Sam Walton Made in America

Wal-Mart is one of the key forces that propelled global outsourcing -- off-shoring of U .S . jobs -- precisely because it controls so much of the purchasing power of the U .S . economy

- Gary Gereffi Duke University professor on global supply chains

The book entitled , Made in America ' by Sam Walton illustrates the unprecedented success that one entrepreneur had in expanding a five and dime store into one of the largest market forces in the world . When referring to the success of Sam Walton , the words that usually come to mind are

spectacular and mind-blowing . There is no doubt that Sam Walton has not only changed the way consumerism is viewed but also the way that business is conducted . Yet , in to arrive at a better understanding of the success of Wal-Mart and Sam Walton , it is important to look at the model of Wal-Mart and how it has managed to influence the business world on a global scale

As mentioned in the book , one of the key concepts that Sam Walton has employed is the Buy it Low , Stack it High and Sell it Cheap (42 This is one key concept that has remained in the consciousness of most major businesses today . While there are certain sectors that try to seek quality , the diversity that Wal-Mart offers has allowed Sam Walton to find a niche with over 90 of the purchasing public . This has in turn made Wal-Mart the global phenomenon that it is today

The growth and dominance of Wal-Mart over the years has indeed turned it into an economy all its own . Expanding on the buying cheap ' concept Wal-Mart has been successful in creating supply and demand on its own There is no single corporation in the world that has as much impact as Wal-Mart has , save perhaps for oil corporations , on any single domestic or even international economy . The volume of sales which Wal-Mart generates is enough to keep the rest of the world happily employed and is also enough to keep the consumerist population of the United States happy in their spending habits . Every single commodity manufacturer who is interested in surviving must be able to gain the good graces of Wal-Mart . The impact of Wal-Mart is such that it has life-or-death decision over [almost] all the consumer goods industries that exist in the United States (Gereffi 2006

This virtually unbridled power of the life or death of consumer goods industries , however , presents the question of whether or not Wal-Mart is indeed good for America . While it certainly does create jobs and sustains the consumer goods industries of America , it also has the same power of taking such benefits away and perhaps leaving the American economy in a far worse off situation than it is at the present Wal-Mart has become so powerful that any shift in its purchasing and production policies will certainly result in some imbalance on a certain economy in the world . This is one key business concept that many...