The Costco Challenge: An Alternative to Wal-Martization?

"Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti explained: 'From day one, we've run the company with the philosophy that if we pay better than average, provide a salary people can live on, have a positive environment and good benefits, we'll be able to hire better people, they'll stay longer and be more efficient.'
A 2004 Business Week study ran the numbers to test Costco's business model against that of Wal-Mart. The study confirmed that Costco's well-compensated employees are more productive."