Answer

Wal-Mart Ethical Issues

Introduction

Wal-Mart is a business organization that mainly deals with distribution and storage of goods. It operates department stores and warehouse stores. Wal-Mart is a multinational company headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States. Fortune Global 500 list of 2014 ranked Wal-Mart as the world’s largest company by revenue and the biggest global private employer with 2.2 million employees. Wal-Mart Company has a set of conduct that it uses to develop strategies for the policies they use to manage their human resource and the surrounding environment at large. Ethics comprises of an acceptable code of conduct that the involved society regards as just, fair, lawful, and upright. Wal-Mart Company has, however, wavered in ensuring compact behavior towards its employees. The areas showing shortcomings in the ethical policies of Wal-Mart include its anti-union stance, exploitation of the workers, wage law violations, and inappropriate employees’ health care strategies. The paper is purposely documented to elaborate the gravity of the aforementioned unethical policies of Wal-Mart Company and suggest the appropriate actions the company can take to uplift their ethical practices.

Ethical Issues at Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart has taken a strict stance against any attempt by its employees to unionize. The strictness is evidenced by the fact that whenever employees of any branch forward the idea of unionizing, their work branches are threatened with closure. This was clearly witnessed at Quebec when the Wal-Mart employees unionized, but the administration gave the notice to close the branch so that the branch workers become jobless (http://www.workplacefairness.org/reports/good-bad-wal-mart/wal-mart.php). After initiating a pursuit against the company, Quebec considered the firings of the workers as illegal and unethical. The main defense for the anti-union stance was economic consequences they risked. The employees are, therefore, forced to quench their thirst for unions by forming nonunion groups that have successfully gained assistance from other unions. Wal-Mart employees in retails in central Florida have formed a workers’ group. The company has, however, allowed employees in certain parts of the world to form unions due to the legal requirements of the jurisdictions of the countries involved.  For example, it is illegal for workers to be denied the right to form unions in China. The company has, therefore, allowed its workers in China to unionize to please one of its large partners, China.

The problem experienced with the anti-union stance is the continued denial of the employees’ right to fight for their freedom in the workplace. Employees do not have a collective effort to support one another in case of any form of suppression. Some of the suppressions employees experience in Wal-Mart are unjust firing and poor working conditions. The ultimate effect is the low productivity of the workers due to inadequate intrinsic motivation.

Employees of Wal-Mart have also reported several incidences of exploitation suggesting poor ethical standards at Wal-Mart. In the year 2014 September, the International Labor rights filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart in various foreign countries (http://www.workplacefairness.org/reports/good-bad-wal-mart/wal-mart.php).

. The violations included denial of minimum wages, forced overtime, and punished union activities. In the suit, some workers alleged they beaten by their supervisors. A Wal-Mart employee at Bangladesh worked seven days a week from 7.45 AM to 10.00PM without a day off in six months. The violations of human rights give a poor public image of the company (http://www.workplacefairness.org/reports/good-bad-wal-mart/wal-mart.php). The workers are also likely to have poor customer relations due to the frustrations at work. The exploitation is also against human well-being. Overworking, for example, can make the victim develop fatigue, stress and other stress related infirmities such as ulcers. Health has been defined as physical, social, mental, and spiritual well-being and not barely absence of an infirmity or disease. The social well-being of Wal-Mart workers will be compromised, and since Wal-Mart has a large number of employees, 2.2million, the global health will be compromised. The numerous lawsuits against Wal-Mart also deprive the company its finances it could have used to improve other sectors such as the welfare of its employees and product promotions. The company also risks total closure and condemnation of its operations in some countries.

It is both a legal and moral obligation for employers to ensure that their employees secure appropriate health by developing relevant strategies.Wal-Mart Company has developed policies that undermine the healthcare of the employees.In October 2014, Wal-Mart declared the provision of cheaper health insurance coverage for its workers. The insurance policy was formulated to cover monthly premiums as low as $ 11 (http://www.workplacefairness.org/reports/good-bad-wal-mart/wal-mart.php).The attempt was to boost the company’s public image and cover as many people as possible because they will be viewed as concerned about their employees’ health. However, the program greatly neglected the quality of the healthcare provided. It is the observation of many philosophers that entities acquired cheaply lead to very expensive daring consequences. The cheap healthcare insurance plan, further, oppresses the employees. Their small hardly won income will be further reduced to cater for the monthly premiums and the health services provided in concert with the insurance policy is poor.

According to the New York Times, employees of Wal-Mart are viewed as generally sicker than the general population. Wal-Mart employees also tend to use the emergency department more often than the general population (http://www.workplacefairness.org/reports/good-bad-wal-mart/wal-mart.php). When employees from a particular production sector or organization seek medical services more frequently, health offices should investigate their occupational background. Thorough inspections of the organizations involved are also recommended. The frequent visits by the Wal-Mart’s employees are an enough evidence of compromised occupational safety and health strategies of Wal-Mart Company (Friend, & Kohn, 2014). Wal-Mart leadership has failed to uphold relevant health strategies for the workers. According to the international labor requirements, large corporations should operate health insurance schemes for their employees. The company, however, operates a cheaper insurance policy that further propagates poor health of the employees. The ultimate effects of the poor health are the continued absenteeism of the employees, increase the call for compensations of the affected employees and lawsuits against the company.

Wal-Mart Company management has persistently violated wage rights of the employees. The compensation and the reward system are unjust to the employees. In Wal-Mart employment strategy and reward management system, compensation is not directly linked to performance (Sethi, 2014). Several cases have been observed in California have been observed where employees work without lunch-break offers and their working hours increased out of the clock without their consent and with low compensation. Employees who raise alarm and present cases of lawsuits are threatened with sacking and job terminations. Low wages should be of concern to the company because the employees are likely to look for second jobs to supplement their source of income. Double tasking at the workplace or performing two different jobs in a single day can make the employee concentrate on one more than the other. The employees are likely to offer poor services to their Wal-Mart employer leading to reduced productivity and profits.

Recommendations

Wal-Mart Company can go several dimensions to change their strategies and improve their ethical values in the global labor market.Wal-Mart Company is a very large corporation, and it should increase its responsibilities to its employees. The areas the company can consider include freedom of the workers, appropriate health strategies, and compliance with international wage requirements.

The company can involve health experts in formulating employee health policies to limit the errors made such as underutilization of health insurance policies. The top managers and supervisors should be given adequate leadership training and coaching before given roles in the business field. The freedom of the workers should entail the capacity to unionize. However, appropriate induction procedures and interviews should be conducted before employment of the workers to avoid inappropriate use of union powers. General improvement of work conditions will also tame the unions. The workers should also be involved in the decision-making process. The workers should be allowed to freely and fairly elect their representatives who will take part in the decision-making the process of the factors affecting their well-being.

Conclusion

Wal-Mart Company should, therefore, critically analyze the problems they impose on their employees. Healthy working conditions will ensure the current and future sustainability of the company and help them attract the best labor-force by the good public image created. Motivated employees who enjoy all the rights at a workplace are also likely to work effectively towards the success of the company.

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