Benefits of Change

The Benefits of Change

Webster’s Dictionary defines change as the act, process, or result of alteration through time. There is no doubt that with time comes change. Whether it is a new law that takes place or a new-born baby, change is inevitable. Some say change is bad. Others think the opposite. Perhaps, however, it is both. Why is it impossible to look at both aspects of the side, positive and negative? In order to correctly label a certain change as advantageous or disadvantageous, it is necessary to weigh out the positives and negatives the change may have. This includes not only direct effects the change has, but indirect as well. In this case, there have been many new additions to my home town of Rochester, one of the biggest being additions to the retail community by major stores such as Wal-Mart and Target. Now, it would be easy to jump to conclusions about these changes here, so before I did that, I took my own advice and investigated a little deeper. After I was finished a clear-cut answer was suddenly realized by me and, after reading this, I believe you will have made up your mind as well. Because of the increase in convenience, addition of jobs, and rise in home value, the addition of big retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target is a beneficial asset to Rochester.

It is not hard to understand having a store such as Wal-Mart close to home is going to bring added convenience to your life. Instead of having to go downtown to small

Ma and Pop store, one is able to drive right down the road and find almost anything they could possibly need. Just from my own personal experience, I have found that it saves time and money by having these stores here. Big retailers are able to buy more bulk since they have the added resources of a significantly higher budget and much more space to keep their extra inventory. This gives them the advantage of buying at a lower price which, in turn, leads to lower prices for their customers. Another more indirect way of how these stores save their consumers money is their convenient locations. Both Wal-Mart and Target are located on the out-skirts of town which allows customers to get what they need without driving downtown and thus saving them money on gas.

Another reason I feel that the addition of these stores is advantageous to Rochester is the amount of jobs it creates in the community. Obviously, whenever jobs are created, it is a good thing. However, the size of these retailers allows many more job opportunities than the average new store in town. The addition of retailers like these adds hundreds of job openings per store; there’s no doubting the boost this has on our local economy. And these stores know how to treat their employees. They offer decent wages and benefits which seems to be a main concern with many jobs today. When interviewing a good friend of mine, Brandon Sorgatz, he explained “When I turned 18 I could no longer be covered under my parents’ health insurance. I was having a lot of trouble finding a job where I was able to get these kinds of benefits; that changed when Target was built” (Sorgatz, Brandon). Clearly he has benefitted from the addition of Target and he is definitely not the only one.

Finally, the addition of these stores to Rochester is advantageous because it increases the value of the property and housing in the area. Most people do not want to have to drive a long distance for every-day items. As pointed out earlier, these stores