Corporate Social Responsibilities

Corporate Social Responsibilities of Wal-Mart Corporation

Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), are an organization’s social engagements that employs to maintain ethical standards, norms and laws as well as giving back to the society it operates in. it is the duty of a company to buoy up positive actions through its operations on the environment, staff members, consumers, the community and other relevant stakeholders.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. popularly known as Wal-Mart is an American multinational retail company that deals in warehouse and departments stores. It has been rated the finest by Fortune 500 list in 2013. Being an international company, it offers a wide range of services to the world. It deals with nine different retail formats: food and drugs, supercenters, general merchandise stores, membership warehouse clubs, apparel stores, cash and carry stores, small markets and apparel stores, soft discount stores as well as restaurants.

The founder of the company Sam Walton says that the contribution of the company to the society is the driving force behind its efficient operations. He also says that reducing the costs of living for its clients with their strategy ‘’powerful force for good’’ is their main duty to the society. Their policy in my opinion is totally out of place because corporate social responsibility involves all stockholders. Forbes magazine in 2008 ranked the company sixth in terms of donations despite the fact that were many issues and lawsuits against its workforce.

Brussels wonders how a company like Wal-Mart will pinch pennies in terms of labor yet it is highly oriented in the social welfare of the society. The organization has also focused more on multibillion projects including waste recycling and green energy. This is quite positive in terms of environmental management but also shocking to realize that half of its staff lack health covers.

Employees are being denied a very essential issue like health and yet they are the core unit of the organization’s production. According to Leslie Dach, an executive at the company, you can only remain significant to the society by doing excellent things because you are able to employ any retailer.

Wal-Mart could ensure its social performance is closer to home by ensuring its operations are in line with their labor force. Based on the comments of the executive, employees are nowhere in the company’s preference scale. It is also ironical for the company to hit headlines in 2005 for the being the first company of Feeding America to make a billion meals donation yet its staff is basically survivors.

I consider them survivors because it is disturbing for employees of such a company to lack personal bank accounts. This means their salaries are too low to make savings. CSR revolves around ethical standards and thus, it beats logic for the company to consider it socially responsible yet it cannot even afford to feed its own staff. The company experiences about 70 percent of labor turnover every year reportedly quitting because of poor working conditions and low salaries.

Norms and ethics are the most significant CSR components. Beginning from the public relations, human resource management relations to client’s relation, if one of this is not focused on, then the company is doomed to fail in CSR. Wal-Mart has employed a selling merchandise policy that consists of low fats and salt. This is an incredible idea to clients but the other human resource component makes their CSR incomplete.

In his article, Brussels suggests that if the company settled on enhancing its financial position by addressing social ills, then it should fully engage social performance on staffing as well as laborer’s welfare. I think, in support of his claims that for an organization to maximize on its profits, its production must be of the finest quality. Additionally, for production to be high, staff must offer a hand by working extra hard. However, how will they work hard if they are not motivated, hungry and do not have a job security?

A company that has failed to create workers union shows that it is less concerned of its staff welfare. That is taking away the voice of employees and that they cannot air their concerns and address issues affecting them. These conditions often lead to misuse of staff as well as exploration. Despite the many lawsuits, it is still hard for a staff member to win a case that is filed against the company without a trade union.

CSR generally means positive morals towards the society and ensuring that an organization does not affect your existence negatively. Nonetheless, when it comes to a point where a staff member in this age cannot afford health insurance cover and a bank account, it leaves us wondering what their real salary is.

Supporting local small companies and offering clean energy is a positive strategy by the company. Additionally, participating in waste recycling is very crucial in ensuring environmental conservation for comfortable stay for humans. Even so, when you realize what happens to employees of a company, it covers all the positive things it does and makes us forget them. As the saying goes, charity begins at home; Wal-Mart should start by ensuring its employees are comfortable before reaching out to clients.

The company can achieve this by creating good working conditions for its employees and creating a workers union for them. CSR means positive deeds to all stockholders in the industry.

Works Cited

Brussel, Joe Van. “Leslie Dach, Wal-Mart VP, On Business and social Good.” Huffington Post. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. <http://thewordenreport.blogspot.com/2013/03/corporate-social-responsibility-at.html>

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