Wal-Mart and The Nine Principles of Sustainability

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According to Marc J. Epstein (2008), to help understand what sustainability is in the context of corporate responsibility, [Epstein has] broken it down into nine principles.

These nine principles… highlight what is important in managing stakeholder impacts (i.e. the impact of company products, services, processes, and other activities on corporate stakeholders). (p. 36).

Evaluating a large company such as Wal-Mart against these nine principles can give eye opening clues to how much of a leader they are in meeting the needs of their current stakeholders, as well as forecasting and preparing for the needs of their future stakeholders. Many of the principles are entangled within one another, but each is equally important.

The nine principles of sustainability performance

Ethics

According to Don Soderquist (2010), former long-serving chief operating officer at Wal-Mart, ethics are about simply doing what is right. (p. 14). Wal-Mart has often been criticized for many of its management’s business decisions. From news reports of obtaining goods from countries where employment practices are far from ethical, to taking out million dollar life insurance policies on its terminally ill employees, ethical standards can seem non-existent at the upper levels of this large organization. Prioritizing stakeholder interests is an area that Wal-Mart tends to have major struggles. The steps listed in their “Statement of Ethics” looks like they are trying to establish the correct path.

Governance

Governance at Wal-Mart focuses on the Board of Directors, their qualifications and responsibilities. Wal-Mart had been the defendant in numerous class-action lawsuits filed by employees for various discrimination and unfair employment practices. Shar...

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...t’s market position, they have the opportunity to advance many ethical, moral and sustainably agendas, while showing great success.

Works Cited

Epstein, M. J., (2008). Making sustainability work. San Francisco, CA: Greenleaf

Publishing Limited.

Lynn, B. C., (2006). Breaking the chain: the anti-trust case against Wal-Mart. Harper’s Magazine. Retreived from

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2006/07/0081115

Soderquist, D. (2010). Wal-Mart chief preaches the value of ethics in business. People

Management. Retrieved from

http://ehis.ebscohost.com.csuproxy.egloballibrary.com/ehost/detail?sid=6aed937e-09ee-40d5-89ce-03c85821d7fa%40sessionmgr14&vid=7&hid=3&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=52724701

Wal-Mart. (2010). Wal-Mart Annual Report. Bentonville, AR. Retrieved from

http://cdn.walmartstores.com/sites/AnnualReport/2010/PDF/WMT_2010AR_FINAL.pdf

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