Preview

History of WalMart: Recognition and Reward of Employees

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2100 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
History of WalMart: Recognition and Reward of Employees
Table of Content
Executive Summary
Introduction
History of Wal-Mart
Recognizing and Rewarding Employees
Labour Relations and Collective Bargaining
Conclusion
Bibliography

Executive Summary

In this paper, I will discuss the company Wal-Mart, which is a worldwide known retailer. I will particularly address two chapters. The first part of the paper will describe the way Wal-Mart’s employees are rewarded and recognized for their work. The second part will discuss the much controverted: labour relations and collective bargaining. First, I start by covering a bit of the history of the company as well as some important dates. Throughout its history, it is possible to see how fast the company grew in terms of stores, employees, and sales. Next, I continue to relate the information I obtained about Wal-Mart to chapter seven in the HRM book, Essentials of Managing Human Resources. This part contains some of the voluntary and financial benefits offered to the employees by the employer and also how employees are evaluated. Afterwards, I create a link with the difficult subject of collective bargaining. I tell one story that actually happened in Quebec, in 2005, about someone who left a mark in the history of Wal-Mart. I also tell the possible reasons why an employer would not want his employees to be unionized. Finally, I conclude my research with my opinion on the giant company: Wal-Mart.

Introduction

For this term paper, I chose to research a company that is really profitable for its customers, but very demeaning for its employees. On the contrary, this company has won many prizes including the 2010 Corporation of the year, which is nothing small! As seen in class, I’m referring to the international path Wal-Mart has taken. The reasons why I chose Wal-Mart are simple. First of all we have seen lots of videos in class about this company and the comments were mixed. In one of the videos, the employees who were giving their testimony were complaining about



Bibliography: CorpWatch. (n.d.). Article. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12194 Striking. In B. B. Stewart, HRM the essentials of managing human resources (pp. 323-324). Nelson. Wal-Mart. (n.d.). Careers. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://walmartstores.com/Careers/7750.aspx Wal-Mart. (n.d.). Health and Wellness. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://walmartstores.com/HealthWellness/7624.aspx Wal-Mart. (n.d.). History. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/7603.aspx Wal-Mart. (n.d.). Wal-Mart Stores. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/336.aspx

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In “Up Against Wal-Mart” by Karen Olsson, she finds the truth about how Wal-Mart treats its customers and more importantly how the million dollar company treats its employees. In this essay, Olsson strongly believes that Wal-Mart keeps its stores understaffed and their employees overworked and underpaid, with minimal options for reasonable benefits.…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In opposition to this argument, Mallaby claims that critics of Wal-Mart are oblivious if they think Wal-Mart is the worst corporation when it comes to the way that employees are treated. He believes that it depends on what other corporations Wal-Mart is compared to and gives an example of this stating that “Wal-Mart opened a store in Glendale, Arizona, last year, it received 8,000applications for 525 jobs,” suggesting that not all people think that Wal-Mart mistreats its employees and that their benefits or wages do seem appealing to many (Mallaby 621). Though Mallaby does not discuss unions, Olsson targets this topic and mentions that Wal-Mart quickly rids of unions in order to keep opposition away. Commenting on the unions at Wal-Mart, Olsson says, “To protect the bottom line Wal-Mart is as aggressive at fighting off unions as it is at cutting costs” (Olsson 615). Wal-Mart has a main goal of fighting costs to make them lower than their competitors; therefore, fighting off unions is of utmost importance to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart does not want any opposition and does not want to lose to its competitors. Expanding the issue of working conditions to international relations, Mallaby shows how Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, the new anti-Wal-Mart movie circulating among activist groups, exploits the mistreatment of the Chinese workers that work for Wal-Mart.…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mallaby proposes that when one looks to the savings being made for shoppers to salaries of their employees, of course the most important aspect is the shoppers, not merely that, but employee treatment is debatable. “Wal-Mart’s pay and benefits can be made to look good or bad depending on which other firms you compare them to” Mallaby says, using 8,000 applications received at a newly opened warehouse in Arizona as evidence for the stores high appeal despite the spreading of word to suggest that the pay is undesirable— unjust. Attempting to display fairness, he offers a hypothetical acceptance of an estimated loss to employee earnings; however, he…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Within Karen Olsson’s “Up Against Wal-Mart” logos the author throws numbers at the audience to appeal to our logical sense of financial instability created by the poor benefits and wages Wal-Mart gives its employees. This is the author’s way of depicting the difficult if not impossible means that these families live. This article is very clearly anti Wal mart, mentioning not one instance of any “good deed” done by the corporation. Using each of the first-hand account the author shows a different aspect of the cruel mistreatment of employees. Even telling us about Wal mart’s tendency to hire a major company to bust up any union supporters in the corporation. Using logos the author shows us all the numbers that appeal to our financial reasoning, presenting these numbers that lead us to the conclusion that the workers at Walmart are…

    • 1238 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Liza’s article is very critical of Wal-Mart’s treatment of its employees and community. She makes the point that Wal-Mart attempts to constantly get the employees that are most in touch with their customers and uses them to exploit their consumer base. Liza makes the argument that Wal-Mart has no sense of value for their workers, who are abused and taken advantage of in almost every way. These are people who work for extremely low wages and, she cites an instance where Wal-Mart employees were locked away after they had completed their hours, totally exploited. She also says that these lack of values are a result of Wal-Mart’s low prices, as what they lack in profit is made up by low labor costs and violations of workers rights. Wal-Mart goes as far as discriminating against its workers and paying them wages which force them to buy from their own store. But Maich disagrees with her arguments, under the line that the majority of Wal-Mart’s workers appear to be content dispite the low wages and questionable benefits; The amount of interest in the jobs available at Wal-Mart’s would appear to contradict Liza’s arguments that Wal-Mart abuses its workers. So why would people join a company that abuses them? More or less, Liza makes the argument that they are the only jobs available to these workers as sort of another Wal-Mart…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Up against Wal-Mart

    • 1555 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Karen Olsson believes that Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer company, under pays their employees for the amount of work they do daily. They do not offer good working conditions for their employees or enough medical benefits to support themselves and their families. Sebastian Mallaby says that Wal-Mart is not wrong for the way that they run their business; he feels as though Wal-Mart does their consumers a favor by keeping the wages low and offering “low prices” (620). It’s just business! They have to do what it takes to remain the world’s top retailer and continue to, “enrich shareholders, and put rivals out of business” (620). Karen Olsson and Sebastian Mallaby both address the topic of big business in today’s economy, but I find Karen Olsson’s argument to be the most persuasive because she has more information and quotes to support her opinion and views of the way that Wal-Mart treats their workers, while Sebastian Mallaby’s article is quite the opposite. Their opinions are very different but they share common interests which are: Wal-Mart, their customers, and their workers.…

    • 1555 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wal-Mart Good or Bad?

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The largest corporation in America with $378,799 million in revenues and employing 2,055,000 employees, Wal-Mart has become one of the greatest success stories in American history, but also one of the most controversial stories since Standard Oil (Fortune). But with all big business comes critics. Today’s critics suggest Wal-Mart unfairly uses it power of size, which is goliath, to exploit employees and impoverish nations, ruin competition, and place undue pressure on the government. However, one item most critics fail to mention is that Wal-Mart creates consumer welfare. Throughout this paper, I will analyze each criticism of Wal-Mart and sufficiently cite evidence proving the greater good that is realized with the existence of Wal-Marts worldwide.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world, employing over 2 million people in 10,800 stores, with over $469 billion dollars in sales last year alone (Hess, 2013). The “Big Box” company always seems to be in the spotlight, good or bad, most anyone you talk to has an opinion. Wal-Mart has sparked many controversial topics such as below poverty level wages, the bullying of small businesses, effects on the environment and unaffordable health care, to name a few. However, since their inception, one thing is for sure; Wal-Mart is a money making machine.…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The impact of Wal-Mart on the local economy” is an article based in a film released in 2005 called Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices. This article summarizes how Wal-Mart poor employment practices affect the local economy many ways in the United States with a great amount of controversy. According to statistics a typical Wal-Mart store hires anywhere from 150 to 350 new people but is estimated that more than half of Wal-Mart’s employees leave the company each year. One of the positive impacts of Wal-Mart is that it creates jobs but the quality of these jobs causes a big controversy. “An Article published in the New York Times by Steven Greenhouse states that that an internal audit of Wal-Mart in 2000 of 25,000 employees during a time period of one week found 60,767 missed breaks, 15,705 lost meal times, and 1,371 instances of minors working too late, too many hours in a day, or during the school day. Wal-Mart has undoubtedly created jobs, but the quality of the jobs has been reason for question”…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Karl Marx and Walmart

    • 2109 Words
    • 9 Pages

    ‘A specter is haunting the economy of the world-the specter of multinational conglomerates. All the powers of America have entered into a holy alliance to exercise this specter: the President, the Fed, Wall Street, CEO’s, lobbyists, government, and government regulators.’ This specter is something new that was not seen in days of mine. I did however, prophesize that events such as these could happen in the future. There is no company that earns as much revenue in the world. By giving some financial statements a mere cursory glance, Walmart is by far the largest company in the world. Is there another store that allows a customer to buy nearly everything they need or want, and have these items under one roof… for, on average, the lowest price possible? Food stuff, car audio systems, gift cards, electronics, welding caps, and furniture all sold at cut-rate prices. Today I am here to talk about how capitalist companies such as Walmart does this and the secret of their economic success. The key ingredients to this success include taking advantage of a workforce who is desperate to work due to an unhealthy division of labor caused by job specialization. Another ingredient added is the exploitation of these workers. Lastly, there needs to be some insight on how Walmart is able to keep such a wide variety of goods in one store and overload the senses of the customers and how customers see these items.…

    • 2109 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Walmart Research Paper

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages

    I have chosen Wal-Mart Stores Inc for my final paper topic selection they are also known as WMT on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) . I am intrigued with their success but also scared about how dependant I have become with my shopping at their stores. This store is not only a retail giant it is also retail bully that forces other stores to go out of business. Wal-Mart not only specializes in retail items such as clothing, jewelry, lawn, and garden they also have super stores that specialize in pharmacy, groceries, auto repair, and check cashing in addition to the services mentioned above. The only other store that has similar retail items and services is Super K Mart which has seriously declined in retail status over the past 10 years. Wal-Mart offers many services and has found a way not only to be competitive but to be dominate when it comes to cost savings. Their product lines are name brand in most cases and are offered at below retail prices on a regular basis which most stores in their competition range can't compete with. These stores are easily accessible in rural and urban city settings, Wal-Mart has 8,970 stores across the world. This global giant is currently the biggest private employer across the world employing over 2 million people world wide and still growing. This store has a great impact on the US economy it helps boost US consumer spending habits and helps the employment rate. I can’t think of another privately owned company that has this big of an impact on the economy. There are a lot complaints about the low pay rates the company offers to its employees but Wal-Mart is offering jobs when other industries and companies are laying off and putting hiring freezes on new positions. These job opportunities may not pay well but it’s most definitely an alternative to being unemployed with no income. Overall Wal-Mart is a solid company that has a broad business portfolio in investments, social responsibility, and ethics which for the most part…

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    ‘The Real Facts About Wal-Mart ' 2005, Wake-Up Wal-Mart, Retrieved May 20, 2007, from http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/facts/…

    • 3711 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ethical Perspectives

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It is evident that Wal-Mart’s ethical perspective or moral view is contingent on profit or profit potential. The global labor force of Wal-Mart enables this retail giant to continue to grow and succeed by providing lower operating costs. The legal ethics of this company are asserted globally and would withstand scrutiny in most cases. However, the virtue ethics of Wal-Mart are questionable about the well-being of their employees, specifically the hourly employees. Wal-Mart is targeted by its own labor force in the United States and in China as well. In the United States, Wal-Mart operates on the brink of ethics by using its legal stature to suppress worker wages and benefits. In China, Wal-Mart is facing legal repercussions from workers’ unions because of unfair labor practices. There have been examples of underpay, denying overtime, poor working conditions, and physical abuse in China. This big-box retailer boasts its low prices and drives its profits at the expense of its labor force but should focus more on integrating value with values.…

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Why Is Walmart Unethical

    • 2134 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Their imposition of Kant’s second imperative, their production of alienation, and their stand against the principle form of act utilitarianism shows an immoral relationship between Wal-Mart and its employees and suppliers. The way they treat their employees maximizes their profits at the cost of burdening…

    • 2134 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Walmart Impact On Society

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages

    As the largest retailer in America, Walmart has been called “one of the most impactful organizations in the history of humanity” (Roberts 1); however, we must ask ourselves what type of impact Walmart is making. Because they are such a large corporation, Walmart has the power and ability to greatly influence our society either for the good or for the bad, and most people agree that their impression on our current society is a negative one. There is lots of controversy over the ethical and economic repercussions our country faces because of Walmart. It is evident to most people that Walmart negatively impacts communities, treats employees unfairly, and facilitates child labor in American and abroad.…

    • 1218 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics