Verified Document

Walmart Low Wages Research Paper

Wal*Mart We have recognized that Walmart does not view its wage and benefit structure as being a problem. On its Website, Walmart announces what the company is doing to improve its image in terms of sustainability and other ethical issues ("Walmart Announces New Commitments to Drive Sustainability Deeper into its Global Supply Chain," 2012). However, the company fails to mention anything about how their low wages are hurting communities and the economy as a whole. This approach to public relations must change if the company is to continue being successful. Walmart needs to be more proactive, and at least start pretending to care about its employees.

There are several political image-boosters that Walmart can use to improve its public relations without actually making changes to its human resources policies. One strategy is to feature an employee of the week on the company Website. This will make the company seem like it cares about its employees, even if it does nothing to change its actual policy towards wages and benefits. The feature section will give...

Parts of this document are hidden

View Full Document
svg-one

Another political move that Walmart can and should make would be to locate communities in which Walmart wages are actually living wages. Walmart can then make it appear as if their employees are doing just fine. Another public relations approach would be to communicate the message that low wages are actually beneficial for communities because it helps keep retail prices affordable to the very poor. For example, the company can release a statement saying that "Wal-Mart could not raise wages without raising prices which, he argues, would hurt poor and low-income consumers," (Dube, Graham-Squire, Jacobs & Luce, 2007, p. 2).
These political strategies are not good long-term solutions for the company, though. They might help to temporarily boost the image of Walmart in the mainstream media, but the company needs to do much more to actually endear themselves with employees, consumers, communities, and stakeholders. The best approach for Walmart would…

Sources used in this document:
References

Dube, A., Graham-Squire, D., Jacobs, K. & Luce, S. (2007). Living wage policies and Walmart: How a higher wage standard would impact Walmart workers and shoppers. UC Berkeley Labor Center. Retrieved online: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/retail/walmart_livingwage_policies07.pdf

Dube, A. & Jacobs, K. (2004). Hidden cost of Walmart jobs. UC Berkeley Labor Center. Retrieved online: http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/retail/walmart.pdf

"Walmart Announces New Commitments to Drive Sustainability Deeper into its Global Supply Chain," (2012). Retrieved online: http://news.walmart.com/
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Malnutrition Obesity Due to Low Wages Minimum Wages
Words: 1874 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Malnutrition / Obesity Due to Low Wages This paper delves into the direct affects of minimum wages on eating habits of people. People die of starvation and malnutrition but with the advent of genetically modified food and other such technologies the number of people dying due to obesity is also on an increase. In this paper I shall discuss why the poverty stricken people are more prone to obesity as opposed

Walmarts International Business
Words: 2139 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

Walmart Store Inc. is a worldwide retail company that runs a chain of grocery stores, discount department stores as well as hypermarkets. The corporation was established in the year 1962 by Sam Walton and became incorporated seven years later. Since then, the company has expanded into international business and has over eleven thousand stores is 28 nations around the globe. The company is split into three key segments. These are

Walmart Human Resource Practices and Change
Words: 1685 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Paper

Introduction Wal-Mart, the biggest global retail chain, may be counted among the largest organizations worldwide, with regard to its size, financial performance and business value. This paper aims at examining Wal-Mart’s Subsystem and HR Management change, with particular emphasis on personnel selection, development, performance, training, and compensation management (Thompson 2016). Further it will address the key stakeholders of the organization. Organization and Major Subsystem in Need of Change Numerous factors contribute to a

Walmart China Hr
Words: 1197 Length: 4 Document Type: Case Study

WMT Wal-Mart faces significant challenges in the Chinese market. There are many barriers to trade and issues that constrain the company from using tactics that proved successful in the United States. As a result, the company needs to balance being able to follow the classic Wal-Mart business model with being able to handle the unique characteristics of the Chinese market. Faced with these strategic challenges, Wal-Mart needs to have a human

Walmart Total Rewards Program
Words: 1754 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

Total Rewards Program Introduction & Purpose With greater understanding of how key business objectives like employee attraction, retention and motivation contribute to overall business outcomes, human resources departments have been challenged with expanding their scope, and looking at the total rewards experiences of their companies’ employees. When the links between business strategy, people strategy and total rewards are mapped out, it becomes apparent that getting the right workers into the right jobs

Walmart Business Process Reengineering
Words: 2137 Length: 8 Document Type: Case Study

Business Process Reengineering  Today, with annual revenues exceeding the budgets of dozens of countries and retail operations in 28 nations, Walmart stands apart in a retailing category by itself, but this company did not achieve this spectacular level of success by resting on its corporate laurels. Indeed, it is reasonable to suggest that the business processes that are currently in place at Walmart only resemble the original strategies used in its

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now