The Impact of Big Business – Walmart

The Impact of Big Business – Walmart

Walmart’s decision to cut out middlemen from their supply chains attracts both criticism and praise. Eliminating players such as Dean Foods and other small-scale dairy producers affects the livelihood of these individuals. Dairy farmers have relied on this economic activity for years. They have trained their children to run the farm and have turned over the businesses to them. The sudden extraction from the market introduces economic challenges and mental stress. The lack of a regular income for these individuals and joblessness for their employees directly affects their economic capacity (NBC News, 2018). It introduces immense uncertainty and endangers the well-being of these families due to stress. It also affects the local economy because of the reduction of income. The loss of livelihoods increases joblessness and a waste of resources that were once economically helpful. Hire our assignment writing services if your assignment is devastating you.

On the other hand, the elimination of these players improves Walmart’s ability to cater to its customers according to its standards. Milk and chicken are some of the everyday items that clients purchase. However, they have low margins and are used to attract clients who are expected to spend on high-margin products. Thus, Walmart can control the prices, quality, and supply of both commodities. The vertical integration enables Walmart to set processes that are friendly to clients. The control of production and quality introduces consistency that clients can trust (Aubrey, 2013). It is also possible to meet the demand for the products without fail through production adjustments. Therefore, the profits are set to increase when Walmart brands these products and sells them directly to the clients, following the exclusion of middlemen (Guebert, 2019). In addition, Walmart is expected to employ individuals to work in these production plants. However, unless the number of employees exceeds those who have lost their livelihoods through the elimination of middlemen, the new unemployment and employment fail to make a significant change in the nation’s overall unemployment rates.

Walmart’s ethical code states that the retailer respects individuals, serves customers, strives for excellence, and acts with integrity (Walmart, Inc., 2021). The actions that Walmart has taken in the recent past endanger the suppliers’ livelihoods. It places other suppliers at risk of elimination as the firm seeks to reduce the players in its supply chain. Walmart can expect difficulties when seeking suppliers for other farm produce. Other farmers who have been working may be concerned about the firm’s commitment to retaining business activities. Such action breaches trust that has been built for years. The farmers who still supply Walmart with farm produce lack the ability to push for contract terms that ensure the retailer commits to a certain period. This implies that the retailer can drop the suppliers when it suits them without thinking about the social impact it has on its business and the suppliers’ livelihood. This utter lack of concern highlights Walmart’s failure to observe its own ethical code  (Velasquez, 2021).

The relationship of a business with suppliers is critical to its ability to serve its customers well. A good relationship with suppliers’ facilities, access to quality products, and consistency of supplies (Gereffi & Christian, 2009). Suppliers are important to every business and should be treated with respect, humanity, and genuine concern. Instead of cutting them off completely, Walmart should have innovated better ways to reduce their effect on the supply chain. For instance, they should have had them supply their milk to the new processing and bottling plant. This approach ensures that suppliers remain in the loop but have a reduced effect on the commodity. In this case, utilitarianism takes the day because all the involved parties achieve maximum pleasure (BBC, 2014; Walmart Inc., 2005).

References

Aubrey, A. (2013). Wal-Mart Pledges Fresher Produce By Cutting Out The Middleman.

Gereffi, G., & Christian, M. M. (2009). The Impacts of Wal-Mart: The Rise and Consequences of the World’s Dominant Retailer. Annual Review of Sociology, 35(1), 573-591. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115947

Guebert, A. (2019). Costco and Walmart want ag control. Farm and Dairy.

NBC News. (2018). The Last Days Of An American Dairy Farm: “Hard To Believe It’s Over”. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEI6HbCZjRQ

Velasquez, M. (2021). What is Ethics? Retrieved from https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/what-is-ethics/

Walmart Inc. (2005). Statement of Ethics. Retrieved from http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/11/112761/corpgov/ethics%20_current.pdf

Walmart, Inc. . (2021). Our Values and Our Code. Retrieved from Walmart: https://www.walmartethics.com/content/walmartethics/en_us/code-of-conduct.html

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The goal of this Session Long Project:

This assignment is the third of four SLPs where you will be building a bank of takeaways pertaining to ethical and/or unethical behaviors.

After reviewing this SLP scenario:

Express your reactions
Apply your own background/experiences
State important takeaways
Add other comments you would like to make
Your SLP submission should be 2 pages of text, well-organized, well-written, and 100% error-free. You may use first- or third-person voice. Write in full sentences. Demonstrate your critical-thinking skills. No outside reference materials are required (unless stated*); however, add applicable course material. Be creative (for example, add color and/or small graphics).

*Note: In SLP 2, we introduced the importance of library research. So, in SLP 3, support your arguments with sources from the Trident Online Library. This is an expectation at the graduate level.

What Can Happen?

View what can happen to individual businesses, their owners (and their animals) when big business steps in and takes over:

NBC News. (2018, June 29). The last days of an American dairy farm: “Hard to believe it’s over” | NBC News [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/XEI6HbCZjRQ.

It is not only milk. It is chicken, too. Read the following commentary:

Guebert. A. (March 21, 2019). Costco and Walmart want ag control. Farm and Dairy. Retrieved from https://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/costco-walmart-want-ag-control/542531.html

General References Useful for Preparing Graduate-Level Papers:

For a list of general reference sources related to locating library sources, using APA formatting, applying critical-thinking skills, and so forth, see General References Useful for Preparing Graduate-Level Assignments. It is not required that you read these sources page-by-page, but rather you refer to them for guidance.