WALMART CORPORATION RESORTS TO UNETHICAL
PRACTICES TO EXPAND
We often hear the slogans
like “corporate ethics”, “corporate
social responsibility” in the
corporate propaganda as the fine
virtues of corporate managements.
All these lofty slogans are nothing
but slogans intended to make
believe
the
people
that
transnational corporations of big-
capital and their practices and
managements are just, virtuous
and friendly to the people who
happen to be the consumers of
their products and services.
But in practice these
corporations resort to every
possible unethical practice in their
pursuit in earning super profits.
Walmart one of the gaint
corporations of the world is such a
corporation. It not only exploits the
labour power of its workers in
various methods, deceieves its
suppliers in different countries by
paying them the lowest prices,
charges the consumes with higher
prices to its products but also
bribes and influences the
government officers in various
countries and obtains permissions
for its activities (sales, purchase of
local commodities, hiring workmen
etc) in various unethical methods.
Its methods of bribery and
how it obtains permissions from
governments through middlemen is
revealed recently.
For more than a decade
Walmart used middleman to make
dubicus payments to governments
around the globe in order to open
new locations.
Inside the Walmarts corporate
office in Brazil one local contact was
known as the “sorceress” for the
ability to obtain government
permits quickly.
In China money was funnelled
to a local land-lord in the name of
20
“for government relationship
consulting services”.
In Mexico cars and computers
were donated to governments in
communities where Walmart was
planning to build new stores.
In India concerns about
bribery were met with a “wink and
nod”.
These bribes were recorded in
India joint venture’s books and
records with vague descriptions
like “miscellaneous”, “professional
fees”, “incidental” and “government
fee”.
In 2012 ‘The Newyork times’
revealed that Walmart had made
suspicious payments to officials in
Mexico and then tried to coceal
them from top executives at the
company’s head quarters.
Over this revealation the
Department of Justice and the
Securities
and
Exchange
commission of USA started
investigation.
During fiscal year of 2018
Walmart generated a profit of
about $ 7 billion with such
unethical methods of international
expansion.
In the investigation it was
proved that Walmart is guilty of civil
and criminal charges.
But Walmart denying the
allegations and in a bid to bolster
that it has been properly working
in compliance with law (of USA) had
spent roughly $ 900 million on
lawyers and other such activities.
Walmart in its drive to grow
quickly and of its “low-cost
philosophy” has adopted these
unethical methods of bribery and
corruption.
This shows how on one hand
it is claiming that “Walmart is
committed to doing business the
right way and that means acting
ethically every where it operates”
on the other it had resorted to such
practices of corruption and made
super-profits with a such means.
At last lacking no option
Walmart pleaded guily of civil and
criminal charges of bribing and
reached in to a settlement
agreement, agreeing to pay $ 282
million, since otherwise it has to pay
$ 600 million as fine.
This case highlights the perils
of American corporations seeking
to increase profits by expanding to
countries with different legal
systems and political cultures.
W hatever may be the high
sounding claims of capitalist
system, all the vices are inherent
in that system that deceive and
exploit the mankind unethically, the
class-nature of capitalism being
exploitation!
TARIMELA NAGIREDDY MEMORIAL TRUST PUBLICATIONS
HISTORICAL AND POLEMICAL DOCUMENTS
OF THE COMMUNIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA
VOL.I 1943-51- RS. 300/-
VOL.II 1963-72- RS. 500/-
For Details:
P.Jaswantha Rao, Secretary,
T.N.Memorial Trust, 32-13-26/1,
M.R.Puram, Vijayawada, pin-520 010.
Class Struggle