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Wal-Mart To The Rescue!
By JLP | April 3, 2008
A lot of people love to bash big box retailers in general and Wal-Mart in particular for being too-powerful, uncaring, corporate dictators who revel in doing as little good as possible and sqashing everyone in their path in their quest for world domination and incalculable profits.
I don’t want to turn this into a debate about Wal-Mart, but I do feel compelled to share this article which reveals some of the virtues of being a big, powerful, for-profit company. Real Katrina Hero? Wal-Mart, Study Says
The study (and no, it wasn’t sanctioned by Wal-Mart) analyzes how Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Lowe’s made use of their local knowledge about supply chains, infrastructure, decision makers and other resources to provide emergency supplies and reopen stores when Katrina hit well before FEMA began its response.
“Profit-seeking firms beat most of the government to the scene and provided more effectively the supplies needed for the immediate survival of a population cut off from life’s most basic necessities,” Horwitz wrote in the study, which was published by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. “Though numerous private-sector firms played important roles in the relief operations, Wal-Mart stood out.”
Also, Wal-Mart leadership gave tremendous discretion to store managers and employees to make decisions rather than waiting for instructions from upper-level management, allowing for more-agile disaster response. CEO Lee Scott passed down a guiding edict to regional, district and store managers: “A lot of you are going to have to make decisions above your level. Make the best decision that you can with the information that’s available to you at the time, and, above all, do the right thing.”
Exapmles of that principle in action:
- A Kenner, La., employee used a forklift to knock open a warehouse door to get water for a retirement home.
- In Marrero, La., employees allowed police officers to use the store as a headquarters and a sleeping place, as many had lost their homes.
- In Waveland, Miss., assistant manager Jessica Lewis ran a bulldozer through her store to collect basics that were not water-damaged, which she then piled in the parking lot and gave away to residents. She also broke into the store’s locked pharmacy to supply critical drugs to a hospital.
Click on the article link to see a rather impressive photo of a string of Wal-Mart trucks as far as the eye can see, waiting to enter New Orleans to bring (free) supplies.
Of course the cynics can attribute this benevolence to be nothing more than a PR ploy, but even if it is, it’s still pretty powerful and impressive. After all, it demonstrates how we the people collectively and effectively pull the strings of Wal-Mart and other for-profit corporations (another example is Wal-Mart’s very expensive and globally consequential environmental campaign). It’s arguably more influence than we have over our own government as a collective mass of individuals.
More from Meg at The World of Wealth
Topics: Hurricanes | 10 Comments »
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Even if it’s a PR ploy, if Wal-Mart is helping when they are needed, that’s all that counts.
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Yeah, why does it matter why they did it?
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Thanks for posting this. My dad was one of those truck drivers.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:45 pm
I don’t think anything like that is ever purely a PR plug, of course. Companies are made of people, after all, and during Katrina I don’t think there was a single person (Wal-Mart employee or otherwise) who hesitated to give and do whatever they could for New Orleans and its residents.
What I think is important is the power and leverage that these big, for profit companies – i.e. the people – have when they need/want to act. It’s really awesome, in every sense of the word. People fear powerful companies, but that power can be (and usually is, in a market economy) used for good. And those companies are just made up of executives, shareholders, and employees who may very well literally be your neighbors.
It reminds me suddenly of that Extreme Home Makeover show. Yes, the show exists to get ratings and advertising, but all the people involved (contracting companies, studio employees, hosts, etc) get really into it and truly want to help. And in the end everyone always ends up incredibly touched, and those families get a brand new home in a week!
It’s just another example of how awesome capitalism can be (of course some people lose out in a capitalist system, but you have to point out these virtues of the system too).
April 4th, 2008 at 9:02 am
If it were a PR ploy, they wouldn’t have delegated that far down. PR is a CEO leading a fleet of trucks containing supplies nobody neads; dozens of anonymous store-managers being figuratively deputized to deal with a crisis is about results.
April 4th, 2008 at 9:06 am
As a person who lives in an area tremendously affected by Hurricane Rita, I can tell you that many major companies stepped up to the plate to serve above and beyond. Many, many local companies did as well, and above that, Faith Based organizations have outdone all of the above. Hurricane Rita happened less than a month after Katrina and the eye areas of those storms is less than 4 hours driving time apart. September 2005 seems a long way behind us, but live in the area, and realize much work is still needed. Even now there are many Faith Based organizations still working on houses, with workers coming in from all over the country spending from a few days to a few weeks. We are all belssed to live in such a giving nation. God Bless America, for her people and the outpouring of love when it is really needed. Anywhere, Anytime.
April 4th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Wal-Mart bashing is sooo 5 minutes ago.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:59 am
WalMart is all about efficiency. It’s just good business. They have a dedicated “charitable” division, but in my opinion, that’s just to counteract the bad press it sometimes gets as it exploits efficiencies. (Because this often involves “creative destruction” – destroying local businesses or jobs that are less efficient.)
But regardless of the motive, it’s great that WalMart was there to help. I do have serious questions about rebuilding a known flood zone though.
@Meg – As someone who lives near one of those “extreme home makeover” targets. It seems like the results are not as shown. The neighbors and local government had serious issues with the resulting building, as well as the building itself. The family in question probably would have benefited more from a monetary donation that they could choose how to spend. They now have a home that is annoying neighbors, of questionable zoning, and has expensive taxes.
April 7th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Thanks for sharing this about WalMart. I really get tired of hearing so many negative things about the company. It’s wonderful that WalMart helped communities when they needed it the most.
April 8th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
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