One Nation under Wal-Mart Essay

82% of American households purchase at least one item from Wal-Mart every year. Wal-Mart controls about 30% of the market in household staples. Sells 15% of all magazines and 15%-20% of all CDs, videos and DVDs. It is expected to control over 35% of U.S. food sales. When comparing other companies that sell consumer products, Wal-Mart represents a big chunk of their total business: 20% for Dial, 24% for Del Monte, and 23% for Revlon. Wal-Mart is responsible for 10% of all goods imported to the United States from China. Wal-Mart offers the lowest prices in all of their products, because of the cost efficiency it has achieved. Wal-Mart’s buying power and cost-saving efficiencies force local rivals out of business, thus costing jobs, disrupting communities, and injuring established business districts. Within 5 years after one Wal-Mart opening, two local supermarkets close. Because of Wal-Mart tax breaks, it causes the local tax revenue to decrease and not increase. Wal-Mart is staunchly anti-union and pays low wages. Its labor cost are 20% lower than those of unionized supermarkets; its clerks earns only $8.23 an hour, and most of its 1.4 million employees must survive without company health insurance. Employee turnover is 44%. Because of its size, it exerts a downward pressure on retail wages and  benefits throughout the country. Because of its hard line on costs, it has forced many factories to move overseas, which sacrifices American jobs and holds wages down. Government welfare programs subsidize Wal-Mart’s poverty-level wages. 200 employee store costs the government $42k a year in housing assistance, $108k in children’s healthcare, and $125k in tax credits and deductions for low-income families. 46% of the children of Wal-Mart’s 1.33 million workers are uninsured or on Medicaid. Wal-Mart hires mores part-time employees and discourages unhealthy people from working at the store by requiring all jobs to include some physical labor in order to reduce spending on health care and other benefits. Wal-Mart does not carry music or computer games with mature ratings, forcing big music companies to supply them with sanitized versions of the CDs. Wal-Mart offers fire arms in many locations but has declined to sell Preven, a morning after pill. Wal-Mart has declined to sell some magazines and has put binder to obscure the covers of other magazines. Wal-Mart is considered â€Å"the biggest barrier to growth†. Wal-Mart decide to respond to all the criticism by improving employee health insurance coverage and adopting greener business practices. Wal-Mart was one of the first responders to Hurricane Katrina by sending truckloads of water and food reaching the residents before federal supplies did. Wal-Mart sales growth has slipped as the internet has changed people’s shopping habits and as other discounters have done a better job of attracting affluent consumer and providing higher quality and better service. 2. Ethical Issues Is it ethical and moral for Wal-Mart to make profit maximizing and cost effectiveness their number one goal? Is it moral to only hire part-time employees to decrease their health care spending? Is it moral or ethical to sell firearms but decline to sell the morning after pill? Is it moral for Wal-Mart not to provide fair wages to the employees? Is it moral for Wal-Mart to take advantage of government welfare program for subsidization? Should there be a requirement for large companies to employ a certain percentage of full-time employees? Does Wal-Mart have a moral responsibility of helping the communities grow? Is it moral or ethical for Wal-Mart to not  provide adequate health care to its employees? Is it moral for Wal-Mart to insist on tax breaks at the expense of the local community tax revenues decreasing? Should we as citizens enable these large companies by accepting jobs that pay poorly and offer no health insurance? Is it moral for Wal-Mart not to value the life and well-being of their employees and families? Is it ethical for Wal-Mart to be customer-oriented and not employee-oriented? Is it ethical for corporation like Wal-Mart to be held to higher standards to provide a better living standard to the employees and the community? Should a company of a certain size be required to offer health insurance? Should large companies that get tax breaks be forced to contribute to the community in other ways? 3. Primary Stakeholders Wal-Mart itself U.S. economy Consumers across U.S. Employees Shareholders Other companies and its employees Local communities Government Suppliers Other countries 4. Alternative Actions Wal-Mart should either pay their employees higher wages or provide health care regardless of the hours worked. Wal-Mart should maximize profits and at the same time look out for the well-being of the employee. Require a company the size of Wal-Mart to give back to the community if it wants to open a store. Try to establish a bill requiring large companies to maintain the majority of its employees as full-time where benefits can be offered. Cities or counties should not offer tax cuts to businesses that could  ³disrupt the community. Wal-Mart needs to establish a more competitive pay and better benefits program for their employees. Wal-Mart should keep doing what they are doing. It has been effective so far in becoming the largest company in  the world, why change it? 5. Ethics of the Alternatives Alternative 1 Wal-Mart should keep doing what they are doing. It has been effective so far in becoming the largest company in the world and among the most profitable ones, why change it? Utilitarian Perspective Utilitarian perspective would not support this idea. This idea seeks out to produce the greatest good for the company itself and not everyone person or business affected. Wal-Mart is seeking out the best for the company and one else. In order to be supported it would have to be the greatest good for Wal-Mart and everyone affected by this decision and or actions of the business. Deontological or Rights Perspective Deontological perspective would not support this alternative in any way. This is an alternative that treats people as a means to an end. It does not recognize the value and importance of the employees, and only values the company itself and the profits that can make. This is not a good way of conducting business and would never be accepted as a universal rule. Egoism Egoism perspective would support this alternative. Wal-Mart is basically doing what is best for the company and the shareholders, which is their primary duty. They are the largest company in the world and immensely profitable. Even with all the opposition it faces it is still one of the prefer companies for many consumers to their one stop shop. They offer the best and lower prices and customers are able to find everything they need for their households in just one stop. Wal-Mart is here to make profit and stay in business, this is their goal. Alternative 2 Wal-Mart should either pay their employees higher wages or provide health care regardless of the hours worked. Utilitarian Perspective Utilitarian perspective could support this alternative. It would have to be seen as being the greatest good for both Wal-Mart and the employees. If Wal-Mart raises the wages or offer the employees’ healthcare benefits, this will have benefits for both. The employee will be happy and will feel valued and appreciated by the employer. In turn the employees will have job satisfaction and their job performance will be good. This will help to the growth and success of the company. With happy employees helping potential customers, it can ensure good sales and thus increase their profit. Deontological or Rights Perspective Deontological perspective would support this alternative. This alternative seeks out the benefits of the employees. It takes into consideration their value as a human and show respect. By Wal-Mart implementing such policy in the company they are saying to the employees that we value and want to right by you. Every employee is a valuable asset to the company and key to its success. This alternative treats the employees as ends and not as the means to end. Egoism This alternative would not be supported by egoism. With this alternative Wal-Mart seeks to offer the best solution possible to their employees. They can either increase their wages so the employees are able to have a better standard of living or offer healthcare regardless of hours worked. This would ensure the well-being of each employee. 6. Practical Constrains Finding the right piece of property to build the store Government regulations The company’s responsibilities to the shareholders and to make profit Ability to offer the lowest prices American products too expensive to sell in the store Cost of being in business 7. Actions to be taken Wal-Mart should change their current employee benefits program and offer a  better and more competitive pay. This would allow for employees and their families to have a better standard of life It would help by possibly increasing the retail wages among other businesses Wal-Mart should participate in community events and give back to community Wal-Mart should hold meetings in communities where they are looking to build and hear the citizen concerns and find solutions so it is of benefit for both.

Fredrick Jackson Turner Seminar

Frederick Jackson Turner, â€Å"The Significance of the Frontier in American History,† Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the Year 1893. CONTENT: Turner’s article overviews the American past as it were in a transition period of expanding west. He reviews the significance of this move and evaluates the various results of the expansion on different groups in America. THESIS: The expansion resulted in crucial advancements/ building blocks for American society as it created significant economic, social, and culture transformations; although this period eventually ended. THEMES: . Although Indians played a large part in assisting Americans find/ inhabit new land, many were not treated with peace and respect as the white man instead on remaining as the dominant power. While the Indians showed Americans the way (literally), Americans ungratefully followed. 2. As New England was strong on maintaining their religious values, they made sure to carry their sa me ideas west. Therefore, the western frontier was built with a strong influence of religion from the east. 3. Because of the continuous expansion, American gov’t buckled down and held stronger regulations and rules.Following the Louisiana Purchase, that area was proclaimed land where there could be national jurisdiction and must obey the constitution. The idea to spread land throughout the Union states had been suggested but President Johnson rejected the idea. REACTION: Although Turner’s paper was informative, I feel that it could have been better synthesized still make the same point. HISTORIOGRAPHY: Progressive School— The paper covers the crucial aspect of the evolution of the American people during the expansion and the various hurdles that they had to overcome.

The UK Constitution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The UK Constitution - Essay Example Critically evaluate this statement, supporting your evaluation with appropriate examples and authority.† A Constitution is normally defined as the basic framework by which a state is governed. It usually outlines, in broad terms, the powers of a state as well as their limitations vis-a-vis the rights of its citizens. Some of the broad classifications of constitutions are: written or unwritten; republican or monarchical; flexible or rigid; unitary or federal; supreme or subordinate, and; underpin by separation of powers principle or fused powers. 1 The UK Constitution is one of the few constitutions in the world that is characterised as written but uncodified although some see it as unwritten. It is sourced from statutes, judicial decisions, old legal codes, relevant legal textbooks such as those authored by Dicey and Anson, in addition to unwritten ones such as common law and convention. 2 The nature of the UK Constitution, however, cannot be thoroughly understood by a mere ide ntification of these sources, but one must travel back in time and study the country’s history, its type of government and relevant legal concepts such as Parliamentary Sovereignty to fully understand its nature. Moreover, a correct understanding of its nature disproves the criticism that the rules and practices underpinning the government’s operation are unconstitutional because they were not made specifically enforceable by a document. The UK Constitution is characterised as largely written, although some see it as unwritten, but uncodified, a constitutional monarchy, flexible, unitary, supreme, and operates under the fused power principle.3 The fact that it has not been reduced to simple terms in one single written document, however, makes it lacking in simplicity and comprehensiveness. Thes underlying rules and principles of the UK Constitution, therefore, have to be gleaned, extracted and made sense of from a number of sources without guaranty that consensus as to their meaning will be reached. 4 These sources include: the Magna Carta 1215, which clipped the monarchical powers; the Bill of Rights 1609, which created the constitutional monarchy; Act of Union 1707 creating Great Britain by uniting England and Scotland; Representation of the People Act 1832, which restructured the electoral laws of the country; Parliament Act 1911, which reduced the power of law-rejection of the Lords to a two-year delay; Life Peerage Act 1958, reformed the House of Lords; Representation of the People Act 1969, which made 18 the minimum voting age, and; House of Lords Act 1999 that further reformed the House of Lords. 5 Aside from statutes, other sources of the UK Constitution also include prerogative powers or powers traditionally exercised by the Crown, most of which, at present, had been devolved to ministers on behalf of the Crown; judicial decisions or case law; convention, whose informal form often make it a source of disputes; and texts and other seconda ry sources. 6 To assail the constitutionality of rules and principles because of the absence of a document that compels their legal enforceability is to reject the distinction between written and rigid constitutions on the one hand, and customary and flexible constitutions, on the other. It implies a rejection of unwritten, codified and rigid constitutions such as those of the Romans and the ancient Greece, for example. In contemporary times, New Zealand and Israel, aside from the UK, have only partly codified constitutions. 7 The legitimacy of the Westminster model of government implies the legitimacy of the UK Constitution and all appurtenant rules and principles that are necessary for its enforceability. Under the Westminster model, power is concentrated in the hands of the legislature as

Brief response Michael Richards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Brief response Michael Richards - Essay Example Being a performer with his long experience, he should have known that distractions may occur on such establishments without the motive of the patrons to intentionally create a disturbance. However, Richard reacted to the situation and showed unprofessional attitude during the 2006 November 17 incident at the Laugh Factory. Richard made an appearance on the David Letterman show and made a public apology to Kyle Doss and Frank McBride, another target of the outburst. However, the two did not accept the apology and filed a case against Richard. They felt that what Richard did was not sincere and was forced as a resort to save his career. This may be justifiable since the image created in the mind of the public was that Richard was a racist. With it being on record and with the patrons who witnessed the outburst, the statements he threw to the targets were generally addressed to the black American race and not specifically or individually addressed and it was made in public. Doing public apology on air is much more of an appeal to the audiences and viewers. Because if he is indeed sincere with his apologies, he should have approached and seek the forgiveness of Kyle and the target group in private before appearing on public to make amends to those black Americans who viewed and learned what he did. Richard may have denied that he’s a racist but his actions prove a different story. Just like a â€Å"slip of the tongue†, his opinion about blacks were revealed during his outburst. The way his mind works during that incident showed his low opinion of the black culture. If he indeed has compassion for black people, those offending words should have not left his mouth. Since he is not a dark-colored skin American, and the used the word â€Å"nigger†, he has a lot of explaining to do. As Wyann’s mentioned, their culture much have the right to use the

Case studies questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Case studies questions - Essay Example Furthermore, the company has transitioned over several years from a captive provider to a non-captive providing third party services. Poland’s competitive strategy has enhanced its expansion across the globe. It has recognized business opportunities based on its market aptitude and study. A basic methodology in a basic operational level at BPOLAND involves numerous steps such as understanding clients’ solution identification, pilot operations, existing processes and service delivery. Sandeep Mirchandani the current vice president of BPOLAND requires a lot of knowledge within and without BPOLAND for effective management at BPOLAND. This study intends to answer the following questions related to the BPOLAND Company. Analyze the key HR challenges faced by BPOLAND There exist numerous challenges that face BPOLAND. They include employer turnover, workforce strategy and composition, level of skills and work place change. It is significant to note that, BPOLAND is diversified its operations across the globe since 2004 (Lakewood, 2003). The change of work place has created dynamism in the whole structure and training practices of the company. The significance diversity of consumer’s needs exhibited in the third party firms has presented complex challenges, which include, the necessity to revolutionize the verbiage used in the captive environment. The employee turnover is another challenge facing the BPOLAND Company. The high rate affects the provision of training large numbers of recruits. The workforce strategy and composition poses a key challenge to BPOLAND due to its complexity and numerous steps followed to ensure complete implementation. In addition, the training becomes sophisticated as it entails numerous divisions. On the other hand, levels of skills required by diverse departments of BPOLAND are relatively high, and the process of recruiting such high skilled workforce is long and cumbersome since the recruits must pass through different interviewers and panels before recruited. What are the key problems or issues for Engstrom Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant is faced by several problems, which include motivational breakdown of the workforce throughout the down turn in the Auto Mirror industry. The company was not able to uphold and manages the bonus issue spur plan, which was in place before the crisis. This saw majority of the workers loose morale of working and this situation contributed immensely to the slow rate of the company’s economic growth. It is noticeable that, the failure of the Scanlon Plan caused other issues within the company. These issues revolved around trust and fairness (Lakewood, 2003). The employees did not have full trust on the company management particularly on the future endeavors. In addition, the issue of unfairness on bonus sharing was evident between supervisors and workers. The workers opted that; they could receive a lion’s share since they worked for it, but instead the supe rvisors allocated themselves large shares and distributed fewer shares to the workers. This did not arguer well with the employees, and it further enhanced the unmotivated working spirit. Other issues included lack of planning and considerable possibility of some clients loosing certification. What are the key challenges facing HCL Technologies when Vineet took over? HCL faced key challenges like narrowing of the domestic market. The domestic market narrowed du to

Foster Children who turn 18 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Foster Children who turn 18 - Research Paper Example (Denuwelaere & Bracke, 2007). There can be different reasons as to why the children are being given under the foster care however; physical battering is considered as probably the most critical reason behind this decision. What is however, important to note that the removal from the families can be a painful experience for the children and as they grow and reach to their adolescence years, they may be unable to find a proper fit between their original families and their foster parents? Adjusting their individual personality to such split therefore can create both the psychological as well as the sociological issues. There can be different sociological issues faced by the foster children when they turn 18 including alienation from their original families as children often tend to live on their own and independent of both their original and foster families. Besides, foster children leave their communities, friends, relatives as well as school therefore a strong sense of social exclusio n tend to emerge and intensify in foster children. This paper will attempt to discuss two of the important sociological issues faced by the foster children when they turn 18 while further discussing the influence of different political, economic, legal, ethical as well as practical factors. Further, a detailed research proposal will be made outlining the different research questions to be probed through the use of different statistical methods and measurements besides discussing the original value of such research. Sociological issues As of September 2008, there were approximately 463,000 children in US who were put under the foster care.1 Almost 50% of the foster children live in their non-relative foster family homes suggesting that significant portion of foster children live in an environment which is unfamiliar to them. Though most of the children often reunite with their own families however, the case of foster children of higher ages is more peculiar and sensitive in the sense that lack of reunification with their families makes them more vulnerable. There are different sociological issues faced by the foster children when turned to the age of 18. This is typically a period when a foster child actually makes a completely new transition to a more independent life. The existing research on this subject outline different sociological issues faced by the foster children who turn 18 and two of the most important are: Alienation, Social exclusion and Prejudice Since foster children are separated from their original families at the early age therefore they tend to develop the tendencies of adapting the behaviors and values of their foster families. Though, during this process, children usually keep contact with their original families however, the overall influence of their foster families remains significant. Since foster children always remain vulnerable to the psychological problems therefore they tend to engage themselves into the search for formation of th eir own identity. The issue of alienation particularly arises when children leave their foster families because at that time they have probably left both of their families, their culture and values and as well as the people and friends and others who may have grown up with these children. The issue of

First of all its necessary to consider Hecksher and Ohlin theory Essay

First of all its necessary to consider Hecksher and Ohlin theory - Essay Example Countries have comparative advantage in those goods for which the required factors of production are relatively abundant. This is because the prices of goods are ultimately determined by the prices of their inputs. Goods that require inputs that are locally abundant will be cheaper to produce than those goods that require inputs that are locally scarce. For example, a country where capital and land are abundant but labor is scarce will have comparative advantage in goods that require lots of capital and land, but little labor - grains, for example. Since capital and land are abundant, their prices will be low. Those low prices will ensure that the price of the grain that they are used to produce will also be low - and thus attractive for both local consumption and export. Labor intensive goods on the other hand will be very expensive to produce since labor is scarce and its price is high. Therefore, the country is better off importing those goo The Ricardian model of comparative advantage has trade ultimately motivated by differences in labour productivity using different technologies. Heckscher and Ohlin didn't require production technology to vary between countries, so (in the interests of simplicity) the H-O model has identical production technology everywhere. ... The H-O model removed technology variations but introduced variable capital endowments, recreating endogenously the inter-country variation of labour productivity that Ricardo had imposed exogenously. With international variations in the capital endowment (i.e. infrastructure) and goods requiring different factor proportions, Ricardo's comparative advantage emerges as a profit-maximizing solution of capitalist's choices from within the model's equations. (The decision capital owners are faced with is between investments in differing production technologies: The H-O model assumes capital is privately held.) Original publication Bertil Ohlin published the book which first explained the theory in 1933. Although he wrote the book alone, Heckscher was credited as co-developer of the model, because of his earlier work on the problem, and because many of the ideas in the final model came from Ohlin's doctoral thesis, supervised by Heckscher. Interregional and International Trade itself was verbose, rather than being pared down to the mathematical, and appealed because of its new insights. [edit] The 2x2x2 model The original H-O model assumed that the only difference between countries was the relative abundances of labour and capital. The original Heckscher-Ohlin model contained two countries, and had two commodities that could be produced. Since there are two (homogeneous) factors of production this model is sometimes called the "222 model". The model has variable factor proportions between countries: Highly developed countries have a comparatively high ratio of capital to labour in relation to developing countries. This makes the developed country capital-abundant relative to the developing nation, and the developing nation