Ownership Program of Wal-Mart - Case Study Example

As we know that labor unions heavily criticize Wal-Mart for avoiding unionization. What happens is that the company uses a 'union prevention program' i.e. meetings are held in stores where the managers or supervisors explain the consequences of unionization to the employees. Therefore due to this program, the employees in the North American stores are not unionized. As a result, a great deal of Wal-Mart unions has joined together to form a coalition called 'Wal-Mart Watch'. This group was formed so that the unions can put pressure on the company.

The ultimate goal of this group is to unionize the employees of Mart-Wart and this coalition has targeted all the company's practices for its employees. This group has its own website called walmartwatch.com where it encourages the employees to file their complaints in a legal manner against the laws or regulations the company's management has violated against them. The solution to the given problems that are being faced Wal-Mart would be that if the company allows unionization then it would be able to stop the heavy criticism against the company and the company's reputation will not be damaged more.

The company needs to implement unionization because today's union can be defined as the institution of the employees or workers of the company who have come together to achieve a common goal or an objective because they are considered to be open systems which are affected by their working environment and by political organizations. (Carrell & Heavrin, 2006) It's been believed that when the companies grow, the employees lose direct contact with the management of the company and therefore unions are created to help the worker's influence workplace decisions.

It is through the unions that the workers were able to gain control over their jobs and the work environment of the company. It has also been recognized that the unions must address larger social issues of politics and economics to serve the best interests of their members. The labor unions of the 21st century are dealing with old issues but in new forms. For example, whose interest the unions are working for, this can be answered or described in 4 ways. And they are 1) qualified elite, 2) the core workforce, 3) peripheral employees and 4) workers who are unemployed.

(Werther & Davis, 1996)