Phl 323 Week 3 Ethical Issues Walmart Paper
Current Ethical Issues in Business
Introduction
There are several factors that account for the changes in the way business is conducted today. Factors such as increased global competition, economic conditions, technology, electronic commerce, workforce diversity, and ethics have all play a significant role in how business is conducted. How a company conducts itself as a business and a corporate citizen is critical to its success. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world; however they are not exempt to acting ethically. In December 2008, Wal-Mart settled 63 laws suits that spans over several years across 42 states accuses Wal-Mart of cheating workers on pay. The settlement cost Wal-Mart $352 million. Based on comments made by Wal-Mart attorneys and spokespeople, it was clear that the company realized that they acted unethically. This paper will provide a brief overview of the ethical issues violated; outline the impact the issues has had on the parties involved and society as a whole; identify the cause or contributing factors to the issue; and finally propose a plan that outlines revised ethical standards and communication methods to prevent the issues from reoccurring.
Overview of Ethical Issue
Wal-Mart as a company acted very unethically in this situation. They hired managers to supervise the other employees and not to take advantage of them. The managers were also the one’s acting irresponsible and unethically. Changing the time cards, making the employees work off the clock, is not something that should be done at all. When the managers altered the time cards, they were thinking about now and not the consequences they were going to have to pay. The managers were only thinking about the now and maybe not what the company wanted them to do but they did a selfish act and it hurt the company. The managers possibly could have done this to get more work out of the employees for less money. The article says the employees were
Introduction
There are several factors that account for the changes in the way business is conducted today. Factors such as increased global competition, economic conditions, technology, electronic commerce, workforce diversity, and ethics have all play a significant role in how business is conducted. How a company conducts itself as a business and a corporate citizen is critical to its success. Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the world; however they are not exempt to acting ethically. In December 2008, Wal-Mart settled 63 laws suits that spans over several years across 42 states accuses Wal-Mart of cheating workers on pay. The settlement cost Wal-Mart $352 million. Based on comments made by Wal-Mart attorneys and spokespeople, it was clear that the company realized that they acted unethically. This paper will provide a brief overview of the ethical issues violated; outline the impact the issues has had on the parties involved and society as a whole; identify the cause or contributing factors to the issue; and finally propose a plan that outlines revised ethical standards and communication methods to prevent the issues from reoccurring.
Overview of Ethical Issue
Wal-Mart as a company acted very unethically in this situation. They hired managers to supervise the other employees and not to take advantage of them. The managers were also the one’s acting irresponsible and unethically. Changing the time cards, making the employees work off the clock, is not something that should be done at all. When the managers altered the time cards, they were thinking about now and not the consequences they were going to have to pay. The managers were only thinking about the now and maybe not what the company wanted them to do but they did a selfish act and it hurt the company. The managers possibly could have done this to get more work out of the employees for less money. The article says the employees were
References: Free Republic. (October 30, 2003). Unions: good or bad? Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1011488/posts Greenhouse S., & Rosenbloom, S. (2008). Wal-Mart to Settle Suits over Pay. NYTimes.com. Retrieved Tuesday, July 20, 2009 from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/24/business/24walmart.html?_r=5 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. Wake-up Wal-Mart. (2005). The real facts about Wal-Mart. Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://wakeupwalmart.com/facts/