Imagine a little, small-town mom and pop shop growing into one of the largest, multi-national conglomerates in the world. Well that is exactly the story of Sam Walton. From one store in'60s Arkansas, to stores all over the world, Wal-Mart has become a household name and necessity. However, Wal-Mart has also become a very controversial issue.
"Unbeatable low prices" is a promise that Wal-Mart really does manage to keep up with. With the economy as low as it is right now, shopping at Wal-Mart and taking advantage of their low prices everyday rather than waiting for sales at other shops really can make a difference to a family that has a strict budget.
Wal-Mart has recently gotten a bad name because of the fact that its products are not made in America. People have also begun to wonder how Wal-Mart is able to get its pricing down so low. This primary reason for concern though is because Wal-Mart used to pride itself in selling items that were only "made in America".
As far as pricing goes, Wal-Mart tells their suppliers to shave prices off of the wholesale price of the goods. The suppliers, instead of shaving dollars off of their profits, cut their own costs by outsourcing production to other parts of the world. Wal-Mart isn't the only store that works this way; dollar stores work on the same principal.
There have also been allegations in the press claiming that Wal-Mart does not treat its employees very well. There are several complaints about the fact that they give limited benefits to their employees. They usually only pay minimum wage and full time employees get benefits while part time employees don't get any benefits. However, most of Wal-Mart's employees are part time and not allowed to work 40 hours a week anyway.
What people often fail to remember or mention is that Wal-Mart is one of the largest employers in America. They do allow for people in the US to provide financially for their families. In addition, if anyone does not like working for Wal-Mart, they can quit at any time.
Small town America seems to suffer when a big corporation moves into town. With Wal-Mart however, job opportunities are brought to small town America. They even help to get people off of unemployment by utilizing the human capital that the town already has.
Wal-Mart has changed quite a bit over the years, but they haven't changed entirely for the worse. They do have some places for improvement. However, as long as they aren't breaking any laws, who are we to judge? - 30544
"Unbeatable low prices" is a promise that Wal-Mart really does manage to keep up with. With the economy as low as it is right now, shopping at Wal-Mart and taking advantage of their low prices everyday rather than waiting for sales at other shops really can make a difference to a family that has a strict budget.
Wal-Mart has recently gotten a bad name because of the fact that its products are not made in America. People have also begun to wonder how Wal-Mart is able to get its pricing down so low. This primary reason for concern though is because Wal-Mart used to pride itself in selling items that were only "made in America".
As far as pricing goes, Wal-Mart tells their suppliers to shave prices off of the wholesale price of the goods. The suppliers, instead of shaving dollars off of their profits, cut their own costs by outsourcing production to other parts of the world. Wal-Mart isn't the only store that works this way; dollar stores work on the same principal.
There have also been allegations in the press claiming that Wal-Mart does not treat its employees very well. There are several complaints about the fact that they give limited benefits to their employees. They usually only pay minimum wage and full time employees get benefits while part time employees don't get any benefits. However, most of Wal-Mart's employees are part time and not allowed to work 40 hours a week anyway.
What people often fail to remember or mention is that Wal-Mart is one of the largest employers in America. They do allow for people in the US to provide financially for their families. In addition, if anyone does not like working for Wal-Mart, they can quit at any time.
Small town America seems to suffer when a big corporation moves into town. With Wal-Mart however, job opportunities are brought to small town America. They even help to get people off of unemployment by utilizing the human capital that the town already has.
Wal-Mart has changed quite a bit over the years, but they haven't changed entirely for the worse. They do have some places for improvement. However, as long as they aren't breaking any laws, who are we to judge? - 30544
