You must read this article. I expect your report on my desk by 8:00 a.m.
An exercise in pure scholarship if ever there were one. I don’t have to mow the lawn.
Not exactly encouraging, is it?
Free-market Capitalism evolving naturally to divide products into expensive thoroughbreds and cheap-and-nasty. If the quality “Snapper” lines are so durable, what happens when the market is saturated? Will Snapper go bust with a contented sigh, or will it start making something a little less durable? Your businessman is protecting his and his product’s integrity, which is fine if it lasts. But Capitalism is predicated on growth.
In a free-market economy, Wal-Mart has the clout. Pile it high, sell it cheap, go for the mass-market. There will always be those who prefer to cling to their own niche, but the money and power in that situation is limited. If Wal-Mart decide to “bring you down” for some reason, they have the power to do so. It works on the same principle as “bad money drives out good”. Bad products do the same.
The most worrying thing is that this is what is happening to our food. The supermarkets and big suppliers are now large enough to put serious pressure on the food producers - farmers in particular. The net result is that the product - the food - suffers. And so do we. One of the most memorable crises of the Roman Empire was the mass-poisoning which resulted from the fashion for lead cooking-pots. It looks as though the Western Capitalist economic model is doing the same thing. Pre-washed pre-packaged salad, anyone? Or a reconstituted burger using “reclaimed meat”?
Selling too much is as bad as not selling enough, yes. I fully understand Weir’s position.
Ooooh, good for him. I’m glad he didn’t sell to Wal-Mart. If I ever buy a mower that isn’t a goat, I know which kind to buy. 
However, regarding your assignment: I am a student with a disability. I will have the Disabled Students Service to send you the paperwork documenting my condition. You are required as per the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to provide me “reasonable accommodations.” In plainer language, you must not give me a large assignment that is due the next day. You must allow me at least 3 or 4 days to complete it. If you don’t comply with these terms, I will have the right to sue you or to slap you with a cold trout.
8:00 a.m.? And where does it say that in my role description? Ha. You can’t fire me. I quit.
Yeah, 8am. That’s way past my bedtime.
That’s funny. But, you know, I’ve already given you reasonable accommodations.
Dale
Darn. I almost had the paperwork finished. If you were working for Wal-Mart, you’d already be gone, Dude.
Pss…I’m not being serious, thus the inclusion of slapping you with a trout. 
Heh. If I were working for Wal-Mart, I’d be getting lawyered up to sue for wrongful termination and divers other vague allegations of oppression, which, given Wal-Mart’s track record, would have a fair chance of flying…since I’m a Dudette. 
Are you hispanic, too? If so, you’d likely win before the case even started.
Umm…no. But I’ll not scruple to change my name right quick, if that would help. What price victory?
It was a sound decision.
There are many arguments for the existence of Wal-marts.
But the second I catch sight of that yellow smiley face, and the drab, cluttered, opressive grayness of the place, I feel I must leave or choke to death. Therefore, no surprise, I avoid them.
Wal-mart is the Mordor of retail.
I live relatively close to Bentonville and Wal-Mart’s been a big part of the economy around here all my life. My mother worked for them briefly, when she was a teenager. She was fired. Personally, I think they’ve severely gone downhill since Sam’s death.
…and so they really ought to treat their employees better…you don’t want to be dealing with a disgruntled bunch of these guys.
This is only a little Mordor spoof and means no offence to any past, present, or future WalMart employee…
Hi Dale,
Sorry for the late reply, My schedule only allows for 2 toilet breaks a day during which I must attend to every other thing such as reading or going to the doctor. Fortunately I’ve found that tea tree oil, super-glue and gaffa tape fix most ills (medical disclaimer here) so I don’t need to go to a doctor - they only ever seem to prescribe laxatives anyway for some reason.
I can see mr weir’s dilemma. and I salute him for employing armies of disposable systems consultants to get those desirable ranks of robots full-time jobs. I know intimately how this is done, how much it costs and what happens to systems consultants after they have been disposed of.
There is a very positive outcome to the hydroponic-garden-variety-busnessman’s pre-ocupation with efficiency - and that is that soon we will all be able to replace our inconvenient body parts with replacements from Wal Mart, we can then take our place at the production line far more effectively!
By the way, If you like I can reduce your inventory by at least 30%, reduce your carrying costs, your freight costs and your error rates while lifting your service levels from languishing in the low 70s to as high as 99.9% while also reducing your delivery lead times and enhancing your speed to market. It will cost you as little as $6m USD! (not counting plant and other capital items). I have some business case pro formae here - just cross-out W** ***t and put in your business name and return the signed result in quad to my lawyers who will contact your lawyers (legal charges excluded from quote). Of course, your accountants will find no problem authorising the expendidture, we on the other hand, have not quoted to do a retrospective investment analysis - we can quote if you’d like but … hmmm pricey …). Later on, we will drop you a line from Cote D’azure after we’ve nialed the sunset clause in our indemnity and disposed of our consultants. (And of course you are welcome at any time to make use of the yacht - this might be a good idea while your disposable consultant hands-out the redundancies to thise time-wasting inefficient old-timers you call employees)
Inocent bystander - the bit you missed about food is that by having our supply chains so razor-thin a singe glitch might result in entire cities starving to death.
Wal Mart and their ilk destroy the redundancy in communities that buffer them from disaster - it is the greatest example of Community Value being converted into Financial value - that is always a one way conversion and usually gets extracted from the necks of mr&mrs average while they sleep.
Damn-it I just noticed that my Wal-Mart mood stabiliser has dropped off again, hang on a tic … … ) … : .. )))) :: there that’s better - super glue™ is so good , I highly recommend it at ony $3.50 you get an amazing universal repair kit and general utility all in one (some conditions apply).
And just remember - all the above is rubish, please ignore
Oh, dear, Mitch, you are in a state, aren’t you. There, there. Have another.
Turn it over so the imprint makes a little smiley face. Now, don’t you feel better?
This in no way constitutes an attempt at mental health care advice. Or, heaven knows, at humor.