Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/59887
successes, Wal-Mart has committed a number of strategic errors—even blunders: ■ In its single-minded focus on the customer, it has ignored and even antagonized other stakehold- ers, including employees, residents, vendors, and neighboring small businesses. ■ It has failed to preserve or build significant societal good will.Many smaller communities across the U.S. and overseas are rebelling against the company because they want to pre- serve their ways of life. To them, Wal-Mart symbolizes urban sprawl, low-paying jobs, and the demise of small business. ■ It has generated an imbalanced system of promotions and pay for women and minorities. Although women comprise the majority of employees at the associate level, they are significantly underrepresented in upper management and on the board of directors. ■ It has encouraged unbridled growth. Growing too large too fast can be detrimental to the long-term health of any company. ■ It has failed to monitor closely enough the activity of its store man- agers. In fact, some top executives in Wal-Mart have said that the compa- ny has grown so fast, management has been unable to focus on person- nel matters. One of the most preva- lent reasons for Enron's downfall was that top management tolerat- ed—and even cultivated—a culture of unethical behavior. Today's Wal- Mart seems to take a laissez-faire approach with its store managers, letting them run their stores within broad guidelines. Such a lack of accountability has led to much of the uproar the company now must work so hard to counteract. The negative publicity and horror stories coming out of America's largest company have all but over- whelmed the positive news about the company's considerable success and impact on industry and society. For many, the company can do no right. Even so, we should not allow our students to view Wal-Mart's case through that lens alone. A number of current books can illustrate for students all sides of the retail giant. In The Case AgainstWal- Mart, author Al Norton paints the WAL-MART GIVES US THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH OUR STUDENTS THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL CHARACTER, NOT JUST OF WAL-MART, BUT OF BUSINESS ITSELF. company as a clear and present dan- ger to small-town America.Michael Bergdahl, a formerWal-Mart execu- tive, suggests ways for other business- es to survive in aWal-Mart dominat- ed market in his bookWhat I Learned from SamWalton:How to Compete and Thrive in aWal-Mart World. And in perhaps the most objective treatment, journalist Bob Ortega explores the company's suc- cess and its controversial tactics to stay on top in his book In SamWe Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton andWal-Mart, theWorld's Most Powerful Retailer. On television, journalist David Faber devoted a two- hour CNBC documentary, "The Age ofWal-Mart: Inside America'sMost Powerful Company," to the compa- ny's strategy and practices. As students study these and other resources, it's important for them to remember Sam Walton's original vision, even as the company struggles to maintain it. It's easy to get involved with hype or even take pleasure in spotlighting the blunders of Wal-Mart, while neglecting its achievements. But as business profes- sors, we must treat a complex case like Wal-Mart carefully. Let's not relegate Wal-Mart to Enron status just yet, or elevate its executives as retailing masterminds. The company is neither wholly angel nor devil. It is, however, an example of just how complex corporate growth and management can be. It's a company struggling with its weak- nesses and celebrating its successes. It's a company managing a wave of public backlash for its practices while still reaping the financial benefits of its core strategies. Even now, it has launched a new ad campaign to counteract its image as a small-business killer, painting itself as a champion of theMain Street businesses of small-town America. Will it succeed? Time will tell. But in the meantime, Wal-Mart gives us the perfect opportunity to teach our students the multidimen- sional character, not just of Wal- Mart, but of business itself. It pro- vides us the perfect example to teach students the difficulty of distinguish- ing the line between "good," "bad," and "ugly," when it comes to corpo- rate behavior—and the lessons that ambiguity has to offer.■ z Munir Quddus is the dean of the College of Business at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2005 55