February 08, 2006
Lee Scott's Good Will Tour Continues
We hear that Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott today plans to meet with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on the Hill.
Scott later plans to greet members of his DC-based PR war room.
Alan Murray in the WSJ -- no softie when it comes to business and corporate responsibility -- met with Scott yesterday and came away impressed. "I came away convinced there's more going on here than just public relations," he writes today.
More from Murray's column -- a positive clip for Wal-Mart that's sure to make Paul Blank roll his eyes -- after the jump.
"Wal-Mart has become one of the great polarizing issues that divides American politics. Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, who spent eight years on the board of the giant retailer, recently returned a $5,000 contribution from Wal-Mart's political-action committee "because of serious differences with current company practices."
"In response, Mr. Scott has had to become not just chief executive officer, but chief reputation officer. He spends at least half of his time, by his estimate, in a campaign to convince the world that Wal-Mart is a force for good. He has a rapid-response team, and he monitors polls, conducting periodic surveys of "thought leaders" about Wal-Mart's reputation."
"Mr. Scott's basic "goodness" story is simple enough: Wal-Mart has improved people's lives by lowering their cost of living and by providing them jobs. Every time a store opens, long lines of wannabe employees form outside -- a graphic rebuttal to those who argue the company creates "bad" jobs."
"But he doesn't stop there. He has revised the company's health-care program, implemented incentives for diversity hiring and put in place programs designed to soften Wal-Mart's impact on the environment. He also has taken on issues that extend far beyond the boundaries of his stores, calling on Congress to raise the minimum wage and intervening to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina."
Posted at 08:50 AM
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