Surname 3 nametutorcoursedatememorandumto ke

1. Surname 3
Name
Tutor
Course
Date
MEMORANDUM
TO: Kelly Anderson, Senior Manager
FROM: Jonathon Fitzgerald, US Regional Manager
DATE: March 27, 2017
SUBJECT: Addressing Ethical Issues across Walmart
Introduction
In order to address the ethical situation at Walmart, the
company needs to establish a framework that can provide
guidance to practices and enhance the adherence to business
ethics. The framework would provide an outline of activities
that would enhance the understanding of ethical business
practice. Additionally, the outline provided would help Walmart
to establish ways to avoid engaging in unethical business
practices. The most suitable framework would be hold the task
to guide the employees and company decision makers to
understand the actual aspects that need to be addressed, which
standards to consider when making decisions and the best way
to apply the framework. The framework will be a good approach
because it will give the best and reasonable practices to base
ethical thinking and decisions on.
Situation Overview
Walmart has faced numerous claims that it has been violating

2. the general ethics of operations in business. Complaints have
been presented by employees, their families, government bodies
and clients among others. It has not been clear how true the
allegations of the codes of practice are, but they have had
numerous negative impact on the company’s reputation.
Customers have shown a reduced preference for Walmart’s
products since the allegations started spreading (Wadhwa, 1) .
For instance, on the side of employees, the company faces
claims of violating the labor rights of its employees. Walmart’s
employees have been caught up in situations that were
concluded as the consequences of being overworked. Active
employees have also been witnessed claiming that they have
been, and are still being overworked, complaining about the
prevailing wage rates and the general treatment the company
gives them. Further employee related complaints have extended
to workers safety with allegations stating that Walmart exposes
employees to dangerous situations that could endanger their
health and lives (Bowen, 22).
In addition to claims of violating the rights of employees,
Walmart faces legal issues. There have been rumored
allegations originating from several government bodies claiming
that Walmart has been engaging in practices that imply a
violation of business ethics. The allegations claim that Walmart
has been engaging in corruption activities by bribing its way
through thorough competition. It is claimed to have bribed
government officials evade business responsibilities and gain
advantages over its competitors. In the case of Mexico, for
instance, Walmart is alleged to have had its way by bribing
Mexican officials to allow its workers to sneak prohibited goods
into the country. It was also alleged that bribery has been the
order for Walmart which saw a great extent of unrest from its
stakeholders.
Walmart has further been accused of breaching its contracts
with employees by withholding their healthcare benefits

3. (Wadhwa, 2). Walmart’s history appears to be clouded by
lawsuits filed by employees or their families claiming that the
company violated the medical agreements made during
employment. Regarding employee healthcare benefits, Walmart
was accused of being overly insensitive to humanity for suing
an employee who suffered a brain injury while on duty. The
allegations resulted in a negative impact on the company’s sales
for the financial year (Wadhwa, 1). Walmart has also faced
allegations of unfair competition from its competitors. The
company is accused of lowering their prices to extreme levels to
manipulate customer choices and get an advantage over its
competitors. In the case of Mexico, Walmart is accused of
bribing its way out of environmental damage and violating the
labor laws in foreign countries.
Ethical Issues and Implications
For the past several years, Walmart has been facing a wide
range of claims against its operations. The claims on a more
precise description, point at Walmart’s violation of ethical
practices in business operation. As a result, the company’s top
stakeholders have been questioning its integrity, which has not
been good for the business (Bowen, 22). The company has been
revealed to lose economic privileges following the rise of the
said claims. Complainants have ranged from employees to
competitors to government bodies claiming a violation of the set
ethics of operation by the company. Additionally, the company
faces the possibility of an unpleasant economic time in the
future if it does not get the issues addressed following the
continuous accusation of violating the general ethics of business
practice.
Walmart faces the threat of losing its unsettled stakeholders to
Amazon, which appears to be following its path closely enough,
and could take over the market (Wadhwa, 1). Amazon, being its
biggest competitors could use the allegations to gain a market
and competitive advantages over Walmart. Consumers have
been witnessed to drift off following the allegations of unfair
and unsafe practices undertaken by Walmart (Wadhwa, 1).

4. Losing consumers for its products would lead to market
shortage for Walmart which would be a big blow for its
prosperity. Additionally, potential employees would fear for
their lives while working at Walmart which would possibly
result to labor and human resource shortage at Walmart. In the
long run, it would lead to reduced productivity. Increased legal
issues would lead in closure and increased fines that would
highly affect the levels of Walmart (Wadhwa, 2). In an overall
consideration, both the short and long term implications would
lead to deteriorating performance of the business, which would
most likely lead to closure or bankruptcy.
Framework Proposition
Although most claims that have been made against Walmart
have not been proven in any way, they have had a major impact
on the company’s reputation (Bowen, 59). Further, the few
accusations that are true make it easier for the public to believe
that Walmart engaged in the rumored malpractices. It should,
therefore, be in the system of Walmart to ensure that it avoid all
the possibilities that could lead to such incidences and tarnish
the company’s name (Elbeltagi and Gomaa, 2). If a few
allegations turn out to be true, it would be easier for the public,
stakeholders and government officials to believe that even the
false ones were valid. As a result, Walmart would lack the
privilege to operate peacefully without being watched and
overregulated by the authorities, which would result in possible
losses, reduced profits, and eventually slow the company’s
growth rate.
Therefore, there is the need to establish a regulatory framework
to strengthen the core values of Walmart and avoid future
scenarios similar to those that have occurred in the past. Al l
operations should be in accordance with the company’s vision
to become the best retailer to its consumers and employees
(Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, 3). It would also need to
focus on its mission to save people money while ensuring that

5. they live better. It would be against the business’ mission if it
offered goods at low costs but pollute the environment the
people live in, resulting in infections and increased costs of
living. It would be ironical to claim to help people live better
by offering products at low costs while in a real sense, their
lives are endangered by a pollution that the company causes. In
the effect of the vision, there would be no way the company
earns an outstanding reputation from its consumers and
employees when it engages in violating employees’ rights
(Crane and Dirk, 8). The employees also make part of the
company’s customers through their families and friends and
betraying them would make it impossible to retain the initial
customer loyalty.
To achieve a practice that is according to the company’s initial
plan, there is a need to operate under the influence of meeting
the expectations of different stakeholders. Each stakeholder,
however, holds their own opinion and interest regarding various
issues at the company (DesJardins and John, 43). Suppliers
would want to sell their products at high prices while consumers
would prefer buying goods at low prices. The interests of the
two groups highly contradict which leaves Walmart to make the
final decisions. It would not be ethical to consider the interest
of one party and ignore the other, while the two interests cannot
be served by a one-way policy. It would, therefore, require the
company to establish the fair decisions that would serve part of
the interest that each stakeholder has. For a maximum positive
impact, it would be advisable for Walmart to focus on the
preferences that are more pressing that those that are just aimed
at serving a purpose of satisfying less important interests
(Crane and Dirk, 13). Walmart’s framework needs to be focused
on necessities and not interests so that it addresses the most
crucial aspects of the business stakeholders.
Ethical Considerations for Framework
Practice at Walmart needs to focus on duties, rights,
commitments and the best business practices (DesJardins and

6. John, 39). Although there cannot be a single way to determine
all the aspects of best business practice, the company should
establish guides to help employees reach uniform decisions that
would be favorable to all stakeholders. Decisions should not
benefit one part of the team while implicating another but
should facilitate business prosperity for all directions.
Employees tasked with decision making should, however,
consider actions that are consistent with their basic duties that
the company expected them to perform (DesJardins and John,
39). They should ensure that all the decisions they make fulfill
part of their respective tasks. It should operate in accordance
with Walmart’s intensive strategies for growth. They should aim
at maintaining existing markets, securing new markets and
coming up with new products as well as service techniques
(Jones, 8).
Additionally, employees should respect the claims of other
affected parties when making decisions (Markkula Center for
Applied Ethics, 2). Performing their duties would not be more
important than keeping customers and suppliers for continuity
of business. Finally, workers should focus on decisions that
result in the best result possible. Efficient decision-making
would require employees to be briefed on decision-making
techniques to enable them to evaluate the best choices at their
disposal. However, employees should also be encouraged to
operate under their own principles of commitment. In the case
of personal principles, however, it is important to limit the
extent to which they can be applied to make sure that they do
not contradict with the company’s key objectives (Jones, 8). It
is essential to get all the employees to hold their principles
towards the same direction as the company.
Applying the Framework
Although coming up with a framework to achieve ethical
practice could be a beginning point towards meeting the
required ethical considerations, applying it would be the most

7. challenging part. In order to understand make a successful
application of the framework, some key requirements need to be
present:
i) A clear understanding of the entire situation - There cannot
be a better application of a solution framework than in one
which a person understands what they are up for or against. It
would be a waste of resources to engage in solving something
that is not clear as there would not be anything clear to achieve.
More importantly, one would need to deeply understand the
framework such that they are aware of the possible outcomes,
inclusive of benefits and consequences (Paine, 4).
ii) Identification of the relevant standards - It is possible to
come up with all the codes of practice that need to be applied to
situations, but pointing out which apply to what situations is a
greater task. Any framework needs to have a background that
supports the maximum benefits (Paine, 4). Maximum benefits
are established by considering the involved parties and their
interests to determine which ones are more pressing. It is
important to establish if the key concern of the framework
should lie in property, transparency, reliability, fairness,
responsiveness, or in dignity. These considerations provide the
best approach to apply the proposed model.
iii) Objectivity - In determining the outcome of a framework,
one needs to establish what objective they are trying to, and
what it is likely to accomplish. Identifying the objectivity of a
framework enables one to choose between generality, visibility,
and personal legacy (Paine, 4).
General Conclusion
Walmart needs to evade the consequences of a ruined
reputation, which would possibly result in loss of customers,
business partners, suppliers, and profits. On occasions where a
company experiences accusation like exploiting employees,
committing environmental crimes among others, it easily loses
its business privileges and competitive position. Following the
rising claims against Walmart, it could possibly suffer such

8. plight if the accusations are not handled. It needs to reevaluate
its workforce and decision-making groups to ensure that it has
control over all operations it is associated with. Decisions
should be made to contribute towards upholding the company’s
vision and mission so that it can attain the expected
performance while moving towards achieving the set goals and
objectives. To remain in line with its stakeholders, the company
should consider all possible standards to ensure that it achieves
the best practice for all of them. In so doing, the company
would hold its position in the market by showing that it values
its customers, employees, suppliers and other business
stakeholders.
Works Cited
Bowen, Howard R. Social responsibilities of the businessman.
University of Iowa Press, 2013.
Crane, Andrew, and Dirk Matten. Business ethics: Managing
corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University
Press, 2016.
DesJardins, Joseph R., and John J. McCall. Contemporary issues
in business ethics. Cengage
Learning, 2014.
Elbeltagi, Ibrahim, and Gomaa Agag. "E-retailing ethics and its
impact on customer satisfaction
and repurchase intention: a cultural and commitment-trust
theory perspective." Internet
Research 26.1 (2016): 288-310.
Jones, Thomas M. "Ethical decision making by individuals in
organizations: An issue-contingent
model." Academy of management review 16.2 (1991): 366-395.
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. A Framework for Ethical

9. Decision Making. Santa Clara
University. (2017).
Paine, Lynn Sharp. Ethics: A basic framework. Harvard
Business School, 2007.
Wadhwa, Vivek. What students should learn from Uber’s recent
troubles. The Washington Post.
(2017).