1.

How do companies like Walmart use one-way, circular, and/or transaction

communication? What specific advice would you give Walmart executives to
improve their communication with employees, customers, and/or the general
public?
2. Compare the four ethical rules and/or the ethics traps from this chapter to
Walmart’s bribery incident in Mexico. How did this incident affect the company’s
ethical standards and the faith employees, customers, and investors have in
Walmart? In what ways was Walmart obligated to fit in with the cultural
traditions of Mexico?
3. Which type of formal communication is likely to be the most used at Walmart:
downward, upward, or horizontal? Describe two changes, related to formal
communication, that would provide benefit for Walmart. Explain your answer.

1. One-way communication can be found in Walmart if you think about

advertisements, television broadcasting, notifications, memos, and reports.
One-way channel is very basic, whereas, transactional builds upon on it. In
the transactional model there are two people communicating to one another
simultaneously. Examples are phone calls, emails, letters, and face-to-face
communication. Walmart executives should improve the environment
includes appropriate time, comfortable space, and friendly attitude when
they communicate with their employees and customers. Also making sure
that their employees and customers feel free to give feedback anytime. The
last one is when giving feedback to others, they need to direct feedback
toward behavior rather than toward the person.
2. On April 21, 2012, The New York Times reported that a six-year internal
investigation by Walmart had uncovered widespread evidence of bribery and
corruption within its Mexican operations. The investigation discovered that
Walmart employees had paid more than $24 million in bribes to promote the
expansion of its business in Mexico. Furthermore, the Times reported that
Walmart executives in Mexico not only were aware of the bribes but had
intentionally hidden them from the Walmart corporate offices in the United
States. This incident is the trap of relative filth and the trap of rationalization
in this chapter.
In many ways, Walmart is a socially responsible corporation, describing
itself as a business that “was built upon a foundation of honesty, respect,
fairness and integrity.” By all accounts Walmart is regularly recognized as
among the “most admired” companies in Fortune magazine’s annual survey.
The allegations of bribery in Mexico are only the most recent charges that
have been raised against Walmart’s ethical standards. This incident affected
Walmart badly. Business ethics has a great impact on brands, reputations,
 customer trust, investor confidence, and public acceptance. Because if
people lose faith in your company, failure is inevitable. Not only do people
enjoy dealing with honest people, but they also prefer working for ethical
companies. This leads to fewer people want to work for Walmart.
For its entry into Mexico, Walmart took a different route. Because there are
significant income and cultural differences between the United States and
Mexico, Walmart need to live up to high ethical standards such as respect
for individuals, services to customers, and strive for excellence to fit in with
the cultural traditions of Mexico.
3. The horizontal communication is likely to be the most used at Walmart.
Because messages flow laterally between people occurs daily. They are
paying much more attention to horizontal communication than they did in
the past – such as emails, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, and face-to-face
communication.
If memos and emails are accompanied by face-to-face communication which
is rich in information. And managers should hear oral comments from their
employees rather than from their subordinates. Because subordinates tend to
conceal or distort upward communication to protect themselves and to make
messages more acceptable to superiors. These two changes would provide
benefit for Walmart.