Wal-Mart is a Menace to Society

"Paying your employees well is not only the right thing to do but it makes for good business."

-- Jim Sinegal, CEO, Costco

Throughout the history of America, there have been many businesses that come and go. Success is not guaranteed to everyone. But in the case of Sam Walton, it was different. Sam Walton was the founder the most controversial supermarket chain in existence: Wal-Mart. From the buyer's perspective, Wal-Mart is just a generous business chain which has extremely low prices. But upon closer inspection, the wickedness of Wal-Mart and the company practices become apparent. I think Wal-Mart has a negative impact on society. Wal-Mart mistreats employees, follows unfair business practices, and hurts small businesses.

First, Wal-Mart mistreats their employees. Wal-Mart is known to have the lowest prices out of any other store. A consumer never realizes how Wal-Mart manages to have such low prices. One may think that Wal-Mart goes into a loss for the sake of their customers, but I beg to differ. Wal-Mart buys all of their products from other countries. They have warehouses and production plants in other poor countries such as China. These warehouses are often referred to as "sweatshops", often due to the terrible conditions that the workers have to bare. This saves a lot of money when it comes to wages, since countries like China have no minimum wage laws. The workers range from every age possible. It would be hard making a living when a person only gets paid a dime a day. Also, Wal-Mart does not have to provide benefits or insurance to any of these out-of-country workers. If Wal-Mart was such a great company as people think it was, they should instead make production plants over in the United States. Havin...

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...ety and has a negative impact on everyone. Mistreating employees, unfair business practices, and hurting small businesses are just some of the vicious activities that Wal-Mart participates in.Wal-Mart is not a business, but a tyrant. This tyrant must be stopped before it is too late. Wal-Mart may have started out with good intentions, but it is not that way anymore. Now they are just another company who cares about their money rather than worrying about customers, employees, and society itself. Wal-Mart will learn its lesson, even if it is at the expense of others.

Works Cited

De Coster, Karen., and Brad Edmonds. "The Case for Wal-Mart." Kirszner and Mandell 631-36.

Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell, eds. Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. 11th ed. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. New York: Bedford, 2010.