1. Evaluate how Wal-Mart ranked and responded to different stakeholders.2. Why do you think Wal-Mart has recently faced a number of ethical issues that have been in the news almost constantly?3. What do you think Wal-Mart could do to develop an improved ethical culture and respond more positively to its various stakeholders? Question 1 Many groups have a stake in what Wal-Mart does. Stakeholders can be divided into two different groups: market stakeholders (shareholders, employees, consumers and suppliers) and non-market stakeholders (unions and environmental stakeholders). number one, 2008 according to Fortune 500 magazine and ranked 13th most profitable company with $11.3 billion in profits for 2006. Equity exceeds $64 million 1 (Fortune 500, 2008, CNNMoney.com). Shareholders' money. The fundamental question is whether shareholders care about Wal-Mart's scrutiny. Shareholders should be concerned about how the world views Wal-Mart and how long they will withstand that scrutiny. Employee Stakeholders have a different story: discrimination lawsuits. ranging from female employees not getting equal pay or equal positions, to disabled employees, to class-action lawsuits claiming Wal-Mart doctors fill out questionnaires to prevent disabled workers from applying, Wal-Mart n 's not ranked very highly among these employees. Lawsuits stemming from Wal-Mart's failure to monitor working conditions at overseas factories and hire illegal immigrants add to the rift in employee-company relations. Wal-Mart continues to deny the accusations... middle of paper ......ns. CNNMoney.com, (May 5, 2008): 10/19/2008 at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2008/full_list/2. “Our Business Purpose,” Walmartstore.com, 10/19/2008 at http://walmartstores.com/3. “Fortune 500, 100 Best Companies to Work For.” CNNMoney.com. (February 4, 2008): 10/19/2008 at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2008/full_list/index.html4. Hale, Todd. “Understanding the Wal-Mart Shopper.” Nielson Trends and Outlook: page 1. 10/19/2008 http://www2.acnielsen.com/pubs/2004_q1_ci_walmart.shtml5. “Wal-Mart Stores Inc.”, Business, NYTimes.com, (October 19, 2008): http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/wal_mart_stores_inc/index.html6. “Wal-Mart Stores Inc.”, Business, NYTimes.com, (October 19, 2008): from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/wal_mart_stores_inc/index.html