There was public outrage recently when four employees at a Walmart store in Utah lost their jobs for safely disarming a gun-toting shoplifter. But no one should be too surprised by the retail giant’s tough stance.
Walmart, the largest U.S. employer, has a long history of steadfastly enforcing its own rules and this recent example is no different. The retailer’s policy states that security personnel should step away from a thief if the individual has a gun, but in this instance the employees involved — including Justin Richins, Shawn Ray, Lori Poulsen, and Gabriel Stewart — felt compelled to subdue the gunman.
“Walmart has a very persistent history of enforcing its policies; whether it’s right or wrong they enforce their policies,” said David Childers, CEO of EthicsPoint, an ethics and compliance solutions provider. “Walmart is rules laden, and less principles based.”
While Childers said it makes sense for companies to be consistent when enforcing policies, being too inflexible can backfire.
“What kind of employer does Walmart want to be seen as in the public eye?” he said. “They aren’t doing themselves any favors by being so rigid.”
Indeed, many people were angry at the retailer’s decision. Blogs called for boycotts, while thousands of anti-Walmart comments appeared on the websites of national and local media that covered the firings.
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