Shopping For Theoretical Perspectives at Wal-Mart - Essay Example

Shopping For Theoretical Perspectives at Wal-Mart FUNCTIONALIST PERSPECTIVE Wal-Mart’s major function in society is seen on how it caters to the needs of low income households. As you walk through the aisle inside Wal-Mart, it has taken up the role of being the largest enterprise founded on the principle of “low pricing.” This of course has a dual function in terms of its societal as well as individual effect since the welfare of the society is dependent on the way people themselves are satisfied with their lives.

The “low price effect” of Wal-Mart is a manifestation of its intended role to serve the poor by providing them easy access to markets that could have been monetarily inaccessible. However, delving on Wal-Mart’s vision reveals its latent function of improving the well-being of consumers. A few centavo savings while seem so small and unnoticeable, may substantially accumulate in time and contribute to “the prosperity pool” (Kennon). Controlling the market however implies power over the consumers.

Wal-Mart’s ability to decide what goods they sell appears to be a social dysfunction because of its discretion to discard locally produced services and goods (Preet). However, this dysfunction becomes itself a trigger for social change as it challenges the smaller stores and local producers to compete, thereby improving the quality of goods and services. CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE Wal-Mart has likewise been viewed as implicating a class struggle. The lower, middle, and higher classes maintain their status not because of the price factor but because of Wal-Mart’s control over their workers.

If you try to examine the employees inside Wal-Mart, you cannot help but notice the workers as the force that runs the entire establishment, yet outside you will hear how the company keeps them non-unionized. Low prices equate low wages for its employees, thus creating a continuous cycle of exploitation of the workforce, which in turn reinforces social inequalities. While Wal-Mart tapped into a fertile market for high profit—the poor (Heyer 2), it has simultaneously contributed to class conflict as the “poor gets poorer and the rich richer”—the lower class being its source of low-wage manpower.

It is therefore Wal-Mart’s social responsibility to improve conditions of employment and raise the level of social aid to the poor: starting with its workers. Ameliorating inequities begins with modifying its ways: welcoming unionization as a key to social change. INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE Inside Wal-Mart, its marketing strategies created a ‘symbolic world’ capitalizing on appealing yet cost-efficient signage, physical space and overall architecture. By simply walking through its stores, the shoppers will experience its interactive culture; low prices indicating the welcoming of even the lowest class of consumers.

Wal-Mart’s philosophy of “greet any customer who is within 10 feet” has shaped a very friendly customer service—making shoppers’ experience a lot more satisfying. Of course, since Sundays are open for shopping, many people look forward to shop at Wal-Mart to interact with families, friends and even employees. It has become a convenient spot for human interpersonal exchanges. As large pools of people interact with each other as they shop, Wal-Mart creates messages passed from employees to consumers that Wal-Mart is “the right place to be.

” It socially constructs an image of Wal-Mart as a people and customer-oriented store to meet customer’s impression—hence contributing to our socially constructed reality. CONCLUSION The sociological perspectives aid us in understanding social phenomena through its micro or macroscopic mode of analysis. By looking at diverse perspectives, one can notice even the minutest details and appreciate the bigger picture of social events—thus enabling us to examine our lives deeper than the usual.

Works Cited Heyer, Simeon. “Objectivity and Action: Wal-Mart and the Legacy of Marx and Nietzsche.” UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research, 8 (2005): 1-9. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. Kennon, Joshua. “Why Wal-Mart is Good for America (and Maybe Your Portfolio): A Rebuttal to the Beast of Bentonvilles Critics.” About.com. About.com, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. Preet, Miss. “Wal-Mart Nation.” Hubpages.com. Hubpages Inc., 2009. Web. 16 Dec. 2009.