Driving Consumer Needs: Evaluating the Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman Essay

IntroductionWal-mart has transform the corporate and consumer culture in the States and the rest of the human being- by foc development on its corporate mission of Very unkept Prices, Always, Wal-mart placed itself as a localisation in the e reallyday lives of millions of people. Fishman (2006) in his oblige The Wal-Mart result directs us exactly how Wal-Mart figures in ein truthday corporate and consumer lives making it the biggest and intimately influential company in the initiation today.This paper evaluates the strengths and impuissancees of the obligate using a sociological perspective loticularly on how the author characterizes the carry on of Wal-Mart in our coeval association. Signifi backtly, Fishman had masteryfully presented us with the positive and contradict jar of Wal-Mart both on the descent and consumer front. Moreover, to a considerable extent, Fishman was able to show how the interplay of parliamentary laws many forces enkindle yield both positive and prejudicious effects.The Wal-Mart EffectFishman (2006) characterized the economical power of Wal-Mart it is large than ExxonMobil, General Motors and General Electric and rakes approximately US$244.5 bullion sales in 2005 and it outcasts the competition by exchange in three months what the number two retail merchant Home Depot sells in cardinal course of instruction.Rich with anecdotes and stories, the primary thesis of Fishmans The Wal-Mart Effect is that there is a value that needs to be paid in company to have the speciousest possible termss in everyday Wal-Mart stores- and this price importantly affects the greater part of the American as puff up as the global society in that Wal-Mart pushes its suppliers and employees to take the negative side of providing its customers with the last-place prices.The fundamental strength of the book is the major power of Fishman to dissect the core strategy of Wal-Mart in lieu with the consumers demands. Wal-Mart is interco mmunicate by Fishman as merely an instrument in alimentation the need of consumers for very lower-ranking prices- or paying for something with al nigh nonhing. Even consumers who rejects the cheap prices at Wal-Mart is shown by Fishman to spend at least US$450 a year at Wal-Mart- a proving testimony that consumers atomic number 18 willing to sacrifice the type of products in order to get the cheapest prices.Furthermore, Fishman triple-crownly showed how Wal-Mart fosters a occupation relationship with its suppliers and its competing companies- suppliers and other companies be powerless in lieu with the indomit office of Wal-Mart in the retail sector. Almost altogether companies sells at Wal-Mart- being the number oneness retail store in the country, companies cannot make not to sell at Wal-Mart. Fishman contends that in spite of the negative impact of Wal-Mart on the suppliers end, they charter to sell at Wal-Mart because not selling at Wal-Mart would mean losing their biggest clientele.Interestingly, Fishman get outs the readers with an entertaining exercise through the illustration of examples. For instance, Fishman showed that while Wal-Mart is a very powerful player in the retail industry, not every last(predicate) suppliers and companies are scrambling for Wal-mart to sell their products. Fishman (2006) illustrated the case of Snapper, the maker of bore and durable lawn mowers where the CEO had refused to sell at Wal-Mart because of the incompatibility of their corporate values with that of the company.merchandising prices at almost the same level of the production cost would mean sacrificing the woodland of the products- not to mention the salary cuts and the ends to which suppliers would go through just to meet the price that Wal-Mart dictates for their products.Thus, this leads to the fourth argument of Fishman- the cost of low prices for Wal-Mart consumers is manifested in the very low remuneration of its employees, capricious its suppliers to lower their employees w boards themselves and prompt others to make production in sweatshops exploiting children and workers in third orbit countries, and in driving the mania of consumers for low-priced just now products bare(a) of the product quality that corporations have initially offered.While Fishmans The Wal-Mart Effect is fundamentally driven by the popularity of Wal-Mart, its primary weakness lies in its inability to provide a deeper evaluation of the long-term impact of The Wal-Mart Effect on the consumers. For one, the benefits of Wal-Mart to the consumers is not long-term in nature, Fishman however, did not explore this topic. Moreover, Fishman neither provided a business and sociological framework that shows how Wal-Mart is comprehend in the greater part of the society and how Wal-Mart perceives its consumers.Wal-Mart has been a subject of many commentaries and triumph stories in the business world. For consumers, Wal-Mart is like a haven and similar ly, the literature has also projected Wal-Mart on all the positive qualities that can be chargen to a company. Fishman (2006) in his book provided us with the good and the mischievous effects of Wal-Mart- whether it is more positive or negative the author does not give voice but argues that the impact of Wal-Mart on world markets is very vast. The impact is such that an American eating a Salmon from Wal-Mart significantly affects the miserliness of Chile.What Fishman (2006) shows is not just the business side of Wal-Mart but its larger impact on the American and world society in general. For one, Wal-Mart significantly dictates the economies of most countries because of their ability to dictate the supplier of their products. Hence, Wal-Marts design for low prices is not a elemental mathematical formulation- it involves the interplay of the societys political, economic and sociological actors.According to Fishman, in their declare oneself to get the lowest prices, consumers a re despicable both in terms of quality and in forcing suppliers and their workers to cut down on operational and production costs. On the other hand, political institutions are being pressured by Wal-Mart to submit to their demands because of the possible change in a countrys economy once Wal-Mart decides to do business with them.Fishmans audience spans all individuals regardless of gender, age or socio-economic status. This is because Wal-Mart spans all sociological barriers as well- businesses, suppliers, workers, housewives, even the young adults and adolescents are all familiar with Wal-Mart as a part of their everyday lives. Fishmans The Wal-Mart Effect is indeed more than just an careing book it presents an open-minded presentation and analysis of Wal-Mart and its impact on the greater society.By illustrating examples, Fishmas the Wal-Mart Effect succeeded and how it had benefited the common American in providing low prices and at the same time, illustrated the cases of Wal -Marts suppliers and how Wal-Mart has twisted their corporate values in order to adhere to their own.Using aboveboard illustrations, Fishman was able to tell us that Wal-Mart gives what the consumers charter for- cheaply priced products. However, he also showed the cost of these low prices- sweatshops, measly wages for its employees, ever-changing corporate terminals and driving consumers to demand for cheaper products. feeding this type of consumer system is the goal of Wal-Mart and it is the very reason why consumers are recognise the company.While Fishman is a journalist, he offered his viewpoints using investigative journalism means and with scholarly ethics not to go overboard. The goal of Fishman is not to show the myth surround Wal-Mart but rather to offer an exchange view on how the company operates and how it achieves its goals. Notably, Fishman was successful in providing a book that covers not just a description but rather a deeper understanding of how Wal-Mart kit and caboodle and how it affects every individual and the society.Conclusion Fishmans The Wal-Mart Effect does not offer to provide the scholarly or deeper understanding of the success of Wal-Mart but rather it seeks to present a more balanced view of how Wal-Mart strives to give cheaper products to the consumers. Using an easy-read tone of writing, Fishman captures the imagination and the interest of its readers and takes them into a journey of the different facets and strands of the company. Fishman succeeds in providing the details that readers need in order to form their own conclusion. While most part of the text is judgment-free, one is left hand asking how the biggest company in the world has achieved that much power to change the very society that created it.ReferenceFishman, C. (2006) The Wal-Mart Effect How the macrocosms Most Powerful smart set Really Worksand How Its Transforming the American Economy. The Penguin Press 294 pages.