Business & Society 11th Edition All Cases | Complete Case Analysis, Study Guide & Exam Prep 2026–2027

Business & Society 11th Edition All Cases |
Complete Case Analysis, Solutions & Study
Guide 2026–2027
All chapters covered




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, Business & Society 11th Edition All Cases | Complete Case Analysis, l l l l l l l l l l




Solutions & Study Guide 2026–2027 l l l l l




GUIDELINES FOR CASE ANALYSIS l l l




The following guidelines are designed to assist in the case analysis process. The guidelines are not
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intended to be a rigid format, however. Each question is intended to surface information that will be
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helpful in analyzing and resolving the case. Each case is different, and some parts of these guidelines
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may not apply in every case.
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Following each case are discussion questions that should be answered as part of any complete case
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analysis. The heart of any case analysis is the recommendations made based on a solid logical
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foundation. The questions dealing with Problem and Issue Identification and Analysis and
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Evaluation should be used to define and then defend recommendations made in the final
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Recommendations step.
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GuidelinesforAnalyzingCases Problem l l l l




l and Issue Identification
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1. What are the central facts of the case? What assumptions are you making about these facts?
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2. What is the major overriding issue in the case? What major question or issues does this case
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address that merits study at this point in the course?
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3. What sub-issues or related issues are present in the case that merit consideration now?
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Analysis and Evaluation l l




1. Who are the stakeholders in the case, and what are their stakes? What challenges, threats, or
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opportunities are posed by these stakeholders?
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2. What economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropicresponsibilities does the companyhave, and
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what is the nature and extent of these responsibilities?
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3. If the case involves company actions, evaluate what the company did or did not do in
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handling the issue affecting it.
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Recommendations
1. What recommendations do you have for this case? If a company's strategies or actions are
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involved, should the company have acted as it did? What action should the company take now?
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Why? Be as specific as possible. List several options as well as the pros and cons of each
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alternative. Be prepared to discuss why you eliminated those options you discarded and defend
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your chosen alternative. Mention and discuss any important implementation considerations.
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This last step is crucial because recommendations that cannot be implemented are worthless.
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,Case 1: Walmart: The Main Street Merchant of Doom
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1. What are the major issues in the case? What does Walmart’s experience tell you about the
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business and society relationship?
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The major issues in the case center on Walmart‘s expansion. The case focuses on the impact to the
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communities to which Walmart moves, from both environmental and economic perspectives.
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Walmart has been criticized for the aggressive and even predatory tactics that it takes with respect to
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local merchants. Competition is what drives Walmart, and a merchant who competes directly with
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them will lose. Is it unethical for any company, not just Walmart, to drive out all competition? Is
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Walmart using its size and ability to undersell small local merchants until they are driven out in order to
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establish an unfair monopoly on local markets? Is this a violation of the spirit of anti-monopoly laws?
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The Walmart experience tells us that business and society have a symbiotic relationship, that the fabric
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of a community is impacted dramatically by the entry of a company like Walmart, and that this fabric is
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sacrificed to poor working conditions, low wages, and lower-priced goods.
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2. What happened to the —Penney Idea,‖ Sam’s ten-foot rule, and the Buy America Plan? Were these
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discontinued over time, or did they fade away and get lost when Sam died?
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To fulfill a cost-cutting philosophy, manystores eliminated their famed greeters, and this opened the
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door to problems (increased crime) because one fewer deterrent existed. Walmart eventually
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abandoned the Buy American Plan and became one of the largest purchasers of products made
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overseas. In fact, the company in time became the country‘s largest purchaser of Chinese goods in any
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industry.
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3. Assess Walmart’s corporate social responsibility using the four-part CSR model. Is Walmart l l l l l l l l l l l




socially responsible even though it has had a devastating impact on many small merchants and
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various stakeholder groups, and some communities do not want it?
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The following is an assessment of Walmart‘s corporate social responsibility using the four-part CSR
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model:
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Economic: Walmart‘s economic performance has been outstanding. According to the text, in the 2020 l l l l l l l l l l l l l




Fortune 500 listing, Walmart has held on to its #1 position in terms of revenues: $524 million. On a
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global scale, Walmart has more than 11,500 stores, and during the pandemic, its
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e-commerce went up by 74 percent. The year 2020 was a big year for Walmart as it continued to provide l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l




essential products and services for millions of citizens. The company grew its revenue by $35 billion,
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and its e-commerce business grew by triple digits. Its goal of providing quality merchandise at a low
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cost to consumers meets society‘s economic expectations for the company.
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Legal: Walmart‘s adherence to the laws of the country generally has been good, but an explosion of
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lawsuits by employees and other stakeholders is tarnishing the company‘s image in this area. As the
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world‘s largest employer and the largest nongovernmental employer, Walmart gets sued 20 times a
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day, close to 5,000 times every year. Many of these lawsuits are filed by its employees over
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employment discrimination issues or wage and hour claims, often regarding overtime. The most
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serious employee issues Walmart has faced in the past decades have been accusations of gender
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discrimination against women. More often than not, these lawsuits are settled out of court. According
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to Walmart‘s annual report for the year ending January 31, 2010,
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, the companyis a defendant in —various cases containing class-action allegations.‖ The company notes
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that if these cases are —decided adversely to [the company] or settled by [the company],‖ it couldresult
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inamaterial liabilitytothecompanyandadverselyimpactthecompany‘s —financial condition or results
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of operations.‖ In April 2010, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, upheld the class-
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action status in Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., a class-action lawsuit
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—brought on behalf of all past and present female employees in all of our retail stores and warehouse l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l




clubs in the United States.‖ The certified class includes approximately 1.6 million individuals. In
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2020, a new issue arose regarding Walmart‘s policies and practices on filling opioid prescriptions at
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its pharmacies. The U.S. Justice Department did accuse Walmart of
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helping to fuel the country‘s opioid crisis by insufficiently screening questionable prescriptions.
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Ethical: Walmart‘s internal policies have certainly been above the spirit of the law. Questions maybe
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raised, however, about (1) the degree to which it has considered its impact on other small stores and
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merchants and on town culture, and (2) certain employment-related practices that have resulted in
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mammoth lawsuits for the company.
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Discretionary: Walmart‘s contributions to the local community, its Buy American program, and its l l l l l l l l l l l l




recycling centers all speak to the positive aspects of societal expectations. At the time of this writing,
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Walmart has several corporate citizenship initiatives, including, among others,
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scholarships to high school seniors, fundraisers for The Children‘s Miracle Network Telethon, and l l l l l l l l l l l l




environmental programs. In its 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, Walmart
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featured and summarized some of its recent goals and achievements: Walmart states that it prioritizes
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ESG issues that offer the greatest potential to create shared value. The company focuses on issues that
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are highly relevant to their business and stakeholders. However, Walmart is often criticized for the
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predatorypractices it uses against local merchants, its lack of sensitivity to community needs when a
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store is closed, and to community culture.
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4. What about Walmart’s impact on communities in terms of sprawl, traffic congestion, and l l l l l l l l l l l l




impact on the appearance of the environment? What responsibility, if any, does the company have
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to the communities it enters?
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Walmart has been condemned for its impact on communities in terms of sprawl, traffic congestion, l l l l l l l l l l l l l l




and appearance of the environment. The website Wal-Mart Watch (http://walmartwatch.com) notes
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that Walmart‘s entry into new communities results in abandoned retail space, increased traffic
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congestion, and dead and decaying areas in such communities.
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Asnoted,questions mayberaised about someofWalmart‘spractices and effectsdescribedinthe case.
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Walmart‘s responsibilityto communitymerchants could extend tothepoint that Walmart shouldteach
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them howto complete with, notagainst them.Predatorycompetitiondesigned by department managers
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toincreasestoresalesshouldbestopped andpunishedif necessary.
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5. Sam Walton has been called a motivational genius. After reading this case, and with what you have
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observed at your local Walmart store, do you think his motivational genius is still felt by associates?
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What is the —Walmart Way‖? How would you characterize the store’s culture now that Sam is no
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longer around?
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Sam motivated the associates by giving them the responsibility and the credit for Walmart‘s success.
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He gave them ownership in the company through stock options. He posted the stock
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