The Problems And Issues Of White Collar Crime Criminology Essay

The Problems And Issues Of White Collar Crime Criminology Essay When one ponders on the notion of white-collar and corporate crimes, usually images of massive company takeovers via blackmail and scheming lawyers, for example, spring to mind. Normally, one does not think how this form of crime can in any way relate to street crime in terms of public disturbance. However, white-collar crime can have direct and indirect consequences towards a single person, part of a society and can even span internationally. White-collar crime kept relatively low profile however, and thus it is difficult to pinpoint unhappiness it can cause as surveys focus more on the statistics of regular crime. It is certain that white-collar crime will cause direct and indirect victimization but recognition is needed in identifying its offences; for instance, corruption has a more scattered effect on the population whereas other white-collar offences can have a direct consequence on certain employees. Most offences are gradual and take time to be noticed, environmental crime for example. They lack the instant effect that a burglary or a murder can cause, particularly when it comes to the publics attention. Instead, they affect institutions or commerce where most of the on goings is kept clear from public knowledge. Where there is no direct contact to the victim with no known motive or cause, there is less interest to be generated. Some offences are vague to whom exactly they harm and to whom they benefit. Friedrichs (1996) gives an example that there may be a public advantage in cost savings that results from governmental corruption where companies sell at a lower price to competitors. Eve n counterfeit goods can be seen as beneficial as consumers have a chance to afford designer products which in turn, creates jobs in the counterfeit companys workforce. Of course, the counter argument to this is that the sub-quality goods can be harmful to the public and that employment in genuine companies is in jeopardy (Croall, 1998). And so, much of white-collar victimization is not quite what one may expect as it does not have a direct impact on an individual. Some victims of this form of crime are accused of actually inviting the harm. There are several examples of these willing victims: investors risking their money rather than placing it in say, the safety of a pension scheme. Or perhaps, consumers who willingly buy the counterfeit products that are offered in the market. Or those who willingly choose to work in environmentally unsafe areas in promise of a higher wage. If an accident does occur, it is often the careless workers fault not the company that employs them. Even if a womans breast enhancement surgery goes wrong, she might be blamed simply because she chose to have a surgery for vain, selfish reasons either than medical. These cases rarely provoke sympathy from the court Nevertheless, there is a certain image or myth concerning victimization from white-collar crime. Regulatory law is set up in such a way that Croall (1992) states that consumers, workers and the public be protected from harm which they cannot combat. The consumer is unable to judge how genuine the product is, or if they are buying medicine, how harmful the side effects are. Thus if several people are killed in a workplace, the deaths are put down as something that could not be avoided rather than a companys neglect. In this stereotypical light, the law regarding white-collar crime can be rather skewed and misguided. An organization can be criticized by its misuse of the environment but anything concerning the well-being of the workers it employs is ignored. If a company bus crashes, the deaths of the innocent passengers within will draw the sympathy and not the driver who probably will be blamed for the incident for his or her carelessness. Victimization relating to white-collar crimes completely strays from the term conventional victimology which describes victimization on individual, conventional cases. Instead, it belongs to critical victimology which basically defines victims we cannot see (Walklate 1999). White-collar offences are, practically, invisible Despite all that, white-collar offences are quite capable of causing direct harm to a person and his finally. Trust is automatically lost and there is a sense of betrayal when financial fraud occurs and Levi (1999) states: Fraud lead to broken dreamsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦frauds can destroy happiness permanently, just as readily as any other crimeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Because victims know they have supplied funds or goods voluntarily and because the loss of their financial cushion makes meaningless all their lifelong savings and sacrifices. There is also a sense of betrayed trust when death is involved amongst employees due to a companys negligence. The grief felt is even heavier when the victims body takes some time to be recovered or one who has survived a horrible accident suffers from survivors guilt (Wells 1995). White-collar crime though often seen as indirect, can also cause physical damage to its victims and threaten the safety within ones family home. For instance, counterfeit goods and mass-produced food can be harmful or even tap water which is not properly monitored and/or cleansed. Even ones workplace could not be viewed as safe, say if a worker has strong allergic reactions to the pollen surrounding the area. White-collar victimization is not limited to humans; even the wildlife is threatened from pollution caused by large industries. Corporate crime can even lead to the loss of a quality life within a community. A large industry can easily squash any fine balance within the community, whether it is environmental or economical. Examples of these are waste disposal, noise pollution, drainage in resources and a rise in taxes. Large corporations suddenly settling down in a quite community often and do threaten any local small businesses which used to reside previously. Economic offences caused by white-collar crime are often felt by institutions rather than a single persons misfortune. An institution can suffer from money theft and corruption but sometimes, in order not to lose a grip in the market, the institution will either lower salaries or raise prices to counter this. Even in the name of competition amongst themselves, companies will break rules and spy on each other or go as far as to sabotage each others projects. White-collar crime also spans nationally and even globally. One might think that offences against a form of government might not deal with any victimization, but nonetheless it can indirectly affect individuals, such as increasing tax and decreasing public resources. In this case, it is hard to form any bonds of trust in organizations such as the police force if the latter is set deep into corruption. Globally, currency frauds particularly when it involves the Euro can lead to great losses and/or any frauds concerning public waste disposal and food will inevitably damage public health and safety. Either way, white-collar crime even if it seems impersonal can affect the individual. It is often asked, which individual is affected by white-collar crime and whether social status, gender or age comes into play. It is however, difficult to specify as white-collar crime is vague at best to begin with and crime surveys do not exactly touch that particularly subject as a result. Still, victimization does target several vulnerable groups more than others. There is a difference in victimization where gender is involved, as several feminist criminologists will argue. For instance, any fraud and accidents caused by pharmacy products usually affects the female population. Even in the workforce, women seem more vulnerable simply because they lack the technical expertise and thus render them more open to fraud scams. Even larger cases are schemes involving companies and falsely researched contraceptives which led to birth defects, infection and abortions/miscarriages. This did not stop the companies from distributing their dangerous products to needy, lower-classed countries. Even women seeking to enhance their looks with beauty products can be harmed. And those having breast surgery are not exempt either. In addiction, a wide array of side effects can follow dietary pills; there are 35 recorded deaths in the United States from these pills during the 1970s and 1980s. Products which are not genuine can often contain dangerous ingredients suc h as certain acids which are not labeled down. Corporate crime certainly expands to victimization of women in the workforce, for example Pearce and Tombs (1998) note that 20 million women work in conditions there are toxic risks a rather disturbing figure indeed. Furthermore, many women suffer from sexual harassment during work hours, particularly from their superiors, but are often forced not to seek legal help due to blackmail and fear of losing their jobs. There are many cases where men use their trustful profession of, say, a doctor in order to sexually harass their female patients. Even if white-collar crime does not harm a woman physically, it can still harm her economically. Expensive label products boasting miracle results are released daily, boxed in even more expensive, fancy packaging. These sort of products aim towards the disillusioned housewife who wishes to beautify herself and again the marketing behind the product takes advantage of the assumption that a woman lacks the knowledge in financial matters. Of course, this also boils down to false advertisement; the miracle results that the product claims to achieve are very misleading. More so, the products container is double walled thus containing far less than they should. Illusions of a products results are not just based on make up; salesmen, builders and investors often take advantage of the situation by catching a customer unawares. Despite the fact that victimization seems to be based on gender, women are not the only ones who are targeted by white-collar offences. Men are also in great risk; they can suffer from neglect concerning the rules at highly dangerous workplaces such as an oil rig or a mining tunnel. Still, women are more susceptible to product scams it seems, forever seeking ways to beautify themselves as society dictates them to. Corporate offences do not stop at gender, they continue to differences of age as well; the young and the old who in reality, need to depend upon others. The old are often victims when there is a serious neglect in food rules and regulations and often contract illnesses as a result. And like women, they also avidly spend a fortune on anti-age products which falsely advertise. Both children and the elderly can suffer physical and sexual abuse and usually they cannot complain; the elderly confused with their old age and the children too young to understand the meaning of morals. Most of the times, the old suffer when they are placed in an old peoples home- there, they are frequently neglected, fed unhealthy foods and given the wrong medicine which can be proved fatal. Children fall victim to unsafe toys and students can fall victim to their landlords where they are forced to inhabit an abode which fails all of its safety regulations due to their limited finances. Most famous of all are the pension schemes and home security. The elderly often fear of burglary and this can be taken advantage of selling them alarm systems that are counterfeit. White-collar crime often gives out the misconception that the poorer classes are robbed so that the rich can benefit, however its definition and the cases regarding it are much more complex than that (Van Swaaningen, 1997). Sometimes it is the rich that are targeted, lured into risky investments or those miracle beauty products simply because they believe that they have the money to spend it all. After all, how can a woman of the lower classes be able to afford breast surgery? Then of course, one might argue that that particular woman will probably be forced to buy a counterfeit product just because she could not afford the genuine article. Furthermore, evidence leads to state that the impact of larger scale corporate offences are more scattered; a train accident due to poor engineering and the deaths that follow regardless of social status, age or gender. And yet, one can not ignore how age and gender is significant to victimization. These conflicting discussions are coined by Levi (1995) as a complex moral arena. To further complicate things, it is general knowledge that well-to-do organizations will have an effect on struggling small businesses such as, buying them out or stealing their customers. Or, small businesses will target their poorer customers. Another fact is that it is the poorer consumer that feels the need to buy the cheapest product available and accidents in the workforce are usually workers who are confined to menial labour. Even on a global scale, it is usually a third world country that receives the waste dumping. To put it bluntly, it is the lower classes who feel the effect of corporate crime as they cannot compensate any resources stolen or wasted unlike their richer counterparts. They cannot seek legal advice as confidently as those who are more knowledgeable in matters regarding the market and thus, usually avoid any financial scam in the form of bad investments or dubious pension schemes. In short, those desperate few who lack the necessary information will most likel y be targeted. Unfortunately, white-collar victimization is not even listed in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and any other organizations that deal with victim support. There has not been any organized movement in support of this particular victimization (there was a movements in the United States that seemed promising but over exaggerated). This is due to the fact that white-collar crime is not viewed as dramatic and important as normal street-crime victimization; the victims often do not report their grievances, most of their misfortune is viewed as trivial and often blamed upon themselves. Unlike, for instance, victims of abuse, they do not form conferences and unanimously protest. In any event, the only movements that are formed are often associated with the environment or food. There is hope however. A victim does have the right to pursue legal action such as a law suit but sadly, the only time that a group is formed is usually after a large-scale calamity. Still, an organized group has a better chance of actually having something done rather than an individual struggling on his own. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the vast majority of white-collar and corporate crime is certainly not victimless. It is merely neglected as such offences are often not reported and thus it is unable to be proven clearly on a crime survey. It is not seen as something dramatic, unlike a vicious murder and is put in the backburner in favour of conventional criminology. People do suffer from white-collar crime, indirectly and directly and it does affect the standard of living whether it is based on local conditions or expanded over the world.

Resistance to the Nazis: The White Rose Essay -- WWII, German history

The Nazi Party, controlled by Adolf Hitler, ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. In 1933, Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany and the Nazi government began to take over. Hitler became a very influential speaker and attracted new members to his party by blaming Jews for Germany’s problems and developed a concept of a â€Å"master race.† The Nazis believed that Germans were â€Å"racially superior† and that the Jewish people were a threat to the German racial community and also targeted other groups because of their â€Å"perceived racial inferiority† such as Gypsies, disabled persons, Polish people and Russians as well as many others. In 1938, Jewish people were banned from public places in Germany and many were sent to concentration camps where they were either murdered or forced to work. Many individuals and groups attempted to resist Nazism in Germany, but were unsuccessful. The White Rose, The Red Orchestra and the Kreisau Circle all advocated non-viol ent resistance to oppose the Nazi regime and even with the high risk of getting caught and potentially killed, the courageous members of these groups went after what they believed was right despite the serious consequences. The White Rose was formed in Munich in 1942 by students at the University of Munich named Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, Willi Graf and Alexander Schmorell. These students constantly heard others discuss the atrocities of Hitler’s regime and the disturbing stories of over 200,000 Jewish people being murdered. Hans Scholl, the leader of the White Rose group, decided to take action as he could no longer stay silent while so many civilians were being murdered. The White Rose group strived to raise awareness of Hitler’s actions and to help end Anti-semitism in Germany and ensure... ...ited States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Council. Web. 12 May 2014. Sheehan, Sean. Why Did the Holocaust Happen? New York, NY: Gareth Stevens Pub., 2011. Print. Shuter, Jane. Resistance to the Nazis. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2003. Print. "The Kreisau Circle." Kreisau Circle. Web. 14 May 2014. "The Germans Who Tried to Topple Hitler." BBC News. Web. 21 May 2014. "The Leaflets." White-rose-studies. Web. 20 May 2014. "The Red Orchestra (Die Rote Kapelle)." Berliner Themenjahr 2013. Web. 22 May 2014. ""The Red Orchestra": Actions of Little-known Nazi-resistance Group Are Brought to Light." Movies. Web. 22 May 2014. "White Rose (German Anti-Nazi Group)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 12 May 2014. "World War II: The White Rose Resistance Group." About.com Military History. Web. 12 May 2014.

COBOL :: Essays Papers

COBOL In the summer of 1998, St Louis Public Schools ( SLPS ) chose to convert form it's IBM System/390 mainframe to a client server environment. Not only was the SLPS affected but the Public School Retirement System ( PSRS ) was also affected since they use their mainframe system. PSRS started looking for a solution for their processing requirements. They were debating on weather to obtain an existing package to replace their system If they did would the be able to convert it to support how they run their business, or would they have to change how they conduct business to match the new software. They were also confused as to what new equipment might have to be purchased since they currently were running on older standalone workstations without a server. The organization decided to purchase new workstations, a server, a high-speed networked laser printer and Windows/2000 workstation and server components. Due to the organizations small size they elected to hire two contract software engineers to assist in the conversion, as well as process year end systems. The company also had to select a programming language, they decided on COBOL, the SLPS had a free copy of Micro Focus Net Express COBOL called the University Edition. It is available for schools to utilize in a classroom situation. The software was reviewed, it was decided that it would be adequate for their needs. It had features necessary to satisfy the requirements. Net Express is a Windows based product that is extremely powerful. That mainframe COBOL code formed the basis of the conversion, The conversion consisted mostly of modifying select statements, CICS code, some program calls to mainframe support routines, 'compare' statements also had to be checked for sequence problems ensuring that a mainframe 'if' statements of 'equal to' or 'greater than' were still valid for an ASCII based environment. The company found Downloading software and data files from the mainframe relatively easy, they used a mainframe access program called â€Å"Extra!† Packed fields were unpacked on the mainframe, downloaded to the server, and repacked if necessary. After the conversion took place the next task was to conduct year-end processing. This involved many tasks for the organizations, including; closing out of last year's business, income tax, providing information to our retirees, allowing for Open Enrollment for various insurance plans, and providing data to our actuarial firm to assist in funding and benefit decisions.

Tropical Rainforest Destruction Essay -- Deforestation Essays

Tropical Rainforest Destruction Introduction â€Å"In the minute that it takes you to read this page, a piece of tropical rainforest the size of 10 city blocks will vanish forever† (Lewis, 1990, pg 40). Rainforests around the world are being destroyed at such rates, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. The rainforests are â€Å"home to over half of all living things [and]†¦cover less than 7 percent of the land surface of the globe† (Lewis, 1990, pg 14). This paper analyzes tropical rainforest destruction from many different perspectives because there are several contributing factors to the destruction of rainforests. Topics addressed in this paper include: an introduction to rainforests, causes and examples of rainforest destruction around the world, results of rainforest destruction and solutions to rainforest destruction. At the end of this paper there is an appendix to aid the reader in understanding the concepts presented. Why are rainforests important? Rainforests are an asset to the entire world. The destruction of rainforests worldwide is a problem because it eliminates habitat for wild life and depletes the earth of vital environmental services. â€Å"Environmental services are what nature provides for human beings at no charge. Conservationists point out that people take these services for granted, so they are undervalued, exploited, and disappearing†¦We rely on forests for wood, medications, and food†¦on plants to pump oxygen into the atmosphere and absorb carbon dioxide; on wildlife to keep pests in check and distribute seeds and pollinate plants that provide us with food and other goods†¦If we put a price tag on these services, we might be more disposed to protecting earth’s other living inhabit... ...edication will prevent the complete decimation and destruction of the rainforests upon which the planet so desperately depends. Literature Cited 1) Alexander Cockburn, S. H. (1989). The Fate of the Forest. New York: Courier International Ltd. 2) Gallant, R. A. (1991). Earth's Vanishing Forests. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 3) Gay, K. (2001). Rainforests of the World (2 ed.). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, Inc. 4) Institute, W. W. (2000). Vital Signs 2000 (1 ed.). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 5) Josep M. Camarasa, R. F. (2000). Encyclopedia of the Biosphere (Vol. 2). Michigan: The Gale Group. 6) Jukofsky, D. (2002). Encyclopedia of Rainforests. Connecticut: Oryx Press. 7) Lewis, S. (1990). The Rainforest Book. Los Angeles: Living Planet Press. 8) http://www.brsi.msu.edu/rfrc/stats/wri/rank.html

Prototype

Prototype Theory Rosch (1976) has proposed an alternative to the view that concepts are com ¬posed from sets of features which necessarily and sufficiently define instances of a concept. Rosch proposes that concepts are best viewed as prototypes: a ‘bird’ is not best defined by reference to a set of features that refer to such matters as wings, warm-bloodedness, and egg-laying characteristics, but rather by reference to typical instances, so that a ‘prototypical bird’ is something more like a robin than it is like a toucan, penguin, ostrich, or even eagle.This is the theory of prototypes. As we saw in the preceding section, individuals do have ideas of typical instances of colors, and these ideas are remarkably similar among vari ¬ous cultural groups. Such similarity in views, however, is found not only in reference to birds and colors.A variety of experiments has shown that people do in fact classify quite consistently objects of various kinds according to what they regard as being typical instances; for example, (1) furniture, so that, whereas a chair is a typical item of furniture, an ashtray is not; (2) fruit, so that, whereas apples and plums are typical, coconuts and olives are not; and (3) clothing, so that, whereas coats and trousers are typical items, things like bracelets and purses are not (Clark and Clark, 1977, p. 64). The remarkably uniform behavior that people exhibit in such tasks cannot be accounted for by a theory which says that concepts are formed from sets of defining features. Such a theory fails to explain why some instances are consistently held to be more typical or central than others when all exhibit the same set of defining features. Hudson (1996, pp. 75-8) believes that prototype theory has much to offer sociolinguists.He believes it leads to an easier account of how people learn to use language, particularly linguistic concepts, from the kinds of instances they come across. He says (p. 77) that: a prot otype-based concept can be learned on the basis of a very small number of instances– perhaps a single one– and without any kind of formal definition, whereas a feature-based definition would be very much harder to learn since a much larger number of cases, plus a number of non-cases, would be needed before the learner could work out which features were necessary nd which were not. Moreover, such a view allows for a more flexible approach to understanding how people actually use language. In that usage certain concepts are necessarily ‘fuzzy,’ as the theory predicts they will be, but that very fuzziness allows speakers to use language creatively. According to Hudson, prototype theory may even be applied to the social situations in which speech occurs.He suggests that, when we hear a new lin ¬guistic item, we associate with it who typically seems to use it and what, appar ¬ently, is the typical occasion of its use. Again, we need very few instances †” even possibly just a single one — to be able to do this. Of course, if the particular instance is atypical and we fail to recognize this fact, we could be in for some discomfort at a later time when we treat it as typical. Prototype theory, then, offers us a possible way of looking not only at how concepts may be formed, i. . , at the cognitive dimensions of linguistic behavior but also at how we achieve our social competence in the use of language. We judge circumstances as being typically this or typically that, and we place people in the same way. We then tailor our language to fit, making it appropriate to the situation and the participants as we view these. (Wardhaugh, Ronald. 1998. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 3rd ed. Blackwell Publishers Ltd. pp. 232-233. )

Attitude and Behaviour

It would seem reasonable to argue the existence of a link between attitude and behaviour and to further assume that it is those same attitudes that determine that behaviour. However, there are many variables to consider which may affect the strength of such a link. It is important to distinguish between the influence of different types of attitude (reference), the first type being attitudes towards general entities and the second being attitudes towards more specific ones. This essay will look at how attitudes can be a poor predictor of behaviour on a broad perspective but become effective predictors when looked at in a narrower and more specific way. However, the additional impact of a wide array of other variables undermines the accuracy of the link between attitudes and behaviour and complicates the drawing of clear conclusions. ‘Attitude’ is defined by Eagly and Chaiken in their book The Psychology of Attitudes as ‘a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour’. reference) In other words, an ‘attitude’ is a judgement or evaluation made about any ‘entity’ which can be assessed along a measurement of favourability. As well as a person’s attitudes differing in positivity, (i. e. some attitudes possessed can be positive, neutral or negative), they also can differ in strength, (i. e. one may feel more strongly about a certain topic than another), and therefore consider it a more important topic. In brief, ‘behaviour’ is the actions of an individual which can be objectively measured. Some may argue that attitudes are a weak predictor of behaviour. In 1969, Wicker, after reviewing studies such as that of Richard LaPiere, concluded that attitudes and behaviour are only slightly, if at all, related. LaPiere, in the 1930s, seemed to suggest very little correlation between attitude and behaviour. LaPiere travelled around America with an Asian couple at a time where anti-Asian prejudice was prevalent. Although concerned that the couple would be refused from many of the hotels along the way, he found that only one out of the 250 hotels did so. After his travels, LaPiere sent a letter to each of the hotels asking whether they would allow Chinese guests. Of all his replies, only one declared they would serve a Chinese guest. This study, and others like it at the time, seemed to suggest very few links between attitude and behaviour. However, there are a number of problems with this study, such as the fact that there is no guarantee that the person who answered the letter is the same person who let the Chinese couple stay. The question in the letter as to whether they would let a Chinese couple in is also too broad a statement as it does not specify if they are a ‘well-dressed Chinese couple accompanied by an American college professor’ (ref). The limits of the success of attitude predicting behaviour can also be seen by the fact that similar attitudes held by different people can lead to different behaviour from those individuals. Indeed, Thurstone wrote; ‘It is quite conceivable that two men may have the same degree or intensity of effect favourable towards a psychological object and that their attitudes would be described in this sense as identical but†¦ that their overt actions would take quite different forms’. ref print out) In other words, one cannot predict an individual’s actions according to his/her attitudes as two different people with the same attitude towards something may act according to that attitude in completely different ways. There are also many other factors which will determine how effective attitude is in predicting behaviour. One such factor is the strength of the attitude which one holds. The stronger one’s attitude, the more likely it is to predict behaviour. This is because if a person holds a very strong positive attitude towards something, they are likely to act positively towards it. However if that person holds another, weaker, attitude towards something, thereby valueing it of less importance, they will be less likely to act according to that attitude. Furthermore, an attitude based on direct experience rather than second hand information will be more effective in predicting behaviour. This was demonstrated in a study by Fazio and Zanna, 1981, whereby participants were asked to solve several puzzles. One the one hand, in the second hand condition, some participants were shown how to solve the puzzles, and on the other, in the direct experience condition, some participants were allowed to work on the puzzles beforehand. Attidude being measured as intrest shown, and behaviour being measured as the order and proportion of the puzzles solved, the test showed a correlation between attitude and behaviour of between . 51 and . 54 in the direct experience condition while only between . 22 and . 20 in the indirect experience condition. (ref printout). It can therefore be seen that attitudes can predict behaviour under some cercumstances, such as those layed out by Fishbein and Ajzen. The extent to which attitude can predict behaviour is also circumstantial to factors such as how one persives the importance of that attitude and what that attitude is based upon. Behaviour is also affected by other factors which may be opposing to the attitude held by an individual. Subjective norms and perceived behaviour controle also influence behaviour. Therefore, when looking at all three together, predicting behaviour may be effective, however, when looking at attitude by itself such predictions may be weak.

Walmart Case Study

Chapter 1& 2 Module 1 Wal-Mart Case Study Shannan Haynes St Gregory’s University Give a short account of the history of the company, and trace the evolution of its strategy. Try to determine whether the strategies evolution of your company is the product of intended strategies, emergent strategies, or some combination of the two. The Wal-Mart story began in 1962 when Sam Walton opened the first discount store in Rogers, AR. In 1970 Wal-Mart experienced significant growth and made huge advancements In1970 Wal-Mart opened its first distribution center and the Wal-Mart Home Office in Bentonville, AR. By 1970 Wal-Mart employed 1,500 associates and had 38 stores with sales of $44. 2 million. In 1970 Wal-Mart also began selling shares over the counter as a publicly-held company. In 1971 Wal-Mart’s stock had is first 100 percent split. At that time Wal-Mart had stores operating in five states. By 1975 Wal-Mart employed more than 7,500 associates and had 125 stores. By 1977 Wal-Mart was operating in 10 states and opened Wal-Mart Pharmacy. Their growth continued into 1980, when Wal-Mart stock split 100 percent for the fourth time. That year Wal-Mart opened the largest distribution center in Palestine Texas. In the late 1990’s, Wal-Mart became the largest private employer in the world. They employed 1,140,000 employees. In 2000 Wal-Mart appointed H. Lee Scott as its CEO. That year Fortune magazine ranked the company fifth in its â€Å"global Most Admired All-Stars† list and named Wal-Mart the third most admired company in America. Wal-Mart made a commitment to bring environmental sustainability into its business in 2005. They opened a store in McKinney, Texas that saved energy and conserved natural resources, and reduced pollution. They were also active in conserving critical wildlife habitats. By 2005 Wal-Mart employed more than 1. 6 million employees and had more than 6200 stores. By 2006, the number of employees grew to more than 176 million and 6779 locations. In February 2007 Wal-Mart helped launch Better Health Care Together, Later that year, Wal-Mart expanded its successful 4 dollar generic program. By 2007 Wal-Mart had save their customers more than $396 million on prescription drug costs. On February 1, 2007, Mike Duke took over as CEO. (Pereira, 2002) Sam Walton built Wal-Mart on Respect for the Individual, Service to the Customer, and he always strived for Excellence. He respected his employees and was committed to his customers. With commitment to his customers came low prices. Wal-Mart strategy is an intended strategy. It is clear and direct. It was put into place in the 1960's by Sam Walton, and refined over the decades. The company is proud of its strategy and even incorporates it within its moniker â€Å"Always Low prices, Always. † (Pereira, 2002) Identify the mission and major goals of the company. Saving people money was Sam Walton’s goal when he opened his first store 40 years ago. Wal-Mart still has the same goal today. Wal-Mart has expanded their savings to energy, prescription drugs and has partnered with suppliers and stakeholders to create a competitive advantage. Wal-Mart mission is to do well as a business but to also do good. (Walmart, 2009) Do a preliminary analysis of the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company and the opportunities and threats that it faces in its environment. On the basis of this analysis, identify the strategies that you think the company should pursue. Wal-Mart is the number one retailer in the United States. Wal-Mart has a reputation for low prices, convenience and a large selection of products. Wal-Mart has invested into technology and an international logistics system. Wal-Mart is global but has a presence in relatively few countries. Wal-Mart has invested in human resources and retention of their staff but still have extensive labor relation problems. Wal-Mart has been cited by labor groups for wage issues, shift scheduling, and workplace abuses. Wal-Mart has been accused by community groups of destroying the local retail environment in the downtowns of small towns. (Marketing Teacher , 2000) Wal-Mart still has many opportunities to merge, or form alliances with other global retailers. Wal-Mart can do more to call attention to its good deeds to help with their image issues. Wal-Mart can continue to expand its supercenters into large cities. (Avila, 2009) Who is the CEO of the company? Evaluate the CEO’s leadership capabilities. On February 1, 2007, Mike Duke took over as CEO of Wal-Mart. On June 5, 2009, Mike Duke announced that Wal-Mart was up 6 percent to $3. 35 per share and that 7. 3 billion dollars were returned to shareholders. He also said that sales surpassed 400 billion for the first time. Wal-Mart has strong balance sheets and access to capital markets. Mike Duke has enhanced training and development of Wal-Mart’s global workforce. He has also reiterated Wal-Mart’s commitment to low prices. Based on profits and the commitments he has outlined, I would say that Mike Duke leadership capabilities as CEO are very promising. (Walmart, 2009)+ Apply the five forces model to the industry in which your company is based. What does this model tell you about the nature of competition in the industry? Potential Competitors: Medium pressure Grocers could potentially enter into the retail side. Entry barriers are relatively high, as Wal-Mart has an outstanding distribution systems, locations, brand name, and financial capital to fend off competitors. Wal -mart often has an absolute cost advantage over other competitors. Rivalry Among Established Companies: Medium Pressure Currently, there are three main incumbent companies that exist in the same market as Wal-Mart: Sears, K Mart, and Target. Target is the strongest of the three in relation to retail. Target has experienced tremendous growth in their domestic markets and has defined their niche quit effectively. Sears and K-Mart seem to be drifting and have not challenged Wal-Mart in sometime. Mature industry life cycle. The Bargaining Power of Buyers: Low pressure The individual buyer has little to no pressure on Wal-Mart. Consumer advocate groups have complained about Wal-Mart’s pricing techniques. Consumer could shop at a competitor who offers comparable products at comparable prices, but the convenience is lost. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Low to Medium pressure Since Wal-Mart holds so much of the market share, they offer a lot of business to manufacturers and wholesalers. This gives Wal-Mart a lot of ower because by Wal-Mart threatening to switch to a different supplier would create a scare tactic to the suppliers. Wal-Mart could vertically integrate. Wal-Mart does deal with some large suppliers like Proctor & Gamble, Coca-Cola who have more bargaining power than small suppliers. Threat of substitutes-Low pressure The market is crowded but Wal-Mart has the lowest costs, prices , profits, and market share Wal-Mart is able to negotiate for pricing. This analysis tells me that Wal-Mart does not have to worry about threat to new entrants because it has the capacity to produce more in order to lower the cost. There are high barriers of entry for companies trying to come into the retail industry because of the resources that Wal-Mart has. Are any changes taking place in the macro environment that might have an impact, positive or negative, on the industry in which your company is based? If so, what are these changes, and how might they affect the industry? Wal-Mart has received some bad press in the past and is making great commitments to helping the health and well-being of our nation. In 2005 Wal-Mart made a commitment to become more environmentally friendly. Wall-mart adopted an approach they call â€Å"Sustainability 360†. This approach looks for ways to reduce their environmental impact. In 2008, they announced a new set of clearly defined environmentally and socially responsible practices into their supply chain, â€Å"where goods are made in a way that protects our planet. †(Walmart, 2009) The economy has affected many companies recently however Wal-Mart's overall sales aren't rising dramatically, but they are raising, even as the economy grinds to a halt. (Gross, 2008) I believe Wal-Mart’s macro enviroment is affecting them both positvely and negatively. Identify any strategic groups that might exist in the industry. How does the intensity of competition differ across these strategic groups? Walmart’s closest competitors are those in its strategic group. Included in this group are Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, and Fred Meyer. Wal-Mart is looking to grow. Their latest initiative, â€Å"Project Impact,† aims to make stores easier and quicker to navigate, improve customer service, and to move in on competitors' territory as much as possible. Project Impact calls for remodeling about 70% of Wal-Mart’s in the next five years, and improving sales in major competitors' fields, such as toys and crafts. Wal-Mart has more staying power and is able to dominate its competitors. Target is Wal-Mart’s closet competitor. Target is positioned well and has some staying power but Kmart was forced into bankruptcy. The implication of this on Wal-Mart’s competitors is bigger, more pleasant Wal-Marts. (Avila, 2009) How dynamic is the industry in which your company is based? Is there any evidence that innovation is reshaping competition or has done so in the recent past? The retail industry is dynamic with the previous innovation being department stores, mail order retailing and chain variety stores. However, shopping has changed. Big-box stores like Wal-Mart was influential in the evolution of retail trade, providing – among other innovative features – a one-stop convenience with low prices that many consumers seem to appreciate. (Emerald, 2006) In what stage of its life cycle is the industry in which your company is based? What are the implications of this for the intensity of competition both now and in the future? The Supercenter’s and Big Box stores are in their growth lifecycle. Led by Wal-Mart, the industry has displayed exceptional growth over the last 10 to 15 years, mostly at the expense of other retailers. What makes this unique is that the discount department store industry was perceived as being at maturity. There are signs that the industry is approaching saturation level. However, the industry is expected to do well through the recession. (Emerald, 2006) Is your company based in an industry that is becoming more global? If so, what are the implications of this changed for competitive intensity? Yes, the retail industry has become more global. Wal-Mart's international operations currently comprise 2,980 stores in 14 countries outside the United States. According to Wal-Mart's 2006 Annual Report, the International division accounted for about 20. 1% of sales. [ Wal-Mart has inventory management system that no other company is apt to come even close to competing with. This enables it to vary its inventory from store to store and across cultures Wal-Mart has gone global with its buying strategy, and it now puts Chinese suppliers in competition with suppliers from Mexico, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, as well as the United States. Globalization has changed everything by making technology and methods of production mobile, and by lowering business coordination costs. The big box discount retailers have changed the nature of global competition. (Palley, 2008) Analyze the impact of national context as it pertains to the industry in which your company is based. Does national context help or hinder your company in achieving a competitive advantage in the global marketplace? Wal-Mart has a strong economic affect in any area of the world. Wal-Mart has built an empire on a low-cost model but at the same time, Wal-Mart has faced criticism for labor practices and indirect burdens on our social and welfare programs. Some of the business practices of Wal-Mart like the employees’ wage-benefits package, and the underemployment of women and minorities are the subject of ongoing debate at the national level. Wal-Mart continues to work on its image and faces the same criticism globally as they do nationally. The reputation that Wal-Mart has here in the U. S. may hinder international expansion, but will not stop it. (USA Today, 2009) References Avila, J. D. (2009). How Wal-Mart Will Save Wal-Mart. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from B-Net Today: http://www. bnet. com/2403-13241_23-158179. html Emerald. (2006). Retrieved April 17, 2010, from Globalization's winners and losers: Lessons : http://www. emeraldinsight. com/Insight/viewContentItem. do? contentType=Article&hdAction=lnkhtml&contentId=1563323 Gross, D. ( 2008, Febuary 26). Slate. Retrieved from The Wal-Mart Puzzle: http://www. slate. com/id/2185221/ Marketing Teacher . (2000). Retrieved April 15, 2010, from SWOT Analysis Wal-Mart: http://marketingteacher. com/SWOT/walmart_swot. htm Palley, T. (2008). Manufacturing meets Wal-Mart: The Economics of Global Out-sourcing. Retrieved April 17, 2010, from Economics for Democratic and Open Societies: http://www. homaspalley. com/? p=19 Pereira, M. (2002, April ). Mike Pereira – Written Works and Opinions . Retrieved April 15, 2010, from A Case Study on Wal-Mart Stores Inc. : http://www. mike-pereira. com/subpage/docs/walmartcs. htm#ii2 USA Today. (2009). Retrieved April 17, 2010, from Wal-mart Watch: www. usatoday. com/money/†¦ /2003-11-10-walmart_x. htm Walmart. (2009). Retrieve d April 15, 15, from Our Mission: Saving people money so they can live better. : http://walmartstores. com/sites/sustainabilityreport/2009/ec_overview. html