New York Times reporter David Barstow uncovered a shocking story against retail giant, Wal-Mart. His investigation started after Wal-Mart shut down its internal investigation over the possible bribery of Mexican officials. Wal-Mart used these bribes to accelerate growth in their Mexican zoning areas. These allegations surfaced when a Hispanic lawyer contacted Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville Arkansas. This lawyer had inside information on Wal-Mart’s bribes, as he represented them in their acts. He was used as a middle man for Wal-Mart’s payoffs to these officials. Wal-Mart took action in defending its image. In 2005 the company launched an internal investigation that dug into the operations of Wal-Mart de Mexico. The reports put …show more content…

Now that the statements have been made public, Wal-Mart de Mexico has been under investigation by the U. S. and Mexican governments. The leadership is questionable within both Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart de Mexico. The high members of Wal-Mart de Mexico made a choice to shut down the investigation to cover up their tracks. The consequences of being discovered breaking the law to this extreme would put a huge chip on all of the Wal-Mart leaders’ shoulders. The growth of their business is also at stake. Apparently these bribes played a major role in the expansion of Wal-Marts across Mexico. The leaders located in Arkansas will more than likely be held accountable for irresponsible actions as well. If the allegations are true they could be found out for knowing about the illegal bribes. Ethical issues do not look good for leaders; it can dramatically impact the way the company is viewed. The actions of Wal-Mart making deals in Mexico could greatly affect the way the company is viewed and its overall standing to the public. With the investigation still ongoing it has yet to be clear what leaders at Wal-Mart are tied to the bribes in Mexico but it is undoubted by the New York Times that there are several people accountable for the actions. It is also possible that Wal-Mart has been doing this in other countries as well, but will only be confirmed when and if the government can obtain the information they need to prove wrong doing against