With states like Maryland passing laws requiring big companies to give their employees benefits, Wal-Mart has some work to do. Wal-Mart's image of cheap products has moved over into the employees category. They employees have not been treated fairly which is why there is a law suit from employees who are unhappy with how the company treats them. Also, the employees find it unethical to not be paid for working overtime. It has been all over the news that Wal-Mart has not been paying their employees overtime benefits, which has made consumers frown upon the company and their values. Because of both of these issues, it only make sense that Wal-Mart would want to improve their image.
That is why they are creating this new position. Wal-Mart wants to get ahead of other companies, and to show the media that they are taking care of their issues. Whoever holds this position will have "frequent and informal" meetings with senior corporate members. By listening to other members of the company, they will be able to see what is going on in the company, here employee issues, and hopefully fix them.
Therefore, adding this new position was not only strategic, but it puts on a good front for the company. Also, they are one of the first companies to have an ethics position, which makes them forward thinking. In my opinion, I think it was very smart for them to create this position for the reasons that the article states. By also taking on this new position, it shows that Wal-Mart cares about what people think of its reputation and wants to improve on their moral standards.
Ariel Levin
Article: http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/07/news/pluggedin_fortune/index.htm
Wal Mart actually going the right way?
ReplyDeleteI see Wal Mart's new ethics concern as mainly a publicity act. A corporation of such size just can't fully be ethical. It's true that their salaries have been nothing less than awful. But is this not one of the contributing factors as for why Wal Mart has been able to reach such a mammoth size?
I hope that most of Wal Mart's employees will see the greater good of this move, but I can't help but thinking of Wal Mart's dark history and wonder... Is this really the change that will help Wal Mart's employees?
I would have liked for you to mention a specific suit Wal-Mart is being faced with so that I can put into perspective how unfairly employees were being treated other than being denied compensation. I don't feel that Wal-Mart's new position should earn so much praise. It sounds more like a cover-up that is not going to directly handle the issues. I think a simple answer to unpaid compensation is to pay it. After that, improve upon the treatment between management and employees.
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