Wal-Mart: Beauty and the Beast!

Wal-mart, possibly the most dominant and profitable retailer of recent, has come to wear two masks.  One the one hand they are this profit-driven evil that crushes small town Mom & Pop shops without remorse.  They drive labor costs down to a bare minimum forcing other stores to change their policies.  By the way, as of 2006, the Wal-Mart full-time employee earned & 9.76 an hour.  They also import a majority of their products from China, destroying U.S. manufacturing jobs, some who's business' previous major client was Wal-Mart itself.  

However, on the other hand they provide an efficient and convenient service to Americans at the lowest price possible.  This benefits many working and middle class Americans who don't have the money to shop at other local businesses where the prices are higher.  

The polarization of Wal-Mart is extreme and continues to grow as the store does.  While there are major benefits there are major detrimental effects.  One Fortune 500 article by Jerry Useem stated that, "If you're a consumer, Wal-Mart is good for you. If you're a wage earner, there's a good chance it's bad. If you're a Wal-Mart shareholder, you want the company to grow. If you're a citizen, you probably don't want it growing in your backyard. So, which one are you?" 

As time goes on and criticisms and boastings about Wal-Mart increase I do believe that one image will prevail for Wal-Mart-- a negative one.  While the low prices are desirable the cost of "low cost" is too great.  In an economy where the source of big business is becoming a heated and studied aspect, the image of Wal-Mart will deteriorate.  However I don't expect Wal-Mart to quit expanding and dominating the market but I do expect public criticism to catch up with Wal-Mart and hopefully it will instigate a sel-examination of Wal-Mart and its practices.

Source: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2004/03/08/363689/index.htm