Introduction: When the World’s Largest Company Encounters the World’s Biggest Country

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. CONTENTS v
3. List of Abbreviations vii
4. Introduction: When the World’s Largest Company Encounters the World’s Biggest Country 1
5. Part One: The Walmart Supply Chain
6. 1. Walmart’s Long March to China: How a Mid-American Retailer Came to Stake Its Future on the Chinese Economy 13
7. 2. Outsourcing in China: Walmart and Chinese Manufacturers 34
8. 3. Walmartization, Corporate Social Responsibility, and the Labor Standards of Toy Factories in South China 54
9. 4. Made in China: Work and Wages in Walmart Supplier Factories 71
10. Part Two: The Walmart Stores
11. 5. Corporate Cadres: Management and Corporate Culture at Walmart China 97
12. 6. A Store Manager’s Success Story 130
13. 7. Practicing Cheer: The Diary of a Low-Level Supervisor at a Walmart China Store 151
14. 8. Working in Walmart, Kunming: Technology, Outsourcing, and Retail Globalization 173
15. Part Three: Walmart Trade Unions
16. 9. Unionizing Chinese Walmart Stores 199
17. 10. Did Unionization Make a Difference? Work Conditions and Trade Union Activities at Chinese Walmart Stores 217
18. 11. Workers and Communities versus Walmart: A Comparison of Organized Resistance in the United States and China 239
19. Notes 253
20. Notes on Contributors 281
21. Index 285