After viewing Walmart the High Cost of Low Price please provide a response to the positives and negatives found throughout the retail giant

Multinational companies often bear many advantages for different stakeholders including employees, governments, and investors. Many employees are drawn to multinationals because of the extra benefits they can afford to offer which are uncommon for local startups which do not have such financial strength. But this is not the case for Walmart employees or the governments where the stores reside. Walmart has consistently been in the limelight for its negative work practices which affect employees, communities, and governments within and outside the United States despite its relished low-priced goods.

One of the major pitfalls discussed in the video is the corporation’s negative work practice. Walmart’s focus on reducing costs has resulted in low salaries and poor benefit packages for employees. According to Beautiful Mind (2015), Walmart had the largest recorded number of employees who relied on government-sponsored health insurance. The company encouraged employees to seek alternative ways to meet their medical expenses because the low salaries could not cover that expense. This reality drew from employees’ health and wellbeing as many could not afford to meet their health expenses. Also, the company avoided paying employees for overtime hours they worked. Beautiful Mind (2015) notes that all managers except one general manager would log into their computers to reduce the number of working hours for each employee to the acceptable 40 hours. In addition, there was a formal ‘no overtime’ policy which ensured that employees could not claim their unpaid working hours. This practice led to the deterioration of work-life balance as many reported spending less time with family and in social gatherings.

Also notable was Walmart’s prevention of unionization and the discrimination of some groups based on race and sex. Walmart made deliberate efforts to ensure that employees had a negative attitude towards unionization, for example, by making educational videos that were anti-unionization. Beautiful Mind (2015) explains that all store managers were taught to profile employees and easily detect strong personalities that were likely to collude against the company. This led to mistrust among employees and further domination of the company. Any attempts of unionization were escalated to the head office which immediately took charge of the store until they were sure that the threat was eliminated. In addition, female employees reported struggles in climbing the corporate ladder even when they were qualified and recommended by supervisors for higher positions. There were also formally reported cases of racial bias among employees. These escalated tensions in the workplace causing some groups to feel less valued and unsafe while at work.

On a national and international level, Walmart was repeatedly fined for disregarding environmental laws and overworking overseas employees in countries like China. China is one of the biggest suppliers of labor and merchandise for Walmart, which makes it a significant strategic business partner. Beautiful Mind (2015) explains that Walmart employees in China work a normal shift from 7 am to ten-thirty in the evening. They also note that the company hired illegal immigrants to wash their premises at night. These practices encouraged the illegal settling of migrants and violation of labor laws overseas. Walmart has also paid tens of millions in fines from environmental degradation within the United States (Beautiful Mind, 2015). Such cases were a threat to the physical health of humans and marine life.

In conclusion, the video highlights numerous negative practices at Walmart which have threatened the health and wellbeing of many within and outside the US. Among them are the low salaries paid to employees and the denial of medical insurance. In addition, Walmart is accused of preventing employees from unionizing and ignoring racial and gender bias with their company. Lastly, the company has had numerous environmental violations and is accused of overworking its employees in other nations like China. All these negative practices have led to work ethic violations, an overstressed workforce, a threat to human and marine life, and a negative image of the company to the public warranting government intervention.

Walmart’s Case Study outline

1. Multinational companies often bear many advantages for different stakeholders including employees, governments, and investors.
2. One of the major pitfalls discussed in the video is the corporation’s negative work practice.
3. Also notable was Walmart’s prevention of unionization and the discrimination of some groups based on race and sex.
4. On a national and international level, Walmart was repeatedly fined for disregarding environmental laws and overworking overseas employees in countries like China.
5. In conclusion, the video highlights numerous negative practices at Walmart which have threatened the health and wellbeing of many within and outside the US.