Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart

Introduction

Wal-Mart is the company of retail world's largest operating in 13 countries and has approximately 2.1 million employees worldwide. According to the ranking by the International Monetary Fund in 2007, compared the company's revenue to GDP of world economies that would be positioned in 27th place, in other words, Wal-Mart has such economic power that operates company as a nation in which each of their decisions (strategies) has a positive or negative impact on all those within and outside the organization.

Discussion

Overview

Over the years, the main strategy of Wal-Mart to position itself as a leader in the world has been providing its customers with products at low prices, which added to his good management of supply, have made ??the company a growth constant. The practices of Wal-Mart is far from ethical and sustainable because they only focus on increasing profits and ignore the concerns of its employees, its impact on the environment and society in general. To this corporation the main thing is to sell more and more, without regard to most of its stakeholders: employees, who earn poverty wages and have the economic means to have health insurance, community and entering cities regardless of their arrival that endangers the continuity of small businesses, the environment and the company encourages excessive consumption that undermines the environmental sustainability but also economic, among other points that have been discussed but little concern reaffirm the Wal-Mart to society.

A clear example of how Wal-Mart influences the society is in terms of the salaries of its employees. According to a bulletin issued by Wal-Mart Watch, every time the Company enters a new city lost almost as many jobs as they arise, in addition, the income of this causes the local average wage decreases. Thus we have shown that ethical decisions are made ??at corporate level have an impact both on the same employees who work, including overtime, minimum wage in unfavorable conditions (discrimination, uninsured and under anti-union policies) and in the surrounding business jobs as Wal-Mart sets the standard and an example for other companies worldwide, companies see the success of their strategies and try to imitate them, especially in regions where there is no good regulation by the State or where this is an ally of the company.

As can be seen at the corporate level strategies involve some form of decision for or against society in this sense we can say that the ethical dilemmas faced by Wal-Mart in their daily operations should be analyzed and made so that discussion is the best solution that benefits its stakeholders, without deviating from its target.

The main ethical dilemmas faced by Wal-Mart are those related to:

Employees vs. shareholders: The Company sacrificed the welfare of its employees in search of higher profits for their shareholders. In this case, managers must decide if they meet the requirements of the shareholders or watch first by the human factor of the organization, after all, is what gives our customers face and to express their displeasure formally to the company can generate ...