Wal-Mart Synopsis

Wal-Mart Synopsis

Wal-Mart was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. Wal-Mart is the largest retail store in the US and is larger than any other chain in the world. The company currently has 1,636 retail stores. There are 1,093 Wal-Mart Super centers, 502 Sam's Clubs, 31 Wal-Mart Neighborhood stores and 1,183 international stores. Wal-Mart was ranked number one on the Fortune 500 list in 2007 with $351,139 revenues, an 11.2% increase since 2005 (e.g., Cable News Network, 2007).

Wal-Mart provides "one stop family shopping"; combining groceries and general merchandise departments. Wal-Mart is known for their competitive prices and management strategies they employ. The company has three basic beliefs or philosophies Sam Walton built the company on: respect for the individual, service to our customers, and strive for excellence. (e.g., Wal-Mart, 2007)

Wal-Mart's stakeholders are the stockholders, Wal-Mart executives, employees, communities where Wal-Mart is located, consumers, and nonprofit organizations in which Wal-Mart donates.

The majority of Wal-Mart's employee base work at Wal-Mart stores and get paid the local minimum wage. Most employees are not entitled to any benefits. The issue that faces Wal-Mart and their stakeholders today is the company's push to enable a union from forming. Wal-Mart consistently violates workers' internationally recognized right to freedom of association by taking advantage of weak US labor laws and creating anti-union campaigns that deny workers the right to choose freely whether to organize. Wal-Mart inundated workers with anti-union information, highlighting the downsides to organizing, while limiting worker's access to contrary views. The company continuously reminds employees of their anti-union views. Employees began to fear the potential consequences to organizing against their employer's wishes.

Wal-Mart presents the impression of a corporate bully that destroys communities and clamps down on workers rights. The company's aggressive business strategy has sparked countless anti-Wal-Mart groups to protest the retail giant moving into their communities. The public perception is that Wal-Mart can destroy a community by forcing other retail businesses to close. These other stores cannot compete with Wal-Mart's low prices. While Wal-Mart boasts that it provides jobs for the community, the truth is they find work at Wal-Mart after their current employer closes.

Wal-Mart does give a great deal of money to charities, but that just is not enough to keep the public from forming these negative perceptions about their corporate strategy. The Wal-Mart executives have taken action to not only improve the company's public perception but the employees and customers experience when working and shopping at Wal-Mart.

CEO, Lee Scott, held a shareholders meeting in June of 2006 and informed the shareholders, managers, associates, and top leaders of the new program called "Wal-Mart Out in Front." In his speech, Scott outlined the five pillars of the plan the company has been implementing:

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