1. Assess how Walmart is managing ethics and social responsibility as one of the largest corporations in the world. 

2. Evaluate various ethical issues Walmart has faced and how the company responded to stakeholders.

3. What are Walmart’s contributions to improving the well-being of consumers and the economic sustainability of society?

The story of Walmart begins in 1962, when founder Sam Walton opened the first Walmart Discount Store in Rogers, Arkansas. Although its growth was initially slow, over the next 40 years the company expanded from a small chain to more than 8,000 facilities in 27 countries. The company now serves more than 200 million customers weekly. Much of Walmart’s success can be attributed to its founder. A shrewd businessman, Walton believed in customer satisfaction and hard work. He convinced many of his associates to abide by the “10-foot rule,” whereby employees pledged that whenever a customer came within 10 feet of them, they would look the customer in the eye, greet him or her, and ask if he or she needed help with anything. Walton’s famous mantra, known as the “sundown rule,” was: “Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?” Due to this staunch work ethic and dedication to customer care, Walmart claimed early on that a formal ethics program was unnecessary because the company had Mr. Walton’s ethics to follow.

In 2002 Walmart officially became the largest grocery chain, topping the Fortune 500 list for that year. Fortune magazine named Walmart the “most admired company in America” in 2003 and 2004. Although it has slipped since then, it remains within the top 50. In 2015 Fortune ranked Walmart the 38th most admired company in the world.

Possibly the greatest complaint against Walmart is it puts other companies out of business. With its low prices, Walmart makes it harder for local stores to compete. Walmart is often accused of being responsible for the downward pressure on wages and benefits in towns where the company locates. Some businesses have filed lawsuits against Walmart, claiming the company uses unfair predatory pricing to put competing stores out of business. Walmart countered by defending its pricing, asserting that it is competing fairly and its purpose is to provide quality, low-cost products to the average consumer. Yet although Walmart has saved consumers millions of dollars and is a popular shopping spot for many, there is no denying that many competing stores go out of business once Walmart comes to town.

In order to compete against the retail giant, other stores must reduce wages. Studies show that overall payroll wages, including Walmart wages, decline by 5 percent after Walmart enters a new market. As a result, some activist groups and citizens have refused to allow Walmart to take up residence in their areas. This in turn brings up another social responsibility issue: What methods of protest may stakeholders reasonably use, and how should Walmart respond to such actions? While it is acceptable for stakeholder activists to protest the building of a Walmart store in their area, other actions may be questionable, especially when the government gets involved. When Walmart announced plans to open stores in Washington D.C., for instance, a chairman of the D.C. City Council introduced a law that required non-unionized retail companies with over $1 billion in total sales and stores that occupy more than 75,000 square feet to pay their employees a minimum of $12.50 per hour—in contrast to the city’s minimum wage of $8.25 an hour. The terms of the law made it essentially apply only to Walmart and a few other large chains such as Home Depot and Costco. While supporters of the law argued that it is difficult to live on a wage of $8.25 an hour, critics stated that the proposal gave employees at large retailers an unjustified benefit over those working comparable jobs at small retailers. Perhaps the most scathing criticism was that Walmart and other big-box retailers were being unfairly targeted by a governmental entity. Walmart also responded directly, threatening to cancel its expansion into D.C. if the law passed and emphasizing the economic and development benefits the city would lose out on. The D.C. City Council eventually passed the law, but it was vetoed by the city mayor, and there are now several Walmart stores in D.C. As with most issues, determining the most socially responsible decision that benefits the most stakeholders is a complex issue not easily resolved.