female and Walmart has fifty nine percent female and pay is almost the same, but give the edge to Target because of the way they treat and pay their employees.
According to Dishman, Lydia at Aol Jobs, both groups of employees have been schooled at University of Phoenix more often than any other group. She continues to say, among both work forces, the skill sets are also aligned. Most of the staff at both retailers is well versed in Microsoft Office and Microsoft Word. Use of customer service metrics is also common, however of Target’s employees they are proficient in management and leadership skills while Walmart staff concentrates on developing its sales and retail pharmacy knowledge. Where the two differ, but not by much are in what they pay their employees. Target offers bigger wages for salaried workers, but hourly employees such as cashiers earn the same at both retailers.
In 1899 the S.S. Kresge Company (K-Mart) was founded by Sebastian S. Kresge it had eighty five stores in Delaware it was then listed as a trading company but switched to retail and became one of the leading retail stores in modern history behind Walmart. Like Walmart and Target, it has stores in various countries. What is so astonishing about Target and Kmart is they are rarely being sued for mistreatment of its employees. Walmart on an average is being sued everyday by an employee for misconduct. What’s good about Walmart? It must have some good qualities, let’s examine them. Since Walmart is largest retail store in the world it must pay the United States a large sum of taxes, but that’s not all it also pays state and local taxes as well. One thing for sure, if you own a business you must pay property tax, and income tax. It also hires the most employees in America and abroad and it’s the leading employer in most states. If Walmart didn’t hire workers in the United States people would be out of a job, and wouldn’t be able to pay their taxes or feed their families as well. But to most Americans, including myself thinks if Walmart continues to buy its products from overseas it will diminish the role of other retailers here in America, buy undermining the price, this will decimate the average American worker buy offering low paying wages, and no other benefits to its workers. But Walmart is still offering low prices to the consumer, this actually helps the American people who want to see their dollar stretch, who’s right and who’s wrong. Walmart has plenty of law suits against the company and it’s mainly because of the treatment of their female employees and minority workers. What type of labor practices are they using?
According to Shapiro, Lila a major pension fund and a long time investor Algemeen Burgerlijk Pensioenfonds in Walmart has blacklisted the behemoth, citing poor labor practices and the company anti-union stance as the driving force behind its rejection. Walmart typically shrugs off criticism of its labor practices as union driven propaganda and insist that its employees are happy and well managed, but investing experts say that when one of the largest pension funds in the world withdraws its supports, it would be wise to listen. It’s the same message the American labor movement has been pushing for decades and finally does something about it. I think Walmart workers need to borrow ideas from Postal Workers Union or Teamsters. Guess what when all the good jobs has gone and you have nothing left but companies like Walmart and McDonalds hiring all the workers, this is nothing more than modern slavery. Just imagine the American people don’t have to be educated to work in these types of jobs.
Some may think we come a long way from discriminatory acts when it comes to most corporations like Walmart. New corporate ideas have been enforced by new government rules such as FLMA, (Family Medical Leave Act) These changes have made a difference in some dynamics of fairness when it comes to women and minorities that experience a less fortune path. Meanwhile, FMLA has allowed those employed by these companies to work without the fear of losing their job during trying times. Although these same employees before their misfortune where loyal and faithful people who abided by the company policy still get looked over when it comes to fair practices of pay and promotions. How could these unfair practices be so hard to prove to the average working minority? If any employee tries to challenge this fact you are either let go from the work place before any action is in effect. Sometimes you are ask to prove, if other employees have had the same or similar problem and prove if they had been let go from the position or mistreated for the same reason. Now this is a situation that’s difficult, because people do not want to lose their jobs. And when an employee make this accusation, they are marked for dismissal and they have no chance of a promotion, next as an employee they would be considered a disgruntle employee. Meanwhile, this suggests, an employee has to stay in contact with other employees that have been terminated. Who has the time for that? When, as an employee all they want is security and financial stability for their families. The stress and anxiety of being looked over for a position that they know they are qualified for according to the job description. These employees have the years of experience and even the education. It’s common to be over looked by the corporation. Yet the corporation will ask an employee to train someone or be an intern to those they choose to hire for the position another employee currently holds. Sometimes as an employee it’s hard not to notice the gender and race gap in businesses today. I noticed in the postal service that discrimination was not the norm but most of the managers were trained to be politicians rather than leaders. From my point of view as a leader myself I would never mix politics with managing, because it forgets that people are more important than any product. In order to treat your employees with the respect they deserve it has to be a balance between the employees and product. Also, as a disabled veteran my job was to preserved democracy whether it is foreign or domestic (Human Rights) and lead by example. When mangers don’t treat their employees with respect, the production will slow down and everybody will lose.
According to Abrams, Richard on President Theodore Roosevelt, another great military leader said, “Our aim is not to do away with corporations; on the contrary politics has no place in business. These big aggregations are an inevitable development of modern industrialism, and the effort to destroy them would be futile unless accomplished in ways that would work the utmost mischief to the entire body politic. We can do nothing good in the way of regulating and supervising these corporations until we fix clearly in our minds that we are not attacking the corporations, but endeavoring to do away with any evil in them. We are not hostile towards them, we are merely determined that they should be handled as to serve the public good. We draw the line against misconduct, not against wealth.”
Walmart, one the largest retail stores in the world is making its presence felt throughout the world. Its policies are low wages, sweat shops in China, India and other various countries in the world and not to mention, its incredible low prices it receives from its suppliers, in return stocks its shelves with that merchandise, and its major contributions to the political arena has gone global, corporations should never get involved with politics. As a soldier and consumer I have seen the power of the mighty dollar and the power that these corporations have in other countries, no corporation should have this kind of power it harbors evil doings mainly against the people, and has genuine loyalty only to the stockholders.
According to Most Wanted, Global Exchange, just recently Walmart has stop providing healthcare benefits to their part time workers. Walmart has inconsistently provided safe working environments. In January 2012, workers at NFI Industries, which transports Walmart products, complained with OSHA of dangerous conditions, including abnormal heat, unfair speed quotas, and broken equipment posing hazards, and excessive dust and chemicals causing dizziness and nose bleeds. Walmart was cited for $ 257,000 on account of these violations. Most Wanted, continues to say that Walmart treats its minority employees unfairly. In March 2005, Walmart agreed to pay $11 million to settle a federal investigation finding that in at least 250 cases, it employs undocumented immigrants to clean stores. But in the stores that are located overseas like China, India etc. According to the International Labor Law Rights Fund, Walmart sweat shop workers in China, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Swaziland are denied minimum wage, forced to work overtime without compensation, and refused legally mandated healthcare. Other workers’ rights that have been discovered is locked bathrooms, starvation wages, pregnancy test, denial and access to healthcare, and workers are being fired and blacklisted if they try to defend themselves.
Most Americans know that Walmart insource, products made in China, but the way they acquire these goods are barbaric, starting how they get the employees to make these products. The Chinese government really doesn’t have independent human rights groups, so this would be a place to set up a big business like Walmart. Walmart governs itself and no one can tell it what to do with its money, power or its workers, everybody should stop buying Walmart and strike.
Cited Works
Abrams, Richard M.. "Roosevelt, Theodore." Presidents: A Reference History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (April 9, 2013). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3436400033.html
Dishman, Lydia. "Target vs. Walmart -- Which One Is a Better Place to Work?" AOL Jobs. Entry Level Jobs, 2 May 2011. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. .
Frank, T. A. "A Brief History of Wal-Mart." Reclaim Democracy. Washington Monthly, 12 Apr. 2006. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. .
"Most Wanted" | Global Exchange." "Most Wanted" | Global Exchange. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2013. .
Shapiro, Lila. "Walmart Blacklisted By Major Pension Fund Over Poor Labor Practices." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Jan. 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. .