Wal-Mart Ethics Code Angers Germans

March, 15, 2005
The German subsidiary of the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has again infuriated employees, this time over policies that workers believe interfere with their private lives and force them to spy on colleagues.



Often mistrusted for its American corporate culture, the German subsidiary of Wal-Mart has once again stuck its foot in it. Employees of the 92-store discount chain received a moral lecture along with their February paychecks: a code of ethics employees must follow or face termination, the Financial Times Deutschland reported Tuesday.



The code forbids Wal-Mart employees from accepting presents from suppliers, dictates that employees may not fall in love with a colleague in a position of influence and requires workers to report colleagues immediately "if they observe that they have broken the rules." Non-compliance of the rules can lead to termination.



Translation problems



The German management of the company said they adopted the code after increasing requests by their American counterparts to do so. Still, representatives of employees say they will fight the code through the courts. The company declined comment.



Employee's rights expert Manfred Confurius told the Financial Times Deutschland that US employees face more concrete and stronger restrictions, something that doesn't always transfer well to German work culture.



"Such ethic codes should, in general, be voluntary," he said.
DW staff (jb)


http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1519102,00.html


Hello from Germany,
Dirk

I dind't know Wal-Mart was in Germany. Yeesh!

I've never entered one, although there are about 2 or 3 stores in Hamburg, where I live.

This is from on older article:
"Wal-Mart Concept Fails in Germany


US supermarket retailer Wal-Mart plans massive job cuts in Germany to offset rising costs.

According to a report in the leading German grocer's journal, "Lebensmittel-Zeitung", approximately 1,350 jobs will be slashed over the next few months. Nearly 1,200 employees or every tenth worker and 150 managers will lose his or her job.

The announcement comes at a time when the company is faced with its largest-ever losses in Germany. The "Financial Times Deutschland" estimates that the company has accumulated over $250 million in losses for the past year. Wal-Mart, the leading retailer in the US, is currently ranked at the bottom of the German retailing market.

Wrong concept for Germany

Competitors, such as Metro CEO Hans-Joachim Körber, say the Wal-Mart concept is not right for the German market. The aggressive pricing strategy and the import of US management tactics simply do not work in a European context where the consumer places a great deal of importance on the quality of products offered."

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,318142,00.html

Dirk

They'd have been welcomed with open arms.

we have our own chains, selling cheap garbage and treating their workers like shit: Lidl, Aldi etc.

But Wal-Mart is a bit over the top. And this puritane initiative hopefully doesn't work in Germany...

But Wal-Mart has the money to take the losses they make in Germany, untill they have destroyed enough small-buisiness.

On the other hand, a company like Staples, who had huge problems in Germany too, have managed to somehow adopt.

Dirk

It seemed in Germany, at least when I was there, that the wages were more competitive than in the US. Here, some have no choice but to shop for the cheapest groceries they can find. I hate the fact that big business has put the little guys out, and I try to buy from the little guy as much as possible.

One should not critizise the people, who buy there, but it's so damned sad that they a digging their own grave somehow. The more people buy their stuff at Walmart, the more good jobs are destroyed, the more good jobs are destroyed, the more people have to buy at Walmart.
On the other hand, I think the article is a bit simple. If I'm informed correctly, Wal-Mart couldn't manage to open just one single shop in New York so far...
O.K., New York is in Europe anyway:-)
Dirk

and the poor people don't have enough money to give to the rich folks any more. Then the big businesses have to close. I hope it never comes to that.