Wal-Mart market

Wal-Mart has been experiencing labor problems over the years with many battles with labor organizations, unions and employees, so that a strong non-union culture has been instilled in the company.  It has found itself in legal battles across the globe while defending its labor policies, such as shutting down stores that vote for union and claiming that the action was triggered by finances but not the union.  It has also faced numerous labor violations including illegal threats, firings and lack of payment for overtime and forced overtime (Wal-Mart Stores Inc, 2014).  However, there has been a turnaround, which has seen wage increase trends driven by pressure from outside organizations, media and employees.   There was an increase of wages for 500,000 of its employees and a raise in lowest base wage to $9 per hour. This represents a double increment on the wages, an action that was taken because the company had to (Irwin, 2016).

This meant that firm has moved away from years of cost-cutting that had been taken too far and keeping the labor cost low had led to a labor force with little loyalty or devotion for career. The company’s has established training centers where employees take hourly classes so that they can be n track for management level jobs that are better paying. This has provided a path for a entry-level worker to grow and reach the management level. The firm has also been recruiting new employees over the last few years but the rising costs have halted the trend and there has been laying off workers (Irwin, 2016). This is a reversal of the past years trend, which may be followed by the retail sector.

Reference

Irwin, N (2016). How Did Wal-Mart Get Cleaner Stores and Higher Sales? It Paid Its People More. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/upshot/how-did-walmart-get-cleaner-stores-and-higher-sales-it-paid-its-people-more.html?_r=0

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, (2014). Under Siege -Downgrading to Underperform. Retrieved from: http://www.wolferesearch.com/sample/x20140206_SM_WMT_Downgrade_Underperform.pdf\