Walmart’s Unethical Behavior

Walmart’s Unethical Behavior
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Walmart’s Unethical Behavior
“Ethics refers to well-founded standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues.” We see in many cases that ethics and laws do not always match up. Most laws are not ethical but ethics dictates that they ought to be. In the case of ethical law, the result may have an unethical outcome. Even though the terms law and ethics are often used side by side, they are not in any way co-extensive. Currently, there are many acts that people consider unethical. For example, when a friend betrays another or emotionally hurts another by lying to them. In this particular instance, many people will see the act as unethical. However, since betraying a friend is not illegal, it may not be subjected to lawful scrutiny. On the other hand, some things could be considered illegal but some people find it ethical. For example, smoking marijuana is considered illegal in some parts of the world. However, some still smoke marijuana but never have any ethical conflict in them. Big organizations have been found guilty of using the disparity of these two terms to benefit their cause. Even though their activities appear to be within what is allowed by law, some can be deemed unethical. Nevertheless, organizations have in place policies to ensure their practices are ethical. In this paper, the focus is on a large corporation, Walmart, which continues to toe the line as it tries to balance between remaining within the bounds of the law and acting ethically.
Walmart is one of the largest corporations in the United States. According to the company’s 2019 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report, its purpose is “to save people money so they can live better” (Walmart, 2019). Although it does not state explicitly, it is deducible that the quote is the company’s mission statement. With more than 11,300 stores, the company serves over 275 million customers per week (Walmart, 2019). Some of the key values of the company include acting with integrity and respect for the individual. If the company’s 2019 ESG report is anything to go by, Walmart is an ethical company that takes into consideration the interests of its main stakeholders that include customers, employees, communities, and shareholders. It’s focus on the environment, responsible supply chain, and communities paint a picture of a socially responsible organization. Despite the positive reporting, the company has been at the center of many ethical dilemmas. Many groups and individuals have followed the organization’s rage over the unethical policies and behavior. The key aspects that characterize the company’s unethical behavior are favoritism, low wages, as well as the numerous lawsuits it faces. Therefore, from one perspective, the company is engaging in ethical behaviors while from another, it is at the center of unwelcome ethical issues. This paper examines the two perspectives and offers a scholarly conclusion.
Favoritism is a common ethical issue that many companies are faced with. In the case of Walmart, female empl...