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.…
Logan, J. (2014). The mounting Guerilla War against the Reign of Walmart. New Labor Forum (Sage Publications Inc.), 23(1), 22-29. doi:10.1177/1095796013513435.…
Greenwald, R. (Director). (2005). Wal-Mart: The high cost of low price [DVD]. Available from www.walmartmovie.com…
Cited: Olsson, Karen. “Up Against Wal-Mart.” They Say/I Say, with Readings. 2nd ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York: Norton, 2012. 606-619. Print.…
Former bureau chief for the Economist, Sebastian Mallaby writes in defense of a large retailer in his essay, Progressive Wal-Mart. Really. Through his essay he explains that through the continual campaigns against the large corporation, Wal-Mart has been and still remains a benefit to working Americans seeking affordable goods. He elaborates on the crusade of Anti-Wal-Mart campaigns looking to paint the business as a detestable parasite, when all the company has done is keep costs low and earnings for its shareholders high while trying to defeat competitors, just as any company would.…
In The Wal-Mart effect: Poison or Antidote for Local Communities author Terry J. Fitzgerald attempts to submerge to the bottom of the issues people have with Wal-Mart. He does so by using results from Wal-Mart’s effect by entering non Wal-Mart counties economy’s. He uses the research to show that Wal-Mart doesn’t affect a community as much as most think. However, no matter what side of the issue you fall on, it still affects your community in a good or bad manner.…
"Always low prices, always", does this sound familiar? Well this is the slogan of the world 's most powerful company, WalMart. Making its mark in 1915 as the five and dime store, WalMart expanded and grew over the years into a 256 billion dollar company. Over the recent years of Wal-Mart 's growth, some people believe that Wal-Mart supports and builds the American economy while others hold that WalMart 's global outsourcing will damage the American economy over time. When comparing the two opposing points, Wal-Mart has been more destructive than constructive to our economy in that it has destroyed more jobs then it has created, the employees receive little to no healthcare, and Wal-Mart has also degraded our environment.…
Robert Greenwald uses a strong appeal to ethos, a slippery road argument, and a text track to bring attention to his audience about Wal-Mart. He establishes his argument by first presenting a claim made by the Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott and then showing the contrary to that claim with many examples from real people. Through these arguments the audience can determine that Wal-Mart is simply a bad company and they should stop spending their money there.…
Labor relations are a part of our daily lives, whether we realize it or not. For those of us who work, it relates to our wages, the hours that we work and the way we are treated as an employee of an organization, no matter how large or small.…
Fishman, C. (2010). The Wal-Mart effect: how the world 's most powerful company really works-- and how it 's transforming the American economy. New York: Penguin Press.…
In Robert Greenwald's documentary film, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices, A strong and apparent negative connotation is established by his presentation of facts and his emotional appeal.…
The activist Robert Greenwald produced a documentary named Wal-Mart: High Cost of Low Prices to enlighten Americans of the effects this major company has on society. In this documentary, Greenwald interviews former employees from different ranks. Greenwald also uses crime rate statistics to demonstrate the lack of surveillance in the parking lot of the store. The producer also interviews the Chinese factory workers who are exploited in China. He also points out facts of the lack of healthcare and this company’s effects on society.…
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.…
The documentary film on Wal-Mart examines everything wrong with Wal-Mart that we do not see as consumers. I initially thought it would be good for a small town to get a large company like Wal-Mart to move in, but I now realize how wrong that thinking was. First we learn how Wal-Mart basically destroys the economy of a small town, putting everyone out of business, as they cannot compete. Family owned businesses that have been around for generations, a reflection of the American lifestyle and dream, are all shattered. Within months of Wal-Mart moving in, the towns are empty and look like ghost towns.…
Walmart is a shining example of capitalism at its finest, where one can buy dinner and a new wardrobe all in one building. Bright lights illuminate the infinite rows of merchandise within the spacious building, and there's something new to be found around every corner, from vivid orange cheese puffs to lush green vegetables, and that’s only in the produce section. The chatter of excited children and the low hum of parents conversing fills the air as shoppers indulge in affordable goods without fear of going over their budgets. People with little and with plenty intermingle in the store, both drawn to the convenience and good prices found there. The shopping experience is accompanied by the fresh smell of cleanliness, interrupted occasionally…