Walmart's Business Ethics Case Study

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History/Background

Walmart began as the vision of Samuel Moore Walton during the 1950’s in Bentonville, Arkansas. Walton founded his company on the concept of the five-and-dime store blended with customer service, large stores located in small towns, valued products, low prices, and employee profit-sharing to create the largest retail empire in the world in terms of earnings and employees. By marketing to consumers who fit his business profile, Walton was successful in creating a niche that transformed how people acquired the products and services they needed. Walton’s business model appealed to consumers who desired to live better and to save money. Mr. Walton’s company incorporated in 1969 and began selling stock in 1970.
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Walmart’s policy of Global Ethics incorporates four systems of beliefs that guide the company’s leaders in making decisions: respect, customer service, excellence, and integrity. The policy provides ways for company associates to voice their concerns when ethical issues arise. Walmart promotes integrity in the workplace, in the marketplace, and in the community using the same four systems of belief. One of the main goals in using these beliefs is the desire to create and maintain a culture of respect that promotes positive work, corporate, and community environments. In 2005, Walmart’s policy of Global Ethics was challenged when the company’s Mexican executives were caught in a bribery scheme. Eduardo Castro-Wright, Chief Executive Officer of one of Walmart’s foreign subsidiaries, Walmart de Mexico, was accused of paying bribes to Mexican officials to receive permits to build Walmart stores all over Mexico. Investigators from Walmart found evidence that Mexican executives paid millions of dollars of bribery money. In addition, the investigators learned that the Mexican executives tried to hide the bribes from Walmart’s executives in the United

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