Strategic Social Challenges of Wal-Mart Article

Strategic Social Challenges of Wal-Mart - Article Example Reducing greenhouse emissions can save money for their consumers. The company also planned to give preference to the suppliers that participate in this program. They have started recycling plastic to eliminate waste and they are also working with their suppliers and educating them. Packaging should be from renewable or recyclable material to save cost and they decided to work with their packaging supplier. Recycling can save on landfill costs. As far as products are concerned, Scott said they would introduce products that are safe and produced in a sustainable way. They are introducing organic products to eliminate toxins in different product categories  such as paper, food, fisheries, and electronics. Apart from the environment, they also decided to focus on product sourcing, health care, wages, community involvement, and diversity. They are trying to ensure that all the workers are treated properly. They also want to bring in insurance for all their Associates and establish basic health care clinics to bring greater access. They would also focus on the wages as this has been the area of criticism but they claim to be abiding by the minimum wages laid down by the Congress.   They believe in diversity and would continue to hire the minorities and the women and also increase business with minorities companies. Wal-Mart was aware of the challenges that the company was facing as they proposed to revise their Associate benefits and the public reputation during their Board Retreat in 2005.

Agent of Socialization Mass Media Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Agent of Socialization Mass Media - Term Paper Example â€Å"Similar to the concept of a business agent or insurance agent, they [agents of socialization] represent and act on behalf of the larger society† (â€Å"Agents of Socialization†, 2009). The most commonly recognized agents of socialization are family, media, peers and school (â€Å"Agents of Socialization†, 2009). To help understand how these agents impact the way we define ourselves, I have decided to analyze the impact of the media on my own personal development because the media, as one of the major agents of socialization, has definitely played a significant role in my life. Looking at the way media has shaped my life, it seems clear that it has played a role in just about everything I believe about myself. Gender socialization refers to â€Å"the ways in which society sets children onto different courses in life because they are male or female† (Henslin, 69). As a child, I learned that acceptable behavior for me as a boy was to engage in sports and racing like what I saw on cartoons. Social inequality, â€Å"a social condition in which privileges and obligations are given to some but denied to others† (Henslin 92), was assigned to those individuals who spent too much time reading, boys who acted like girls and girls. I learned how to behave like a boy by mimicking the role performance of the ‘cool guys’ on TV. Role performance refers to â€Å"the ways in which someone performs a role within the limits that the role provides; showing a particular ‘style’† (Henslin, 100). However, there were areas in which m y personality didn’t fully match with these expectations. For example, I loved growing things and taking care of plants, but this presented role conflict because only girls or geeks are supposed to like plants. Role conflict refers to â€Å"conflicts that someone feels between roles because the expectations attached to one role are incompatible with the expectations of another role† (Henslin, 100). Growing up paying