Impact of Digital Technology on HR Practices in Retail Industry: A Study on Amazon.com Inc

TOPIC Submission Coversheet
PROPOSAL TOPIC
and (if you have it)
Title/Top Level
Research Question
 TOPIC
An appraisal of the impact of digital technology upon
HR practices in managing people within the retail
industry. A study on Amazon.com Inc .
Module Title
Business and Management Dissertation:
PART 1 (proposal 3000 words)
Academic Declaration:
Students are reminded that the electronic copy of their essay may be checked, at any point during their degree,
with Turnitin or other plagiarism detection software for plagiarised material.
Word Count 3012

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................3
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH FOCUS...............................................4
2.1 Aim of the research project....................................................................................................4
2.2 Research Objectives and Research Questions.......................................................................4
2.3 Understanding the concept of digital technology..................................................................4
2.4 Analysing the impact of digital technology on HR p............................................................5
ractices.........................................................................................................................................5
2.5 Challenges faced by HRM in implementing technology for managing people.....................6
3. JUSTIFICATION AND CONTEXTUALIZATION..................................................................7
4. METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................8
4.1 Research approach.................................................................................................................8
4.2 Research type.........................................................................................................................9
4.3 Research philosophy..............................................................................................................9
4.4 Data collection.......................................................................................................................9
4.5 Research design and sample..................................................................................................9
4.6 Data analysis........................................................................................................................10
4.7 Ethical Consideration...........................................................................................................10
4.8 Research Limitations...........................................................................................................10
5. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS..................................................................................................11
5.1 Instrument used....................................................................................................................11
5.2 Sample size..........................................................................................................................11
5.3 Questionnaire.......................................................................................................................11
5.4 Choice of method.................................................................................................................11
5.5 Ethical consideration...........................................................................................................11
5.6 Research findings.................................................................................................................13
5.7 Findings of data...................................................................................................................16
5.8 Analysis of data...................................................................................................................26
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................28
RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................................................29

REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................31

1. INTRODUCTION
Technology is embryonic rapidly as it affects HRM practices and performance conduct to
manage staff and their performance as well. The usage of technology in the HR practices keeps
the contact with employees, storing files along and analysing the performance. If used well, it
will then be very useful in efficiently carrying out the business practices. The introduction of
digital technology will provide support to the HR department in providing better and improved
services. Both the line managers and HR is having core interest in the success of the
organization. The IT tools will help in supplement management along with enhancing the
performance and effectiveness, which will consequently lead to the success of the business. In
the current business situation, the requirement of technology is a must. This research analyses the
impact of the digital technology over the HR practices pertaining to managing people (Hindle
and et.al, 2021). This study is important as it outlines how human resource management
activities are affected due to digital technology. Moreover, the topic is essential because it helps
to determine the impact of digital technology upon practices as well as activities of HR
management work within, in order to manage the performance of staff members. This research
study will provide insight about the challenges being faced by HRM in order to effectively
manage the staff and the ways through which challenges can be overcome. Along with that, it
will provide knowledge upon the various implication of the digital technology on the HR
practices.
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH FOCUS
2.1 Aim of the research project
The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of digital technology upon the HR
practices.
2.2 Research Objectives and Research Questions
Research objectives
 To understand the concept of digital technology.
 To examine the impact of digital technology upon HRM
 To ascertain challenges that human resource management face for managing staff
performance.
 To suggest ways through which challenges may overcome

Research questions
 What do we understand by concept of digital technology?
 What are the different impacts of digital technology on practices of human resource
management conduct in context of managing staff?
 What are varied challenges HRM faces in implementing technology in managing
employees within Amazon?
 What are the possible ways through which HRM in Amazon could overcome challenges?
2.3 Understanding the concept of digital technology
According to Scherer, Siddiq and Tondeur, (2019) digital technology includes electronic
systems, resources, tools and devices that process data and use to manage current practices of
any business. It is a combination of different electronic equipment and applications. It can be
used for different purposes such as for managing the performance and acts of businesses as well
as workers in systematic manner, which is very important to do, in order to get further benefits.
In recent times, the above term is known to consist of working principles, procedures and
standards applied to technology standard. It is also known to boost the entire creativity degree,
along with process of data sharing and managing staff performance. It brings a lot of advantages
for companies in today’s competitive environment for example, managing and improving
employees’ activities.
Zaid, Jaaron and Bon, (2018) stated that digital technology has a positive impact upon
human resource management practices and decision-making, in relation to managing
performance and growth of workers, which is quite important in term of improving abilities and
increasing productivity even better. It allows HRM to manage the performance of workers in
systematic manners, and also by using digital technology they can be trained accordingly which
is really effective and useful approach (O’Leary, 2021).
2.4 Analysing the impact of digital technology on HR p
ractices
The emergence of technology has changed the every aspect of working and it is not
surprising that it has a huge impact over the HR as well. As per Papa and et.al., (2018) the most

common benefit of digital technology is bridging the communication gap. It has made very easy
for the HR to communicate the things within seconds through emails, text messages or with other
messaging applications. The organizations make use of such applications as the fixed medium
for the purpose of communication. However, it is also very obvious that every technology has its
benefits and drawbacks. Under the situation of urgency, technology might prove to be a time-
consuming process as the information which will be shared on the two-page email can be easily
communicated verbally. This is because it is considered to be the best way to communicate
which is due to the fact, that one can easily interpret the facial expressions and provide more
chance to ask questions.
As per the view of Wang and et.al., (2017) the digital technology is also helpful in
effectively analysing the data of the employees, as the reports can be prepared with just few
clicks. The companies are having certain criteria based upon which, it is determined whether the
employees are meeting with the desired goals or not. The availability of the various application
has made the process easier to monitor and analyse the performance. But on the other side, it is
important to make a note of the other aspect as well. There are some issues where even
technology requires human judgement. The author further added that the advancement in the
technology is just a tool which will help in improving and complement the HR functionality.
One might argue the cons of excessive usage of technology but the pros over-weigh the
negativity. As defined by Reis and et.al., (2018) technology is the most crucial way to enhance
the efficiency. The usefulness of the latest technology helps in creating harmony in the
organization and among the employees. The data is being made easily available in case one
needs it and along with that, the HR time which was earlier invested more in administering the
tasks are now invested in the issues which requires more attention. This is turned out to be the
positive impact, as the HR are no longer required to struggle through the piles of papers,
messages can be easily drafted. But the only thing that is required to be taken into account is
improvement in the skills and the ability of the HR personnel in using the technology.
2.5 Challenges faced by HRM in implementing technology for managing people
The HR technology implementation is inevitable but there are certain challenges or
barriers that the organizations faces pertaining to the implementation of the HR technology. As
stated by Al Shobaki and et.al., (2017) one of the challenge is the security of data concerns. The
usage of technology has raised various issues in respect to the HR department and handling the

information of its employees. By having the information or the data stored on the online
platform, the organizations are exposed to various risk. Thus, in order to introduce technology
within the organization it is important to understand the implications of it and proper research
and measures should be undertaken. Along with this, Kohnke (2017) emphasized that before
introducing new technology within the HR practices in order to effectively and efficiently
managing the employees, it is crucial to undertake research, in respect to the selected technology.
This will ensure it meets the requirements for which it was being selected. In case it fails to meet
with the proposed objective, then it will be of no use and will be just a waste of money. It might
be difficult to determine return on investment (ROI) with the human resource technology. It can
be challenging as mainly because the HR is a support function. The HR technology
implementation results into cost savings and other quantifiable benefits but it is crucial to define
these parameters in advance, before implementation.
According to Van Mierlo, Bondarouk and Sanders (2018) it is important to understand
that by merely introducing the technology, is not enough, the organization is required to
understand whether the employees are having the required skills and ability to effectively make
use of the technology and in case, if the staff is not having the required skills then the
organization might be required to provide training to them in order to make them familiar with
the technology. In order to do this, the organization would be required to incur additional
expenditure pertaining to providing training to HR personnel. Further, if the HR department fails
to make use of the technology effectively then this might result into improper management of the
employees. Along with this, it might create complexity in terms of managing people. Therefore,
these are some of the major issues or the challenges which the HR department should consider in
regard to the implementation of technology in the HR practices, leading to better management of
people. Both pros and cons should be studied in order to undertake the right decision.
3. JUSTIFICATION AND CONTEXTUALIZATION
HR technology implementation in the organization will allow the managers to effectively
and efficiently acquire, collect and deliver the HR information along with communicating the
same with the staff. Automating some of the HR practices, will assist in reducing the quantity of
administrative work, so that the HR can concentrate more on managing the workforce. As per the
2019 HCM trends report by HR Federation, the worldwide human resource technology venture
capital has been $3.1 bn in 2019 and over three times amount being invested in the year 2017.

The usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has resulted into making the recruitment smarter
(Michailidis, 2018). The development in the AI technology will help the HR in building job
description or the creation of the resume in less than a minute and can also highlight which
candidate better meets with the desired qualification and skill level. The cloud based HR
solutions also helps in effectively meeting up with the compliance requirement, which has helped
in streamlining the process (MacKinnon and et.al, 2021).The organizations which embraces the
technology for the purpose of compliance, will enable it to come at the top. This will also help in
making recruitment more attractive and reduce retention efforts. Along with this, it helps in
improving the working conditions and enhancing the employee performance, with impact into
increasing sales. These are some of the main facts, that made this research important, regarding
the implementation of digital technology within HR practices.
This research will help in finding answers to the question, in regard to the position of
technology in the HR practices, along with the impacts it has on managing the workforce. It is
important to answer to the research questions, firstly, because the usage of technology in the HR
domain is disruptive in nature and is changing rapidly. Secondly, there has not been done much
research on this topic, which makes necessary carrying out this research. Lastly, but not least,
digital technologies in the HR practices have changed the trends, which makes it important for
getting an in-depth knowledge and understanding about this topic (Rana and Malik, 2017).
The human resource technology has provided managers with all the relevant and meaningful
decision-making tools, which provides them assistance pertaining to undertaking value added
decisions. Achieving a strong relationship between the HR and technology, can support the
organization in accomplishing its objectives, through strategic alignment with the organizational
goals. Providing users with updated and important data reports, and changing the way how the
HR work is being performed, reduces the lead times and expenses and increases the service
levels(Rhodes, 2021)
This research will be based upon the existing evidence research carried out on the related
topic, so that comparison and conclusion from it can be drawn effectively. Also, this will help in
drawing evidence from the previously carried out research, which will help in effectively
determining the aspects which are required to be covered in order to gather in-depth information
pertaining to the topic (Lee, 2021) The researcher will consider the existing data and
information based upon which will build the new conclusion. This research will be completed in