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Walmart and Social Responsibility

Walmart and Social Responsibility

Does Walmart use the stakeholder approach to social responsibility? How can you tell?

The stakeholder approach to social responsibility is a characteristic of corporate social responsibility bearing the idea that a business needs to be accountable, not just to its owners but also to the various stakeholders who have a morally expected or legally identified claim on the business’s activities (Nikolova & Arsić, 2017). This approach argues that the engagement of different groups of stakeholders is the essence of corporate social responsibility (CSR). A lot of businesses have grown to see social responsibility as an area of building strategic value for their businesses, yet they see stakeholder engagement as secondary to their CSR agenda.

Walmart is an example of a business that has not taken a stakeholder approach to its CSR. One of the main groups of stakeholders that a business ought to engage is the employees. Part of a successful CSR is ensuring that the business listens to the issues experienced by the employees and creates strategies to solve them. The employees need to be well-motivated if they are to help the organization reach its goals. Walmart’s treatment of its employees is a sign that the organization has minimal employee engagement. More than 1.5 million past and current female employees of the company came forward in a class-action lawsuit claiming that the company was discriminating against women (Berstein, 2005). The company was accused of favoring men in promotions and paying women significantly less for similar roles to their male counterparts. If Walmart was engaging its employees, this is a problem that it would have noted and solved before it got to the point of facing litigation in such a major class-action suit.

There are four main types of social responsibility: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary. Which responsibilities does the Walmart case deal with? How could Walmart’s position be changed for the better?

There are four main types of social responsibility; economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary. Walmart’s case deals with legal and ethical social responsibility. Legal responsibility is concerned with the business’s legal practice. It is the responsibility of all businesses to operate within the constraints of the law. A business should operate within the boundaries of the law (Grayson & Hodges, 2017). In this case, Walmart is accused of violating discrimination laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits businesses from discriminating against people based on several characteristics, including gender. The company seems to have violated this law by being unfair in its employment practices at the expense of its female employees.

Ethical responsibility refers to behaviors of a company that are expected to be the moral practice by society, even though they may not be codified by law (Grayson & Hodges, 2017). Businesses must always be aware of their practices and make sure that they fulfill their ethical responsibility to all people and entities. Walmart has the ethical responsibility to be just. The business has the moral responsibility to treat all of its employees fairly, regardless of their demographic characteristics.

Walmart can improve its position for the better by improving its workplace culture and practices. If the accusations are to go by, it seems like discrimination has been the culture of the organization for a long time. The only way to improve this is to completely change the processes of determining employee salaries and promotion practices at the organization.

References

Bernstein, A. (2005). Walmart vs. Class Action. Businessweek, 3295, 73-74

Grayson, D., & Hodges, A. (2017). Corporate Social Opportunity!: Seven Steps To Make Corporate Social Responsibility Work For Your Business. Routledge.

Nikolova, V., & Arsić, S. (2017). The Stakeholder Approach In Corporate Social Responsibility. Engineering Management, 3(1), 24-35.

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Question 


[u04d1] Unit 4 Discussion 1

Walmart and Social Responsibility

Based upon the information in this unit’s readings, answer the following:

Walmart and Social Responsibility

Walmart and Social Responsibility

  1. Does Walmart use the stakeholder approach to social responsibility? How can you tell?
  2. There are four main types of social responsibility: economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary. Which responsibilities does the Walmart case deal with? How could Walmart’s position be changed for the better?

Your post should be substantive and logical to the questions proposed. Read the Discussion Participation Scoring Guide to learn the discussion participation requirements of this course. In addition, post your work in the text box, not as an attached file.

Response Guidelines

Read the posts of your peers and respond to two. Provide a substantive and logical response that considers the following:

  • Do you agree or disagree with your peer’s thoughts? Explain.
  • What thoughts were similar and different between you and your peer?
  • What other inputs can you provide that might help expand your or your peer’s thoughts?

Resources

UNDERGRADUATE DISCUSSION PARTICIPATION SCORING GUIDE

Due Date: Wednesday weekly (Looking for DISTINGUISHED – set up your paper to hit each Topic)
Percentage of Course Grade: 30%.

DISCUSSION PARTICIPATION SCORING GUIDE

Due Date: Weekly.
Percentage of Course Grade: 30%.

Criteria Non-performance Basic Proficient Distinguished
Applies relevant course concepts, theories, or materials correctly. Does not explain relevant course concepts, theories, or materials. Explains relevant course concepts, theories, or materials. Applies relevant course concepts, theories, or materials correctly. Analyzes course concepts, theories, or materials correctly, using examples or supporting evidence.
Collaborates with fellow learners, relating the discussion to relevant course concepts. Does not collaborate with fellow learners. Collaborates with fellow learners without relating discussion to the relevant course concepts. Collaborates with fellow learners, relating the discussion to relevant course concepts. Collaborates with fellow learners, relating the discussion to relevant course concepts and extending the dialogue.
Applies relevant professional, personal, or other real-world experiences. Does not contribute professional, personal, or other real-world experiences. Contributes professional, personal, or other real-world experiences, but lacks relevance. Applies relevant professional, personal, or other real-world experiences. Applies relevant professional, personal, or other real-world experiences to extend the dialogue.
Participation Guidelines

Actively participate in discussions. To do this you should create a substantive post for each of the discussion topics. Each post should demonstrate your achievement of the participation criteria

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