hubberjub said:
......Some of the questions they ask and the way they are phrased is just boggles the mind....
Not to discount what your saying, but whilst in the context of whats considered acceptable in places like the USA Walmart's hiring policies might be borderline unacceptable, I've seen some really dodgy questions listed as mandatory on job application (and status change paperwork etc) forms for some Malaysian companies. Freedom of religion? Sure, you can believe whatever you like, just make sure you pick one that's considered appropriate for the job your applying for. The caste system prevalent in India isn't accepted amongst Malaysian Indians, but with three main ethnic groups in the country, you better believe there exists thinly veiled racism in hiring policies.
My first point is to keep things in perspective for the sake of your own blood pressure
As bad as it gets, billions of people have it worse.
The second thing I wanted to mention is that even though here in Oz we don't have Walmart, we definitely have some mega-chains that serve as a point of comparison, and I've actually seen a couple of US made doc's on Walmart too.
Rather than get into what they, and their ilk are doing to small business and society, I just wanted to point out that it's not companies like Walmart that we the people should be fighting. It's ourselves, the consumers, that we need to target.
Doing all your shopping in one easy location is convenient, and given the business model of places like Walmart, consumers typically enjoy better prices and a wider selection of goods. So you've got a convenient, one-stop-shop thats cheaper too? No wonder so many people shop there. Local made Vs Imported is another hot topic for me here in Oz too, but the underlying fact remains that the economy (maybe not the right word) is built on supply and demand.
Very simply put, if people stopped buying imported products and stopped shopping at mega chain stores, they would either disappear or evolve into something else. There is little point attacking them directly. It's us, the consumer that builds or destroys a business by voting with our dollars and it's crystal clear to me that the reason these giant mega stores exist and thrive is because we the people, collectively speaking, shop there.
To offer an interesting anecdote that provides a bit of an insight into what I'm on about, I attended a presentation by the guy that launched McDonald's in Australia. I've forgotten his name at the moment, but he was the guy the US guys selected to kick it all off over here. He told the group in a very open and frank manner about the pressure the business faced during the "health food craze" a few years back. Movies like "Supersize me" and the increasing number of reports that Aussies were getting fatter and fatter drew incessant cries from the media and concerned groups that fast food restaurants were to blame. So in a move that most people saw immediately as pandering to media pressure, Macca's started their "Healthy Choice" menu. One of the guys in the group presentation asked something like "but wasn't doing that an admission that your food is unhealthy, and also, isn't it little more than a PR stunt designed to offset the negative publicity?" His reply was along the lines of "No, and Of Course". He went on to explain that even after the launch of the healthy options, nobody buys the stuff. People come in thinking "O I'll get a salad" and end up buying cheeseburgers and fries.
The point there is that no amount of media pressure and public outcry was ever going to hurt them and they knew (from experience in the US actually) that all they had to do was offer an option to appease the alarmist media and they could go on slinging burgers and fries to millions of customers every day.
The moral of my caffeine fueled extended post is simply that the only way to effect change is at the grass roots level.
Don't shop in these stores, tell your friends and family not to, and explain why. Buy locally made and support locally owned businesses that offer good service and don't complain that it costs a little more. Last but not least, don't do your product selection in a small local business and then go and buy the product online or from a chain store to save a few bucks. I know plenty of people who do this, and in my opinion if you do that, you waive all rights to comment on these subjects.
