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Mishelle Gray
MGT7019
Abstract
Wal-Mart claims to have a social responsibility, the company has had a devastating impact on
small merchants and the environment. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with an
understanding of the impact Wal-Mart has on the local community as well as the environment.
Furthermore, this report will concentrate on the following topics: (a) evaluate the findings of the
case study Wal-Mart, Main Street Merchant of Doom, (b) review the commonalities and
differences between the two parties (Wal-Mart and small merchants), (c) discuss methods that
can be employed by Wal-Mart to aid in reducing the negative impact on the environment, local
merchants and the community, and (d) the importance of improving relationships with the local
An evaluation of actions that a company may take to meet ethical considerations relative
to social performance, financial performance, and reputation will be discussed. Assessing the
extent to which social, ethical and public issues must be considered within an internal and
external relationship with stakeholders. The issues surrounding the environment and community
of Wal- Mart’s social responsibilities has caused a disturbing outcome on many of the small
merchants. Wal-Mart faces challenges such as ethical issues, wages, labor rights violation,
gender discrimination, and preservations. Moreover, this essay will discuss ways that Wal-Mart
can enhance quality of life for citizens and by building relationship with local merchants and out
According to Carroll and Buchholtz (2009), the single most notable challenge that Wal-
Mart faces today is repairing the battered reputation. Across the country, local citizens are
forming groups in an effort to stop the large Wal-Mart Supercenters from gaining a foothold in
their community. One example occurred when Wal-Mart attempted to construct a large
Supercenter in Boulder, Colorado. Across the country, local citizens are forming groups in an
effort to stop the large Wal-Mart Supercenters from ever gaining a foothold in their community.
One example occurred when Wal-Mart attempted to construct a large Supercenter in Boulder,
Colorado. According to Carroll and Buchholtz (2009) organizers begin a protest to stop Wal-
Mart’s entrance into Boulder, Colorado. This situation was somewhat different from the
downtown merchants that faced the possibility of being forced out of business by Wal-Mart.
Over the years, Wal-Mart’s decisions influenced wages and working conditions across a
wide swath of world economy. Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 applying
GrayMMGT7019 5
Wal-Mart Case Study
knowledge he adopted from the J. C. Penny idea for middle class Americans. The Wal-Mart
chains consist of large and small stores that are American public corporations making the
corporation the world’s largest public corporation raising outstanding revenues in retail. Wal-
Mart has been named the largest supplier for grocery retailers also in the United States.
However, later Wal-Mart incorporated in 1969. In addition, Wal-Mart became a part of the New
York Stock Exchange back in 1972 according to Carroll and Buchholtz (2009). Although Wal-
Mart has been known for its outstanding revenue and sales, Wal-Mart has also had some
controversy.
Wal-Mart has been continually criticized by different community groups, labor unions,
women’s rights groups and more. The retail giant reforms his corporate practice because of the
many accusations made towards Wal-Mart at that time. However, Wal-Mart continues to adopt
an image for developing markets that were highly saturated, and the developing markets would
According to Carroll and Buchholtz (2009) Walton, was influenced to invest in the best
technology network system available to ensure round the clock inventory control within his
stores. Wal-Mart became the world’s largest retailer by 2001 with $191 billion dollars in sales.
In addition, another ongoing challenge Wal-Mart faced was when the development of new
products in the global economy established a long-term marketing investment strategy for brand
name products and services by continuing to improve products and services to maintain the
competitive edge of its competitors. This was because of their low rates for employee health
employing over 1.2 million employees with annual net revenue over $256.3 billion dollars
(Carroll & Buchholz, 2009). Traditional western communities have thrived commercially in city
centers. The centers are traditionally composed of a mix of retail, commercial and office space
(Sheehy, 2004). The majority of the commerce in these city centers is transacted primarily
through small businesses (Sheehy, 2004). These businesses have a tendency to be highly
involved in the local community, create various types of jobs that pay modest salaries that enable
the employee to sustain a reasonable standard of living, pay taxes, is innovative, community
building in the sense of promoting ideas, these local business owners have and express the true
entrepreneurial spirit.
Sam Walton also implemented the “Buy American Plan” and the environmental
Walton bought cheaper foreign goods, which allowed him to supply his customers with a low-
cost quality of goods. Instead of purchasing goods from overseas manufacturers he solicited
foreign items challenging his competitors. The way smaller merchant do business is different for
To avoid negative effects on communities, some county leaders may not allow Wal-Mart
to enter; Boulder County in Colorado is one such example (Carroll, & Buchholtz, 2009).
Consequently, the question of whether or not Wal-Mart reduces social capital is an important
question for community leaders and local businesses to ask and must answer before eliminating a
business opportunity from ever entering their community (Ran & Largay, 2009). According to
Jia, (2008), stated that Wal-Mart has implemented key changes with stores like Costco, Carre
Four SA, and target retailers so that it can keep its competitive edge over their competition of
GrayMMGT7019 7
Wal-Mart Case Study
how each one is conducting business. Jia, also stated that changes were imperative due to how
people spend.
According to Ran and Largay, (2009) research, leaders must weigh and take under
consideration all aspects of Wal-Mart’s entering into their communities is good for the
communities. Change in one’s income, entrepreneurship, employment, and social capital may
changing and adapting to community pressures and concerns. For example, the corporation in the
past few years introduced a new advertising campaign that emphasized saving money over lower
prices, the slogan changed to the following “Save Money Live Better,” which replaced the
previous advertising slogan “Always Low Prices” that was used for more than nineteen years.
The goal is to change the identify Wal-Mart’s has displayed over the years; not with just
having the lowest prices on merchandise, but also improving the connection between Wal-Mart’s
presence and conventional social capital assessments. One of the major goals of Wal-Mart was
not focused on benefiting the corporation but also benefit and add value to the countless
communities it serves (Ran & Largay, 2009). Wal-Mart must be proactive, that is Wal-Mart
executives must meet with not only with the local government and Chamber of Commerce, and
in each State. Wal-Mart must hold town meetings with the local community to discuss their
plans explain what their intentions are and how they can help each other meet each of their goals
and expectations. Failure to take the initiative places Wal-Mart on the defensive ultimately
making it difficult to develop and grow their business, this is what happened to the expansion
Conclusion
An evaluation of the case study “Wal-Mart the Main Street Merchant of Doom” was
conducted with an emphasis on possible detrimental effects caused to local merchants and
community service. The great power of corporations such as Wal-Mart are able
to externalize enormous costs onto society and hence onto the average
increase their presence by emerging markets through more partnerships, and joint ventures. By
Carroll, A. B. & Buchholtz, A. K. (2009). Business & society: Ethics and stakeholder
Jia, P. (2008). What Happens When Wal-Mart Comes to Town: An Empirical Analysis of the
Ran, Z., & Largay, I. (2009). Wal-Mart and Social Capital: Builder, Destroyer, or Both?
Sheehy, B. (2004). Corporations and Social Cost: The Wal-Mart case Study.
Berkeley: The Berkeley Electronic Press. Retrieved December 06, 2010 from
http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journ
s/jlac 4&div=6&id=&page=