Walmart in China

Anita Chan (Editor)

Description

Walmart and "Made in China" are practically synonymous; Walmart imports some 70 percent of its merchandise from China. Walmart is now also rapidly becoming a major retail presence there, with close to two hundred Walmarts in more than a hundred Chinese cities. What happens when the world's biggest retailer and the world's biggest country do business with each other? In this book, a group of thirteen experts from several disciplines examine the symbiotic but strained relationship between these giants. The book shows how Walmart began cutting costs by bypassing its American suppliers and sourcing directly from Asia and how Walmart's sheer size has trumped all other multinationals in squeezing procurement prices and, as a by-product, driving down Chinese workers' wages. China is also an inviting frontier for Walmart's global superstore expansion. As China's middle class grows, the chain's Western image and affordable goods have become popular. Walmart's Arkansas headquarters exports to the Chinese stores a unique corporate culture and management ideology, which oddly enough are reminiscent of Mao-era Chinese techniques for promoting loyalty. Three chapters separately detail the lives of a Walmart store manager, a lower-level store supervisor, and a cashier. Another chapter focuses on employees' wages, "voluntary" overtime, and the stores' strict labor discipline. In 2006, the official Chinese trade union targeted Walmart, which is antilabor in its home country, and succeeded in setting up union branches in all the stores. Walmart in China reveals the surprising outcome.

Sujets

• Employabilité, métiers et formations
• Globalization
• China
• Labour

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 15 novembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801462672
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

W A L M A R T I N C H I N A

WALMART IN CHINA

Edited by Anita Chan

i l r p r e s s an imprint of c o r n e l l u n i v e r s i t y p r e s s Ithaca & London

Copyright © 2011 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2011 by Cornell University Press First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2011

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Walmart in China / edited by Anita Chan.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 978-0-8014-7731-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)  ISBN 978-0-8014-5020-4 (cloth : alk. paper)  1. Wal-Mart (Firm) 2. Discount houses (Retail trade)—China. 3. Discount houses (Retail trade)—United States. 4. Business enterprises, Foreign—China. I. Chan, Anita. II. Title.  HF5429.215.C6W35 2011  381'.1490951—dc23 2011021221

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Cloth printing Paperback printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CONTENTS

List of Abbreviations vii

Introduction: When the World’s Largest Company Encounters the World’s Biggest Country Anita CHAN 1

part one: The Walmart Supply Chain

1. Walmart’s Long March to China: How a Mid-American Retailer Came to Stake Its Future on the Chinese Economy Nelson LICHTENSTEIN 13

2. Outsourcing in China: Walmart and Chinese Manufacturers XUE Hong 34

3. Walmartization, Corporate Social Responsibility, and the Labor Standards of Toy Factories in South China YU Xiaomin and PUN Ngai 54

4. Made in China: Work and Wages in Walmart Supplier Factories Anita CHAN and Kaxton SIU 71

part two: The Walmart Stores

5. Corporate Cadres: Management and Corporate Culture at Walmart China David J. DAVIES 97

6. A Store Manager’s Success Story David J. DAVIES and Taylor SEEMAN 130

v

vi

7. Practicing Cheer: The Diary of a Low-Level Supervisor at a Walmart China Store Scott E. MYERS and Anita CHAN Translation by Scott E. MYERS 151

8. Working in Walmart, Kunming: Technology, Outsourcing, and Retail Globalization Eileen M. OTIS 173

part three: Walmart Trade Unions

9. Unionizing Chinese Walmart Stores Anita CHAN 199

10. Did Unionization Make a Difference? Work Conditions and Trade Union Activities at Chinese Walmart Stores Jonathan UNGER, Diana BEAUMONT, and Anita CHAN 217

11. Workers and Communities versus Walmart: A Comparison of Organized Resistance in the United States and China Katie QUAN 239

Notes

253

Notes on Contributors

Index

Contents

285

281

ABBREVIATIONS

ACFTU ADGM AFL-CIO

ANROAV CBA CEO CSM CSR ES ILGWU MNC NBC NGO NMWF OEM P&G POS PREL RFID RHW SACOM SEIU UFCW UPS WTO

All-Chinese Federation of Trade Unions assistant deputy general manager AmericanFederationofLaborandCongress of Industrial Organizations Asia Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Victims community benefits agreement chief executive officer customer service manager corporate social responsibility Employee Standards program International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union multinational corporation National Broadcasting Corporation nongovernmental organization Nien Made Windows Fashions Company Limited original equipment manufacturer Procter & Gamble point of sale Pacific Resources Export Limited radio frequency identification regular hourly wage Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehaviour Service Employees International Union United Food and Commercial Workers Union universal product code World Trade Organization vii

W A L M A R T I N C H I N A