Sunday, November 17, 2013
Sam Walton is the Man!
There is no doubt that Wal-Mart is a great place to shop at. When I go shopping at Wal-Mart, I end up purchasing more things then usual. That of course is due to the prices their being relatively lower than, say for example Target. Furthermore, at Walmart customers can purchase a lot of packaged goods, that will last longer, and end up being cheaper. During black Friday I will not go shopping at Walmart, that is for sure. Essentially, for me black Friday is NOT a good time to shop anywhere. The amount of people there is too much for me to deal with. However, on most occasions, Wal-Mart will have a large number of customers shopping. That does not bother me as much.
From reading Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich's standpoint was made clear. She believes the pay is not good enough. Her pay was ($7) an hour, but she felt that they should be paid triple that amount. Of course this book was written a long time ago, therefore $7 n hour perhaps was a good amount at that time period. Nonetheless Ehrenreich, wanted to start a union, with her co-workers. Her day to day routine working at Wal-Mart, the way it was described in the book was boring. Furthermore, her view was that a person working at Wal-Mart for a certain amount of time will "Age" quicker than your average worker.
In our society today, I heard from friends that a employee at Wal-Mart will make about (10) dollars an hour, just starting off, regardless of the position. In a sense that is a good wage for an employee to begin with. Obviously, if one individual is to work hard, there is many promotions that are available. From the book Nickel and Dimed page 184, Ehrenreich states, that basically Wal-Mart is always seeking new employees, and they won't hesitate to fire anyone, because they always got someone else waiting to be hired. Even, though this retailer is usually busy most of the time, the employees are there for one reason, and that is to help the customers. Cashiers, for one can be seen as hardworking individuals, however at Wal-Mart it is a big amount of them. If one is to get a raise, others will want one as well.
Therefore, should an employee at Wal-Mart be paid more? I would say it will all depend on what type of position the individual has, and exactly just what kind of work one is doing. Moreover Wal-Mart does pay there employees, a good wage compared to other retailers like Target. The low prices at Wal-Mart, and the slogan, "Save Money Live Better", attracts customers of all race, ethnicity, and income. It is all their for a reason, and that is so the Walton family can continue making $billions more. In the end employees at Wal-Mart may feel as if the $$ is not enough, compared to all the work put in. Moreover, the job itself can be stressful, but I think that's how is most paces.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It is true that a lot people do put in a large amount of work and they go undervalued both in wages and with the way they are treated. With the way that Walmart is about unions, there will be no real progress in the eye of the employees. I have known people that work there and they have had many complaints to be said about Walmart. The pay they receive may seem like enough to some people, but if the employee is a single parent or even just trying afford insurance they will not be able to by working at Walmart. I think that if Walmart were to treat their employees with dignity and not try to brainwash them, there business would be better run.
ReplyDeleteIf Sam Walton was still alive, I believe his comment on this blog would read "When can you come in for an interview Fizzywizzy? We need guys like you on our marketing team or better yet a union buster!" Wal-Mart pays some of their employees above minimum wage. I believe that a $10 an hour starting salary for a part time worker is kind of low, but manageable. For a full time employee, $10 an hour is a gross of $20,800 annually. Also low but manageable if one is single, no children, and enjoys Ramen Noodles for brunch every other day. Some people are caught in a rock and a hard place. It would be great for them to say to Wal-Mart, screw this job and I'll get a better one! Unfortunately, they can not; they feel stuck is their position. People with an education, work experience, and the ability to find a great job; are not the ones Wal-Mart need. Places like Wal-Mart need employees that can be controlled due to their lack of confidence and poor self esteem. This way, a corporation, like Wal-Mart, can take advantage of their full time employees by schedule them with less than 40 hours per week or tricking employees to work extra hours off the clock. I agree with what you wrote; It is all their for a reason, and that is so the Walton family can continue making $billions more. I too, think that this is a heartless way to make billions.
ReplyDelete