Week 13: Walmart

   To say whether Walmart is actually good for America or not is a question that does not really have a straight answer. Depending on a person’s perspective, you could argue both sides. From a sociological perspective, you would have to look at this issue considering the company from the perspectives of several different groups, recognizing that the answer is complex, and society is generally not in agreement on this issue. 

   Walmart has been called a huge corporation that receives its profits by providing low wages, and putting other businesses- and people- out of work. It has also been honored with the title of ‘most admired company’, and is considered to have one of the best business models ever developed, with regards to highest profit gain. In the early 1990s, the company suffered a severe drop in sales and stock prices. They made enormous changes in management and had to make important drastic decisions to save the company. They were able to pull themselves out of the financial hole and become what it is today- one the of single most successful companies in the world. Walmart found a way to make their business successful, and today it employs millions of people offering low cost products and a ‘one-stop-shop’ for busy people who want to complete all of their errands in one place. These things had to come at a cost however. For workers, especially in foreign countries like China, wages are very low. Small businesses are often bankrupted when a Walmart store is built in the same town. Many production jobs that could be being performed by unemployed Americans are being outsources to foreign countries to lower costs and raise profits. Walmart has also been known to refuse to compromise on prices, such as the example of Rubbermaid. In this case since the developer could not see their products at the same low rate Walmart demanded, they could no longer sell to them. No attempt at compromise was made and Rubbermaid consequentially went out of business. On the one hand, this kind of ruthless bottom line thinking is what makes the company so successful, and consumers so happy. However their actions resulted in a well loved and respected American company to go out of business eliminating jobs and ending careers. 

    A lot of negative press has recently come out on Walmart and yet it is still an extremely successful, powerful company, and I cannot even begin to count the number of times I’ve heard someone say, “I love Walmart”. To say whether or not it is definitively good or bad for American is probably not possible at this point; but may be down the road when we see the long term effects the company has had on our country.