Can Wal-Mart make-up for its tarnished irresponsible past?

One of our students, Matt Dowthit, e-mailed out this recent NYTimes article highlighting Wal-Mart’s promise to be more socially responsible. As many of you know, Wal-Mart has an all but retched reputation when it comes to corporate citizenship. The article describes chief executive, H.Lee Scott’s promises:

“In a lofty address that at times resembled a campaign speech, the chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores, H. Lee Scott Jr., said that ‘we live in a time when people are losing confidence in the ability of government to solve problems.’ But Wal-Mart, he said, ‘does not wait for someone else to solve problems.’”

Can Wal-Mart actually change its perception? Can it really be responsible? Will you start shopping at Wal-Mart because of these promises?