amazon as an employer

Summary

Amazon, the largest Internet-based retailer in the United States, has frequently figured among the most admired companies.

• However, an article published in The New York Times portrayed Amazon as a soul- crushing employer and a cruel place to work.

• According to the article, employees at Amazon are encouraged to be critical of each other’s ideas and performance — both openly, during meetings, and covertly, by sending negative feedback to each other’s bosses.

• Long hours are the norm, and employees with dependent care and medical issues are viewed as liabilities.

• Employee attrition is, as a result, exceedingly high.

• Most of the ex-employees interviewed for The New York Times’ article described the culture as toxic and difficult to survive in.

• A few employees felt that Amazon was the best place to work for people who are passionate about their profession.

• Nonetheless, both Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, have experienced a decline in their public rankings since the publication of the article.

Task 1:

1.1 Does the people management strategy of care and compassion make business sense?

1.2 How does the practice of keeping employees on the edge impact business in the short and long run? (1000 words)

Does the people management strategy of care and compassion make business sense?

• Are care and compassion relevant in today’s hyper-competitive, innovation-driven business context?

• Does an attitude of care and compassion impact business performance and the bottom line?

• Amazon is doing well financially; the public ranking of its CEO has dropped. Bezos dropped from number one to number 87 in Harvard Business Review’s CEO rankings. This drop in ranking coincides with Harvard Business Review including social responsibility criteria in the evaluation. Does this mean that Amazon may have to eventually adopt a strategy of care and compassion for its employees?

• Psychological flexibility

1.2 Does keeping employees on the edge help business, or is the policy of keeping employees on the edge beneficial to business in any way? In favour or No???

Task 2 : 800 words

Is Amazon’s employer brand as reported by The New York Times sustainable?

Why or why not?

Employer branding assumes that human capital adds value and that, therefore, an attractive employer brand, by extension, also adds value.

• The first step in building an employer brand is to develop a winning employee value proposition, which helps in attracting and retaining talent. An employee value proposition leads to talent engagement.

Amazon’s Employer Brand Is Sustainable??

1. It will attract only those employees who are passionate about innovating.

2. The company is a professional organization and employees are expected to give their best with minimum resources, especially in times of global recession and low margins

3. …

4. …

Amazon’s Employer Brand Is Not Sustainable

1. Companies need to adapt to changing demographics and employee preferences, create new competencies.

2. This is the era of the Millennials, or Generation Y, for whom transparency is of the utmost importance.

3. ….

4. ….

Task 2: 700 words

Are employees thriving under Amazon’s workplace policies, or are they just barely surviving?