Sell the whistleblowers fake whistles

An article entitled “Wal-Mart’s P.R. War” describes what Wal-Mart is up against. They are being accused of “Violating child labor laws; locking workers into stores overnight; mooching off taxpayers; disregarding local zoning laws; mistreating immigrant janitors; abusing young Bangladeshi women; paying poverty-level wages in the United States; and destroying small-town America”. To say the least, Wall-Mart is up against a lot. (Featherstone, “Wal-Mart’s P.R. War”)

To me, it seems like they are entering a war they cannot win. Any married man would tell Wall-Mart there are some battles just not worth fighting; I think this might be one of them. Wall-Mart needs to save its image and sometimes a simple apology and a promise to make necessary improvements goes a lot further then playing the defensive role.

With all the money they are throwing at defending their image, why not hire someone to make calculated changes that look good to the public but don’t go against Wal-Marts goals. An example might be to give employees a better insurance plan but hire more part time teenage employees that don’t require insurance. They would be giving the public what it wants without actually giving it to them.

The public may become more open to Wal-Mart if they think their opinion is most important to Wal-Mart. Sometimes real change, even if its not really changing is all one needs for their image.