Analyzing Amazon's Work Culture: An Organizational Behavior Case Study

This case study examines Amazon's organizational behavior, focusing on its demanding work culture and its impact on employees. It highlights reports of long hours, high-pressure environments, and alleged exploitation, contrasting the company's aim to be a positive corporate citizen with its reported treatment of workers. The analysis considers the incentives that drive employees to endure such conditions, including competitive salaries, and discusses the ethical implications of Amazon's practices. The study concludes by suggesting that companies should prioritize employee well-being and ethical conduct to foster a positive brand image and promote long-term success, rather than emulating Amazon's potentially detrimental approach.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Organizational Behavior
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Amazon, one of the most high powered workplace has been the dream company for many
to work for. But the current reports from the renowned editorials and the magazines highlighted
some of the harsh and inhuman working condition and workplace culture inside the company.
The New York Times recently reported a tsunami of discussion on how workers are put in long
hours shift, provided few vacations and are constantly pushed to perform and produce (What
Amazon's Work Culture Tells Us About Employee Disengagement, 2015). Employees at amazon
were found weeping at their desks due to the frequent criticisms at workplace for dragging one
another down before the eyes of the manager. The employees have been sacrificing their
personal lives for their work and are often pressurized to spend less hours with the family.
Employees are furthermore penalized for taking leaves for ailing parents or partners. Employees
at the Amazon goes through a very stressful life, goes through depression and end up having
sleepless nights (Times, 2018). 75 plus hours weeks are normally allocated to each of the
employee and this brutal and abusive work culture furthermore invited the employees towards
the use of drugs and alcohol, making the lives of the people working there more hell.
Amazon sets impossibly high level of goals and targets for its employees while the
measurement and the monitoring of each and every aspects of the productivity of the individual.
The employees still choose to thrive in this inhuman environment and work in Amazon due to
the middle tier salary range which is quiet high as compared to the pay scale of the other
organization (Rollins & Calabrese, 2016). Those employees who tend to thrive the inhuman
environment at the Amazon are generally rewarded with incentives and with the sticks rising in
the value. For the other category of employees who burn out their leaves after lot many years of
working, are generally compensated with middle class salary range and a satisfied designation
which are comparatively higher than that of the rival organization’s.

2ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Individuals who have the burden of work pressure and responsibilities from their personal
lives are generally better suited at the workplace than the others. With the allegation of the
company having the policy that generally encourages all the employees to send anonymous
feedbacks and emails to their supervisors as the one of the dirty ways to sabotage one another of
the team and ruthlessly climb up the corporate ladder has been one of the enchanting and
attracting facilities to many who tend to survive the harsh workplace culture and the working
condition of Amazon (Cunningham-Parmeter, 2016).
The company has been alleged and reported to exploit his employees at all the levels.
Apart from the employees t the big air conditioned room as customer service executives, workers
working in the warehouse of the company are often forced to work and produce and meet their
daily target of productivity in the heat of the summer at the un-air conditioned warehouses
without the facility of fresh air circulation from the loading doors that are open which re
generally kept shut by the company in the fear of robbery of theft. Many of the workers reported
to have collapsed and were taken to the hospital due to the heat strokes.
These ruthless and oppressive treatments to the employees by the company is not only
worsening the employee engagement but also affecting the brand image of the company. The
company needs to take down the point that employees are the engine of the business and putting
too much pressure on the engine will hamper the overall productivity and the aim of the business
(What it's really like to work at Amazon, according to employees, 2018). The defense of the
management of the company which stated that growing up is just the norms of the business does
not focus the apologist version of their reality. Amazon, which aims to recognize itself as one of
the eminent corporate citizens and make a positive impact in the world is actually standing at its
worst with their shrinking morale and responsibilities. No company in the current business world

3ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
thus should follow the steps of the Amazon just to expand their business since this would greatly
affect the company and its brand image in the log run. Each and every company should provide
the basic ethical compulsion and show the minimum amount of generosity to the community and
the employees of the company and set itself as a good option for the employees to work for and a
meaningful change maker.

4ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
References
Cunningham-Parmeter, K. (2016). From Amazon to Uber: Defining employment in the modern
economy. BUL Rev., 96, 1673.
Rollins, T., & Calabrese, A. (2016). Amazon. com. In Global Media Giants (pp. 427-441).
Routledge.
Times, T. (2018). Depiction of Amazon Stirs a Debate About Work Culture. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/19/technology/amazon-workplace-reactions-
comments.html
What Amazon's Work Culture Tells Us About Employee Disengagement. (2015). Retrieved
from https://www.forbes.com/sites/causeintegration/2015/08/21/what-amazons-work-
culture-tells-us-about-employee-disengagement/#4443c70d54f0
What it's really like to work at Amazon, according to employees. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.businessinsider.in/What-its-really-like-to-work-at-Amazon-according-to-
employees/articleshow/62762659.cms