I have already the rough draft of a business report. My topic is about Labor Challenges During COVID-19 in Walmart. So, I want you to complete the final draft by adding: 1- Letter of Transmittal (1 page), (single-spaced). 2- Table of Contents. 3- Executive Summary (1 page), (single-spaced). 4- Add 2 more pages on the body+ include more sources and citations in the body (APA style). 5- Appendix (survey or interview or questionnaire). After you have done with the report. I want you to develop a PowerPoint slide presentation (of no more than 10 slides) from the report (same topic). LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART Labor Challenges During COVID-19 in Walmart Name University Date i LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART Letter of Transmittal ii LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART Table of Contents iii LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART Executive Summary iv LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART Introduction/ Background Information In today’s life, COVID-19 has become a significant storm across the world. Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by the coronavirus which can cause serious illness and even death. It originated from Wuhan in China, where it was first discovered. It was believed to be the spillover of the animal coronavirus, and later on, it adapted the human to human transmission ability. The virus was highly contagious, and thus it spread rapidly and continuously across the world. The first case of the coronavirus disease caused a lot of tension around the globe. Many people didn’t know which measures to take or what they could have done to save their lives because most thought it’s the end of the world. Due to the people’s movement, the disease spread from one country to another, which made many people infected with the disease; hence, many people died from the disease. This disease affected many activities that were usually carried out across the world. Due to the emergence of the coronavirus, everything in the world has never been the same again. This is in terms of the all the activities carried out around the globe. This pandemic affected all the sectors of the economy. It has made every country’s economic decline because many people had to leave what they were doing to first keep themselves safe from the disease. Some of the sectors affected were labor, transport, agriculture, health, tourism, and many more. Since labor was advance affected by the coronavirus, it is essential to look at the labor challenges during the coronavirus pandemic. In the labor sector, many people lost their jobs which led to low living standards among the people. During that time, the labor sector experienced many challenges. It’s vital to research labor to see how it was affected, in which ways, and possible solutions of what should be done to overcome these challenges caused by the pandemic. The Labor sector has significantly been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In this case, this paper is going to look at labor challenges during this pandemic in Walmart. Background Analysis/ Walmart Corporate Walmart is a multinational retail corporation that operated as a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores, and discount department stores. Moreover, this company is known for selling basics at rock-bottom prices. It was headquartered in Bentonville in the united states. It was founded by Sam Walton and his wife Hellen (Liu M. et al.,2020).it also operates Sam’s Club retail warehouses. Today, Walmart has 11,443 stores and clubs in 26 countries, working under 24 different names. This company has widely grown into a very successful business enterprise where it has made many sales and employed many people across the world. By 2020, that company had used about 2.2 million employees across the globe. However, this means that many people depended on that company for an income. During Hurricane Katrina, Walmart, being a successful company, had to donate $ 20million, food for 100000 meals, and promised everyone who was displaced a job. This shows how successful and independent it was. As a result of the coronavirus, Walmart has experienced a new range of problems in the form of labor concerns. Walmart was basking in the glow of 2020’s revenue sales, fuelled by increasing customer demand and changing shopping habits. Walmart employees are concerned about their safety, and they are feeling the company is failing to warn and protect them from the spread of COVID-19. As Ruby Ann Woolwine who is a worker at a Michigan Walmart stated that, ‘The rise of deaths and infections of Walmart associates show clearly that the company is not only failing to keep its associates and customers safe but also failing to communicate clearly 1 LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART about store conditions” (Charisse, J. 2020). Walmart employees are claiming that they do not get paid time off or the materials they need to stay healthy. Discussion on Impact of Covid-19 on Employees and its Solutions When the coronavirus pandemic came through, this company had to adjust so many things so as it can be able to cope up with the pandemic. When the lockdown was introduced in the United States due to the spread of the disease in that area, at that time, it had to come up with strategies on how to cope with the disease. Many people in that company were affected due to the policies that were put in place at that time, which included the minimisation of the movement in and out of the country. Many people had to leave work due to those policies. The sales went down because not many people bought their products. Some people got sick, and others died due to the disease. Decline in Sales Figure 1: The COVID-19 Impact on Amazon and Walmart Sales. Retrieved from https://images.app.goo.gl/kxu2J4CoRWEo1AQ4A From the above diagram, it is evidenced that the coronavirus pandemic really affected the Walmart company’s sales. In the case of beauty and personal care, its sales changed up to 50%. This is because not many people could buy these products due to the lack of enough money to purchase them. That why there was a change due to the pandemic. In the case of the clothing, shoes and the jewel, the percentage sales change is negative. This is because no clothes were being imported to other countries. After all, the importation of clothes was believed to facilitate the spread of the virus. The sales changes in respect to electronics kept on increasing and decreasing due to the coronavirus’s impact across the country. At that time, many people didn’t have enough money to purchase these items due to the state. They concentrated more on buying food that will help them to survive. In the case of grocery and gourmet food, the percentage sales change was significant because many of them were closed at that time of the 2 LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART pandemic. At that time, there was high demand for food where many people concentrated on food more than anything else. Finally, the home items where the percentage sales change was fluctuating from time to time. This was because many people had lost their job, and hence they were not interested in purchasing those items due to their income constraints at that time. That company was affected by the pandemic in all its activities, thus impacting everyone in that company. Many people lost their jobs due to that effect, and also, some were cut off from work because there was no work to be done. This would be caused if the workers got sick with that virus and even some died. Health status of employees The labor challenges caused many impacts during the coronavirus pandemic in Walmart. These impacts affected many people in one way or another, either directly or indirectly (Remka V.H.,2020). During this particular time, many people had to come up with different ways of surviving to cope with the pandemic. Many challenges were brought up by the pandemic that affected the labor sector. Some of these challenges include sickness and death, unemployment, lack of access to international markets, insufficient funds, insufficient knowledge, and demonstrations. Death rates of employees during pandemic One of the labor challenges was sickness and death. Many people in that company, especially some grocery workers, experienced coronavirus symptoms while stocking out shelves and checking out some customers. At that time, shoppers were rushing to the stands to take enough food, which would sustain them during the total lockdown. Those who had the virus would interact with those without, thus spreading the virus to other people. This made the people who were employed contact the virus, thus getting them sick, and others end up dying. People would easily transmit those viruses without their knowledge, trying to safeguard their job. That company experienced a significant loss by losing most of its employees. 3 LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART Figure 2: Grocery workers are beginning to die of coronavirus. Retrieved from https://images.app.goo.gl/dhdpqZGuxN3RJmKX7 The above diagram shows how death rates have affected the areas that Walmart operates in. as the days continued, the virus had spread over a large population of people, thus killing many people. Most of the people affected are the frontline people and the aged. The best solution that the Walmart company could have done is to ensure that all the workers wore surgical masks and hand sanitizers to minimize the spread of the disease. Also, it had to ensure that all the aged employees worked from home if possible because their immunity is so weak to minimize the sickness and death rate. Restriction of access to international market Lack of access to international markets is another impact. The Walmart company lacked access to the global markets where some goods were restricted from being taken outside the country due to the virus’s spread across the world. This decreased their sales which made them experience some losses. The links between the company and the outside world were cut because the economy worldwide had declined. Their customers, such as the business people, had to close their businesses due to lack of money and the fear of getting the disease. The government also contributed to this because it had to ban some items from being exported or imported, thus minimalizing goods and services. At this time, the demand for those goods becomes very high in that their prices increase because they are not enough in the market. The consumers will buy the goods because they have no option, but a time will come where they will substitute those goods since they don’t have enough money to purchase them. The solution to this problem is that the company should look for a local market to sell their goods and provide goods necessary at that time. Also, the Walmart company can opt to substitute their products and sell them, which is more affordable to the customers. Inadequate funds for business operation Insufficient funds are also another factor that has significantly impacted. The company had insufficient funds due to the losses that they incurred during the pandemic. The company experienced this since it was not prepared to face the pandemic. This company did not put aside some funds to be used in case an emergency occurs. It uses all its profit, maybe for savings or personal use. The management can also opt to develop some more companies from the generated income, forgetting to spare some income to be used during crises. The company should save some money to be able to donate food to its employees and the community at large who have been affected by the pandemic adversely. That can significantly help a company not to experience too much loss. The solution to this is to ensure that they had kept aside some funds to use when such crises happen again. They can exempt some funds from their income, which could have been used to cater to the expenses at the pandemic. The company could also have closed some branches whose performances were deficient and concentrated with those whose performance was high, hence making its operations effective. Workers unrest in workstations Another impact is demonstrations. Demonstrations are experienced all over the world due to different factors and experiences. When the pandemic came in, the company experienced protests because it could not cater to its employees’ expenses. It had arrears of their salaries; hence, people demanded their salaries and wages. Being a big company, people thought it could not experience some difficulties in its operations, but this pandemic affected 4 LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART both the small and the big companies. When the employees’ needs or rights are not given priority, they may opt to demonstrate that their voices could be challenging and be granted their rights. The solution to this problem is that such a company should ensure that the employees are given their rights by being paid their wages and salaries on time. It should also ensure that all its debts are settled. The management can confirm that it sells some of its assets to cater to the obligations, including its salaries. Unemployment cases Another impact is unemployment. When the coronavirus got in, many people in that company were stopped from working. This was due to the policies that were made by the government that restricted some services from being done. Some services were prevented from being carried out, such as the delivery of clothes from one country to another, because they facilitated the transmission of the virus from one person to another. Also, the sales had begun to decrease, and thus the company could not meet the needs of its employees. There was no enough money to pay them their salaries and wages. Many of the employees ended up leaving the company. The possible solution to this problem is that the company should educate their employees on how to save their money to be able to cater to their needs when there are such crises in the world. Also, the company should look for alternative ways to cater to their employees when such emergencies arise. The company can opt to use its savings to carry out an activity that will accommodate its employees so that they can be able to cater to their needs. Figure 3: Despite the pandemic, Utah ended 2020 with more jobs. Retrieved from https://images.app.goo.gl/tTiYAD3v4Y1xYLfHA The above image shows how the rate of unemployment was in the Walmart company in America’s united states. The rate of unemployment was so high when the coronavirus pandemic started spreading. 5 LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART Inadequate knowledge on how to manage the pandemic Insufficient knowledge is another impact. When such a company doesn’t know how to go about the pandemic, it can be a significant challenge in the labor sector. When the pandemic came in, many businesses were closed because people were unaware of the pandemic itself. They didn’t know how to go about it. They didn’t know how the pandemic could have been managed. The information about the pandemic was not clear, and thus many people were confused. The company should have gathered information about the pandemic and how it should be managed. The solution to this problem is that the management should ensure that everybody in the company wears masks and should wash their hands regularly and sanitize. The company should also educate its employees on managing the disease and how to take care of themselves. It should also inform its employees on how to manage the disease in case the employees get infected. Conclusion The above discussion shows that labor challenges during the covid-19 had affected the Walmart company in many ways. Many things in the company changed, including its operations, and hence it had to revise some policies to make progress and cope with the pandemic (Link J. S. et al.,2021). It had to put up some measures that would help it to carry out its activities effectively. Therefore, there was a need to research the labor challenges to improve the state of that company. The management should also be consistent with their work. The company should ensure that it adjusts its programs and policies to cope with the pandemic environment. Currently, most businesses have been able to adapt to the pandemic by putting up adequate measures to follow. Recommendations/ Best Cause of Action Walmart company should come up with solutions to ensure that the company operates normally despite the pandemic. It should put effective measures that ensure that the pandemic rules are observed to the latter. It should ensure that the workers and the staff wear masks and sanitize their hands regularly. They should also ensure that they revise their policies to accommodate the pandemic. They should ensure that they keep aside some money to facilitate their operations. The company should ensure that revision of its policies is done for it to operate in that environment. The company should also provide education and training to its workers to teach them how to go about the pandemic. The management should also put some effective strategies which facilitate the improvement of the company at large. 6 LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART References Charisse, J. (2020, April 29). Walmart workers will call out of work, use tracker to protect themselves FROM COVID-19. Retrieved April 09, 2021, from https://www.msn.com/enus/money/companies/walmart-workers-will-call-out-of-work-use-tracker-to-protectthemselves-from-covid-19/ar-BB13ntw8 Link, J. S., Werner, F. E., Werner, K., Walter, J., Strom, M., Seki, M. P., … & Cabana, N. (2021). A NOAA Fisheries science perspective on the conditions during and after COVID-19: challenges, observations, and possible solutions, or why the future is upon us. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 78(1), 1-12. Liu M, Caputi TL, Dredze M, Kesselheim AS, Ayers JW. (2020). Internet Searches for Unproven COVID-19 Therapies in the United States. JAMA Intern Med; 180(8):1116–1118. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.1764 Remko, V. H. (2020). Research opportunities for a more resilient post-COVID-19 supply chain– closing the gap between research findings and industry practice. International Journal of Operations & Production Management. 7 LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART 8 LABOR CHALLENGES DURING COVID-19 IN WALMART 9 Purchase answer to see full attachment Tags: Business Communication economic sector International Labor Organization multinational retail corporation Labor Challenges During COVID 19 User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool’s honor code & terms of service.