Walmart is undeniably the U.S. largest retailer and has continued to set records making it a target of both effusive praise and vicious attacks. The organization operates at least 8,000 stores globally, of which more than 2.1 million have been employed to ensure effective and quality service delivery to customers worldwide. Another startling statistic is that Walmart sells an estimated $400 billion worth of merchandise annually. The company’s size enables it to diversify its goods and services, which goes a long way to enhancing its competitiveness. Walmart can impact the community through community development and environment, quality of life, and the local labor markets.
Walmart’s impact comprises the effects it has on community development and the environment. The company has gained a tremendous reputation for its community engagement programs, as evidenced in various regions in the U.S. and other parts of the world within which it operates. Walmart has participated in several environmental resuscitation activities and contributed significantly to disaster management projects. A case in point is its involvement in helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina, where it donated merchandise worth at least $20 million. The donation included food supplies to families and jobs for all workers that were displaced after the tragedy. Such participation is considerably inspirational not only to the community members but also to its competitors. However, Walmart’s continued activities have a downside on the environment. The company sells low-quality goods which encourages waste and builds warehouse-sized stores that destroy natural habitats.
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Subsequently, the organization impacts the quality of life for the community members living in locales within which it runs its stores. A study shows that Walmart’s establishments within various communities have resulted in low housing prices (Pope and Jaren 5). The research associates this claim with the opposition that Walmart often gets when it tries to build a new store. The giant retailer, nonetheless, has faced accusations of degrading the life quality of people, especially on health concerns. Researchers have linked Walmart’s activities to the rise in obesity, following the provision of low-cost food (Courtemanche and Carden 171). The company has made significant attempts to motivate a healthy diet for its consumers but there still exists a considerable percentage of obesity cases that derive from the consumption of food offered at its stores.
Another impact Walmart can have on the community is the effects linked with the local labor markets. On the upside, the company is chief among the modern retailers reputed for paying employees premium wages. There is a notable influx in retail jobs in the U.S. as well as their parts of the world, while the job opportunities in the manufacturing sector continue to decrease. Crucially, Walmart has maintained competitive minimum wage jobs over the years in which it has been operational. Cardiff-Hicks, Lafontaine and Shaw link this observation with the apparent increase in the organizational size and a notable sorting of better works in the organization’s multiple stores (651). On the other hand, the downside of Walmart’s impact on local markets is the reduction in average retail employment. A study shows that about 150 workers lose job opportunities in every Walmart store opening (Neumark, Zhang and Ciccarella 422). In effect, the organization leads to a 2.7 percent reduction in retail employment and earnings amounting to $1.4 million (Neumark, Zhang and Ciccarella 422).
In brief, Walmart’s potential impact in community cuts across community development and sustainability, quality of life, and the local markets. The company’s activities in the past have shown its tremendous support for community engagement in disasters by liaising with local authorities and non-profit organizations. Also, some health concerns such as obesity have been linked with the organization’s undertakings. Essentially, Walmart offers food at undisputable prices while taking an insignificant health initiative. Another impact relates to local markets where there is a potential retail employment backdrop as an aftermath of the effects of Walmart.
Works Cited
Cardiff-Hicks, Brianna, Francine Lafontaine, and Kathryn Shaw. "Do Large Modern Retailers Pay Premium Wages?" ILR Review 68.3 (2015): 633-665.
Courtemanche, Charles, and Art Carden. "Supersizing supercenters? The impact of Walmart Supercenters on body mass index and obesity." Journal of Urban Economics 69.2 (2011): 165-181.
Neumark, David, Junfu Zhang, and Stephen Ciccarella. "The effects of Wal-Mart on local labor markets." Journal of Urban Economics 63.2 (2008): 405-430.
Pope, Devin G., and Jaren C. Pope. "When Walmart comes to town: Always low housing prices? Always?" Journal of Urban Economics 87 (2015): 1-13.
