Wal Mart 10 Percent Employee Discount
Debra Vogan
MBA 6301 Business Ethics
Professor Bari Courts
November 2012
Unit III Case Study
Wal - Mart, the name can evoke different emotions in people, you love it or not. Reality is, the company has and continues to have a huge impact on the global retail market. The current business model dictates that every store and every employee reduce costs to maintain huge financial benefits. In spite of the alleged and proven ethical violations Wal-Mart continues to be driving force on the retail market. Ethical violations include “off the clock work”, asking or directing employees to continue working after they have punched off shift on their time card. Wages for employees are low and often they do not get paid for overtime. Wal - Mart’s policy states that employees are to be paid for every minute they work. Managers under pressure to keep costs down have been accused of forcing employees to work unpaid overtime, an obvious ethical violation. Wal - Mart may be taking advantage of their locations in rural areas where employment is difficult to obtain by asking them to work long after they have clocked out. These employees may choose to continue working off the clock rather than risk losing their job. Employee choice or not, it is still unethical. In June of 2001 six former and current female Wal - Mart employees filed a sexual discrimination suit against the company. The lawsuit alleged that Wal - Mart failed to provide equal employment for women. Seventy percent of the workforce was comprised of females but only a very small percentage of the females were in management positions. “Wal - Mart is the nation’s largest employer of women but, unfortunately they are being treated without dignity and respect.” (Barbaro & Joyce, 2005). The “good old boy” culture that was established by Sam Walton did not condemn managers who perceived that female employees could have a career in management, this still quietly exists. The health care plan offered to
MBA 6301 Business Ethics
Professor Bari Courts
November 2012
Unit III Case Study
Wal - Mart, the name can evoke different emotions in people, you love it or not. Reality is, the company has and continues to have a huge impact on the global retail market. The current business model dictates that every store and every employee reduce costs to maintain huge financial benefits. In spite of the alleged and proven ethical violations Wal-Mart continues to be driving force on the retail market. Ethical violations include “off the clock work”, asking or directing employees to continue working after they have punched off shift on their time card. Wages for employees are low and often they do not get paid for overtime. Wal - Mart’s policy states that employees are to be paid for every minute they work. Managers under pressure to keep costs down have been accused of forcing employees to work unpaid overtime, an obvious ethical violation. Wal - Mart may be taking advantage of their locations in rural areas where employment is difficult to obtain by asking them to work long after they have clocked out. These employees may choose to continue working off the clock rather than risk losing their job. Employee choice or not, it is still unethical. In June of 2001 six former and current female Wal - Mart employees filed a sexual discrimination suit against the company. The lawsuit alleged that Wal - Mart failed to provide equal employment for women. Seventy percent of the workforce was comprised of females but only a very small percentage of the females were in management positions. “Wal - Mart is the nation’s largest employer of women but, unfortunately they are being treated without dignity and respect.” (Barbaro & Joyce, 2005). The “good old boy” culture that was established by Sam Walton did not condemn managers who perceived that female employees could have a career in management, this still quietly exists. The health care plan offered to
References: Barbaro, M., & Joyce, A., (2005). Union files wal-mart complaint. Retrieved from - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48056-2005Apr12.html Hoover’s Handbook of American Business 2005, Austin, Texas copyright 2004 Stanwick, P.A., & Stanwick, S.D., (2009) Understanding business ethics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.