Walmart Ethical Issues

917 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Business ethics and social responsibility quizlet

Ethics/Social Issue
Chapter 1, question 2 of the Rothaermel (2016) text asks, “Corporate leaders are responsible for setting the firm’s strategy to gain and sustain a competitive advantage. Should managers be concerned only about the company’s financial performance? What responsibility do company managers have for other consequences of their strategy? For example, should Walmart try to mitigate the negative impact its arrival in communities can have on small locally owned stores? Should Apple be concerned about the working conditions at Foxconn (the company that manufactures the iPhone and the iPad in Chine)? Why or why not? Explain” (p. 26). To answer these questions simply, yes. Corporate leaders and managers should be concerned with more than just their financial performance. Financial performance is an intensely important factor for businesses, but not at the expense of damaging the external environment. Corporate social responsibility is defined as the economic, legal, social, and philanthropic expectations that society holds to a firm during any given moment (Rothaermel, 2016). Corporate social responsibility is a concept that has emerged …show more content…

This causes businesses to be held accountable for the ethical and social missteps. The consequences of their strategies, such as the working conditions of Foxconn and the implications of a new Walmart on the surrounding environment, are something managers should be concerned with as many consumers will boycott a business because of unethical decisions by managers. Managers should find themselves completely responsible for the implications of the strategies they have put into place. It is important for managers to understand the ethics and social issues of the day and incorporate those into a business strategy that will continue to allow competitive advantage while remaining socially responsible (Carroll,

Show More
Related

  • Wal-Mart

    1714 Words  | 4 Pages

    Wal-mart is currently the world’s largest company. It has seen continuous growth and financial success since it was founded in 1962. Today it is living off of a previous reputation of solid ethical business practices that are no longer being exercised. Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-mart, was considered to be “freakishly cheap… Cost-cutting was an obsession in the Wal-mart culture… on business trips, everyone, including the boss, flew coach, and hotel rooms were always shared.” (reclaimdemocracy.org. 2006). This was only part of the reason for Sam Walton’s success.

    Read More

  • The Ethics of Shopping at Wal-Mart

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    One has to work hard to consider their values in particular issues and how strongly they feel. This is the choice many people make when they invest in mutual funds, and have no idea where their mutual funds are invested. Many vocal opponents to shopping at Wal-Mart might discover they hold investments in the Wal-Mart. There are 1050 mutual funds that are invested in Wal-Mart, some of the largest mutual funds in the world. There are many people who have no idea where their investments lie. If you want to be true to your value against shopping at Wal-Mart, you need to be careful to remove yourself from investments that support Wal-Mart. You have to review your investments and find out where your money is invested.

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart's Role in the Community

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wal-Mart is one of the largest corporations in the world, and leads the pack of American retail stores in terms of size and sales income. The size of Wal-Mart allows the store to provide consumers with lower prices than most other retail chains, and much lower prices than small, "mom and pop" stores. Because of these reasons, is Wal-Mart a help or a hindrance; should Wal-Mart be given special consideration (i.e. tax breaks, location decisions); and should Wal-Mart be held responsible for improving economic and social conditions in communities in which it operates?

    Read More

  • Wal-Mart and Corporate Social Responsibility

    1340 Words  | 3 Pages

    Corporation has is to increase profits for its stockholders. Through a utilitarian perspective, we can see that Wal-Mart is acts in a way to product the greatest possible balance of good over dissatisfaction for their stockholders. Wal-Mart upholds the fiduciary duties to their stockholders by not increasing wages of their employees, instead they take the sum of money and return it back to their stockholders and shareholders such as customers and suppliers. Wal-Mart creates the happiness for the amount of people who invest in the company. Ethics is about the consequences of an action and the consequence of Wal-Mart’s actions creates the greatest amount of good for the people who are the primary stockholders of the corporation.

    Read More

  • The Problems With Wal-Mart's Low Wages

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Times have changed drastically for businesses since the Internet and social media have become part of our everyday lives. It’s now easier than ever for the individual to gather data and follow organizations to ensure they are performing legally, morally, and ethically. Stakeholders believe that organizations have a social obligation to operate their business in an ethically, socially, and environmentally responsible way. The term for this idea is Corporate Citizenship. Corporate Citizenship is “the extent to which businesses are socially responsible for meeting legal, ethical and economic responsibilities placed on them by shareholders. The aim is for businesses to create higher standards of living and quality of life in the communities in which they operate, while still preserving profitability for stakeholders” (Investopedia.com, 2013). Stakeholders are expecting organizations to conduct business in a way that meets legal, ethical, economic, and philanthropic expectations that go beyond commercial relationships. Many organizations are including corporate responsibilities in their corporate mission statements and goals. They want stakeholders to see that they practice ethical behavior and are committed to their local communities in order to maintain a positive corporate image. According to CNN Money “Wal-Mart Stores Inc., had $469.2 billion in revenue last year and has reclaimed the top ranking in the Fortune 500 ranking of the largest U.S. companies by revenue”( Hathaway, 2013). Wal-Mart has over 10,800 stores and is a company that can have a tremendous impact upon the environment and their current employees and future employees. Largely due to its size and resultant influence, Wal-Mart is receiving constant pressure t...

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues In Walmart

    1714 Words  | 4 Pages

    S. company reveals that Walmart 's mistreatment of its employees is harming the company 's reputation in the eyes of consumers, which is leading some of its most loyal customers to shop elsewhere (Negative Perception, 2014). Walmart leadership often denies the accusations being spewed about its organization but at the beginning of the 2015 holiday shopping season the company experienced its worst stock decline in over 15 years; the six to twelve percent decline is nothing to ignore (Hanauer, 2015). Critics blame Walmart’s subpar employment practices and low wages for driving away the middle class consumer in which the company heavily relies on (Hanauer, 2015). The company’s low pay wages contributes to the “demise” of the middle class (Hanauer, 2015). Often times Walmart employees can’t afford to shop with the company; this of course contributes to the decline in revenue (Hanauer, 2015). This concept is in keeping with the basic law of capitalism “When workers have more money, businesses have more customers – and when businesses have more customers, they hire more workers. It is this positive feedback loop between customers and businesses that is the fundamental driver of economic growth,” (Hanauer, 2015). It is obvious to me that Walmart is not longer living up to Sam Walton’s goal of being the best retailer in consumer’s

    Read More

  • The Lucifer Effect Essay

    1227 Words  | 3 Pages

    The common consensus within the business field is that businesses have a social responsibility to protect and improve the societies they affect. Social responsibility is the belief that businesses and their employees have a duty to act in a manner that benefits their environments and society. The concept of social responsibility stems from ethics, which are simply the moral principles that guide a person’s behavior. However, despite this, it is clear to scholars, researchers, experts, and businessmen alike that sometimes ethics and responsibility are thrown out the window in favor of cutting costs and increasing corporate profits. This tendency for otherwise good businesses to act in badly is known as the Lucifer effect, and is a very real

    Read More

  • Walmart Part 3 Case Study

    2338 Words  | 5 Pages

    How does managerial planning for Project Impact take place at different levels within the organization?

    Read More

  • Walmart Social Responsibility Case Study

    970 Words  | 2 Pages

    The corporate social responsibility is a commitment by a business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life for employees and their families’ as-well as contributing to the society. Walmart is a well-known company that offers customers the items they want and need at a low cost, with nearly 4,000 stores in the United States. According to the Fortune 500, Walmart was ranked number 1 in 2015. Just like any other superstore Walmart needs to continue the use of social responsibility by recreating a relationship between business and the community especially if they want to dominate the competition in 2016. The use of sustainability, strategic philanthropy, causing market, shared values, stakeholders and global perspective will help readers understand the purpose of social responsibilities in the corporate world.

    Read More

  • Managerial Ethics

    1607 Words  | 4 Pages

    In today’s fast paced business world many managers face tough decisions when walking the thin line between what’s legal and what’s socially unacceptable. It is becoming more and more important for organisations to consider many more factors, especially ethically, other than maximising profits in order to be more competitive or even survive in today’s business arena. The first part of this essay will discuss managerial ethics[1] and the relevant concepts and theories that affect ethical decision making, such as the Utilitarian, Individualism, Moral rights approach theories, the social responsibility of organisations to stakeholders and their responses to social demands, with specific reference to a case study presenting an ethical dilemma[2], where Mobil halts product sales to a garage, forcing the garage owner to stop selling solvents to young people. The second section of this essay will focus on advice that should be given to any manager in a similar position to the garage owner with relevance to the organisational strategic management, the corporate objective and the evaluation of corporate social performance by measuring economic, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities. It will address whom to think of as stakeholders and why the different aspect could cost more than a manager or an organisation could have imagined.

    Read More

  • Ethical Issues In Foxconn

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    Further investigations revealed Foxconn had been guilty of unsafe and unfair working environments long before the incidents, which included the employment of extended working hours, discrimination, and military management techniques (Xu & Li, 2013). Due to Foxconn’s sole focus on maintaining businesses relationships by fulfilling Apple’s demand of technical products, their subsequent mistreatment of employees was exacerbated and generated 80-100 hours of forced overtime per week (Xu & Li, 2013). However, in an attempt to combat the negative publicity, each firm denied responsibility for the incidents, which ultimately added fuel to the media fire (Xu & Li, 2013). Since then, each firm has enacted superior regulations designed to maintain efficiency while recognizing limitations on labor hours and increased spending on compliance audits (Chandler & Werther, 2014). Yet, as Foxconn continues to sustain their global leadership and Apple’s profits remain unaffected, the disadvantages associated with the incidents at Foxconn have not transcended the outcomes. From a profit standpoint, the increase in spending and subsequent alterations of labor methods serve as the biggest disadvantage to each company’s bottom line. However, after both companies attempted to negate blame, their ensuing developments indicate assuming responsibility was the best avenue to recoup reputation issues and focus on long-term growth. Therefore, the greatest advantage for both companies was their heightened reputation resulting from increased transparency and the employment of business models focused on the welfare of all supply chain

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Social Responsibility

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is where a firm is more about making money, than it shows concern for the people affected buy their actions and decisions. Whither an employee, the manufacture, or the people in the community they serve. Walmart is a vivid example of this very thing. It is also an example of a firm with a large economic wealth and a low CSR reputation. Even though Walmart operates over 11,000 retail units under 65 banners in 28 countries and employ 2.2 million associates around the world –1.3 million in the United States lone. (Our Locations,

    Read More

  • Analysis of the Movie, The Insider

    1442 Words  | 3 Pages

    It seems obvious that large corporations have a tendency to ignore the negative effects of their actions in favor of profit. This example, although sensationalized, still says to me that with power comes responsibility. It affirmed my belief that a corporation’s goal cannot be just to provide profit to shareholders, but there must also be an element of social responsibility.

    Read More

  • Pick n Pay Social Responsibility

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Corporate Social Responsibility is management’s obligation to protect and promote their stakeholders welfare. Social Responsibility is more than just obvious ethical issues like honesty and integrity in business dealings.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Corporate Social Responsibility

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is important to understand the importance of corporate social responsibilities. If Corporate Social Responsibility is properly maintained and emphasized by companies, it can benefit the society, economy and corporate sustainability. It can also be cost efficient to companies. also the environment . But above all effect (CSR) varies companies to companies. Where some corporates seem to make all sorts of benefits from their coporate social responsibilities but few of them are also having loss by trying to maintain CSR without properly evaluating their resources. (Porter and Kramer 2006) has said The inferences where corporates need to evaluate their CSR actions to figure out if they add

    Read More

More about Walmart Ethical Issues

Open Document