Wal-Mart: Ethical or Unethical Essay Example
Wal-Mart: Ethical or Unethical?
Almost everyone living in North America undoubtedly knows what Wal-Mart is and has already conceived some sort of opinion, whether it is good or bad. On one hand people complain that they are ruining competition, they are treating their employees’ terribly or that they are given extreme unfair advantages that no other company receives. However, on the other spectrum there are those that believe in the free market, as well as those that say Wal-Mart is cutting down the cost for low to average income families’ cost of living or even those who claim that although wages are not perfect they are in fact employing a large amount of people whom would otherwise not have a job. Whichever end of the spectrum your beliefs may lay, there is no doubt that Wal-Mart does create very affordable prices for those families in need; however are these incredibly low prices taking an even greater toll on Wal-Mart employees and community members? Throughout this paper we will explore the two main ideas of whether Wal-Mart’s way of conducting business is ethical or unethical, and let you decide which end of the spectrum you are on.
The American Economy is built upon Capitalistic Principles. American’s have pride in their free market economy with the largest GDP in the world. Income in a capitalist system takes at least two forms, profit and wages. Profits are used to expand a company, creating more jobs and wealth. Every company’s primary goal is to produce profit. The means by which each company produces profit contrasts in accordance with the market said company is in. Companies can attempt to differentiate themselves in their business model but generally certain sectors of the market produce similar profit strategies. Wal-Mart’s strategy relies upon low-wage labor by discouraging the unionization of its employees. Wal-Mart’s strategy of low-wage labor to reduce their costs is hardly unique. Wal-Mart’s competitors: Target, Kmart Corp. and Home Depot
Almost everyone living in North America undoubtedly knows what Wal-Mart is and has already conceived some sort of opinion, whether it is good or bad. On one hand people complain that they are ruining competition, they are treating their employees’ terribly or that they are given extreme unfair advantages that no other company receives. However, on the other spectrum there are those that believe in the free market, as well as those that say Wal-Mart is cutting down the cost for low to average income families’ cost of living or even those who claim that although wages are not perfect they are in fact employing a large amount of people whom would otherwise not have a job. Whichever end of the spectrum your beliefs may lay, there is no doubt that Wal-Mart does create very affordable prices for those families in need; however are these incredibly low prices taking an even greater toll on Wal-Mart employees and community members? Throughout this paper we will explore the two main ideas of whether Wal-Mart’s way of conducting business is ethical or unethical, and let you decide which end of the spectrum you are on.
The American Economy is built upon Capitalistic Principles. American’s have pride in their free market economy with the largest GDP in the world. Income in a capitalist system takes at least two forms, profit and wages. Profits are used to expand a company, creating more jobs and wealth. Every company’s primary goal is to produce profit. The means by which each company produces profit contrasts in accordance with the market said company is in. Companies can attempt to differentiate themselves in their business model but generally certain sectors of the market produce similar profit strategies. Wal-Mart’s strategy relies upon low-wage labor by discouraging the unionization of its employees. Wal-Mart’s strategy of low-wage labor to reduce their costs is hardly unique. Wal-Mart’s competitors: Target, Kmart Corp. and Home Depot