walmart globalization
Beware Consumers
Walmart is undoubtedly the largest global retailer, employing more people than any army. The mega-store’s presence is known all around the world, with a reach stretching from the United States to China. According to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Walmart is the largest employer in the United States, just after the Federal government, with over 925,000 employees. In addition, every year they hire 550,000 more employees, which is three times the number of people the U.S. military recruits every year. Even with such a huge army of employees, Walmart is known for some major problematic business practices—ones about which consumers should be made aware; ones that might motivate them to refrain from shopping at Walmart stores. They relate to their treatment of their workers in America; their use of sweatshops and child labor; and the low quality of their products. Growing up, my mother worked for Walmart for the majority of my childhood. She had to work the night shift because it provided the higher rate of pay she needed to care for her five children. After having worked for Walmart for over ten years, my mother was still unable to secure any type of insurance coverage for our family. Reporting on Walmart’s employee compensation practices, PBS noted, “This pay scale places employees with families below the poverty line, with the majority of employees' children qualifying for free lunch at school”. Another reason why it is hard for Walmart’s American employees to make ends meet is their inability to unionize in order to improve benefit packages, hourly pay and basic labor rights. PBS documented that new employees are oriented by being required to watch videotapes explaining the benefits of being an anti-union company. The videos explain an open door policy that would allow them to take their complaints beyond their supervisors to higher management.
Walmart is undoubtedly the largest global retailer, employing more people than any army. The mega-store’s presence is known all around the world, with a reach stretching from the United States to China. According to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Walmart is the largest employer in the United States, just after the Federal government, with over 925,000 employees. In addition, every year they hire 550,000 more employees, which is three times the number of people the U.S. military recruits every year. Even with such a huge army of employees, Walmart is known for some major problematic business practices—ones about which consumers should be made aware; ones that might motivate them to refrain from shopping at Walmart stores. They relate to their treatment of their workers in America; their use of sweatshops and child labor; and the low quality of their products. Growing up, my mother worked for Walmart for the majority of my childhood. She had to work the night shift because it provided the higher rate of pay she needed to care for her five children. After having worked for Walmart for over ten years, my mother was still unable to secure any type of insurance coverage for our family. Reporting on Walmart’s employee compensation practices, PBS noted, “This pay scale places employees with families below the poverty line, with the majority of employees' children qualifying for free lunch at school”. Another reason why it is hard for Walmart’s American employees to make ends meet is their inability to unionize in order to improve benefit packages, hourly pay and basic labor rights. PBS documented that new employees are oriented by being required to watch videotapes explaining the benefits of being an anti-union company. The videos explain an open door policy that would allow them to take their complaints beyond their supervisors to higher management.