Amway

Amway generally refers to an international multi-level marketing (MLM)

Political causes/Culture

Commentators have often (but not strictly accurately) identified Amway as supporting the US Republican Party and other right-wing causes. Amway Corporation claims to support no political party, yet 100% of its political donations benefit Republicans. Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel, who fully owned the company until their retirement (when they delegated authority and substantial ownership to their children), have strongly supported the Republican Party and both socially conservative and pro-capitalist causes, but that has been with their personal assets, not as a company position per se. Many of Amway's best-known distributors, including Dexter Yager, have also declared themselves Republicans.

Related Topics:
US Republican Party - Right-wing - Rich DeVos - Jay Van Andel - Conservative - Capitalist - Dexter Yager

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Amway touts the environmental benefits of many of its products, and in June 1989 UNEP's Regional Office for North America recognized it for its contributions to the cause of the environment.

Related Topics:
1989 - UNEP - Environment

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As well as tending towards being right wing, the senior distributors also promote a worldview encompassing Pentecostal Christian fundamentalism, and a general advocacy of boomer/50s values. The Amway Motivational Organization's (AMO's) perception of the role of women, though, always includes successful women in awards, recognition and speaking engagements. One rarely, if ever, sees a male, married distributor speak on stage without his wife getting equal billing, and explaining her active role in the business. This is a reflection of the AMOs' strong advocacy of the 50s style nuclear family model. (Women have successfully developed Amway/Quixtar businesses around the world.)

Related Topics:
Pentecostal - Christian fundamentalism - Boomer - 50s

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Another cultural element within Amway consists of the level of education which distributors recieve about the topic of generalised, non-Amways specific Entrepreneurship. Although rationalism tends to conflict with the above mentioned Pentecostal Christian fundamentalism, Amway's senior distributors and managers place an extremely high value on the philosophy of Randian capitalism and economic individuality. Given this, prominent themes within books advocated by Amway include economic management (this is a prototypical example) and interpersonal psychology (this would probably be the original example of the latter).

Related Topics:
Entrepreneurship - Rationalism - Pentecostal - Christian fundamentalism - Randian

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In May of 2005, former Amway President Dick DeVos, one of the wealthiest people in Michigan, and his wife Betsy were listed as two of the largest campaign contributors of the 2004 election. Just days later, Dick announced that he would run against Governor Jennifer Granholm in 2006.

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