Imagine a little, small-town mom and pop shop growing into one of the largest, multi-national conglomerates in the world. Well that is exactly the story of Sam Walton. From one store in'60s Arkansas, to stores all over the world, Wal-Mart has become a household name and necessity. However, Wal-Mart has also become a very controversial issue.
by DorthyWeatherbush


Imagine a little, small-town mom and pop shop growing into one of the largest, multi-national conglomerates in the world. Well that is exactly the story of Sam Walton. From one store in'60s Arkansas, to stores all over the world, Wal-Mart has become a household name and necessity. However, Wal-Mart has also become a very controversial issue.

"Unbeatable low prices" is a promise that Wal-Mart really does manage to keep up with. With the economy as low as it is right now, shopping at Wal-Mart and taking advantage of their low prices everyday rather than waiting for sales at other shops really can make a difference to a family that has a strict budget.

There is a lot of bad mouthing when it comes to Wal-Mart's products and where they come from and why the products are so cheap. This retailer does not hide information of where the products come from. It only strides to achieve its promise.

In terms of their pricing strategy, Wal-Mart gives their suppliers the top price that they are willing to pay. The suppliers, then instead of cutting into their profits, cut into their costs by outsourcing production to countries where labor is cheap. Any dollar store you go to does virtually the same thing.

There have also been allegations in the press claiming that Wal-Mart does not treat its employees very well. There are several complaints about the fact that they give limited benefits to their employees. They usually only pay minimum wage and full time employees get benefits while part time employees don't get any benefits. However, most of Wal-Mart's employees are part time and not allowed to work 40 hours a week anyway.

What people often fail to remember or mention is that Wal-Mart is one of the largest employers in America. They do allow for people in the US to provide financially for their families. In addition, if anyone does not like working for Wal-Mart, they can quit at any time.

Small towns do tend to suffer when big corporations move in. This means any corporation. Some francises are brought into the towns by people who actually live in the town. Wal-Mart, however, does not take employees from its other stores to bring to a new store. It employs people from the town; people who didn't have jobs before. In some places, Wal-Mart is helping to take the unemployed off of unemployment.

Wal-Mart has changed quite a bit over the years, but they haven't changed entirely for the worse. They do have some places for improvement. However, as long as they aren't breaking any laws, who are we to judge?

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