“Wal-Mart is a microcosm of what is happening nationally and internationally in the labor market.” —Steven Ashby, assistant professor, Division of Labor Studies, IUB Despite the bad press it has received during the past year, Wal-Mart  received the No. 1 ranking last month on FORTUNE magazine’s list of “America’s Most Admired Companies” for the second year in a row.

What prompts IU students to sign up in droves for a class on the behemoth of bargains? “I think they are intrigued,” said Ashby, assistant professor in the Division of Labor Studies at IUB. “Many of them shop there and are vaguely aware of controversies surrounding the company’s labor practices.”

A recent recipient of the IU Trustees’ Excellence in Teaching Award and the Industrial Relations Research Association Excellence in Education Award, Ashby may be the first professor in the United States to design and offer a course on Wal-Mart. A “Topics in Labor Studies” option, the one-credit course examines the corporate practices of one company as well as labor and social issues in the U.S. and the world.

“Wal-Mart is a microcosm of what is happening nationally and internationally in the labor market,” Ashby said. “With 1.5 million employees, it is not only the world’s largest corporation, but also the world’s most sued corporation.”

During the five-week course, students look at such issues as the efforts of communities to save their small businesses and downtowns by stopping Wal-Mart and other “big box” retailers from locating near their towns; Wal-Mart’s treatment of its workers and the status of American retail workers; Wal-Mart’s efforts to discourage union organization and the obstacles to union organizing nationally; and the arguments of Wal-Mart’s critics that the company thrives on selling goods made with sweatshop labor in developing countries.

Michelle Donnellon, a junior majoring in telecommunications, was employed by Wal-Mart for four years when she signed up for Ashby’s class. “I thought it would be fun and maybe easy since I knew a lot about the company—or thought I did!” she said. “I learned a ton of things that surprised me.”

Five to 10 percent of the students who enroll in Ashby’s class are IU staff. “The students are worried by the issues that we address in this class. They come from all walks of life,” he said.

Despite the bad press the corporation received during the past year, Wal-Mart received the No. 1 ranking last month on FORTUNE magazine’s list of “America’s Most Admired Companies” for the second year in a row, based on a poll of 10,000 executives, directors and analysts. Wal-Mart was also recipient of the Corporate Patriotism Award at the 9th annual American Veteran Awards for its support of hundreds of reservists employed by the company who have been called to active duty this year.

In Ashby’s seven-page Wal-Mart syllabus, students are encouraged to check out myriad Web sites that have sprung up to address the company’s activities and employee concerns, including:

http://www.walmartwatch.org/

http://www.walmartstores.com/

http://www.walmartfoundation.org/

Related stories:

Returning to a 40-hour work week

The 40-hour work week—dead or alive?