Ethical Issues In Walmart

The company has been sued via a class action lawsuit for allegedly disrespecting the human rights of workers in foreign countries (Wal-Mart, 2016). Workers claim to have been denied minimum wages and forced to work overtime; there are even allegations that management physically beat employees (Wal-Mart, 2016). Multiple allegations of safety violations also exist within the overseas corporations (Wal-Mart, 2016). If accepted the class action lawsuit could represent up to 500,000 foreign workers (Wal-Mart, 2016).

Since 2012, Walmart employees at several locations across the United States have rallied to strike on Black Friday in an effort to protest against the low wages and for better work hours (Jamieson, 2014). Workers claim that the hours

A past spokesperson for the company has gone on record as stating that Walmart stores are visited by almost 100 million people per week, and with billions of yearly revenue and the significant amount of publicity the company gets, it is almost as if the company has a bullseye on its back (Willing, 2001). Is it possible that Sam Walton was mistaken when he thought that large discount stores could be as successful as smaller ones? From a marketing standpoint the tarnished reputation of Walmart is making the company appear to be more of a curse to the local area in which the store inhabits, than a

S. company reveals that Walmart 's mistreatment of its employees is harming the company 's reputation in the eyes of consumers, which is leading some of its most loyal customers to shop elsewhere (Negative Perception, 2014). Walmart leadership often denies the accusations being spewed about its organization but at the beginning of the 2015 holiday shopping season the company experienced its worst stock decline in over 15 years; the six to twelve percent decline is nothing to ignore (Hanauer, 2015). Critics blame Walmart’s subpar employment practices and low wages for driving away the middle class consumer in which the company heavily relies on (Hanauer, 2015). The company’s low pay wages contributes to the “demise” of the middle class (Hanauer, 2015). Often times Walmart employees can’t afford to shop with the company; this of course contributes to the decline in revenue (Hanauer, 2015). This concept is in keeping with the basic law of capitalism “When workers have more money, businesses have more customers – and when businesses have more customers, they hire more workers. It is this positive feedback loop between customers and businesses that is the fundamental driver of economic growth,” (Hanauer, 2015). It is obvious to me that Walmart is not longer living up to Sam Walton’s goal of being the best retailer in consumer’s