1. What sacrifices does Costco make so that it may pay employees higher wages?
2. What are the benefits of promoting from within? What might be possible drawbacks to having a high internal promotion rate?
3. What steps could Costco take to foster greater diversity among its management, particularly as it relates to the promotion of women?

Attracting and retaining a loyal and productive workforce is essential to the success of any business. But in retailing, where employee turnover can nearly outpace rapidly churning inventories, a stable and satisfied workforce can be of critical importance. When it comes to cultivating human capital, Costco Wholesale Corp. stands heads and shoulders above its discount retailing peers. The No. 1 membership warehouse chain boasts the highest-paid, most dependable workforce in the industry. This distinction stands in sharp contrast to prevalent labor trends, where many businesses have abandoned the lifetime-employee concept and are engaged in a lower-wages race to the bottom. When viewed against this backdrop, Costco’s strategy for developing a loyal and empowered labor force is at once the most innovative and most controversial in retailing today.