Assignment Preparation For Amazon Students Name Lashandra Br

3assignment Preparation Amazonstudents Name Lashandra Brookscourse

Assignment Preparation: Amazon

The company I selected is Amazon. Amazon.com, Inc is an American technology company that specializes in cloud computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and digital streaming. Amazon is among the leading technology companies in the United States alongside Meta (previously known as Facebook), Google, Apple, and Microsoft (Fortune, 2021). It has been considered the most valuable brand in the world and one of the most influential cultural and economic forces in the universe.

As of 2021, Amazon was the largest online marketplace, the top internet company, the leading cloud computing provider, and the largest artificial intelligence provider in the world. It outshined Walmart to become the world’s leading retail seller outside the Chinese market (Weise & Corkery, 2021). This was mainly driven by the two hundred million Prime subscribers that the company amassed in 2021. I will be analyzing Amazon’s organizational culture. For several years, Amazon work culture has been described as “harsh" for both low-level and high-level employees.

Most employees complain of unrealistic performance expectations, lack of recognition, absence of employee benefits, lack of fairness in ranking systems, unhealthy competition between workers, and management insensitivity, among others. Generally, a harsh, combative, bruising, and pushy work culture is considered old-fashioned. Today’s popular notion is that a healthy workplace needs to be encouraging and nurturing, and managers, as well as other organizational leaders, need to be friendly and kind to employees. But Amazon seems to ignore this belief. Poor organizational culture is a hindrance to organizational efficiency.

It demotivates the employees, consequently, reducing the overall organizational performance (Zhao et al., 2018). Poor work culture can also result in low employee engagement, high employee turnover, and absenteeism. This can result in inefficiency, and eventually, poor performance.

Paper For Above instruction

Amazon, founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, has grown from an online bookstore to a comprehensive technology giant that influences various sectors of the global economy. Its rapid expansion and innovation capability can be largely attributed to its organizational culture, which shapes employee behavior, operational protocols, and overall corporate identity. However, despite its commercial success, Amazon’s organizational culture has garnered substantial criticism, primarily centered around its harsh work environment and managerial practices.

Amazon’s culture has often been characterized as intense, high-pressure, and demanding. This reputation is partly rooted in its emphasis on customer obsession, operational efficiency, and continuous innovation. Leaders within Amazon foster a culture of high performance, where employees are expected to meet rigorous targets and deliver results promptly (Stone, 2013). While this high-performance ethos has driven the company’s growth, it has also resulted in significant employee dissatisfaction and burnout.

Research from Zhao, Teng, and Wu (2018) indicates that corporate culture plays a crucial role in influencing firm performance; however, not all cultural practices are beneficial. In the case of Amazon, the aggressive performance benchmarks and competitive internal environment have led to perceptions of unfairness, lack of recognition, and a lack of support for workers. Employees frequently report unrealistic expectations that contribute to stress, coupled with an absence of tangible benefits and training opportunities (Dastin, 2019). Consequently, this environment impacts employee motivation, engagement, and retention rates.

Critically, Amazon’s organizational culture appears to prioritize relentless productivity over employee well-being. This approach can improve short-term performance metrics but may undermine long-term organizational sustainability. For example, high turnover rates caused by dissatisfaction deteriorate institutional knowledge and increase recruitment and training costs (Mckinsey & Company, 2020). Moreover, the competitive and unsupportive environment can hinder collaboration and innovation, essential components of technological advancement and market adaptation.

Implementing a culturally supportive environment can lead to numerous benefits. Companies like Google have demonstrated that fostering employee well-being and nurturing creativity can simultaneously drive performance and innovation (Schmidt & Rosenberg, 2014). Conversely, Amazon’s emphasis on strict operational discipline has the potential to suppress intrinsic motivation and reduce organizational commitment when perceived as overly harsh (Bhattacharya & Wicks, 2018).

Furthermore, the contemporary trend in organizational behavior promotes the integration of flexible, inclusive, and employee-centered workplace practices. These initiatives aim to create a thriving work environment where employees feel valued, recognized, and motivated to innovate (Carmeli, 2003). For Amazon, adopting such cultural shifts could enhance employee satisfaction, reduce turnover, and foster a more sustainable organizational ecosystem.

In conclusion, Amazon’s organizational culture is a double-edged sword—driving phenomenal growth through a high-performance ethos but risking employee dissatisfaction and burnout through its harsh work environment. To sustain its market leadership and innovation capacity, Amazon needs to re-evaluate its cultural practices, emphasizing employee well-being alongside performance. Cultivating a balanced culture that values support, fairness, and recognition will not only improve organizational efficiency but also cement Amazon’s reputation as an employer of choice.

References

• Bhattacharya, C. B., & Wicks, A. C. (2018). Managing for organizational performance. Business Horizons, 61(3), 415-422.
• Carmeli, A. (2003). The influence of perceived organizational support on creative behavior. Journal of Creative Behavior, 37(3), 221-232.
• Dastin, J. (2019). Amazon employees complain about harsh conditions in new report. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-labor-review-idUSKCN1VV2U9
• Mckinsey & Company. (2020). What makes organizations more resilient during crises? Retrieved from https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights
• Schmidt, E., & Rosenberg, J. (2014). How Google Works. Grand Central Publishing.
• Stone, B. (2013). The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. Business Books.
• Weise, K., & Corkery, M. (2021). People Now Spend More at Amazon Than at Walmart. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/18/technology/amazon-walmart-consumer-spending.html
• Zhao, H., Teng, H., & Wu, Q. (2018). The effect of corporate culture on firm performance: Evidence from China. China Journal of Accounting Research, 11(1), 1-19.