Is Wal-Mart a better corporate citizen?

A pitch letter was written on March 27th, on Professor Harlan Platt's reaction to the question if Wal-Mart’s efforts to improve their image and be a better corporate citizen are paying off. Professor Platt is a finance professor at Northeastern University College of Business Administration. Below are his thoughts.
“Wal-Mart started out in the race to be a top 100 place to work as number 44 billion. In other words, they had a long way to go. While it is probably doubtful that Wal-Mart will ever install swimming pools for its employees they have made a number of important steps that show their intentions have changed for the better,” states Harlan Platt, a finance professor and corporate turn-around expert at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University. “The awarding of bonuses to rank and file workers (I believe the average is $652), the push for organic produce and wholesome fishing methods, and the encouragement of employees to accept their health plan are all good signs.”

“The risk is that Wal-Mart may not perceive that the public's perception of it is changing rapidly enough and may fall back into its old ways,” Prof. Platt cautions. “Wal-Mart needs to realize that it will never receive a ticker tape parade down 5th Avenue in NY; its rewards will be more subtle and slow coming. But by sticking to it new model, they will be pleasantly surprised as it gradually assumes a new corporate persona.”

Below is Prof. Platt’s bio. Please let me know if you’d like to talk to him in greater depth about this issue.
Harlan D. Platt, Donald J. Harding Professor of Finance, Finance and Insurance Group at the College of Business Administration at Northeastern University. Professor Platt’s research and consulting interests include corporate bankruptcy, crisis management, and short-term equity price recoveries. He created the certification exam for the Turnaround Management Association. Harlan is a member of the board of directors of Republic Financial Corporation and the advisory board of XRoads Solutions LLC. He previously served on the board of companies on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dublin Stock Exchange and the NADAQ. Before joining the College of Business Administration faculty in 1981, he was director of electricity research and forecasting for Data Resources, Inc. Professor Platt holds a BA from Northwestern University and MA and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan. He is the author of eight books including Why Companies Fail: Strategies for Detecting, Avoiding and Profiting from Bankruptcy; The First Junk Bond: A Story of Corporate Boom and Bust; Principles of Corporate Renewal, A Casebook on Corporate Renewal; The Phoenix Effect: 9 Revitalizing Strategies No Business Can Do Without; Chipping: The New Stock Market Method for Surviving Turbulence and Hitting a Hole in One; and Counterintuitive Investing. His articles have appeared in a number of publications including Journal of Banking and Finance; Journal of Business Finance and Accounting; Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance; Journal of Economics and Business; Journal of Business Research; Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics; and The Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. In 1997-1998, he was the Klein Lecturer at Northeastern University. Professor Platt was the Associate Editor-Finance for the Journal of Business Research.