While Watching The Video, Answer The Questions Below ✓ Solved
While watching the video, answer the questions below: How di
While watching the video, answer the questions below: How did Amazon gain market share so fast in the book business? What is the "Gazelle program"? What's Amazon's argument about this tactic? What's the publishers' argument about this tactic? What are the concerns related to the Amazon warehouse/fulfillment center? Is there any problem with the customer-first policy? What are the concerns related to the Amazon delivery system? What are the concerns related to the third-party seller? Do you think Amazon is a monopoly? Do you think antitrust law should apply to Amazon? What are the concerns related to Amazon's artificial intelligence system? What do you think about their stakeholder management? Do you think they are managing their stakeholders well? Are we choosing convenience over values such as health, safety, fair competition, and privacy?
Paper For Above Instructions
Introduction
This brief paper answers the listed questions about Amazon based on public reporting and scholarship. It covers Amazon’s early book-market strategy, the so-called "Gazelle program" as discussed in debates about the company, operational concerns (warehouses, delivery, third-party sellers), antitrust considerations, AI and privacy issues, and stakeholder management. Short, evidence-based responses are provided with citations to credible sources.
How Amazon gained book-market share so fast
Amazon grew rapidly in books by combining low prices, an enormous online catalog, aggressive discounting, fast fulfillment and a highly usable website that aggregated reviews and recommendations (Stone, 2013). The company leveraged economies of scale and centralized inventory to undercut local bookstores and used data-driven recommendation algorithms to increase sales per customer (Stone, 2013; Parker et al., 2016). Prime later reinforced share by tying fast shipping to membership value (House Judiciary Committee, 2020).
What is the "Gazelle program" and the arguments
In the context of criticisms described in reporting and committee investigations, the "Gazelle program" refers to an Amazon tactic to use selective discounting, promotional placement, or special purchase programs to favor certain sellers or SKUs (House Judiciary Committee, 2020). Amazon's argument is typically that such programs improve customer value—lower prices and better availability—while optimizing inventory and logistics. Publishers and competitors argue these tactics can distort competition, enable predatory pricing, and pressure suppliers to accept unfavorable terms (Khan, 2017; Stone, 2013). The disagreement centers on whether observed tactics are pro‑consumer efficiencies or anticompetitive leverage (Khan, 2017).
Concerns about Amazon warehouses / fulfillment centers
Warehouse concerns include workplace safety, high productivity demands, surveillance and tracking of workers, temporary labor reliance, and local environmental or traffic impacts (Kantor & Streitfeld, 2015; The Guardian, 2018). Critics point to injury rates, scheduling practices, and algorithmic monitoring that may prioritize throughput over worker well‑being (Kantor & Streitfeld, 2015). Amazon contends its practices increase efficiency and create jobs, and it points to investments in safety and training (Amazon corporate statements), but independent reporting raises questions about working conditions (The Guardian, 2018).
Is there a problem with the "customer‑first" policy?
“Customer‑first” is strategically powerful but can mask externalities. It can justify aggressive supplier terms, data extraction, or operational choices that benefit consumers in the short term but harm competitors, suppliers, workers, or privacy in the long run (Khan, 2017; Zuboff, 2019). The policy is not inherently problematic, but as implemented it may privilege immediate consumer convenience over other stakeholder interests and systemic harms.
Concerns related to Amazon’s delivery system
Amazon’s delivery expansion raises concerns about labor standards for last‑mile drivers, contractor oversight, accelerated traffic and emissions, and market control over carriers and delivery slots (Bloomberg, 2019; House Judiciary Committee, 2020). Decentralized contractor models can reduce labor protections; meanwhile Amazon’s control of routing and pricing can disadvantage small carriers and local delivery businesses (Bloomberg, 2019).
Concerns related to third‑party sellers
Third‑party sellers benefit from marketplace access but face risks: opaque ranking algorithms, sudden delisting, competition from Amazon’s private-label products, and fees that can squeeze margins (House Judiciary Committee, 2020; Stone, 2013). Reports document instances where data from third-party sales appears to inform Amazon’s private-label strategy, raising conflict-of-interest and fairness concerns (Khan, 2017).
Is Amazon a monopoly and should antitrust law apply?
Whether Amazon is a monopoly depends on market definition. Amazon has dominant positions in online retail, cloud computing (AWS), and platform services. Scholars like Khan argue that antitrust frameworks must account for platform power, vertical integration, and the use of data and self-preferencing—meaning antitrust law should apply and be adapted to platform dynamics (Khan, 2017; House Judiciary Committee, 2020). Even if not a single‑market legal monopoly in every jurisdiction, many analysts argue for enforcement to address exclusionary conduct and market power across interconnected markets.
Concerns about Amazon's artificial intelligence systems
AI concerns include bias in automated decision systems (hiring, surveillance), opaque recommender and search ranking algorithms, and privacy risks from large‑scale data collection (Zuboff, 2019; Parker et al., 2016). Algorithmic management in warehouses and for drivers can intensify surveillance and erode worker autonomy (Kantor & Streitfeld, 2015). Transparent governance, auditability, and rights for those affected are commonly recommended mitigations (Zuboff, 2019).
Stakeholder management—are they managing stakeholders well?
Amazon manages multiple stakeholders strategically: customers, shareholders, sellers, and regulators. Its customer and shareholder alignment has been highly successful; however, tensions with employees, small businesses, publishers, labor groups and privacy advocates suggest stakeholder management is uneven (Stone, 2013; House Judiciary Committee, 2020). Public reporting and investigative journalism show recurring conflicts that indicate room for better balance across stakeholders (Kantor & Streitfeld, 2015).
Are we choosing convenience over other values?
Yes—consumer demand for convenience often prioritizes low prices and speed over less visible values like worker safety, fair competition, and privacy. This tradeoff is a societal choice: convenience has broad benefits but also distributed costs (Zuboff, 2019; The Economist, 2019). Policy, corporate governance, consumer awareness, and regulation can rebalance incentives so that convenience does not automatically override health, safety, competition and privacy.
Conclusion
Amazon’s rapid growth in books and beyond reflects powerful operational capabilities and a focus on customer value. Yet many of the tactics that produced scale—selective programs like the so‑called "Gazelle" approaches, aggressive marketplace policies, algorithmic management, and rapid delivery—raise persistent concerns. Scholars, regulators, journalists, and stakeholders continue to debate whether these practices amount to pro‑competitive innovation or require stronger oversight and updated antitrust tools (Khan, 2017; House Judiciary Committee, 2020). Addressing concerns will require transparency, enforcement, and consideration of tradeoffs between convenience and broader social values.
References
- Stone, B. (2013). The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. Little, Brown and Company.
- Khan, L. (2017). Amazon's Antitrust Paradox. Yale Law Journal, 126(3), 710–805.
- House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law. (2020). Investigation of Competition in Digital Markets: Majority Staff Report and Recommendations. U.S. House of Representatives.
- Kantor, J., & Streitfeld, D. (2015). Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace. The New York Times.
- Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. PublicAffairs.
- Parker, G., Van Alstyne, M., & Choudary, S. (2016). Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets Are Transforming the Economy—and How to Make Them Work for You. W. W. Norton & Company.
- The Guardian. (2018). Reporting on Amazon warehouse conditions and worker experiences. (Various investigative pieces).
- Bloomberg. (2019). Coverage on Amazon's logistics expansion and last‑mile delivery strategies. (Business reporting).
- The Economist. (2019). Analysis pieces on Amazon's market position and the societal tradeoffs of convenience.
- Reuters. (various years). Reporting on Amazon third‑party seller issues, delivery contractors, and regulatory inquiries into platform practices.