Unethical Business Practices by Wal-Mart

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Recommended: Walmarts corporate social responsibility practices

If Wal-Mart has such little regard for their own employees, it would make it difficult for a company to have minimal regard to where their merchandise is coming from. On the documentary, The High Price of Low Cost, informs of the countries and Wal-Mart’s effects on these countries, including its presence for manufacturing in China. The workers work in conditions of extreme temperatures from morning until dawn and provided boarding, which is shared with several others and lined with bunk beds. The board and utilities are deducted from their wages even if the workers choose not to stay on the facilities the board is still deducted from their pay. These workers that are looking for employment to make a better future for their families are provided wages of as little as $3 per day.

“Doing the right thing and doing things right” (Devin) spoken by their CEO at a conference on their profits and annual reports, however this does not pertain to their employees or their suppliers even though he states “the Wal-Mart way is to stay the course, because Wal-Mart is too important to individual families that are stretching a budget, to important to the suppliers who employee millions of people, to important our associates who we value and love so much." (Devin). Wal-Mart values its employees and suppliers so much; “since 2011, Wal-Mart has spent over $35 million and hired more than 300 outside lawyers, accountants, and investigators to deal with bribery issues” (Sethi) and Wal-Mart’s “penalties under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Securities Exchange Commission regulatory filings are likely to be in the $100 millions, which is such a small fraction of Wal-Mart’s earnings” (Sethi). If only this mega retailer could reinvest this negative...

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...e to purchase their products and would not make a profit. So, businesses should have certain social responsibilities to give back to society and if there is a negative impact on society, it should be mandatory that the business take responsibility to do what is right and ethical to benefit society and other countries.

Works Cited

Basker, Emek. "The Causes and Consequences of Wal-Mart's Growth." Journel of Economic Perspectives. 21.3 (2007): 177-198. Web. 26 Jan. 2014. .

Devin , Smith, Greenwald Robert, Levit Laurie , and Gilliam Jim. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. 2005. Documentary. Robert GreenwaldWeb. 2 Feb 2014.

Sethi, Parkish. "The World of Wal-Mart." Carnegie Council. N.p., 18 May 2013. Web. 26 Jan 2014. .

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