Is Walmart good for America? Essay

As the largest retailer in history, its no surprise that Walmart is the target of rough(prenominal) unlawful attacks and effusive praise. According to its own website, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates more than than than 8,000 stores, employs more than 2.1 million people, and sells more than $400 billion value of goods in every year. Though this bulk intimidates those who fear for the viability of mom and pop retailers, Walmarts great military group is that it devotes its considerable power to American consumers. Its size enables it to provide services that other retailers can non, and it has deservedly become an integral part of the modern American economy.Criticisms of Walmarts effect on small retailers fall flat because of Americans design in that effect. Consumption is the only democratic component of the corporate world small retailers fail because Americans distinguish Walmart. Walmart provides cheaper, better, more accessible services than its competition. While compet ing stores closings produce touching hard-luck stories, the shift to Walmart is beneficial for society, because Walmart is much more efficient at every stage of its business.The benefits of this strength are less personal and more in general spread than the costs to smaller competitors, but such dissemination of value demonstrates one of the best qualities of Walmart its egalitarianism. Walmart provides a good that is accessible to virtually all Americans. The 2006 book The Walmart Effect estimates that 97% of Americans live within xxv miles of a Walmart, and Walmarts low prices assure that the store is also economically accessible. As long as consumers continue to choose Walmart (for understandable reasons), the onus is on small retailers to find better ways to compete.The import main argument against Walmart deals with its impact on suppliers. Because Walmart has such immense buying power, it carries great influence with manufacturers. Fortunately, Walmart uses its true barg aining power in the interests of American consumers by demanding ever-decreasing prices. Though manufacturers often complain about this pressure, it forces never-ending innovation, which ultimately benefits consumers.Walmart has much to teach American businesses. Despite its size, Walmart is a paragon of corporate efficiency. It has compiled the largest sales data-set of either American retailer and analyzes this data using the second largest supercomputer in the world (trailing only the Pentagon). Aided by this number-crunching, Walmart excels at knowing what its consumers want. Walmarts purchasing decisions thus reflect American preferences. In short, Walmart is a driveway force in the American economy leading to smarter, more streamlined production, and (as always) lower prices for consumers.The benefits of Walmarts efficiency are not only economic, as illustrated by the companys result to Hurricane Katrina. Walmarts response to the hurricane was lauded even by its critics it donated more than $20 million worth of merchandise, including food for 100,000 meals, and it promised jobs for all of its displaced workers. But what I wish to extol is not Walmarts largesse, which bore immediate public relations benefits, but sort of the utility of their efficient distribution system.The first supply truck to arrive at the Superdome after the hurricane came from Walmart, not from FEMA. The administrative particulars of Walmarts response to the hurricane, detailed in a study by Steven Horwitz, are both fascinating and inspiring. Walmarts existing distribution chain was and is able to deliver needed goods faster and more efficiently than a government agency, which (besides being inept) had no existing infrastructure to respond to the disaster.The Coast Guard, other organization praised for its post-Katrina efforts, was great for rescuing people from flooded houses, but it was incapable of providing them with sufficient supplies afterwards. Without the aid of Walm art, the aftermath of the hurricane would set about been even more catastrophic.Regardless of its reputation or its value to society, Walmart is here to stay. Consumption drives our daily lives and accounts for some 70% of Americas GDP. As long as Walmart continues to increase the accessibility and quality of consumption, it go forth remain Americas top retailer and continue to grow. Whether or not you choose to break at Walmart, everyoneshould appreciate it as an outstanding American institution.