Contrasting Wal-Mart and Costco
Rivalry between Wal-Mart, Costco also extends to national politics
I found this a rather interesting article. None of the stuff about Wal-Mart was particularly surprising to me, given that I'm a former Wal-Mart employee. However, I was pleasantly surprised to read about Costco.
While Wal-Mart tries to compensate its employees as poorly as possible, Costco makes an effort to pay employees what they're worth. I wasn't surprised to read that Wal-Mart's average wage is $9.96 per hour, but I was quite shocked to hear that Costco's lowest wage is $10.00 per hour. Yes, Costco's lowest wage is a tad higher than Wal-Mart's average wage. Wonderfully astonishing. And of course, that's just an example of their differences, read the article for more.
Given their radically different approaches to employee relations, it's hardly surprising that the two companies are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Wal-Mart is a huge supporter of Republicans, while Costco is a strong supporter of Democrats. It just so happens that Republicans are pushing for the things that Wal-Mart wants (low minimum wage, limited overtime pay, etc.) while Democrats are pushing for the things that Costco wants (easier for employees to join unions, benefits for companies that provide employees with comprehensive healthcare coverage).
The article also mentions that Google's CEO backs Kerry while Yahoo's CEO backs Bush. Why does that not surprise me?
I found this a rather interesting article. None of the stuff about Wal-Mart was particularly surprising to me, given that I'm a former Wal-Mart employee. However, I was pleasantly surprised to read about Costco.
While Wal-Mart tries to compensate its employees as poorly as possible, Costco makes an effort to pay employees what they're worth. I wasn't surprised to read that Wal-Mart's average wage is $9.96 per hour, but I was quite shocked to hear that Costco's lowest wage is $10.00 per hour. Yes, Costco's lowest wage is a tad higher than Wal-Mart's average wage. Wonderfully astonishing. And of course, that's just an example of their differences, read the article for more.
Given their radically different approaches to employee relations, it's hardly surprising that the two companies are on opposite sides of the political spectrum. Wal-Mart is a huge supporter of Republicans, while Costco is a strong supporter of Democrats. It just so happens that Republicans are pushing for the things that Wal-Mart wants (low minimum wage, limited overtime pay, etc.) while Democrats are pushing for the things that Costco wants (easier for employees to join unions, benefits for companies that provide employees with comprehensive healthcare coverage).
The article also mentions that Google's CEO backs Kerry while Yahoo's CEO backs Bush. Why does that not surprise me?