The Cause and Effect of Wal-Mart’s Marketing Power

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Cause and Effect of Wal-Mart’s
In a time where the economy is at its lowest, Wal-mart, the leading retail company in the world, yielded nearly 17 billion dollars. Yet in spite of their soaring profits, over 40 percent of Wal-mart’s employees are struggling to support their families on their meager wages. To contest unfair treatment in the workplace; many employees who are tired of the retaliation, low wages, inadequate health care, and gender discrimination have joined forces nationwide to take a stand against this conglomerate by attempting to organize unions, protesting, and in cases of blatant abuse, filing lawsuits. While Wal-Mart has had much criticism for its policies, the organization denies these allegations and defends its practices. Standing firm, Wal-Mart announces that their associates are a valued component of the company’s success; however, employees of the company believe that actions speak louder than words and find it difficult to conceive that the employers at Wal-Mart have their best interest at heart.

Wal-Mart the Goliath
In 1962, Sam Walton opened his first Wal-mart store in Rogers, Arkansas. Sam’s philosophy of treating his employees as associates and his commitment to saving his customers money would be the driving force of his success. Sam’s strategy of keeping the shelves stocked with high-quality merchandise at the lowest possible prices would prove so successful that he would quickly surpass all other retailers in the industry. In 1970, Wal-mart would add to its empire by going public. This savvy move would not only increase the company’s profits, but it would give it the edge it needed to expand. Soon the Waltons would open other companies Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart International, and Sam’s Club tha...

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Musgrave, J. (2012, October 5). Female Ex-Wal-Mart Employees File Federal Discrimination Suit Over Promotions. McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
Nelson Lichtenstein. (2006). Wal-Mart The Face of Twenty-First-Century Capitalism. New York: The New Press.
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