Does the the economic and social model of Wal-Mart benefit consumers?

Résumé du document

Wal-Mart stores is a company specializing in retail, based in the United States and founded by Sam Walton in 1962. It has quickly grown in Arkansas, then led all the countries to begin to internationalize from 1991. Today, these stores are known worldwide. Twenty million customers visit Wal-Mart on average each day. The store has taken the place of a second company of the world in terms of turnover, and with 1.9 million employees working in over 6,100 supermarkets in the world it has become the largest private employer in the United States. According to Wal-Mart, its main goal is 'to benefit the American consumer'. Does Wal-Mart's economic and social model benefit the American worker as well?

Extraits

[...] The New York Times reported the facts pointed to extensive violations of child-labor laws and state regulations, because they worked too late, or during school hours. The Company has even been accused of having employed illegal workers and violate once more the social rights. We assume, of course, they were thereby hoping to pay them less, and make further savings. Wal-Mart's health insurance covered or approximately of its 1.3 million Americans workers. This rate is relatively low because the employees are paid so little they cannot afford health insurance. [...]

[...] That's why firstly we can first see that the main goal of Wal-Mart is to satisfy customers. Then to demonstrate that it is at the expense of workers. Wal-Mart is a discount company. It continues to prove that consumers benefit from lower costs. A 2005 Washington Post study reported that "Wal-Mart' s discounting on food alone boosts the welfare of American shoppers by at least $50 billion per year". A study in 2005 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology measured the effect on consumer welfare and found that the poorest segment of the population benefits the most from the existence of discount retailers. [...]

[...] Wal- Mart's vice president said "We feel the consumers need to have the best product, the best value, at the best price we can achieve". That's why Wal- Mart is provided mainly in China. At a salary of only 50 cents an hour or $100 a month, Chinese labor is an unbeatable bargain for international business. In addition, there are stores across the country. It is therefore necessarily a Wal-Mart nearby residents. Thanks to them you can find everything you need. They have everything in choice and quantity. [...]

[...] They provide an environment that allows employees to be proactive and make suggestions to improve their work and where the success of the company is shared. The human dimension matters. Stress, which affects productivity could already be avoided. We call this practice on the work: The Social Responsibility of Business. Wal-Mart should adopt a charter to maintain acceptable working conditions, treating its employees with dignity and respect as understood by the international community. They could also introduce a particular clause in order to reach the standards of the minimum wage. The effect of such a campaign could put Wal-Mart back on the right path. [...]

[...] Le modèle économique et social de Wal-Mart bénéficie-t-il le consommateur ? Wal-Mart stores is a company specialized in retail, based in the United States and founded by Sam Walton in 1962. It has quickly grown in Arkansas, then led all the country to begin to internationalize from 1991. Today these stores are known worldwide. Twenty million customers visit Wal-Mart on average each day. The store has taken the place of a second company of the world in terms of turnover, and with 1.9 million employees working in over supermarkets in the world it became the largest private employer in the United States. [...]