Why Wal-Mart Spins [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
In August 2004, the consulting firm McKinsey & Company [3] told Wal-Mart [4], "The public believes [Wal-Mart] treats its employees poorly and is a negative force in communities." The report suggests steps for "managing change," including to "spread messages that it cares for employees, build local relationships, increase local philanthropy." McKinsey also helped prepare a memo [5], leaked to the New York Times last week, that proposed "numerous ways to hold down spending on health care and other benefits [6]," in part by "discouraging unhealthy people from working at Wal-Mart." With the new Robert Greenwald documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price [7]" about to be released, Wal-Mart's PR firm, Edelman [8], "sent reporters a press kit last week attacking claims made in the film's trailer [9], along with negative reviews of Greenwald's previous work. Wal-Mart is also promoting a competing documentary about the company, directed by Ron Galloway [10], titled 'Why Wal-Mart Works & Why That Drives Some People Crazy [11].'"