WAL-MART SIMULATION A Role-Playing Exercise to Aid Community-Based Decision Making © 2005 (revised) Canadian Centre for Community Renewal © 2004 Centre for Community Enterprise, Canadian Centre for Community Renewal 1-888-255-6779 communityrenewal.ca Credits Concept: Mike Lewis, Executive Director, CCE Writing: Mike Lewis, Stewart E. Perry, Michelle Colussi, and Maggie Paquet Some portions and material drawn from CED Certificate Curriculum for College Boreal, Ontario Permissions Dr. Norman Tyler, Director of Urban & Regional Planning Program and WebPolis Consortium Project, Department of Geography and Geology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan (www.emich.edu/public/geo/557book/); re compilation of “Effects of Wal-Mart on Downtowns and Small Cities in Michigan.” David Beers, Editor, The Tyee (online news) www.thetyee.ca; re “Wal-Mart on the Rez,” by Sarah K. Cox. Editor: Maggie M. Paquet MAIA Publishing, Port Alberni, BC TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................. 1 WHY WAL-MART?............................................................................................................................ 1 THE QUESTIONS.............................................................................................................................. 2 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................ 2 THE ROLES ...... ................................................................................................................................ 2 THE READINGS................................................................................................................................ 3 READINGS RELEVANT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ............................................................................. 3 READINGS RELEVANT TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY..................................................................... 4 READINGS RELEVANT TO BOOSTERS AND THE COMPANY................................................................ 4 READINGS RELEVANT TO THE COALITION OF OPPOSITION............................................................... 4 SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS ............................................................................................................ 5 THE ROLE-PLAY ............................................................................................................................. 6 GETTING ORGANISED........................................................................................................................ 6 THE PROCESS ................................................................................................................................ 6 PUBLIC HEARING ON REZONING ....................................................................................................... 8 PLENARY DEBRIEFING ...................................................................................................................... 8 APPENDIX ONE Descriptions of Roles APPENDIX TWO Printouts of Readings INTRODUCTION Our society, or culture, is rooted in principles of democracy that include community-based decision- making. If communities are to evolve sustainably, citizens need to be engaged in making the decisions necessary to steer their communities in the direction they want to go. And, if citizens are to be involved in making decisions, they need information to enable understanding the range of issues involved. One of the best ways for citizens to understand the issues, and the decision-making process itself, is to participate in role-playing scenarios. How a community—including local governments, businesses, and individuals—may make a decision relating to economic development and land use issues, for example, involves complexities that are best articulated when each component has the opportunity to understand the points of view of the others. Role-playing is a useful process for introducing these points of view and for bringing out all the possible elements that are needed for making the best decision for a given community. As the process unfolds, the various segments of the local society, as well as individuals, are presented with the values and perceived requirements of the others in a way that fosters greater understanding of the community as a whole and, in some cases, of the community’s place in the regional, national, even global contexts. The Centre for Community Enterprise has created the Wal-Mart Simulation as the basis for a role- playing exercise for use either in a classroom setting or by communities to explore the decision- making process in relation to local economic development. The goal of the simulation is to promote a broad base of understanding on which to build sustainable community economic development. Why Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart is the world’s largest corporation. It is bigger than General Motors, General Electric, and ExxonMobil. Its annual revenues are greater than Target, Sears, Kmart, J.C. Penny, Safeway, and Kroger combined.1 It is the world’s most powerful retailer. It builds and operates what are called “big box” discount retail stores, or supercentres, that—especially in or near small to medium-sized communities—have the potential to significantly alter pre-existing social and economic conditions. When a new Wal-Mart store is proposed for a town, the main issues that arise relate to economic development, land use, and local fiscal policies. Stacked within these are a wide range of social, labour, business ethics, and environmental concerns. The company says it brings jobs and money into a community. Local businesses may see it as a threat to their viability. Others say it contributes to the loss of local economic control. Community leaders must gauge the potential for impacts to existing businesses and consider the net changes in employment and the quality of jobs that are created. Across North America communities are facing the challenge of deciding whether or not to have a Wal-Mart in their town. It’s a hot issue that galvanises citizens on one side or the other, often pitting neighbour against neighbour. It has generated an Everest of commentary and analysis that can be difficult to scale. Bringing all the complexities into a role-playing exercise can help communities decide what is their best course of action. 1 Charles Fishman, Fast Company, No. 77, Dec 2003 (www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html) Wal-Mart Simulation: A Role-Playing Exercise 1 THE QUESTIONS 1. How do broad trends manifest themselves in the local arena? 2. What elements do we need to think about in order to strategically address the issues raised when a super-box discount store wants to move to your area? Objectives 1. Using Wal-Mart as an example, participants will understand and be able to discuss the main characteristics of the global production system. 2. Participants can discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this system from the various perspectives of local and regional governments, consumers, producers, and the local economy. 3. Participants can articulate the main issues that have to be considered when organising and mobilising the community around a major public issue. THE ROLES Each of the roles listed below is more fully described in Appendix One. 1. Facilitator (who also acts as The Company, at times) 2. City Council (which must hold a formal process and make a decision on land use zoning) • The city likes to try and keep taxes low and services high. • The mayor and three city councillors, plus the town planner, sit on the zoning committee. Two of the councillors are strong supporters of the Wal-Mart application. 3. Boosters • City councillors who believe a new Wal-Mart in town will to increase property tax revenue • Chamber of Commerce president (owns a large local industry and believes another big business in the area will take some tax pressures off his company) • a representative of a local support group for low-income families and single mothers who believes Wal-Mart’s low prices may help the agency’s clients stretch their already too-few dollars • shopaholics who want to get the most “stuff” for the least amount of money • a “neo-liberal” educator who believes in “free-market” principles for every aspect of life (and who is an associate of a right-wing think-tank, so he likely gets paid to express his point of view) 4. Coalition of Opposition • some local business owners and “dissident” Chamber of Commerce members who believe local businesses will be threatened by Wal-Mart • local Labour Council president and members • local environmental coalition • local co-op manager and the co-op’s board of directors • local chapter of Council of Canadians • local constituency president of NDP party • local citizens’ group concerned with “Smart Growth” and community sustainability issues Wal-Mart Simulation: A Role-Playing Exercise 2 THE READINGS The readings can be used as background material to inform and support the various interests and points of view expressed in this exercise. We have attempted to organise them according to the different roles; however, in some respects the separations are artificial because of the complexities and wide range of issues discussed or described in some of the articles and readings. For example, many of the readings for local governments and businesses also contain information that can be used by the coalition of opposition to support general