Analysis Of Wal-Mart: The High Cost

Before walking into Walmart, the customers are guaranteed the lowest prices on every item. How can that possibly be? How can this corporation knock out its competition in every department? The answer is quite simple: Walmart is able to drop the ethics of society, pay the lowest wages, and cut the largest crucial corners to offer items for cheaper. In "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Wages", Robert Greenwald offers a completely valid argument. As a community, state, country, or world, is society educated and aware of what Walmart does to create products for dollars less? In the movie, Greenwald explains the impacts of Walmart on its employees, on farmers, on business owners, on factory workers, and, most importantly, on families. Through the use of the three rhetorical appeals (logos, ethos, and pathos), Greenwald was able to grab his audience and, ultimately, show the devastation brought to global society through the development of the Walmart Corporation.

Karen Olsson believes that Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer company, under pays their employees for the amount of work they do daily. They do not offer good working conditions for their employees or enough medical benefits to support themselves and their families. Sebastian Mallaby says that Wal-Mart is not wrong for the way that they run their business; he feels as though Wal-Mart does their consumers a favor by keeping the wages low and offering “low prices” (620). It’s just business! They have to do what it takes to remain the world’s top retailer and continue to, “enrich shareholders, and put rivals out of business” (620). Karen Olsson and Sebastian Mallaby both address the topic of big

Ethos is clear throughout Robert Greenwald's documentary, "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices." Greenwald establishes his credibility as a filmmaker and a journalist, known for his work that has put light on injustices. Presenting interviews with community leaders, and former Walmart employees, the documentary establishes trust with the audience, inviting them to present to a credible and reliable audience. The documentary employs logos, to showcase Walmart's impact on local economies and communities. Through data, economic analysis, and factual evidence, the film constructs a rational case against Walmart, illustrating how its low wages, selfish practices, and exploiting workers contribute to economic inequality and social harm.

This article is written using an enlightened self-interest approach. The author describes Wal-Mart behaving in a way that increases its own benefits, with the outcome of their actions being the most important consideration. An example of this is the author’s notion that Wal-Mart’s low prices are due to “the exploitation of its workers” (McLachlan, 2009, pg. 289), “systematic use of ‘maquiladoras’ in conditions of extreme exploitation” (McLachlan, 2009, pg. 289), and Wal-Mart’s threat to move production to China to obtain lower prices. In this article, the author implies that Wal-Mart’s actions demonstrate that they are not concerned with finding the most ethical behaviour; they are merely interested in the action(s) that most closely achieve their goal to remain the “biggest chain of direct sales to the consumer in North America”. (McLachlan, 2009, pg. 289)

Wal-Mart founded in 1962 by Sam Walton is now the largest American retail corporation. With thousands of chains of stores and warehouses Wal-Mart monopolized the American retail industry. In addition, Wal-Mart is the second largest retail corporation in the world employing of two million employees world-wide. As one of the most valuable corporations in the world Wal-Mart continues to improve their sales annually while offering some of the lowest prices available. Wal-Mart’s famous low price guarantee, come at a high expense of the environment, the small businesses, education, the rights and safety of the consumer, but most importantly their employees. Although Wal-Mart has plays a dominate role in American economy, this “American”

Common views of professionals will agree that our economy is partly affected by the Wal-Mart effect. Neumark, Zhang, and Ciccarella (2005) will agree with Stone, Goetz, and Swaminathan by saying that “We estimate the effects of Wal-Mart stores on county-level employment and earnings, accounting for endogeneity of the location and timing of Wal-Mart openings that most likely biases the evidence against finding adverse effects of Wal-Mart stores” (Pg. 1). This is another common aspect of all these professionals with the idea that there is a negative effect behind the openings of Wal-Mart. All of the effects found are common as they reduce local businesses around new Wal-Marts. Neumark, Zhang, and Ciccarella (2005) quotes “ Yet two of the most commonly-heard criticisms are that Wal-Mart eliminates more jobs than it creates for a community and that Wal-Mart’s wage levels pull down standards for all workers—not simply creating low-wage jobs, but driving down wages” (Pg. 1). Not only is the Wal-Mart effect destroying the local businesses, Wal-Mart does not help create more jobs for the jobs it loses in the community. Also Wal-Mart does not pay its workers a good wage. That can greatly affect a community because

As we saw in the movie (The high cost of low price) it shows the effects of Walmart in small towns and around the world. These kind of corporations like Walmart, they move into towns promising jobs, building a megastores, display every commodity that you can already find in town in small shops that been in business for years, they soon overseas the closure of those long established businesses, and causing the impoverishment through community.

Wal-Mart is considered one of the biggest employers in the U.S. with 25 different stores in most states also worldwide. One out of every 10 retail workers in the industry is employed by Wal-mart. When you think of Wal-Mart, you think of bargain items in any department of your choice. Hundreds of people visit Wal-mart on a daily basis, whether it is a big city or a small country town. Even though the business has created lots of jobs for people, especially in the smaller cities, it does hurt the small businesses. Wal-Mart has been viewed to have destroyed tens of thousands of small businesses and manufacturing jobs (Wal-Mart’s Impact on America 2012). With the opening of these Wal-Mart stores, it displaces other retail workers in the rural areas (Who win with Wal-Mart, 2011).

Wal-Mart represents the sickness of capitalism at its almost fully evolved state. As Jim Hightower said, "Why single out Wal-Mart? Because it's a hog. Despite the homespun image it cultivates in its ads, it operates with an arrogance and avarice that would make Enron blush and John D. Rockefeller envious. It's the world's biggest retail corporation and America's largest private employer; Sam Robson Walton, a member of the ruling family, is one of the richest people on earth. Wal-Mart and the Waltons got to the top the old-fashioned way: by roughing people up. Their low, low prices are the product of two ruthless commandments: Extract the last penny possible from human toil and squeeze the last

Wal-Mart, the multi-billion company and the second largest employer in the world, is the most controversial corporation in the world. Wal-Mart is a global powerhouse and affects many people around the world. Wal-Mart is constantly getting attacked from unions, human rights groups, small towns and small businesses. Wal-Mart is accused of treating their workers poorly and driving small businesses out of business. But however these accusations are false or over exaggerated. Wal-Mart offers families and low income people quality products. Also, they pay their workers competitive wages and treat them with respect. Wal-Mart opens their stores in rural and under developed areas. Wal-Mart improves the lives of the people who live rural area and

Whether it's a brand new 59” LCD widescreen television or merely a pack of gum, each purchase you make from a Walmart store inadvertently results in a higher price paid; both within your community as well as the greater world around you. Relying entirely upon you-the ever consuming scavenger – to fuel the bustling utopia of the manufacturing industry, exists Walmart. More importantly, Walmart relies upon the oblivion towards matters outside of our own lives that we as society generally project. However, by looking past our own greed in a world full of price cuts and sales, we can expose Walmart for what it truly is; an entirely corrupt corporation feeding off of countries' vulnerabilities and reaping the benefits.

Some may claim a Walmarts’ arrival in a community is helpful to improve the growth and development in the community, but others tell a different story. Many claim that a Walmart is great way to create new jobs in the community. They are partially right, between construction and development, plenty of jobs are created. Also, about 300 retail jobs are created based on the amount needed to run a Walmart super center twenty fours a day, seven days a week. However, Kenneth Stone, a professor of economics at Iowa State University, conducted a study in which two Super Walmart centers in two different states were evaluated. The study lasted about two years and showed that for every one job Walmart had created, 1.4 jobs were lost in local communities (Davidson 1). Walmarts’ low prices come with additional costs that we are

The documentary titled Why Walmart Works: And Why That Drives People Crazy takes a completely different turn from the previous documentary we were just discussing. Rather than bashing Walmart for their mistreatment of employees, low wages, and horrible working conditions, this documentary does quite the opposite, showing Walmart in a much more positive light. However, what stood out to me the most throughout this documentary was not its main purpose or theories, but rather that its entire argument stood to argue against those who bashed Walmart, rather than presenting a stable, stand-alone argument. Through this documentary, the constant argument that is brought up is the success of Walmart and the obsession that others have with trying to

The real issue and outcome of this situation is still affecting Wal-Mart today. Walmart’s lack of an ethical vision is driving customers away from traditional brick and mortar

As stated on the corporate website (2017), “Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, where 2.3 million associates meet the needs of more than 260 million customers every week.” These numbers are huge, and with so many locations around the globe, they have had allegations been made by employees regarding their dissatisfaction about poor work conditions, gender discrimination, low wages, poor benefits, and inadequate health care. Walmart has been criticized for its policies against labor unions and this issue has prompted public outrage, (Johansson, 2005) which is of great concern for the market. The company has also faced criticism for being anti-union, but it has claimed that it is rather pro-associate, whereby employees