Unethical Business Practice of Walmart - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 862 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/09/19 Category Business Essay Type Argumentative essay Tags: Study Essay Did you like this example? Unethical Business Practice Most people would agree that the objective of most businesses is to make money in an honorable manner, and to conduct business in an ethical way. Well, not all businesses operate in an honorable and ethical manner. According to Lovelenna Rajeev, author of Ethical and Unethical Business Practice, â€Å"Business ethics are moral values and principles, that determine our conduct in the business world. It refers to the commercial activities, either with other business houses or with a single customer†(Rajeev2009). While the objective of all businesses is to make profits, the business should contribute to the interest of the society by ensuring fair business practices. However, greed has led businesses to unethical business practices and general mistrust. Some examples of unfair business practice include; bribery and dishonesty, unfair treatment of employees, sexual discrimination. Everyone knows that it is unethical for a business to use dish onesty and bribery to get employees to do what the company wants them to do. Well, not every company sees the wrong in being dishonest. The biggest company in the world, Wal-Mart, is accused of using bribery and dishonesty so that their employees cannot join or communicate with a union. Wal-Mart is a non union organization that feels it does not need third party intervention. So, instead of unions, Wal-Mart has an open door policy meaning if an employee has a problem they can take their complaints beyond management and go straight to corporate. According to PBS,† the open door policy does little to help its employees but gives the company the leverage they need to terminate unwanted non compliant employees†(Moore2005). Also, Wal-Mart employees get paid less than unionized companies and their employees usual quit by the end of their first year. The company also prohibits it employees from communicating with union workers. According to Wikipedia, Wal-Mart’s ex ecutive, Tom Coughlin was forced to resign because he was embezzling money. The executive claimed that the money was used for an anti-union project involving cash bribes paid to employees in exchange for a list of names of Wal-Mart employees that had signed union cards and communicated with a union. It is unethical for Wal-Mart to prohibit employees to talk to union representatives. According to the National Labor Act, employers are not allowed to discourage or bribe employees from forming a union for they have that right. Wal-Mart is wrong for bribing employees and therefore they encourage dishonest behavior. If Wal-Mart wants to avoid lawsuits, the company need s to let it be known that they will not oppose employees talking to union representatives. Not only has Wal-Mart been accused of bribery and dishonesty, but they are also accused of unfair treatment of employees. Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in America. According to Heidi Cossitt, â€Å"the average full t ime employee makes only $15,000 a year. The majority of wal-mart workers are only allowed to work 28 hours a week to keep them from getting over time, and at this rate according to Cossitt, â€Å"an employee makes $11,000 a year†(Cossit 2003). This is well below the poverty rate which makes Wal-Mart employees eligible for public assistance, such as food stamps. Another issue with Wal-Mart is that health insurance is only available to a small percentage of its employee. Of that small percentage, only a few can afford the high premiums. Once again, Wal-Mart is acting unethical by paying low wages to its employees and by only offering high premium health insurance. To solve this problem, and to avoid a bigger one, Wal-Mart needs to stop being greedy and support their employee rather than treating them unfairly. As the largest retail company, Wal-Mart has a duty to treat all employees and suppliers with respect. However, this is not always the case. According the article †˜Earning Less, Holding Fewer Senior Positions’, in 2003, Dr. Richard Drogin, Professor at California State University-Hayward, conducted a study on wages for female employees at Wal-Mart and found that: â€Å"Female hourly workers earn up to 37 percent less per hour than male counterparts; female full-time employees working at least 45 weeks earn on average nearly $5,000 less than male employees in yearly salary; women make up to 72 percent of wal-marts total workforce but only 33 percent of its managers; and women make up 92 percent of wal-marts cashiers, but only 14 percent of Wal-Mart store managers†(Drogin2004). These statics show just how unfair and unethical Wal-Mart is when it comes to discriminating against women. Wal-Mart needs to pay men and women the same. A women is just as capable as a man when it comes to running an organization and therefore a women Wal-Mart employee should have the same privileges and pay as their male counterparts. In conclusion , Wal-Mart is a huge company known by many households around the world. The company has on many occasions been accused of unfair and unethical business practice. Bribery, dishonesty, unfair treatment of employees and discrimination against women is unethical and should not be practiced by any business or corporation. It’s a shame that such a huge company that makes so much money has to be so unethical. Eventually, people will see right through wal-marts unethical practices and ultimately Wal-Mart will lose a lot of customers. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Unethical Business Practice of Walmart" essay for you Create order

Freedom from Governmental Espionage Essay - 1060 Words

The American people are living in a democracy, the best, yet youngest, form of government in the world. The ideals surpassed by none, a democracy so delighting the USA literally fights extensive battles to bring this serenity to other parts of the world. This is because there are established rights or entitlement for every individual is; one of the most revered is the freedom of speech. However, currently the American government is in direct violation the country’s first amendment; they have been for almost one hundred years by creating a law regarding speaking out against the government as treason. This is the same government that so openly acknowledges the importance of the freedom of expression to their countrymen need to revisit Bill†¦show more content†¦Debs made a public speech as he had in many towns before for his political party. The information presented was regarding his discontent with the present social system and the treatment of workers and the so-calle d lower class citizens. Statements included that the war was based upon lies, that the upper class made wars for profit and that those higher up saw no value in the lives of those they sent off to war (Debs, 1918b). Debs, representing himself, denied not a word from his speech and for the duration of his trial continued to advocate that his was not pleased with the social system and spoke of how he wanted to see a real industrial democracy one not ruled by a small class (Engdahl, 1918) . In London England, far from his source that leaked over 400,000 documents on the Iraq war, Mr. Assange spoke at a press conference for his company, Wikileaks. Julian answered questions regarding the information that had been posted to the Internet site regarding the comments made by the US government to both the Iraq and Afghanistan information released, and in his opening remarks addressed the astounding number of civilians killed at 15,000. Assange directly accuses, â€Å"The first casualty of wa rs is the truth,† a borrowed quote of a fellow reporter Phillip Knightly, â€Å"The attack on the truth by war begins long before the war start andShow MoreRelatedThe Politics of Spying Essay1177 Words   |  5 Pages Introduction This essay will consider the politics of spying. It will discuss examples of espionage as well as its necessity. The paper will also debate upon whether spying is an invasion of privacy and there for rights, or not. The essay begins by defining espionage. It offers examples of espionage and how it has been used by different countries in the past as well as how it is increasingly used today on a global scale. The paper concludes by offering the authors comments on spying as well asRead MoreBranches Of Government : The United States1578 Words   |  7 Pagestechnological advancement and espionage present a real threat, not only to the United States, but to the world. How can law be generalized so as to affect a process relative to technology and software design that prevents transnational crime? A Collaboration between Three Branches The framers were well aware of centralized authority, which they found to be arbitrary and unjust. This ideology led to tyranny. They needed to create the government system to avoid it. Therefore, the governmental functions were dividedRead MoreEvents that Led up to the Creation of the Patriot Act2043 Words   |  9 Pagesourselves as a country. The government response was necessary because there are terrorists in the world. As much as you’d like to think that this is a perfect world, and that everything is rainbows and ponies, you can’t. 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Girls donned short skirts and boys donned army greens, it was the decade of change in Australia and still affects our governmental decisions today. Retrospect investigates this era of change in depth in this editorial. Entertainment for every Australian family was at an all-time high seeing as people were more willing to splurge on leisurely activities because of the economicRead More The Interest Group Essay1015 Words   |  5 Pageswith government assistance. The difference between interest groups and political parties is that political parties seek to constitute the government, whereas interest groups try only to influence it. Some of the things that interests groups seek from government are information that affects the interests of the interest group, influence of the government policy, goodwill of the administrators who carry out the policy, and symbolic status. 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Joe and the Juice Free Essays

Ind. Competence. Joe and the juice: Franchise – you pay royalty every month, whether you earn or not – You use the name. We will write a custom essay sample on Joe and the Juice or any similar topic only for you Order Now The concept have to be good and proved. Of course you need a lot of money to invest, because the main firm does not give a single penny for your business. When you see a concept that people like you have to carry on this wave. Partnership is not like franchise . There is no real influence with the concepts. You have to stick to what all think is a good idea. You got limitations. You can choose how to look like but you still get limitations about the main concept. Fremtiden – future : restaurant business is to rely the personnel. How you adapt different stores to different market? – number of personnel is different depending on how busy they are. Adjust the music, take best employees to make sure the new place is working good, adapt to peoples behaviour. Try to learn from mistakes and take much more time before you open a stoer, so you can know what the locals are and you can adapt to them. . Scandic hotel To give people away from home the feeling of being home. They run the hotels, they do not own them. Promises and missions are part of any hotel chain. People skills are vital and training is vital. Team members should speak their mind and discuss. More sales are more service. Self-service is no service, it is ignorance Customers pay grants for emotions. Every business has a potential. Brand is much more than a logo type. Brand platform needs to be relevant to the customers. It is an explanation to who we are. People away from home need warm and nice atmosphere and friends. Caring, casual, creative – these are the values of Scandic. How to cite Joe and the Juice, Essay examples

Orporate Sustainability Strategies Sustainability Management

Question: Discuss about the Orporate Sustainability Strategies for Sustainability Management. Answer: Introduction Formed in 1993, Ecostore is a privately owned company that prides itself in being an environmentally conscious business that offers a collection of natural and eco-friendly products. The company is classified as a sustainable business as it matches the criteria set out that any company has to meet before being classified as a sustainable business. The company creates and stocks products that are focused on the health of the people and the environment. These products range from skin care, hair, and laundry as well as homecare products. With an annual turnover of around $33million, Ecostore is a fine example of a business that has grown exponentially since formation. The business model on which the company is built upon is not your typical organizational profit making business model as Ecostore prides itself in being a disruptive not-for-profit company. This is based on the fact that a percentage of the sales money raised goes toward its foundation called Fairground which is the charity arm of the company. Ecostore holds an importance to the Australian and by extension the international business landscape as it is an example of a business that is geared toward sustainability while being environmentally conscious. According to Chan et.al. (2001), it is noted that organizations that are passionate about the environmental responsiveness tend to remain competitive and increase their market share. In Australia, the market is experiencing a demand for sustainable products and with the eco-friendly products offered by Ecostore clearly sets them apart from the rest of the competition in the market. Their products are completely plant and mineral based thus have no negative effect on the environment mostly the Australian waterways. Chang and Fong (2010) laid it out clearly by saying that environmentally favorable products have positive effects on consumers that are equally passionate about such products. Based on the 2015 carbon trust report by the world bank, the cost of adapting to new warmer worlds are set to rise and this is where Ecostore has an edge over other global companies as it is already adapting to the sustainability goals thus in a better position not experience any disruptions when other companies go through the adaptation phase. Role of organizational behavior at Ecostore With Ecostore being a disruptive not-for-profit company, the organizational behavior at the company is geared towards the well-being of the customer. Organizational behavior encompasses management, employee motivation,worksatisfaction and team bonding. All these have an effect on the customer satisfaction and loyalty (Wiek et al, 2012). With a staff of about 60 employees, the company comes across as a closely knit organization with the founder as the chief executive. The well-being of the employees is entwined with the vision of the company and this is evident in the interaction between management and the employees. According to an article published by smartcompany Australia in May 2014, Ecostore is a company that holds ethics in high esteem and the organizational management focus is to make the employees better at what they are good at. Such an approach creates a relaxed environment and as recent studies show such environments enable employees to thrive and achieve their maximum pot ential. Human resource management practices at the company Human resource practices are vital to the foundation of how a companys employees interact with the company and brand as a whole. Ecostore places a lot of emphasis on the employee relationship with the company. When it comes to the aspect of sustainability based on the human resource management practices, comprehensive strategies that cover all aspects of the business are required. These business aspects encompass the board room, the employees, the company suppliers as well as the customers (Orlitzky et al, 2011). The company executive is known to be lenient with the employees and with such does not implement a hierarchical mode of management at the company. The employees at the company are consulted for their views on the business as well as any ideas that they may have. This has a positive effect on the utilization of the various talents in the company. Such an approach has an effect when it comes to recruitment and talent retention as most employees would prefer working at organizations where they feel valued. Role of international business at the company Being competitive in international markets are every companys long term vision. This can be attributed to the fact that there is an increase in the profit margins for a company once it is able to compete favorably and comfortable in markets outside its locality. Ecostore is rapidly becoming an international company with its products being sold in markets beyond Australia and New Zealand. As the company is always looking for new and better ways of sourcing raw materials, product development, packaging and distribution, the access and penetration to the international markets will definitely ease some of these concerns. Ecostores sustainability practices have an effect on the way the brand markets itself as well as its products to the international markets. An example of this is the entry of Ecostores products to the lucrative South Korean market that is quite particular on eco-friendly products (Van Bommel, 2011). The South Korean market is currently experiencing a demand for products that have an emphasis on healthy living as well as minimal toxic levels. Based on this, it can be noted that international business has quite an effect on the quality of products in that this has to be maintained or raised. In the case of a drop in standards, the brand is likely to suffer to in the international market due to the fact that the world is now a global village and how people perceive a brand based on its performance in different markets has a huge influence on their interaction with the brand (Lubin and Esty, 2010). With the partnership between itself and distributors in the different international markets, Ecostore has been able to push its products to a wider audience. This means increased revenue for the company and thus increased innovation and production to meet the demand for its products in the different markets. Role of technology management at the company In todays world, the use and management of technology plays a big role in the success of companies that are focused on innovation. Technology management can therefore be defined as the application of management skills to the development and proper use of technology, Khilesh (2013). This is crucial to an organization as it helps the company to improve its efficiency and effectiveness while solving problems. Based on the above definition, it can be noted that Ecostore has not been left behind as it is constantly innovating and using new technologies to produce new eco-friendly products while at the same time bettering the existing ones with no addition of harmful or toxic chemicals to the products or the environment. The company has a manufacturing facility that is ISO 14001 certified and this has played a massive role in minimizing the companys environmental footprint. It has to be noted that Ecostore is using technology to identify and improve its sustainability operations as well as identify and implement areas for improvement in operationswhilst factoring in power consumption and waste level management. Entrepreneurship and innovation at Ecostore Ecostore was founded by Malcom Rands and his wife in 1993 based on the discovery that they were being exposed to toxic chemicals in their cleaning and body care products. They realized that despite living the sustainable life and using sustainable organic products, the exposure to these toxic products was still real. The motivation behind the start of the company was to provide healthy and eco-friendly products as opposed to the existing products which had toxic chemicals and no positive bearing on the environment. Innovation places a lot of emphasis on learning so as to gain knowledge about the products to be delivered and this led the Ecostore founder to spend eight years learning about chemicals, their good side as well as the nasty side and decided to come up with something new for the market. This kind of innovation is what has led to the development of green products by Ecostore. This aspect of innovation shows no sign of slowing down as the company is constantly researching an d innovating new ways of developing its products while maintaining the green aspect of the business. An example of this constant and new innovation is the invention of proprietary packaging bottles made out of sugarcane. The company moved from the traditional plastics made from petrochemicals that are derived from scarce non-renewable fossil fuels to a renewable and more sustainable solution of using sugarcane to create its bottles. Innovation is key to the sustainability vision of Ecostore as it aims to be a provider of clean and ecofriendly products (Varadarajan, 2010). With the advancements in technology, it can be noted that the cost of these innovations is absorbed by the company and thus no extra cost is passed down to the customer. As evidenced earlier, this in return has a positive influence on the brand and the companys sustainability approach as a whole. Recommendations As Ecostore seeks to expand its reach to the international market whilst maintaining a stronghold on the Australasia market, it is important for the company to implement different management strategies for the different markets. The sustainability aspect of the company has managed to give it an edge over traditional chemical based producers. One of the management strategies that the company can implement in the future is an increase in the online marketing strategy of the companys products. Ecostores products are quite popular in the Australian and New Zealand shelves and one of the strategies that can be used as the company eyes more international market is an increase in its online visibility. Online marketing can grow a brand beyond its borders and enable customers in far flung areas to place orders as well as sample the companys products (chaltegger et al, 2012). The company website can also be revamped as it is the first point of contact with the online customers. A good website should be able to generate traffic and increase the number of orders placed via the online portal. With the advent of social media, the company can use this to create and maintain a healthy following of consumers who are yet to get to know about the company or its products. Achieving the desired growth in a business is crucial and it is the aim of an organization to have a target in terms of revenue and profitability. There are relevant issues that organizations need to adapt to achieve revenue and profitability. It is relevant to adapt to the necessary changes since there is need for growth. Some of the major reasons why there are inadequate consideration of opportunities where the main focus is on business and what sub-segments. Another concept that is realized is the way in which there are no successful execution. Leadership is very important and in management in the different companies can adopt the following strategies. There needs to be a systematic framework that is relative to the strategies making sure there are key elements that might increase the probability for success. The need to have an amalgam in terms of gathering experience is crucial when undertaking research. Conclusion The need to have strengthening leadership practices where there are different roles played. Some of the needs is relative to the following needs to promote growth. For example, there is the growth by the sub-segmenting customers. There is always the issue of growing core business as well as the growing adjacent opportunities. There is the issue of creating the customer focused strategies. In addition, there is the need to have building organizational capabilities and performance management scorecards where there is the need to be effective when executive strategies. Organizations need to have a system in which there is the need to have a structure to achieve objectives. The need to have the strength to have the need to have strategies as a way of investigating ways of investing in infrastructure. Regardless of which strategy is selected, there is always the ongoing research on what exactly is required relevant of the strategies deployed. Companies need to initiate the process to identify the chances for success relative to the strategies deployed. There are three customer strategies that need to be introduced in a company to make sure that strategies are achieved (Gond et al, 2012). The following strategies can be adopted by an organization. One of the needed strategies is growing of the core business. Another concept needed to be adopted is the growth of the sub-segmentation and most importantly the growth of nearby adjacent opportunities. One of the ways to ascertain is the way that management needs to consider the growth potential within the core business where opportunities and growth potential needs to be associated relative to the potential of an individual. As such, leadership is necessary to make sure strategies that can bring success need to be implemented. Another recommendation is the customer focused growth where strategies are the main focus. It is recommended that the identification of the profitable growth opportunities is crucial since the main focus is understanding core business. Products are necessary when making sure that the overall performance is ensuring that measuring and benchmarking of the profits. There also needs to be the revenue growth where the reputation of the firm is always at risk. Having the need for the assessment is crucial to make sure that direction is crucial when ensuring the correct assessment. Bibliography Baumgartner, R.J. and Bender, D., 2010. Corporate sustainability strategies: sustainability profiles and maturity levels.Sustainable Development,18(2), pp.76-89. Crittenden, V.L., Crittenden, W.F., Ferrell, L.K., Ferrell, O.C. and Pinney, C.C., 2011. Market-oriented sustainability: a conceptual framework and propositions.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,39(1), pp.71-85. Farla, J., Markard, J., Raven, R. and Coenen, L., 2012. Sustainability transitions in the making: A closer look at actors, strategies and resources.Technological forecasting and social change,79(6), pp.991-998. Gond, J.P., Grubnic, S., Herzig, C. and Moon, J., 2012. Configuring management control systems: Theorizing the integration of strategy and sustainability.Management Accounting Research,23(3), pp.205-223. Hahn, T., Figge, F., Pinkse, J. and Preuss, L., 2010. Tradeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ offs in corporate sustainability: you can't have your cake and eat it.Business Strategy and the Environment,19(4), pp.217-229. Kiron, D., Kruschwitz, N., Haanaes, K. and Velken, I.V.S., 2012. Sustainability nears a tipping point.MIT Sloan Management Review,53(2), p.69. Lubin, D.A. and Esty, D.C., 2010. The sustainability imperative.Harvard business review,88(5), pp.42-50. Orlitzky, M., Siegel, D.S. and Waldman, D.A., 2011. Strategic corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability.Business society, 50(1), pp.6-27. Rametsteiner, E., Plzl, H., Alkan-Olsson, J. and Frederiksen, P., 2011. Sustainability indicator developmentScience or political negotiation? Ecological Indicators,11(1), pp.61-70. Schaltegger, S., Ldeke-Freund, F. and Hansen, E.G., 2012. Business cases for sustainability: the role of business model innovation for corporate sustainability.International Journal of Innovation and Sustainable Development,6(2), pp.95-119. Sheate, W.R. and Partidrio, M.R., 2010. Strategic approaches and assessment techniquesPotential for knowledge brokerage towards sustainability.Environmental Impact Assessment Review,30(4), pp.278-288. Van Bommel, H.W., 2011. A conceptual framework for analyzing sustainability strategies in industrial supply networks from an innovation perspective.Journal of Cleaner Production,19(8), pp.895-904. Varadarajan, R., 2010. Strategic marketing and marketing strategy: domain, definition, fundamental issues and foundational premises.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,38(2), pp.119-140. Wiek, A., Ness, B., Schweizer-Ries, P., Brand, F.S. and Farioli, F., 2012. From complex systems analysis to transformational change: a comparative appraisal of sustainability science projects.Sustainability Science,7(1), pp.5-24.