Wal-Mart is the largest retail store in the United States of America and also the leading private employer. Wal-Mart owns more than 10,000 retail stores in 27 countries. Currently, the number of employees stands at 2.2 million globally with 1.3 million of them in the United States alone (2012 Workforce 2).
As it is true of most multinational companies, Wal-Mart is highly diverse. The company employs more than 44,000 Asian associates, 174,000 Hispanic associates, 272,000 African-American associates, 6,000 native Hawaiian associates, 14,000 American-Indian associates, 813,000 female associates and 20,000 associates belonging to two or more races (2012 Workforce 2). The management’s commitment to diversity has been recognized internationally owing to the coveted awards they have received (Samson and Richard 511). Through their innovative plans to support women’s progress to prominent positions, Wal-Mart has stood out as one of the companies that strive for cultural awareness. Moreover, it is recognized for its efforts in protecting their gay, bisexual and lesbian employees.
Wal-Mart has always strived to offer competitive wages and salary packages to its employees. It also offers a health insurance scheme to its workers under its Medicaid program. Additionally, many employees benefit from internal on-the-job trainings and developments chances available. The higher management has prioritized employee well being and, it has also portrayed itself as a socially responsible firm.
One of the gravest allegations of unjust treatment reported by some Wal-Mart workers is that of being asked to “work off-the-clock”. This is whereby employees are coerced to do overtime work for which they do not get paid (Carroll and Ann 699). Additionally, employees are denied the opportunity to join unions, which is a tool that international law recognizes as a vital way for addressing workplace fears. This poses a serious threat to their workplace friendliness.
Works Cited
Carroll, Archie B., and Ann K. Buchholtz. Business & society: ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management. 8th ed. Australia: South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.
Samson, Danny, and Richard L. Daft. Management. Pacific rim ed. South Melbourne, Vic.: Thomson Learning, 2003. Print.
Wal-Mart. 2012 Workforce Diversity. n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://cdn.corporate.walmart.com/d5/34/df2a49394a7797f5399beeb67f9d/2012- workforce-diversity-report.pdf>.
