Introduction
The global marketplace has witnessed an influx of promotions and messages revolving round the issues of corporate social responsibility and the effect of the economy of social values. Most of the matter of the debate revolved round the appeals that are made to governments, businesses, and social organizations to create pressure on business entities for improving the quality of life for the public. Wal-Mart is one of the largest retailers in the US and across the globe. It employs one percent of the overall populations of the US workers. However, the company routinely faces criticism from political activists and the media. The company claims that the low price approach it has adopted enables the consumers to save significant sums of money. Much of the saved money goes to the families having lowest income (Bowie 19). The question arises that if Wal-Mart is such a great business success and it helps its customers in saving at least ten to twenty billion dollars every year, then why it attracts such widespread hostility. The paper discusses the ways in which Wal-Mart has maintained its market position and reputation despite several lawsuits, criticism, and charges of unfair treatment of its employees. The paper deals in ethics and social responsibility aspects of Wal-Mart.
The injustices that Wal-Mart has been associated with are not unknown to the consumer. Because of such awareness, a large segment of public has developed a negative image of Wal-Mart. Despite such negative image, the consumer behavior observed in the case of Wal-Mart is in direct contradiction with the negative view. In reality, Wal-Mart has continued to grow and prosper despite facing hundreds of trials and studies that give the giant retailer a negative public image. In 2011, Wal-Mart had $419 billion sales and it captured 13.5 percent market share in the retail sector (Bowie 20).
It is generally argued that Wal-Mart is no way near to ethical practices, hurts the economy of the US, and negatively affects the communities in which it builds. The reason behind maintaining the growth and success of the company irrespective of damaged reputation is the creation of perfect environment in which companies like Wal-Mart can thrive and flourish. The recession in 2008-09 badly hit the US economy. Consumers started having tight budgets that led them look to the retail chains offering lowest prices. The rising unemployment rate post-recession also adds to the continued success of the retail chain. Thus, given the current economic situation, people show less reluctance in taking a job and working with Wal-Mart in spite of various controversies that surround the retailer. They see taking a job at Wal-Mart is better than remaining without job (Copeland and Labuski 92).
Wal-Mart has made best attempts to cover its unethical tracks. However, it has become abundantly clear that the business of the company is questionable when it comes to ethics and social responsibility. The company continues to hurt its employees, suppliers, communities, and ultimately the country. Unfortunately, as the US citizens have lost three to four thousand dollars on an average from their annual earnings, consumers have also become increasingly indifferent to the outcomes and influences of unethical practices of Wal-Mart. The reason is that they want to maintain their high standards of living. Consumers, at the individual level, continue to save money while purchasing at the Wal-Mart stores. However, they do not understand that money saved at the personal level directly affects the growth of communities and the economy of the country on the whole. Wherever Wal-Mart goes, it drives out small retailers and takes away jobs in the large retail sector. Thus, the focus of the American consumers on self has made them learn to look at the operations of the company in the other way round (Crofoot).
Many industries at the global level try to win consumers by applying the stakeholder theory and involving in corporate social responsibility. However, the retail market has transformed nearly to monopoly. Wal-Mart holds the top position in the proverbial food chain and thus seems to be unbending to social responsibility and business ethics. It is a fact that no business can survive and foster without their customers/consumers. Thus, consumers in the US have their share of responsibility in allowing and letting the conglomerate behave in an unethical way (Crofoot).
Despite the controversies surrounding its business, Wal-Mart finds itself in favor with many local communities in which it is located. Wal-Mart claims that it understands its responsibility and importance of giving back to the communities in which it is located. Community relations of Wal-Mart have seen an association with more than one 100,000 charitable organizations and more than $2 billion in the activities for fighting hunger in the US (Crofoot). For a large segment of consumers, the focus is on the fact that Wal-Mart provides them with lower prices than any other retail store. In the first look, it seems that large number of jobs is created when the company opens its retail store in any community. However, on deeper analysis, it is clear that presence of Wal-Mart in any community reduces the employment rate in the retail sector by 2.7 percent (Crofoot). As an outcome, many communities cannot make up for such loss of income. Impact of Wal-Mart phenomenon on rural communities is huge. Wal-Mart in 2011 listed its five primary goals one of which was to make food healthier and more affordable by building stores in underserved communities (Copeland and Labuski 92). For many communities, arrival of the store means a good access to a large number of groceries and merchandise at lower prices than what they used to pay (Massengill 54).
Many people view activism related to anti-Wal-Mart as the signal of disregard that liberal and overeducated urbanites feel towards rural section. Most of the Americans are ambivalent and feel like this only. Even the segment that opposes expansion of Wal-Mart on grounds of society, politics and aestheticism finds the attraction of low prices and one-stop shopping and finds it impossible to resist the store and its offerings completely. As the company tends to push its expansions into the urban areas of the US as well as the world, it works hard and successfully manages to discharge its critics as elitists or present itself as the free market solution for addressing social problems (Copeland and Labuski 94).
Conclusion
Wal-Mart is a successful retail chain in the US and across the world. It experiences continuous growth and success in its business despite huge criticism for low wage employment and taking away jobs in communities. However, the low prices offered by the company, weak economy, and tight budgets of consumers enable the company to successfully expand its business.
Works Cited
Bowie, Norman. Business Ethics in the 21st Century. London: Springer Science & Business Media, 2013. Print.
Copeland, Nicholas, and Christine Labuski. The World of Wal-Mart: Discounting the American Dream. London: Routledge, 2013. Print.
Crofoot, Alexander. Wal-Mart: Rolling Back on Ethics. Web. 14 Nov. 2014. <http://www.neumann.edu/academics/divisions/business/journal/review2012/crofoot.pdf>.
Massengill, Rebekah P. Wal-Mart Wars: Moral Populism in the Twenty-First Century. New York: NYU Press, 2013. Print.
