The overall viewpoint of the author is very clear through the reading.

The author has a tone in a reading that

gives me the sense he/she is not in favor of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart faces ethical issues when it comes to off-theclock-work, sexual discrimination, health benefits, the role of the unions, the use of undocumented workers, and
child and labor law issues. Forcing an employee to work off the clock is very unethical and not physically
locking them in work is even more so. Wal-Mart was doing both of these things and taken to court for it (p.
22). Also, in regards to sexual discrimination I think by making the following statement Wal-Mart is being
unethical, "women did not have a high percentage of management jobs because they did not have an interest in
working in management-level jobs at Wal-Mart" (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009, p. 22). As far as health benefits
are concerned I think Wal-Mart is not keeping their employees and families best interest in mind. Wal-Mart's
deductible for health insurance is "usually $1,000 for an individual worker and $3,000 for an employee's
family". (p. 415). Wal-Mart is centered on the idea of having the lowest prices but the at the cost of the labor
force. Wal-Mart always fights anyone who comes forward and tries to start a union (p. 415). I believe this is
because Wal-Mart knows they would constantly have union complaints for their actions. Wal-Mart was
investigated for using illegal aliens for janitorial staff, but Wal-Mart said that they were hired through a third
party so it was not their responsibility (p. 417). Wal-Mart does not practice smart ethics when it comes to child
and other labor laws. Wal-Mart has had employees younger than eighteen years old work past midnight and
working more than eight hours a day. Also, Wal-Mart had employees under eighteen working on dangerous
equipment (p. 418).

1. Are the ethical issues Wal-Mart faces really any different from other large retailers? Without knowing how
other large retailers handle issues such as over-time pay, minimum wage, sexual discrimination, health benefits,
and child and labor laws it would be hard to say if they are actually different. I can say I personally believe that
they are different, Wal-Mart is constantly in the news for their corporation behavior were I dont hear about
other large retailers as much. I would hope they are different and other retailers are not acting in the same way.
2. Wal-Mart officials have stated that they don't feel women are interested in management positions at the
company. Do you agree or disagree? I disagree, I believe a statement categorizing a whole group "women" as
not being interested in management positions is very untrue. Maybe some women are but I believe there are
just as many women who are interested.
3. Wal-Mart continually criticized for its health-care policy. Is this really an ethical issue? Why or why not?
Ethics is defined as "the values an individual uses to interpret whether any particular action or behavior is
considered acceptable and appropriate" (Stanwick & Stanwick, 2009, p. 2). When it comes to the employees'
rights I believe it is an ethical issue. Wal-Mart is a multi-billion dollar company that has the means to take
better care of their employees, but decide to go the cheaper route.
4. Should Wal-Mart be concerned about unionization of stores since allowing unionization of workers in
China? Wal-Mart in my opinion should be concerned, but just for the fact if employees in one store are allowed
to have a unionization then all stores should have it.
Stanwick, P., & Stanwick, S. (2009). Understanding business ethics. (1st ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.