Thursday, June 05, 2014

Non-compliance? Exactly what?

By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS

...While the circumstances (click here) surrounding each executive’s departure are unclear, a pattern has emerged. At least eight of Walmart’s most senior executives in Mexico, India and Bentonville, Ark., have left the company since the latter part of 2011, when Walmart learned of The Times’s investigation. In the same two years, the company has revamped its global compliance program. In a move that swims against the current of Walmart’s corporate culture, the company has increased its compliance staff by more than 30 percent, to 2,000 people, in that short time....

These were payoffs in order for others to get out of the way of the company's ambitions? In stead of conducting business within legal venues or admitting some countries are impossible to conduct business without State Department intervention Walmart simply paid everyone off. They power played in Mexico while employees in the USA work for poverty wages.

 MEXICO

The New York Times (click here) reported in April 2012 that management at Wal-Mart de Mexico orchestrated bribes of $24 million to help grow its business there and that top brass at the U.S. parent, including former chief executive H. Lee Scott Jr., were involved in a decision to stifle an internal inquiry.

The story also alleged that Eduardo Castro-Wright, a vice-chairman of Wal-Mart, had been a driving force behind the bribery scheme when he was chief executive of Walmex. Castro-Wright retired soon after the story was published.

Scott and Castro-Wright have not commented publicly about the allegations.

Sources said the government has directed its attention at senior Wal-Mart executives, but declined to name which executives are targeted. Investigators have also spoken to employees at other levels of the company, two sources said. They and other sources were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Prosecutors have also spoken to Wal-Mart executives who have spent time in China and India, one person said.

"Given the breadth of the investigation, this case could just be of staggering proportions," said University of Richmond law professor Andrew Spalding, an expert in anti-corruption law....


So, while the Walton family demands a high return on their investment at any cost, the executives simply clicked their heels and swore to accomplish the family's demands even if they had to break the law. Is that it? So, while the Walton family racked in billions and their own non-profit receives fractions of pennies for the purpose of PR the company simply muscled it's way into countries with complete disregard for the government. What else is new with Walmart? How many good local companies in the USA were lost because of this behemoth?

When is the Walton family going to be indicted? This is a corporate structure issue. These are not isolated cases. There is executive after executive indicted in the investigation. When is the investigation going to simply consolidate the effort and indict the family.

If there is an obvious pattern, that didn't occur by accident.

The entire problem with Walmart is it's 'self defined saintly' purpose. They can bring civilization to anyone anywhere. They are miracle workers. It doesn't matter if the economy outside of Walmart is crashing around everyone and there is failure after failure of local merchants, Walmart is the savior of all the world.

They have a global monopoly on destroying economies while the wealth they are scoffing up is creating poverty in the very neighborhoods they claim to be god sent. They operate with human beings living in poverty and employees are subsidized by food stamps and Medicaid. That is an economy created to benefit anyone? The only economy Walmart benefits are the bank accounts of the family. They are horrible people with horrible priorities. This investigation is not about an individual executive, this is about a pattern within the companies ownership. They are pushing past governments and simply corrupting economies. And investigators are going to let the family wash their hands by playing musical chairs with executives? I don't think so.

"We are confident we have the right corporate structure to manage a strong and effective compliance and ethics program around the world,” Mr. Tovar said in an email. “Our chief compliance officer and chief ethics officer report directly to our independent audit committee on a regular and as-needed basis.”

The corporate model of Walmart is corrupt. By the very basis of it's existence and willingness to allow their employees to be 'needy' while working long hours for poverty wages is corrupt. Walmart is no asset to any country. Walmart is a parasite to any country and any people. It is not possible for Walmart to be ethical.

Walmart forces working people to accept a decline in their quality of life and then justifies it by offering dirt cheap products. Does that actually appear in any way to be an asset to a country's economy? 

Walmart drives poverty, it does not develop the middle class of any country.  


...More than half the members of the City Council (click here) have fired off a letter to Walmart demanding that it stop making millions in charitable contributions to local groups here.
Twenty-six of the 51 members of the Council charged in the letter that the world’s biggest retailer’s support of local causes is a cynical ploy to enter the market here.
“We know how desperate you are to find a foothold in New York City to buy influence and support here,” says the letter, obtained by The Post and addressed to Walmart and the Walton Family Foundation.
“Stop spending your dangerous dollars in our city,” the testy letter demands. “That’s right: this is a cease-and-desist letter.”...

Where Walmart can't pay off the elected officials, they demoralize the community by appearing to be better than the government. Walmart takes aim at elected governments as if they are denying the people an angel from heaven. Walmart is the most corruption company on the planet. Walmart and McDonalds that impoverish people and assault their health with hideous calories in food. These are global companies with no moral content. They are profit driven without a conscience to the very people they call customers.

There is no possible ethical content these companies can return to, they never had ethical content in the first place.