Burgess COMMENTARY
Before the famous 'Black Friday' this year (2012) there was a lot of media coverage of the potential for workers at Wall-Mart to stage a protest. Many ordinary people were in favor of the protest because of the many reports of the way Wall-Mart management treated its workers and how little its workers were paid and how few benefits they recieved. Wall-Mart management did its best to make the protest go away including using the rules of the Federal Labor Relations Board.

The big issue with Wall-Mart is not simply the treatment of workers in its stores, but the treatment of workers throughout the value chain ... the supply chain ... and also the value of 'Everyday Low Prices' to customers ... and the value destruction associated with other local businesses near WallMart stores losing much of their business or in many cases going out of business.

The data to make informed decisions about Walmart are insufficient ... inadequate. Some of the data are available. The company is very profitable and its investors have become very wealthy. The staff working in the stores are paid low wages and get few benefits. The prices are low and a lot of people support Walmart with their dollars. The data about the impact of Walmart on other businesses is not easy to get ... maybe impossible.

I am unable to draw a reliable conclusion about the overall impact of Walmart on society and the economy ... but I think the 'efficiency' of its supply chain might result in the company having a positive impact on society and the economy. At the same time the huge difference between the high reward to the investors and the low remuneration of the labor force suggests that the benefit to society and the economy is nowhere near optimum.
Peter Burgess