Preview

Unethical Practice in Business - Walmart's Gender Discrimination

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1919 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Unethical Practice in Business - Walmart's Gender Discrimination
DEFINITION: Behavior Business Adheres to in Its Daily Dealing

Business ethics is the behavior that a business adheres to in its daily dealings with the world. The ethics of a particular business can be diverse. They apply not only to how the business interacts with the world at large, but also to their one-on-one dealings with a single customer.

When business people speak about “business ethics
They usually mean one of three things:
1. Avoid breaking the criminal law in one’s work-related activity.
2. Avoid action that may result in civil law suits against the company.
3. Avoid actions that are bad for the company image.

Businesses are especially concerned with these three things since they involve loss of money and company reputation.

Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business. To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line. It could be called capitalism in its purest form. Making money is not wrong in itself. It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior.

Good business ethics should be a part of every business. There are many factors to consider. When a company does business with another that is considered unethical, does this make the first company unethical by association? Some people would say yes, the first business has a responsibility and it is now a link in the chain of unethical businesses.

Many global businesses, including most of the major brands that the public uses, can be seen not to think too highly of good business ethics. Many major brands have been fined millions for breaking ethical business laws. Money is the major deciding factor. Ethics is a branch of social science. It deals with moral principles and social values. It helps us to classify, what is good and what is bad? It tells us to do good things and avoid doing bad things.

Is ethical behavior good or bad for business?
The



References: Riley, Jim. "Business Ethics - Issues." Business Ethical Issues and Examples. Tutor2U, 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 02 Feb. 2013. . "What Is Business Ethics?" WiseGEEK. Conjecture Corporation, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2013. . "Typical Examples of Bad Business Ethics: Companies You Know." Bright Hub. Ed. Jean Scheid. Bright Hub Inc, 18 May 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2013. . Totenberg, Nina. "Supreme Court Limits Wal-Mart Discrimination Case." NPR. NPR, 20 June 2011. Web. 03 Feb. 2013. . Korosec, Tom, and Andrew Harris. "Wal-Mart Asks Judge to Dismiss Texas Discrimination Suit." BloombergBusinessweek. BLOOMBERG L.P., 4 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2013. . Fisk, Margaret Cronin. "Wal-Mart Wins Dismissal of Texas Women’s Class Action."BloombergBusinessweek. BLOOMBERG L.P., 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2013. . WAL-MART v. DUKES. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 03 February 2013. .

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Equal Pay And The Wage Gap

    • 2099 Words
    • 9 Pages

    (n.d.). Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Betty Dukes (10-277). LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/10-277…

    • 2099 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the unstable society that we live in today, Wal-Marts’ affordable prices are eye-catching to the middle class in the United States. One of the biggest debates that come up when discussing Wal-Mart, a global supercenter, is if it really is as friendly and appealing as it appears. In Karen Olssons’ article “Up Against Wal-Mart,” she emphasizes her perception of the poor treatment that the employees receive at Wal-Mart and emphasizes the struggle that the everyday Wal-Mart supercenter employee goes through. Olsson, a senior editor at Texas Monthly, who has written for Slate, the Washington Post, and the New York Times Magazine, opposes the actions of Wal-Mart. In contrast to Olsson, Sebastian Mallaby, a columnist for…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The essays “Up Against Wal-Mart” by Karen Olsson and “Progressive Wal-Mart. Really” by Sebastian Mallaby portray Wal-Mart to two completely different lights. Olsson shames Wal-Mart for its poor health benefits, the meager pay Wal-Mart employees receive, and the managers who purposely fail to schedule enough workers. Mallaby, on the other hand, commends Wal-Mart on how much money the franchise saves customers.…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When you hear the words low prices it is hard not to think of Wal-Mart. The company that revolutionized discount shopping. But what happens behind the scenes? How is it that the world’s largest retail chain can offer so many deals? In the last 20 years the anti-Walmart campaign seems to continuously be on the minds of many. Sebastian Mallaby and Karen Olsson share radically different views on the ethics of the Wal-Mart Corporation. In “Up Against Wal-Mart” we are forced to believe that Wal mart is a vicious company that shows no remorse when firing employees and cutting their benefits. The author produces factual information and eyewitness accounts pointing to these horrible deeds that the large corporation run by money hungry businessmen have cheated many employees out of proper wages, proper benefits and even their jobs. While Sebastian Mallaby depicts Wal-Mart like the average American company. In his article “Progressive Wal-Mart. Really.” He states that while Wal-Mart is responsible for many questionable deeds, they are merely doing what they have to in order to survive.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Why Wal-Mart is good” Steve Maich makes a number of statements supporting Walmart and its expansion, while Liza Featherstone disagrees with “Down and Out in Discount America” and supports her own statements citing Walmart’s various evils. The authors primary disagree not only over the various values that are key to the Walmart debates, but also of important factual information.…

    • 679 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Is Wal-Mart a Monopsony?

    • 1764 Words
    • 8 Pages

    2. Lynn, Barry. "The Case for Breaking up Wal-Mart." Harper 's Magazine. 25 July 2006. 3 Nov. 2006 http://www.alternet.org/workplace/39251/.…

    • 1764 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Maher, Kris, and Ann Zimmerman. “Union Intensifies Efforts to Organize Workers at Wal-Mart.” Wall Street Journal (2009): A4. 19 Apr. 2009 .…

    • 3328 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wal-Mart Case Summary

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Betty Dukes and five other women, who were Wal-Mart employees, filed a class-action lawsuit against alleged infringement upon civil rights done by Wal-Mart. They argued on behalf of themselves and 1.5 million women—who had been employed by Wal-Mart after December 26, 1998—that Wal-Mart implemented corporate policies that resulted in nationwide discrimination against employed females. They claimed there was a moratorium in promotion in comparison to male employees; furthermore, they contended females were meted out lower pay when it came to doing the same job as their male coworkers. Wal-Mart rebutted by arguing the court ought to require individual lawsuits from Wal-Mart employees because the size of the class made it impossible to…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Assignment: Wal-Mart

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The latest advertising campaign is one of a surprisingly risky and unique platform for Wal-Mart. Still attempting to disassociate itself from the negative image of a discriminatory violator of employee rights and participant of extensive bribery allegations gave way to an, as interpreted, defensive almost challenging response from a seemingly naïve, oblivious, and loyal Lee Scott, CEO or one only too aware and guilt driven angry. That is giving the CEO the benefit of the doubt unless privy to undocumented evidence to refute the crimes allegedly committed. A lengthy investigation into the bribery allegations includes that sometime in January 2006, the case had reached a critical juncture. Wal-Mart’s leaders were again weighing whether to approve a full investigation that would inevitably focus on a star executive already publicly discussed as a potential successor to Mr. Scott, (Barstow, David, 2012); the same quoted in the latest ad campaign.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Sam Walton: a Biography

    • 3032 Words
    • 13 Pages

    America 's richest man, Sam Walton, was not always rich. Growing up during the depression, he struggled to help his family then, not knowing he would one day own a multi-billion dollar business, and then struggle to help the poorest of America becoming one of the top philanthropists in the United States. Also seen as a great leader, not everyone agrees on the "greatness" of the man who laid the foundation of some of the most significant management concepts used today in the business world.…

    • 3032 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Through the course of running a business, a company interacts and cooperates with many different distinct groups of people who have some kind of claim upon the company’s success. These groups are known as stakeholders and each group has a different set of goals for the company, as well as influences upon their business. One of these major stakeholders is the government, who act on a local, municipal, and federal level. The government’s regulations, authorizations, and general dealings can all have major effects on the way a company is run. These rulings, as do all actions influencing a corporation, have moral implications as well, whether ethical or unethical. It is perfectly fair for people to organize as self-governing groups and fight the damage Wal-Mart causes in communities that depend on the innovation rampant in small business operations.…

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Business ethics are controversial given there are no universally accepted approaches for handling ethical issues when they arise. This assignment allows you to explore business ethics, right and wrong, and the conflict that may occur between your personal morals and what is deemed acceptable by the organization.Explore the online library for scholarly resources on business ethics and virtues. Using Microsoft Word, prepare a paper that discusses the following questions: * What are business ethics? * What does "right" really mean? How do you know when something is truly "right" or totally "wrong"? * Describe the virtues that are most important to fostering an ethical organization. * Describe an incident when your moral standards conflicted with someone else 's moral standards (either personally or in the workplace). What was the outcome? Would another outcome have been more desirable? If so, why?…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wal-Mart Scandal

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages

    New York Times reporter David Barstow uncovered a shocking story against retail giant, Wal-Mart. His investigation started after Wal-Mart shut down its internal investigation over the possible bribery of Mexican officials. Wal-Mart used these bribes to accelerate growth in their Mexican zoning areas. These allegations surfaced when a Hispanic lawyer contacted Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville Arkansas. This lawyer had inside information on Wal-Mart’s bribes, as he represented them in their acts. He was used as a middle man for Wal-Mart’s payoffs to these officials.…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The appropriate outcome of this case would be that Walmart violated the right for equal pay and equal promotion due to the way it conducted the promotions and defined payment for its employees. The company as is evident in the plaintiff complaints have been discriminating against women both regarding promotions and payment, violating The Equal Pay Act of 1963, equal employment opportunity act 1963 and the Civil Act of 1964, (Diversity and Managing Diversity,…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Nelson K.A., & Trevino L. K. (2004). Managing Business Ethics-Straight Talk About How To Do It Right (Third Edition). Hoboken, NJ. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.…

    • 1525 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics