0

Module Code 3BM150 Module Title Business Ethics

Level BA Module Tutor Peter Watt

Credit Value of Module

20 Feedback Process

Type of Submission Electronic upload to Moodle using Turnitin

Expected Feedback Date By 5PM, 26/1/17

Assessment Task A critical review essay

Weighting 75% Word Count 3733

Due Dates(Published Deadlines)

Formal summative assessed essay

Deadline Thursday 5 January 2016, by 5pm

Assessment Regulations

140059924

1

140059924

The ugly truth: ETHICAL BUSINESS in WALMARTS IN

York St John University 140059924

WALMART

2

ContentsIntroduction...........................................................................................................................................1

Business Ethics- An Overview................................................................................................................1

Grey Area...........................................................................................................................................2

Walmart Brief Overview........................................................................................................................2

Stakeholder Analysis..............................................................................................................................2

Employees..........................................................................................................................................3

Consumers.........................................................................................................................................3

Competitors.......................................................................................................................................4

Ethical Challenges..................................................................................................................................5

Employees and Mistreatment............................................................................................................5

Consumers and Conservative Ways...................................................................................................6

Competitors and Monopolizing..........................................................................................................6

Recommendations.................................................................................................................................7

Employee’s Recommendations..........................................................................................................7

Consumers’ Recommendations..........................................................................................................7

Competitor’s Recommendations........................................................................................................8

Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................8

References.............................................................................................................................................9

I Eloise Shaw declare that I am the sole author of this assignment and the work is a result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. All references have been duly cited

140059924

0

ASSESSMENT and grading CRITERIA

Assessed Components

A* A B C D F (fail) F (fail) 0(100-85) (84 - 70) (69 - 60) (59 - 50) (49 - 40) (39 -20) (19 - 1) F (0)

Knowledge & UnderstandingW

ork

of o

utst

andi

ng p

erfo

rman

ceExcellent understanding of a wide range of ideas

Comprehensive literature review that makes a clear attempt to cover as much of the field as possible within the constraints of space

Excellent relevant, correct and comparative use of a range of theories with excellent ability to develop & support an argument lining to theory and academic discussions.

Very good understanding of a range of ideas

Literature review which covers main authorities and includes up to date sources from a range of authorities including recent journal articles.

Very good relevant and correct use of a range of theories with very good ability to develop and support an argument lining to theory and academic discussions.

Good understanding of relevant ideas

Literature review appears to cover main authorities but lacks depth and not clearly linked with present study. Use of a few journal articles

Good relevant and largely correct use of a range of theories and models with good ability to develop & support an argument lining to theory and academic discussions.

Fair understanding of a few relevant ideas

Literature review lacking in range and scholarship. Limited to text books and websites.

Adequate use of theory/model but with many errors in understanding of the key principles.

Subject knowledge is poorly demonstrated

Literature review is limited and does not link to the assessment brief

Limited use of theory/model, with demonstration of substantial errors in understanding

Non serious attempt

No or very poor Literature review or not related to study

Fails to identify ANY relevant theory/models and principles to the selected organisations.

Wor

k of

no

or li

ttle

valu

e oo

r rle

vean

ce to

the

assi

gnm

ent b

rief

Analysis & Evaluation

Excellent ability to analyse, evaluate, compare and construct values

Analytical and comparative with substantive links to research data and development of

Accurate analysis and very good evaluation

Predominantly analytical with good links to research data and development of

Good analysis and sound evaluation

Predominantly descriptive but some evidence of analytical thought, with good knowledge base, and good interpretation and application of

Fair analysis with some evaluation

Complete but wholly descriptive, with adequate knowledge base, and

Weak analysis and evaluation

Wholly descriptive and incomplete. Lacking in understandin

Non-serious attempt

No or very limited analysis and evaluation

Wholly descriptive with MAJOR key omissions, without any understanding of

140059924

1

coherent academic discussions with excellent understanding and detailed knowledge base, and excellent interpretation and application of theory to evaluate the impacts and benefits of business ethics.

coherent academic discussions with very good knowledge base, and very good interpretation and application of theory to evaluate the impacts and benefits of business ethics.

theory to evaluate the impacts and benefits of business ethics.

adequate interpretation and application of theory to evaluate the impacts and benefits of business ethics.

g. Poor knowledge base. Poor interpretation and application to given issue.

the topic. No evaluation or evidence of critical thinking.

Research & Enquiry

Rigorous and sustained enquiry with excellent outcomes

Excellent range of appropriate sources including journal articles, books and alternative sources

Accurate and consistent enquiry using appropriate methods

Very good range of appropriate sources including journal articles, books and alternative sources

Consistent approach drawing on a range of sources

Good range of appropriate sources including journal articles, books and alternative sources

Relevant methods of enquiry with some inconsistencies

Range of sources used but over reliance on websites and lower level sources or few sources used

Little evidence of research or understanding of appropriate approaches

Some sources used but over reliance on websites and lower level sources

Non serious attempt

Too few sources used

Presentation & Referencing

Technically excellent, accurate referencing and presentation

Excellent presentation and structure following guidance provided

Excellent application of Harvard system with no missed citations and complete

Accurate and consistent referencing and presentation

Very good presentation and structure following guidance provided

Very good application of Harvard system with few missed citations and complete bibliography / reference list

Good referencing and consistent approach to conventions

Good presentation and structure following guidance provided

Good application of Harvard system with some missed citations and limited bibliography / reference list errors

Fair understanding of conventions

Adequate presentation and structure following guidance provided

Poor application of Harvard system with errors

Poor referencing and little understanding of conventions

Poor presentation and structure not following guidance provided

Failure to follow Harvard

Non serious attempt

No attempt to reference

140059924

2

bibliography / reference list

CommunicationExcellent ability to communicate ideas clearly and appropriately

Excellent and fluent communication, following a logical sequence of thought, well indexed and linking sections to produce a quality report.

Very good ability to communicate ideas clearly

Very good & fluent communication, following a logical sequence of thought. Well-indexed and linked producing a very good quality report.

Most Ideas communicated effectively

Good presented and structured report that follows some sequence. Would benefit from more definite links to sections.

Ideas are communicated with some success

Adequately presented and structured report, but work lacks creativity in presentation and seems semi structured.

Ideas are not communicated effectively

Poorly presented work with few evidence of any logical though or sequence. Unstructured report with no definitive sections

Non serious attempt

Failure to meet the key requirements of the assignment brief.

140059924

1

Introduction Ethical business practice is a standard society sets for all businesses to follow. Ultimately how businesses preform ethically is up to their own definition of ethics. This essay is going to critically look at what business ethics means and how businesses preform under it. To best examine at an example of business ethics this essay is going to focus on the US corporation of Walmart. This essay will analyse Walmart’s business ethics with three of its stakeholders: competitors, employees, and consumers. The ethical issues surrounding Walmart will be shown through examples of challenges and issues that Walmart has faced as a corporation in recent years. After critically looking at how Walmart has performed ethically, recommendations will be made in the form as advice for company in the future.

Business Ethics- An OverviewBusiness ethics are the principles and standards that determine acceptable conduct in business organisations (Ferrell et al, 2015). Business ethics has been stated as being an oxymoron. the perception that business and ethics are contradictory is based on the general accepted view of what managers are supposed to do and therefore how they are supposed to act (Collins, 1994). Business ethics adapts the methods and purpose of normative ethics to the specific requirements of moral issues in business (Pratley, 1995) To determine ethical limits, businesses no longer rely on their own moral values (De Cremer, 2013). Businesses now check the existing laws and rules to see what is not legally acceptable (De Cremer, 2013). The advantage of this approach is that if the law does not mention that it is not acceptable then by definition it should be acceptable for businesses (De Cremer, 2013). Business ethics is primarily concerned with those issues not covered by the law, or where there is no definite consensus on something being right or wrong (Crane and Matten, 2004). Most executives from time to time are almost compelled, in the interests of their companies or themselves, to practice deception when negotiating with customers, dealers, labour unions, government officials, or even other departments of their companies (Carr, 1968). By conscious misstatements, hidden facts, or exaggeration, these executives seek to persuade others to agree with them (Carr, 1968). A “responsibility perspective” on any field of ethics combines a claim of value with a tendency to evaluate the situations, policies and practices that fall within the field in a certain the way (Newton, 2005). If the majority of these companies are acting unethical and not taking responsibility, what is the issue? To companies and employers, acting legally and ethically means saving billions of dollars each year in lawsuits, settlement and theft (Weiss, 2014).

One way of businesses being ethical is through corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility refers to the capacity of a corporation to respond to social pressures ethically (Crane and Matten, 2004). Carroll (1979) defined the four categories of CSR in corporate social performance, depicting them as ordered layers which he labelled economic, legal, ethical and discretionary responsibilities (Visser, 2005). However, Milton Friedman argues that a business is not responsible for being ethical. The responsibility of businesses is to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic social rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom (Freidman, 1970). The doctrine of social responsibility is frequently a cloak for actions that are justified on other grounds rather than a reason for those actual actions (Freidman, 1970). All business organisations face the challenge of meeting the highest standards of ethics while also, remaining competitive and providing the products and services the public demands (Boatright, 2014).

140059924

2

Grey AreaBusiness Ethics is said to begin where the law ends (Crane and Matten, 2016). Business ethics is primarily concerned with those issues not covered by the law or where there is no definite consensus on whether something is right a wrong- a grey area as shown in Figure 1 (Crane and Matten, 2016). There are management practices that also appear to benefit managers at the expense of stockholders and occasionally other corporate stakeholders (Bowie and Werhane, 2005).

Ethics

Grey

Area

Law

(Figure 1, author own, adapted from: Crane and Matten, 2016)

Walmart Brief Overview Today, nearly 260 million customers visit more than 11,500 stores under 63 banners in 28 countries and e-commerce sites in 11 countries each week (Walmart, 2016). The Walmart U.S. segment operates retail stores in the United States, including in approximately 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico (Reuters, 2016). Ninety percent of US residents live within 15 miles of a Walmart (Fishman, 2006). Walmart continues to be the largest retailer in the world with reported revenues of approximately $469 billion for fiscal year ending January 2013 (Morillo et al, 2015). Despite its public recognition and prevalence throughout the U.S, Walmart is among one of the least-admired corporations in the world (Ghillyer, 2008). The reason behind its unpopularity can be looked at through the stakeholder analysis and by the ethical challenges this company meets.

Stakeholder Analysis When businesses act unethical, they risk stakeholder’s interests. A stakeholder in a business is any group or individual who can affect, or is affected by, the achievement of the organization’s objectives (Crane and Matten, 2004). Three of Walmart’s most crucial stakeholders are there employees, customers and competitors. A highly salient stakeholder possesses all three attributes: power, legitimacy, and urgency (Griseri and Seppala, 2010). The attributes are dynamic in the sense that a stakeholder may become more or less important for a company as a result of a change in the extent to which they have one or more of these attributes (Griseri and Seppala, 2010).

POWER

LEGITIMACY URGENCY

(Figure 2, author own, adapted from: Mitchell et al, 1997)

140059924

3

The model above is a representation of stakeholder importance adapted from Mitchell. Power concerns the normative means that a stakeholder has at their disposal to exert influence on management (Majoch et al, 2014). Legitimacy is generalized assumption that the actions of an entity are appropriate within a socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions (Mitchell et al, 1997). Urgency refers to the degree to which the claim is perceived by management as calling for immediate attention (Majoch et al, 2014). The yellow circle represents customers, the blue circle represents competitors and the green circle represents employees. It will be further explained why each stakeholder is placed in these sections throughout the report.

EmployeesLabour is not simply a commodity to be bought and sold, even though it has been argued that wages are defensibly determined by the market, in a system with proper and just background institutions (DeGeorge, 1995). Labour derives from human beings, and human beings hold rights, which they do not give up by becoming employees (DeGeorge, 1995). Walmart employs 2.3 million associates worldwide – 1.5 million in the U.S. alone, making their employee stakeholder a significantly large group of people (Walmart, 2016). Over 300,000 associates have been employed by Walmart for 10 years or more (Walmart, 2016). Two thirds of Walmart workers cannot afford to participate in the company health insurance plan, which costs about 20 percent of a worker’s pay check (Brownstein, 2004).

Walmart employees are not allowed to be a part of unions (Clark, 2007). Walmart’s policy is to oppose unions and fight efforts of unionization (Rosen, 2006). To keep Walmart non-union, when employees are hired they are immediately shown an anti-union video (Rosen, 2006). This is a factor in why employees have such a low wage (Crofoot, 2013). The unionized retail workers in the United States that do not work at Walmart on average make 25 percent more annually than those employees that work the same job at Walmart (PBS, 2010).

Consumers In order to truly develop trust with their customers, companies must “walk the walk” (Knauss, 2010). For example, any activity engaged in with customers will be fair and defensible, no exceptions (Knauss, 2010).

Demographics of consumers at Walmart

A study in 2000 by Andrew Franklin, showed that Wal-Mart operated primarily in poor and working-class communities, finding, in the bone-dry language of his discipline, "a significant negative relationship between median household income and Wal-Mart's presence in the market” (Featherstone, 2005). According to the data, the average Wal-Mart shopper is a white, 50-year-old female with an annual household income of $53,125 (Peterson, 2014). Only 37% of Walmart consumers owned a passport but 54% owned a gun (Zogby, 2015). 1 out of every 5 Walmart shoppers uses food stamps in order to meet their basic needs in some way (Gaille, 2014).

140059924

4

(Figure 3, author own, adapted from: Zogby, 2015) (Figure 4, author own, adapted from: Zogby, 2015)Consumer Satisfaction with Walmart In 2015, Walmart scored its worst customer satisfaction rating since 2007, securing the bottom spot on American Customer Satisfaction Index’s retail customer service ranking (Hill, 2015). In 2011, 2012 and 2013, Walmart was the single lowest-scoring department and discount store on the list (Hill, 2015).

(Figure 5, source: Hill, 2015)

CompetitorsWalmart dominates the retail industry as it offers some of the lowest prices for products and services other companies cannot afford to offer (Pyle, 2014). PBS Frontline (2004) reported that Sam Walton’s formula was buy cheap, sell less than the other guy, and make your profit on high volume and fast turnover. It does more business than competitors such as Target, Sears, Kmart, J.C. Penney, Safeway, and Kroger combined (Fishman, 2003). As a store, Walmart is not just the largest; it no longer has any near rivals. Walmart is as big as Home Depot, Kroger, Target, Costco, Sears, and Kmart combined (Fishman, 2006). Target, which is considered Wal-Mart’s nearest direct rival is small by comparison (Fishman, 2006). Each year Walmart sells more by Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17, than Target sells all year (Fishman, 2006). In many categories of products that it sells, Walmart is now 30 percent or more of the entire market (Fishman, 2006). Walmart sells more than 30 percent of the

140059924

Political Party of Walmart Cus-tomers

Republican Democrat Independent

Race of Walmart Customers

White African AmericanHispanic

5

skincare and haircare products used in the United States and more than 30 percent of small kitchen appliances, housewares, and toys sold in the country (Fishman, 2006).

Ethical ChallengesAn ethical issue is an identifiable problem, situation, or opportunity that requires a person to choose from among several actions that may be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical (Ferrell et al, 2015). In business, such a choice often involves weighing monetary profit against what a person considers appropriate conduct (Ferrell et al, 2015). The best way to judge the ethics of a decision is to look at a situation from a customer’s or competitor’s viewpoint, as this following section will explain (Ferrell et al, 2015).

Employees and Mistreatment One ethical issue Walmart is criticized for is the compensation they pay workers. The average annual salary for a Walmart sales associate in 2001 was US$13,861 and the average hourly wages was US$8.23 (Ghillyer, 2008). The primary reasons for Wal-Mart low wages is because they want to cut operating costs and they want to continue offering low prices (Business Practices, 2015). Walmart employees are so poor that they are skipping lunch, sharing it or, in some cases, stealing it from their co-workers, some of the company’s workers claimed (Kasperkevic, 2015).

While it seems respectable that Walmart employs more than any other private employer in the United States, it is unfair that 90% of the store’s manager positions are held by men (Ghillyer, 2008). In the United States, since 2005, Walmart has paid about $1 billion in damages to U.S. employees in six different cases related to unpaid work (Sethi, 2013). In 2013, it was noted that even though women account for 57% of Walmart’s workforce in the US they were still getting paid $1.16 less per hour (Osterndorf, 2015). Also multiple female workers have come forward saying they were overworked, fired or put in dangerous situations by Walmart while being pregnant (Osterndorf, 2015). These cases point toward Walmart taking more of the “Friedman” approach in that its main responsibility is to make a profit no matter the cost. As of 2016, after many protests, Walmart agreed to pay employees $10 an hour (Owens, 2016). But a full-time employee working 34 hours a week for $10 an hour still only earns $18,000 a year, below the national poverty line for an average family of four (Owens, 2016). However due to the company’s strong anti-union stance it makes it harder for employees to fight back (Kasperkevic, 2015). This is why employees fall under the under the urgent and legitimate part of the salience model. The poor wage, lack of benefits, and sexism reports and legitimate causes of concern with an urgent need to be addressed by Walmart.

Same Sex Couple VS WE

A case of discrimination occurred in 2015 when a Walmart employee sued the retailer, saying its previous policy of denying health insurance to the spouses of gay employees violated gender discrimination laws (Reuters, 2015). Employee, Jackie Cote, who has worked at Walmart stores since 1999, said in the lawsuit that her wife developed cancer in 2012 and the denial of insurance led to more than $150,000 in medical debt (Reuters, 2015). Ms. Smithson is now in hospice care, Ms. Cote said (Reuters, 2015). A Walmart spokesman said that the company’s benefits coverage before the 2014 change was legal, however this does not make it ethical, this puts it in a grey area. Walmart set aside $7.5 million, to compensate employees affected by the denial of spousal benefits during the three years before Jan. 1, 2014, when the company changed its policy (Schieber, 2016). Walmart expected “no more than a few thousand” people to be eligible for the settlement (CNN Wire, 2016).

140059924

6

Consumers and Conservative WaysToday, 56 percent of citizens polled believe that “Walmart is bad for America” (Morillo et al, 2015). Residents of states that voted Mitt Romney in the 2012 Presidential Election were more likely to patronize one-stop shops such as Target and Walmart (Wells, 2015). Due to Walmart’s amount of Republican and Independant customers as shown in figure 1 part of Walmart’s sales strategy is to protect the image of its stores as “family orientated” (Brunn, 2006). Also of all the donations made by both Walmart’s PAC and the Walton family since the 2000 Presidential Election, nearly 70 percent went to Republican candidates and committees (Berman, 2013). Recently Walmart stopped the selling of confederate flags, however they keep selling guns (Lee, 2015). It is notoriously known for protecting consumers from products that the management deems offensive, a strategy to keep with the conservative campaign to “protect family values” (Brunn, 2006). A Christian organisation, The Timothy Plan, showed outrage at what Walmart was selling (Brunn, 2006). The Timothy Plan President Arthur Ally demanded Walmart remove copies of the magazine Cosmopolitan calling it “most blatantly aggressive soft-core pornographic magazine in America” (Curry, 2002). Ally said he found Walmart's position on Cosmopolitan magazine incongruous with its Website-stated policies regarding its refusal to stock music with parental guidance stickers and its restriction of the sale of "mature-rated" video games to customers 17 years of age and older (PR Newswire, 2002). Walmart has implemented policies against literature it deems offensive, taking away men’s magazines like Maxim and Stuff from the stores racks along with gay publications such as Out (Brunn, 2006). With magazines such as Glamour, Marie Claire and Cosmopolitan they are obscured with binders (Brunn, 2006). By Walmart now covering these magazines, shows the power that consumers have over the company and why they are placed in the power section of the salience model.

Competitors and MonopolizingThat kind of dominance Walmart has at both ends of the spectrum— dominance across a huge range of merchandise and dominance of geographic consumer markets—means that market capitalism is being “strangled with the kind of slow inexorability of a boa constrictor” (Fishman, 2006). Although Walmart provides jobs for more than 1 million people in the United States, it has helped put local drugstores and grocers on the brink of bankruptcy (Frick, 2006). While in a lot of ways, people see Walmart as an oligopoly, the way they drive out competition is monopolistic (Basker, 2007). Walmart implements a strategic predatory pricing tactic in that they drop prices too low and drive away competition, thus gaining a monopoly (Starvos, 2014). Many local communities criticize Walmart as a major factor in the dissolution of local businesses (Ghillyer, 2008). When Walmart starts selling groceries in a new area, it brings lower prices to its own shoppers and through competition, drives down the prices of established grocery stores (Fishman,2006). It is clear that Walmart can run smaller, family-run retail stores in the area out of business (Crofoot, 2013). The so-called "Walmart effect" is when Walmart, or any similar big-box retailer, moves into town, reshapes shopping habits, and drains the viability of traditional local shopping areas or "mom-and-pop" shops (Fishman, 2006). The average difference in Walmart’s prices verses competitor’s prices vary from 8-27% (Basker, 2007). However, if someone secures a job with Walmart, on average the individual will be are paid 18 percent less than he or she would be at a family-run retail store (Crofoot, 2013). This would represent a “grey area” for Walmart. This is also why competitors are placed in the legitimate section of the salience model. While they do not have much power, and are not very powerful, they have legitimate reasons to be upset with the way Walmart is performing ethically.

140059924

7

Recommendations When looking at the short term, ethical behaviour may prove costly to a company’s bottom line (Stark, 1993). But according to the advocates of corporate social responsibility, ultimately the market will reward such behaviour, such as with a good reputation (Stark, 1993).

Employee’s RecommendationsAs of now, Walmart has made in its efforts to offer better wages and benefits to its workers (The Associated Press, 2016). All of the evidence suggests that Walmart can easily afford this as their minimum wage (Owens, 2016). A $15 minimum wage would be good business for Wal-Mart (Owens, 2016). Researchers at The Wharton School find that for every additional dollar spent on payroll at a given store, sales can increase anywhere from $4 to $28 (Owens, 2016). This increase would also help taxpayers as well as employees (Owens, 2016). When workers cannot afford to meet their basic needs despite working full time, they are forced to turn to public assistance (Owens, 2016). This means that companies rely on taxpayer dollars to subsidize rock-bottom wages (Owens, 2016).

Walmart is trying, to incorporate physical exercise into every employee's job description, not to help the overweight get in shape, but to stop them applying for jobs in the first place - in their own words, "to dissuade unhealthy people from coming to work at Wal-Mart", which would save them an estimated $1bn a year in benefits (Dowling, 2005). Therefore, a good way of incorporating health into an employees work life is by rewarding them, ultimately saving Walmart money in the long run by not having to pay as much for health care (Dowling, 2005). One company Walmart could really do with modelling itself after is Hallmark. Hallmark is a $3.7 billion business with more than 40,000 retail stores across the U.S. (Hallmark, 2016). One ethical tactic Hallmark does is have an employee reward system. Making it possible for employees to earn an additional $400 a year by the Hallmark Health Rewards Program (Hallmark, 2016). Employees earn points for maintaining healthy weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels (Hallmark, 2016).

Consumers’ RecommendationsWhile a large segment of consumers of Walmart are republican, Walmart should appeal more to its liberal crowd. With the example of the organisation “The Timothy Plan”, it would be more vital to expand to a liberal crowd by ignoring the cries of Christian groups and the conservative consumers. Liberals put Walmart as the No. 1 company on the Fortune 500 that is the worst for America (Matthews, 2016). They also ranked it as first on a list of companies in the Fortune 500 they would like shut down Instead to add more of a liberal crowd, they should appeal to these consumers and add more stores in more liberal states (Matthews, 2016). However, the amount of liberal democrats that shop at Walmart has risen an impressive 18 percent, making them a new target to appeal to. One major place to appeal to is San Francisco is the most liberal city in America (Forbes, n.d). There is also no Walmart located in San Francisco (Ausick, 2014). The closest Walmart to the liberal city is half an hour away in San Leandro (Trip Advisor, 2005). Also to appeal more to liberal customers, and to fit in with their views, it would be recommended to stop the selling of guns. As a part of Walmart's goal of selling firearms primarily for the purposes of hunting and sports, it does not sell handguns, a policy that dates back to 1993 (Lee, 2015). However, any selling of goals does not fit into the liberal agenda. In order to get consumers of all demographics, and not just conservative ones it is recommended that Walmart opens stores in more liberal places and stops the selling of hunting guns.

140059924

8

Competitor’s RecommendationsWhen a Walmart comes to town, the local economic framework thrown into turmoil (Wolf-Mann, 2016). Many small and regional businesses get trampled by the low prices made possible by the massive economies of scale of the giant retailer (Wolf-Mann, 2016). It’s nearly impossible for these small businesses to compete (Wolf-Mann, 2016). However, what every article that mentions Walmart monopolizing talks about in “small towns”. Which is why a recommendation for Walmart would be to stop going into small towns and monopolizing, but instead move to bigger cities where there is already a high competition anyway. This recommendation would also fit into expanding into more liberal cities, such as San Francisco.

ConclusionDespite Walmart’s success it is evident from this report that it has taken a lot of unethical approaches while being an established business. While it is up to each business how they perform ethically, it is clear that Walmart’s performance is mostly based on unethical practices. These unethical practices were shown in this report through a look at stakeholders and ethical challenges. This report concluded with recommendations that Walmart could feasibly make if they chose a more ethical approach to their future success.

140059924

9

References Ausick, P. (2014) Eight Largest Cities Without Walmart [Internet]. Available from http://247wallst.com/retail/2014/06/16/eight-largest-cities-without-walmart/ [Accessed 3rd January 2017].

Basker, E. (2007) The Causes and Consequences of Walmart’s Growth. University of Missouri, 1 (1) pp. 2-26.

Berman, J. (2013) Walmart PAC, Walton Family Political Contributions Favor Conservatives: Report [Internet]. Available from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/walmart-political-contributions_n_3461267.html [Accessed 2nd January 2017].

Boatright, J. (2014) Ethics and the Conduct of Business. Harlow, Pearson Education Ltd.

Bowie, N. and Werhane, P. (2005) Management Ethics. Malden, Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Brownstein, B. (2004) Is It Ethical to Shop at Wal-Mart? [Internet]. Available from https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/business-ethics/resources/is-it-ethical-to-shop-at-walmart/ [Accessed 2nd January 2017].

Brunn, S. (2006) Walmart World. New York, Routledge.

Business Practices (2015) Walmart Unethical Business Practices [Internet]. Available from http://cnbc-tvn-biznes.com/unethical-business-practices/walmart-unethical-business-practices/

Carr, A. (1968) Is Business Bluffing Ethical? [Internet]. Available from https://hbr.org/1968/01/is-business-bluffing-ethical [Accessed 30th November 2016].

CNN Wire (2016) Walmart to Pay $7.5 Million Settlement in Discrimination Suit [Internet]. Available from http://ktla.com/2016/12/02/walmart-to-pay-7-5-million-settlement-in-discrimination-suit/ [Accessed 22nd December 2016].

Collins, J. (1994) Is Business Ethics An Oxymoron? Business Horizons.

Crane, A. and Matten, D. (2004) Business Ethics. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Crofoot, A. (2013) Wal-Mart: Rolling Back on Ethics. Nueman Edu.

Curry, E. (2002) Investor group charges Wal-Mart with promotion of pornography [Internet]. Available from http://www.bpnews.net/14074 [Accessed 19th December 2016].

De Cremer, D. (2013) Business Ethics: Black, White or Grey? [Internet]. Available from https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/lbsr/business-ethics-black-white-or-grey#.WD6rSuaLSUk [Accessed 30th November 2016].

DeGeorge, R. (1995) Business Ethics. 4th ed. New Jersey, Prentice Hall.

Featherstone, L. (2005) Wal-Mart's women -- employees and customers -- in unhealthy relationship [Internet]. Available from http://www.seattlepi.com/local/opinion/article/Wal-Mart-s-women-employees-and-customers-in-1162992.php [Accessed 3rd January 2017].

140059924

10

Ferrell, O., Hirt, G., and Ferrell, L. (2015) Business. 4th ed. New York, McGraw Hill Education.

Financial Times (2016) Definition of ethical decision making [Internet]. Available from http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=ethical-decision-making [Accessed 19th December 2016].

Fishman, C. (2006) The Wal-Mart Effect and a Decent Society: Who Knew Shopping Was So Important? Academy of Management Perspectives, 20 (3).

Fisherman, C. (2003) The Wal-Mart You Don't Know [Internet]. Available from https://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know [Accessed 16th December 2016].

Forbes (n.d) The Most and Least Conservative Cities in America [Internet]. Available from http://www.forbes.com/pictures/gmli45egf/the-most-and-least-conse/#bfce10ac3975 [Accessed 3rd January 2017].

Frick, A. (2006) Is Wal-Mart a corporate monopoly? [Internet]. Available from http://www.the-dispatch.com/news/20060126/is-wal-mart-a-corporate-monopoly [Accessed 3rd January 2017].

Friedman, M. (1970) The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits. The New York Times Magazine.

Gaille, B. (2014) 41 Interesting Walmart Shopper Demographics [Internet]. Available from http://brandongaille.com/41-interesting-walmart-shopper-demographics/ [Accessed 30th December 2016].

Ghillyer, A. (2008) Business Ethics: A Real World Approach. New York, McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Goodpaster, K. (1991) Business Ethics and Stakeholder Analysis. Cambridge University Press, 1 (1).

Gustafson, K. (2016) Wal-Mart is gobbling up its competitors' lunch—and it isn't going to stop [Intnernet]. Available from http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/12/wal-mart-is-gobbling-up-its-competitors-lunch-and-it-isnt-going-to-stop.html [Accessed 30th December 2016].

Hallmark (2016) About Hallmark [Internet]. Available from http://corporate.hallmark.com/Company [Accessed 29th December 2016].

Hartung, A. (2016) The 10 Telltale Signs That the Future Looks Bad for Wal-Mart [Internet]. Available from http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2016/02/24/the-10-telltale-signs-that-the-future-looks-bad-for-walmart/#51084e483f1d [Accessed 19th December 2016].

Hill, C. (2015) 4 reasons Walmart is the most-hated retailer in America [Internet]. Available from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-reasons-walmart-is-the-most-hated-retailer-in-america-2015-02-18 [Accessed 22nd December 2016].

Is Walmart Bad for America (2004) PBS Frotline. United States, PBS, 16 November.

Kasperkevic, J. (2015) 'Poverty pay' leads Walmart employees to skip lunch – or steal it from coworkers [Internet]. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/nov/12/walmart-workers-protest-wages-fast-for-15-stolen-lunches [Accessed 2nd January 2016].

Kelley, B. (1999) Ethics at Work. England, Gower Publishing Ltd.

140059924

11

Knauss, D. (2010) The Role Of Business Ethics In Relationships With Customers [Internet]. Available from http://www.forbes.com/2010/01/19/knauss-clorox-ethics-leadership-citizenship-ethics.html [Accessed 12th December 2016].

Lee, M. (2015) Why Walmart will keep selling guns [Internet]. Available from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/25/politics/walmart-guns-confederate-flag/ [Accessed 3rd January 2017].

Majoch, A., Hoepner, A. and Hebb, T. (2014) Sources of Stakeholder Salience in the Responsible Investment Movement: Why Do Investors Sign the Principles for Responsible Investment?. Henley Discussion Paper Series, pp. 2-33.

Matthews, C. (2016) Here Are the Fortune 500 Companies Liberals and Conservatives Hate the Most [Internet]. Available from http://fortune.com/2016/06/06/fortune-500-conservatives-liberals-love-hate/ [Accessed 3rd January 2017].

Melville-Ross, T. (2013) Ethical business: companies need to earn our trust [Internet]. Available from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/ethical-business-trust-values [Accessed 22nd December 2016].

Mitchell, R. Agle, B. and Wood, D. (1997) Toward a theory of stakeholder identification and

salience: defining the principle of who and what really counts. Academy of Management

Review, 22, (4), pp. 853–886.

Morillo, J., McNallly, C., and Block, W. (2015) The Real Walmart. Journal of the Centre for Business Ethics, 120 (3).

Newton, L. (2005) Business Ethics and the Natural Environment. Malden, Blackwell Publishing.

Osterndorf, C. (2015) 10 reasons Wal-Mart is the worst company in America [Internet]. Available from http://www.salon.com/2015/05/25/10_reasons_wal_mart_is_the_worst_company_in_america_partner/ [Accessed 30th December 2016].

Owens, C. (2016) Wal-Mart CAN afford $15 minimum wage [Internet]. Available from http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/03/walmart-can-afford-15-minimum-wage-commentary.html [Accessed 28th December 2016].

Peterson, H. (2014) Meet The Average Wal-Mart Shopper [Internet]. Available from http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-average-wal-mart-shopper-2014-9?IR=T [Accessed 30th December 2016].

Pratley, P. (1995) The Essence of Business Ethics. Hertfordshire, Prentice Hall International.

PR Newswire (2002) Timothy Plan Mutual Fund Group Denounces Wal-Mart For 'Promotion Of Pornography' [Internet]. Available from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/timothy-plan-mutual-fund-group-denounces-wal-mart-for-promotion-of-pornography-76738487.html [Accessed 2nd January 2017].

140059924

12

Pyle, S. (2014) Letter to the Editor: Wal-Mart’s concept of business ethics [Internet]. Available from http://www.wsusignpost.com/2014/09/07/letter-to-the-editor-walmarts-concept-of-business-ethics/ [Accessed 16th December 2016].

Reuters (2016) Profile: Wal Mart Stores Inc [Internet]. Available from http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=WMT.N [Accessed 19th December 2016].

Rosen, E. (2006) Walmart: The New Retail Colossus. In: Brunn, S. ed. Walmart World. New York, Routledge, pp.91-97.

Scheiber, N. (2016) Walmart Settles Discrimination Suit Over Benefits for Same-Sex Spouses [Internet]. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/business/walmart-same-sex-discrimination-lawsuit.html?_r=0 [Accessed 3rd January 2017].

Sellers, J. (2005) Deliver Us from Wal-Mart? [Internet]. Available from http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/may/17.40.html [Accessed 2nd January 2017].

Sethi, S. (2013) The World of Wal-Mart [Internet]. Available from http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/ethics_online/0081 [Accessed 30th December 2016].

Stark, A. (1993) What’s the Matter with Business Ethics? Harvard Business Review.

Stavros, K. (2014) Unethical Acts in Wal-mart Corporation [Internet]. Available from https://pittbusinessreview.wordpress.com/2014/11/19/unethical-acts-in-wal-mart-corporation/ [Accessed 30th December 2016].

Store Wars- When Walmart Comes to Town (2010) United States, PBS, October 11 th.

Surbhi, S. (2015) Difference Between Internal and External Stakeholders [Internet]. Available from http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-internal-and-external-stakeholders.html [Accessed 5th December 2016].

The Associated Press (2016) Walmart to Deliver Pay Raises Next Month [Internet]. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/business/walmart-to-deliver-pay-raises-next-month.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FWal-Mart%20Stores%20Inc.&action=click&contentCollection=business&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=30&pgtype=collection [Accessed 19th December 2016].

Trip Advisor (2005) Closest WalMart to San Francisco (City Centre) [Internet]. Available from https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g60713-i30-k131103-Closest_WalMart_to_San_Francisco_City_Centre-San_Francisco_California.html [Accessd 3rd January 2017].

Walmart (2016) About Us [Internet]. Available from http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story [Accessed 16th December 2016].

Weiss, J. (2014) Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issues Management Approach. San Francisco, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.

140059924

13

Wells, N. (2015) Shopping at Wal-Mart? You might be a Republican [Internet]. Available from http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/14/shopping-at-wal-mart-you-might-be-a-republican.html [Accessed 30th December 2016].

Wolf- Mann, E. (2016) The New Way That Walmart Is Ruining America’s Small Towns [Internet]. Available from http://time.com/money/4192512/walmart-stores-closing-small-towns/ [Accessed 3rd January 2017].

Zogby, J. (2015) The Weekly Wal-Mart Shopper: Democrat Or Republican? [Internet]. Available from http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnzogby/2015/08/14/the-dramatic-democratization-of-the-weekly-wal-mart-shopper/#331cb0a22474 [Accessed 5th January 2017].

140059924