Walmart
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The largest and most successful company in the world is now being ridiculed for the way in which it has risen to the top. Wal-Mart is accused of setting a bad example for American companies by squeezing producers for low prices, outsourcing manufacturing jobs, discriminating in the workplace and for the inhumane treatment of employees. What these critics dont understand is that there are positive aspects to what Wal-Mart is doing.
Wal-Mart is good for America because it embodies capitalism. It constantly improves the productivity of American retailing, encourages competition and outsourcing, provides quality items at a low cost, is a stepping stone for retail workers, and creates business opportunities for other companies. Voted “Americas Largest Corporate Cash Giver” by Forbes magazine in 2003, Wal-Mart is also very generous to charities around the world. Wal-Mart is not detrimental to our economy or our country. It is a fundamental puzzle piece that is merely a strong player in todays neoliberal game of capitalism.
Lets face it, the good old days when producers dictated what appeared on the shelves of stores is now over, and in place is a buyer-driven chain where the consumer dominates. Now you have the choice of what to buy, where to buy it, and for the price you want. That is the great thing about global capitalism, it sparks competition.
Competition in the market is a good thing for consumers and helps achieve the lowest prices one can possibly find anywhere in the world. Wal-Mart is driving prices down through its competitive bargaining strategy for its manufacturing costs. By holding prices at a low level, inflationary pressures are relieved and the economy is a lot steadier.
By selling items for less than average, Wal-Mart allows its customers to acquire more than normal when shopping in the store. Lower prices also mean more money is left in the pockets of consumers. This allows opportunities for businesses of all types. If the consumer doesnt spend all their money at Wal-Mart, they will most likely go out and spend it somewhere else. That means more money spread across the economy.
The low prices we enjoy at Wal-Mart indirectly come from the outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs. By sending low skilled jobs overseas, the overall prices of items decline tremendously. Some Americans will be left without a job for a short period, but it is through outsourcing that the global economy becomes most efficient.
To achieve this “lowest price possible,” Wal-Mart outsources manufacturing jobs to China to produce 80% of the goods in the store. When first hearing the phrase “outsourced to China,” most would have a negative thought. In truth though, that phrase is a positive. The jobs that are contracted out to independent manufacturers in China require little skill, like putting together toys and sewing shoes. Sending these low skill jobs overseas provides many Chinese workers employment and the ability to achieve some sort of income – which is better than what they had before companies like Wal-Mart decided to outsource jobs to China. Although the workers are paid minimally compared to U.S. standards, it is enough to get by in their respective countries.
Offshoring of the low skilled jobs and productivity increases in the economy force some Americans to feel the brunt of unemployment. It is true that every year Americans lose their jobs to competitors overseas. The United States economy is constantly changing, and when the changes occur, so does a shift in the job market. As we become more efficient as a global economy and advances in technology take place, so do the advances in the jobs Americans hold. New jobs open all the time and the ones predicted to boom are high skilled and high paying service oriented ones. To attain such jobs in the service sector, one must first gain experience in that field. Wal-Mart is a great stepping stone for retail workers. With the experience gained from working there, workers are able to get better paying jobs at other companies.
There are many critics of this theory that “new jobs are created,” but to diminish that argument just think back to the 1800s. The United States specialized in farming and agriculture. Once the productivity in those fields rose, jobs were lost and news ones were created by the industrialization boom of the 1900s. In the 1970s, jobs began to be transferred overseas due to de-industrialization and the cheapness of labor, and then new service jobs were created in the U.S. In the 1990s, who would have ever thought that the advancement of computer technology would be so rapid and even spark a boom in computer technology related fields? Almost every business now