Walmart

Wal-mart is the largest company in the history of the world. As things usually tend to play out; with great recognition equally comes criticism. Wal-mart is the target of so much criticism because of the position it holds in the world.

When looking at Wal-mart from a business perspective, Wal-mart is a serious threat to small businesses. Wal-mart is the ideal image of what results when capitalism is possible. Another reason for why Wal-mart is so critically observed may be because of the reputation it has for treating its workers "poorly". Statistically, employees of Wal-mart consume over 40% more of public assistance than the average working citizen. Another criticism results from Wal-mart's tendency to favor employing men over women into their workforce. Wal-mart workers have sometimes even been considered exploited. This may be, because of the ruthless focus on wages they uphold, the fact that they pay their employees poorly, or the fact that less than half of their working force is covered by health care.

So, if Wal-mart has a reputation of violating basic human rights, why do people still do their shopping at Wal-mart? The answer is complex, yet can be explained simply by the fact that Wal-mart is "convenient" and consumer friendly. Wal-mart has a reputation of having the lowest prices possible. This is something that appeals to the consumers' senses and is easier on the consumers' wallets. But, with this drive for low prices comes the need for supplier to crunch and crumble to meet these demands. In effect, these same people that are demanding the low prices are inadvertently creating problems for others like them, who have low incomes, to suffer to meet the circumstances. Child labor and 3rd world labor is a common practice to achieve these low prices. Nike and Gap were pressured by various activist groups to reform the working conditions in their suppliers' factories. I believe it is possible for these same types of reforms to be regulated on Wal-mart. However, the general public tends to have a blind eye on the subject because they don't necessarily feel it touches home. I don't believe there is a way to force Wal-mart to do the same reformed changes unless there is change in the minds of the consumer.

If the company paid its workers better, people wouldn't change their shopping habits. If they raised their prices, people would notice. Regardless