The book, To Serve God and Walmart by Bethany Moreton addresses how the family values of the Ozark region where Wal-Mart was brought up were incorporated into Wal-Mart’s establishment. Values such as opposition to selfishness, community contribution, and support of family were incorporated into Wal-Mart’s culture and this enabled it to succeed in Ozark, Kansas and eventually establish itself as the largest International corporation.
In many ways, consumption and excessive material shopping were regarded as a sin among the Christian population of Ozark, Kansas, before Wal-Mart’s arrival. Being a small-town conservative Christian area that was ranked “at the bottom of America’s consumer hierarchy.” in 1930. (8), corporations would not likely …show more content…
(70) The familial motives of the women joining the workforce emphasizes the notion that although they were no longer entitled to house-wife positions, women still possessed the traditional value of working for the family as opposed to becoming consumed with economics. For this reason, they also were okay with receiving minimal wages and little compensation. The book states how Wal-Mart spent “only about three-quarters as much on all benefits per covered worker as other major retailers averaged for their covered workers’ health care alone.”. (71) Yet for many this compensation was considered reasonable. The women may have received few financial benefits while working at Wal-Mart but they were able to “remain in the Ozarks, integrate work and family, and put a floor of security under their household’s diversified earning strategies.”. (72) By valuing family over monetary compensation, Wal-Mart was able to pay women- workers less and therefore Wal-Mart was able to achieve even more economic success. This shows how the family-oriented values of Ozark women had a positive effect on the economic prosperity of …show more content…
One location where many family benefits could be obtained through Wal-Mart was found within it’s distribution centers. Moreton states how Wal-Mart distribution truck drivers “saw more of their families than did their long haul colleagues.” because of Walmart’s need to keep all stores within a day’s drive of a distribution center due to its expansion. By providing workers with more opportunities to see their families than other companies, Wal-Mart successfully appealed to the general Ozark population as a suitable place to work. By catering to the families’ values of the community, Wal-Mart created a sense of worker satisfaction, and this enabled it to continue to grow.
The historical accounts written in the book, To Serve God and Walmart by Bethany Moreton addresses how in an attempt to appeal to the rural, Christian, family-oriented Ozark-region where it began, Wal-Mart had do found itself based on the fundamental values of its people. Without its ability to correspond to the Ozark values of avoidance of selfishness, making communal contributions, and providing support for one’s immediate family, Wal-Mart would not have been able to succeed in the big-business-opposing community nor would it have been able to expand
In many ways, consumption and excessive material shopping were regarded as a sin among the Christian population of Ozark, Kansas, before Wal-Mart’s arrival. Being a small-town conservative Christian area that was ranked “at the bottom of America’s consumer hierarchy.” in 1930. (8), corporations would not likely …show more content…
(70) The familial motives of the women joining the workforce emphasizes the notion that although they were no longer entitled to house-wife positions, women still possessed the traditional value of working for the family as opposed to becoming consumed with economics. For this reason, they also were okay with receiving minimal wages and little compensation. The book states how Wal-Mart spent “only about three-quarters as much on all benefits per covered worker as other major retailers averaged for their covered workers’ health care alone.”. (71) Yet for many this compensation was considered reasonable. The women may have received few financial benefits while working at Wal-Mart but they were able to “remain in the Ozarks, integrate work and family, and put a floor of security under their household’s diversified earning strategies.”. (72) By valuing family over monetary compensation, Wal-Mart was able to pay women- workers less and therefore Wal-Mart was able to achieve even more economic success. This shows how the family-oriented values of Ozark women had a positive effect on the economic prosperity of …show more content…
One location where many family benefits could be obtained through Wal-Mart was found within it’s distribution centers. Moreton states how Wal-Mart distribution truck drivers “saw more of their families than did their long haul colleagues.” because of Walmart’s need to keep all stores within a day’s drive of a distribution center due to its expansion. By providing workers with more opportunities to see their families than other companies, Wal-Mart successfully appealed to the general Ozark population as a suitable place to work. By catering to the families’ values of the community, Wal-Mart created a sense of worker satisfaction, and this enabled it to continue to grow.
The historical accounts written in the book, To Serve God and Walmart by Bethany Moreton addresses how in an attempt to appeal to the rural, Christian, family-oriented Ozark-region where it began, Wal-Mart had do found itself based on the fundamental values of its people. Without its ability to correspond to the Ozark values of avoidance of selfishness, making communal contributions, and providing support for one’s immediate family, Wal-Mart would not have been able to succeed in the big-business-opposing community nor would it have been able to expand