Walmart’s Unethical Behavior

Walmart’s Unethical Behavior
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Walmart’s Unethical Behavior
“Ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.” We see in many cases that ethics and laws do not always match up. Most laws are not ethical but ethics dictates that they ought to be. In the case of ethical law, the result may have an unethical outcome. Even though the terms law and ethics are often used side by side, they are not in any way co-extensive. Currently, there are many acts that people consider unethical. For example, when a friend betrays another or emotionally hurts another by lying to them. In this particular instance, many people will see the act as unethical. However, since betraying a friend is not illegal, it may not be subjected to lawful scrutiny. On the other hand, some things could be considered illegal but some people find it ethical. For example, smoking marijuana is considered illegal in some parts of the world. However, some still smoke marijuana but never have any ethical conflict in them. Big organizations have been found guilty of using the disparity of these two terms to benefit their cause. Even though their activities appear to be within what is allowed by law, some can be deemed unethical. Nevertheless, organizations have in place policies to ensure their practices are ethical. In this paper, the focus is on a large corporation, Walmart, which continues to toe the line as it tries to balance between remaining within the bounds of the law and acting ethically.
Walmart is one of the largest corporations in the United States. According to the company’s 2019 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report, its purpose is “to save people money so they can live better” (Walmart, 2019). Although it does not state explicitly, it is deducible that the quote is the company’s mission statement. With more than 11,300 stores, the company serves over 275 million customers per week (Walmart, 2019). Some of the key values of the company include acting with integrity and respect for the individual. If the company’s 2019 ESG report is anything to go by, Walmart is an ethical company that takes into consideration the interests of its main stakeholders that include customers, employees, communities, and shareholders. It’s focus on the environment, responsible supply chain, and communities paint a picture of a socially responsible organization. Despite the positive reporting, the company has been at the center of many ethical dilemmas. Many groups and individuals have followed the organization’s rage over the unethical policies and behavior. The key aspects that characterize the company’s unethical behavior are favoritism, low wages, as well as the numerous lawsuits it faces. Therefore, from one perspective, the company is engaging in ethical behaviors while from another, it is at the center of unwelcome ethical issues. This paper examines the two perspectives and offers a scholarly conclusion.
Favoritism is a common ethical issue that many companies are faced with. In the case of Walmart, female employees that are well qualified fail to receive top-level positions. Other employees with high education degrees also fail to receive these positions. The promotion scale is based on who has been with the company the longest versus who is the most qualified for the position. Many employees raise their concerns through unions but often get shut down as it differs from company policy. Kohlberg’s first stage of ‘Moral Development Theory’, indicates that pre-conventional morality is a situation where people fear questioning economically powerful entities such as Walmart, on assumption that the corporations are rightfully in charge of the implementation of policies such as wage policies (Crain, 2009). If one raises awareness about the situation, they can compromise their chance of ever being promoted into a high-level position. This issue mainly arises in the departmental and general manager positions during the season of promotions. Personal relations have a high impact and trigger a form of favoritism when looking for promotion candidates. It is unethical and unfair for someone to be given a priority for a position because of their relationship with an executive or higher role. The leadership must exemplify ethical behavior and keep personal relationships separate from work in situations such as promotions.
One major disadvantage of favoritism is that it can help enhance turnover rates. People have different goals when they join a company. Some want to attain the highest position, others want to get promotions, while others are simply looking for some experience before moving on to different posts or companies. Regardless of one’s goal, favoritism could motivate many to leave their positions and seek employment elsewhere. For example, someone who is looking to grow career-wise will not hesitate to leave if they discover that their environment will not allow them to grow. While judging employees, Fleishman (2015) recommends that rewards for all employees ought to be according to their performance. He continues to write that promotions, bonuses, and raises that are gifted to employees will only be good for a company if they are deserved. Transparency ought to be a standard, especially while trying to promote or offer employees bonuses.
Aside from favoritism, Walmart also pays wages that are lower than the federal levels. The company mainly seeks to keep wages at the lowest level possible. One strategy that the company uses is to attract young people who will not protest against working for lower rates as well as unpaid overtime. There have been cases where Walmart employees have been cheated out of millions of dollars because the management refused to pay its employees overtime. When the top management makes such decisions and keeps it away from the limelight, employees continue to suffer silently. Apparently, some managers even confessed that they were instructed by their superiors to not pay any more overtime. This is indeed unethical because every task that an employee does should be paid. The eventual effect is that it becomes incredibly difficult for these employees to maintain their productivity. Additionally, many are left with little to share with their families since their wages are not rising relative to the cost of living. According to Dube et al. (2007), a study that was done in 2005 revealed that Walmart employees were earning “more than 25 percent less than workers in competing stores.” Such a staggering figure with the company’s growth still continuing should be subject to scrutiny. The above is simply extortion and one that ought to be investigated. No company or human being should exploit the other. However, Walmart does not seem ready to obey any of the rules that are meant to protect employees. This is an unethical behavior and one that even though could be considered illegal continues to happen before the eyes of the law. With its size and financial muscle, it is no surprise that the company continues to exploit its employees.
A company with such a controversial story will, of cou...