Human Resource Management Report: Amazon Case Study and Analysis

This report examines the human resource management practices of Amazon, a leading e-commerce company. It begins with an introduction to HRM and its role in organizational development, change implementation, workforce planning, and organizational structure, using Amazon as a case study. The report then evaluates the effectiveness of Amazon's recruitment and selection procedures, including internal and external methods, and the interview selection process, considering their compliance with the Equality Act. Furthermore, it analyzes the impact of talent management on employee performance, exploring best practice models and their effect on company output. Finally, the report assesses effective HR systems and their impact on various business activities, providing recommendations for improvement and compliance with legal requirements. The report highlights how Amazon leverages HRM to achieve its business objectives and maintain a competitive advantage in the global e-commerce industry.

Human
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY .................................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
Role of human resource management in organisational progress and implementation of
change, workforce planning and organisational structure .....................................................3
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................5
Effectiveness of recruitment and selection procedure in business context ...........................5
Compliance of recruitment and selection process with legal requirement of Equality Act...7
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................8
Effect of talent management on employee performance .......................................................8
Exploration of best practice models with their effect on overall output of the company....10
TASK 4..........................................................................................................................................12
Assessment of effective HR systems and their impact on various business activities.........12
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................15
REFRENCES ................................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
Human resource management consists of every activity undertaken by a firm to construct
and maintain an effective workforce. Human resource management conducts various tasks such
as workforce planning, performance and talent management which create positive working
environment and maximise efficiency of firm. This report is based on US based online retail firm
Amazon which was founded by Jeff Bezoz in the year 1994. the firm is a leading member of the
global e-commerce industry and offers a wide range of products and services which includes
video streaming services and electronic goods. The firm has employed 1,298,000 workers on a
global scale to conduct various activities of the firm. This report covers role of human resource
management in an organisational context with role of HRM in relation to workforce planning,
organisational structure and growth. Evaluation of various recruitment and selection process is
given along with their compliance to legislative requirements of the Equality Act. Analysis of
staff talent management on employee performance with with description of best models and their
impact on company performance. Effective HR practices and systems along with their effect on
business operations is given in this report.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Role of human resource management in organisational progress and implementation of change,
workforce planning and organisational structure
Human resources are an indispensable resource of the company as they helps the
organisation complete their daily tasks in a timely manner. This is because highly developed
workforce helps the company provide services which maximise consumer satisfaction and drive
sales of the company (Mone, London and Mone, 2018).
. Human resource management aims to construct highly skilled workforce which helps the
company accomplish their business objectives.
Role of HRM in organisational development
Organisational development is processes which focuses on building improved capacity to
change and attaining enhanced organisational effectiveness by developing, improving and
strengthening strategies, systems and procedures (Maylor, Blackmon and Huemann, 2016).
Human resource management plays a crucial role in organisational develop as it strengthens

various procedures and systems to enhance capabilities of the workforce. Human resource
management recruits and retains talented employees in the company and manages growth of
workers by conducting effective training and development programmes. In context of US based
e-commerce firm Amazon , human resource enhances change capacity of the workforce and
works to continuously improve systems and procedures for employee welfare so that the
company is able to gain high profitability.
Role of HRM in implementing change
The primary role of HR during implementation of change is to supervise that employees
participate in change management programme and support them so that they can easily adopt to
carnage. This is because implementation of change is about the capacity of workforce to adopt to
various changes effectively (Achour, and Sarra 2017). The HR department at Amazon focuses
on hiring employees which can easily adopt to change and supports the workers during
implementation of change so that their performance is not affected by the change. This has
contributed to the organisation's growth and is the reason behind the firm's ability to gain success
in various business endeavours.
Role of HRM in workforce planning
HRM plays a crucial role in workforce planing and assists the company recruit skilled
employees ate every potion of the company. Recruitment and selection process of HRM helps
the company attract talented employees while various employee training and benefit schemes
create motivating workplace environment which retains employees for a longer time period. This
helps in achieving primary objective of workforce planning which is to plan workforce supply
and demand. Amazon has constructed a dedicated workforce which has talented workers at
every potion of the company through effective HRM practices.
Role of HRM in organisational structure
Organisational structure defines ways in which various business operations such as
resource allotment, supervision are directed towards achievement of organisational goals. HRM
plays an important role in development of organisational structure it constructs communication
channels and directs flow of communication within the firm (Lee, Park and Baker, 2018). In
context of Amazon, effective organisational structure is developed which is maintained by
various HRM practices. This helps the company conduct each task in a timely manner.

TASK 2
Effectiveness of recruitment and selection procedure in business context
Recruitment and selection process involves the identifying, attracting, enlisting, hiring
and on-boarding talented employees employees to fulfil employee requirement of the company.
This process includes everything from determination of staffing requirement to filling vacancy
of the company with suitable candidates. The main purpose of recruitment and selection process
is to search talented candidates and hire them to occupy vacant positions which are suitable for
their skill level (Wehrmeyer, 2017).
Amazon utilises both internal and external recruitment method to identify suitable
candidates for various vacancies in the company. Evaluation of these recruitment methods in
attaining their purpose and helping them company gain skilled workforce is given below:
Internal recruitment method: This recruitment method aims to identify talented
candidates for full-filling staffing requirement of the company through their current workforce.
The company promotes, transfers or converts temporary employees into permanent workers to
recruit skilled workers through internal recruitment.
Merits:
 This process is cost effective as it does not require promotional investment.
 The firm is able to reduce time of on-boarding process as employees are already familiar
without the company.
 Employees recruited through this process are loyal and work with dedication due to their
career advancement.
Demerits:
 This process creates an inflexible working environment.
 Employees with new ideas and fresh perspective are not hires as the company has to
recruit employees form their current workforce.
 This process creates vacancy within the workforce (Nadeem and de Luque, 2020).
External recruitment method: the organisation seeks to find suitable candidates to full-
fill their staffing needs from outside the current employee pool. Employment fairs and employee
referrals are several examples of external recruitment.
Merits:
 This enables the company to search from a large group of applicants with various skills.

 The firm can diversify their workforce through this recruitment method.
 Possibility of finding qualified candidates is increased through this method due to large
number of applicants from different (Budhwar, 2016).
Demerits
 High investment is primary demerit of this method.
 There are high chances of employees recruited through this method not being able to
adapt to the company
 This method may create dissatisfaction among the existing workforce.
In context of Amazon, external recruitment method is most suitable as it enables the
company to search from a wider group of applicants and helps the company recruit tight people
at positions suitable for them. External recruitment accomplishes the purpose of recruitment
process by helping the company find the most suitable employees for their staffing needs.
Interview is the method of selection used at Amazon in order to identify skill set of their
applicants and hire the most talented candidates to build a talented workforce which helps the
company gain competitive advantage in their industry. Evaluation of this re-enactment method is
conducted below:
Interview: This selection method involves asking series of open ended or close ended
questions to candidates to identify their skill-set. This is a type of oral examination and helps thr
company evaluate inter-personal skills of the employee.
Merits:
 This method helps the company understand the behaviour and required communication
skills of the candidate (Landay and DeArmond, 2018).
 The organisation can test technical knowledge of the employee in a cost-effective way.
 Open ended interviews allow recruiters to modify selection questions in order to evaluate
candidates from different educational and cultural background.
Demerits:
 This method is not highly reliable as personal bias can affect the mindset of recruiters.
 This is time consuming method as each employee is interviewed separately.
 This method is provides subjective results which leads to ineffective judgement of
candidates.

Apart form this other selection method such as tests designed to evaluate situational
judgement of employees are used for selecting talented employees. This selection method
involves presenting various scenarios top candidates which are faced by individuals applying for
their job profile. These tests require high investment and provide the candidates a realistic view
of their job. The firm is able to identify if the candidate is culturally fir for the job by using these
tests (Picardi, 2019).
In context of Amazon, the interview is highly favourable selection method for the firm as
it allows the firm to gain in depth information about candidates . This selection method attains
the purpose of recruitment and selection process as the firm is able to hire the most talented
candidates by using this selection method. Employment of skilled employees at every position of
the firm is the main contributor to the success of Amazon.
Compliance of recruitment and selection process with legal requirement of Equality Act
In order to conduct their selection and recruitment process without facing legal action,
Amazon needs to comply with various pieces of legislation. This not only helps the company
stay out of lawsuits but also helps the company construct and implement a fair and unbiased
selection and recruitment process. One of the main pieces of legislature which needs to be
considered during selection and recruitment process is the Equality Act.
Equality Act, 2010
This act states that the during selection and recruitment process, corporations need to
ensure that candidates are not discriminated against on the basis of nine characteristics which are
protected under this act. These nine characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment,
marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion, believe and sex.
Amazon needs to utilise recruitment and selection process which complies with this act
as it will help the company remove personal bias from their recruitment methods. The firm will
be able to evaluate candidates on the basis of their skills and form impartial judgement about
their capabilities (Tomer, 2016). The recruitment and selection process of Amazon will be
enhanced after implementing this act as the firm will recruit high performing and supremely
talented employees due to elimination of discrimination.
Recommendations: In order to comply with legal requirement of the Equality Act,
Amazon needs to identify and eliminate biased employees from their recruitment and selection
process. This will ensure that not a single candidate is discriminated against during their

recruitment and selection process. Apart from this the respective firm needs to diversify group of
employees chosen for interviewing the candidates as it will reduce favouritism or partial
decision making. Amazon needs to interact with diverse range of candidates by promoting
vacancies in multipole languages so that diverse group of employees are apply to the selection
process.
TASK 3
Effect of talent management on employee performance
The term talent management refers to the continuous procedure of attracting and
retaining high performing employees, enhancing their skill-set and constantly encouraging the to
enhance their overall output. The main objective of talent management is to create committed
and skilled employees which stay with the company for a long time period. Utilisation of
effective talent management policies is one of the reasons behind swift growth of US based e-
commerce company Amazon (McColl and Michelotti, 2019). The firm has implemented
various talent management policies to retain skilled workers and helps them accomplish various
business goals in limited time. Effect of talent management on employee performance in relation
to global leader in the technology industry Amazon is provided below:
Increases productivity
Effective talent management practices increase productivity of the workers by helping
them gain additional skills which are required for improving their weak areas. Employee
development is one of the main element of talent management which focuses on developing
abilities of the workforce and removing and teaching them techniques to improve their weak
areas. This results in increased productivity of the company as each employee is able to conduct
their daily tasks with maximum efficiency. Amazon has implemented talent management
policies which seek to develop competency of their workforce through appropriate training and
development sessions. These sessions train employees about ways in which they can utilise
company equipment to maximise productivity by using their existing skill set (Collings, Mellahi
and Cascio, 2017). Apart form this employee development programme adopted by Amazon
focuses on developing additional skills of the workforce which are required for building highly
productive employees for the company. Utilisation of such talent management policies has

helped the company build a highly productive workforce which helps the company respond to
consumer demand on a global scale so that the firm is able to maintain high profitability.
Builds committed employees
Another impact of talent management practices on employee performance is that it
assists the firm in building workers which are committed towards working for the company
diligently. These employees are focused on improving their performance by actively
participating in various employee development programmes as they feel that this will help them
progress in their career (Iii, 2016). Employees work with high dedication towards producing
high quality output. This enhances employee performance and helps the company minimise
flaws in their daily operations. The talent management practices adopted by Amazon result in
development of committed employees by helping them develop skills necessary for growing
along their career path in the organisation. This has a positive impact on employee performance
as they are devoted towards producing output which is of premium quality with flawless details.
The organisation is able to offer premium services of to their consumers as a result of dedicated
workforce. This gives Amazon competitive advantage in their industry and allows them to
successfully expand in new markets and intragenerational regions.
Enhances employee innovation
Talent management practices encourage innovation in the workforce as committed and
skilled employees are able to construct innovative ideas and find creative solutions for various
issues. Talent management constructs a workforce which is devoted towards achieving business
objectives of the company. These employees create workplace culture which drives innovation
and helps the company. Talent management has huge impact on employee performance workers
are inclined towards challenging traditional procedures and systems in order to find innovative
solutions for the company. Talent management policies utilised by Amazon support innovation
and encourage employees to utilise technological advancements in order to find innovative
solutions for various issues (Clarke and Scurry 2020). As the company is able to offer unique
and innovative solutions for various products, consumer satisfaction is increased by a huge
amount. This helps Amazon secure beneficial position in the industry and increase their market
share in comparison to their business rivals.

Exploration of best practice models with their effect on overall output of the company
According to the best practice model certain talent management practices are able to help
the company in attracting retaining and developing talented employees regardless of
geographical location, size or experience of the company. Utilisation of best practice talent
management practices will helps the company maintain stable growth rate and gain competitive
advantage in their industry (Paauwe and Farndale, 2017). Amazon utilises various talent
management practices to build a dedicated and skilled workforce for continuous growth of the
company. The impact of these practices on overall output of the company is provided below:
Professional development opportunities
This is one of the most widely used talent management opportunities which involves
identification of employee interests so that appropriate career development path can be
constructed for the employees. Human resource department is tasked with developing employees
in a way which helps them secure higher positions in the firm and move upward in their
professional career. This practice is not only enhances job satisfaction of various employees but
also motivates them in participating in various employee development programmes so that they
develop abilities which helps them secure high positions in the company. Construction of plans
which help in professional development of employees start with identification of employee
potential and career interests so that suitable personalised professional development plan for
each employee is developed. Implementation of this plan revolves around giving employees
opportunities to enhance their skill-set through activities such as job rotations so that they can
take additional responsibilities easily.
In context of Amazon this talent management practice helps the company enhance
overall performance of the company by preparing each employee to take additional
responsibilities carding to their growth potential and areas of interests. Every worker of the
company has gains expertise in their field by learning additional abilities and gaining experience
related to every aspect of their job. The helps the company build an talented and skilled
workforce which has the ability to take various roles and handle diverse set of situations (Zhou,
Fey and Yildiz, 2020). Overall organisational performance is enhanced due to the
implementation of this talent management practice, as each employee has profound
understanding of their job and through their experience they are able to face various challenges
of the company. This is a best practice talent management model as every organisation can gain

favourable result after the implementation of this model. This is because every employee seeks
to move upwards in their career path and is motivated to enhance their performance if such
opportunity is presented to them.
Employee benefit programmes
This talent management practice retains skilled employees by recognising their worth and
appreciating their services to the company by giving them appropriate benefits. The firm is able
to retain skilled employees as they are given incentives and benefits according to their telnet and
services to the company. This not only results in retention of talented employees but also
encourages existing members of the workforce to enhance their performance so that they gain
certain rewards and benefits from the firm. Recognition is an effective motivating factor which
enhances overall organisational performance as each employee is determined to attain
recognition by giving exceptional performance (Cohen, 2017). This enhances overall
performance of the company as each employee aims to produce high quality work.
In context to Amazon appropriate employee benefit schemes are implemented which
promote employee well being and encourage them maximise their efficiency. Amazon has
implemented various employee benefits schemes such as providing each employee dental and
health insurance. Apart form this paid holidays to each employee along with company pension
plan which rewards talented employees with various retirement perks. Income protection is
another element of the employee benefit scheme offered by Amazon which seeks to provide high
job security to each employee. These employee benefit sheerness act as a motivator which
encourages employee to enhance their skills and continuously improve their performance while
working with the company. This also retains top telnet for the company as workers gain several
benefit for working diligently. As each employee aims to enhance their abilities, overall output
of the firm is increased without any decline in quality of the products or services. This helps the
company gain success in every business endeavour and is contributing factor in global expansion
of the company (Paine, 2019)
Employee development programmes
This Talent management practices seeks to develop competencies of the workforce by
conducting skill development programmes. These programmes are supervised by a mentor and
progress of each employee after completion of each programme is monitored by authorities. This
helps the firm gain information about employee improvement so further decisions related to such

initiatives can be made. Employees are asked to discuss the impact of such programmes with
their mentors. Apart form this effective feedback loops are constructed so that employees can
communicate their opinions about the development programmes to their managers. The
implementation of such employee development programmes results in the construction of highly
skilled employees. These employees are prepared to face various obstacles and complete
business objectives in a timely manner (MICHAEL, PRINCE, and CHACKO, 2016).
In relation of Amazon apart from implementing employee development programmes
which seek to build basic skills required to conduct daily operations, the company has
implemented development programmes which focus at developing skill-set of employees for
operations which need distinct abilities. This develops internal capabilities of the company as
each employee has abilities to complete various tasks in a timely manner.
TASK 4
Assessment of effective HR systems and their impact on various business activities
 Absence management: Every organisation has their standards related to employee
absence. Absence management policies involve construction of a fair absence procedure
which enables managers to deal with employee absence and informs employees about
absence measurement process. This policy includes procedure which needs to be
followed by employees in case of absence and guides managers on ways to deal with
employee absenteeism. Amazon has utilised absence management policy to reduce
absenteeism and monitor employee absence to ensure high productivity.
The main impact of absence management policy on business operations at Amazon is
reduction in employee absenteeism as managers have profound understanding of absence
trends. This information enables managers to develop a proactive approach to based on
prevention absence. Managers are able to maintain high output by understanding absence
trends (Yusliza, Othman and Jabbour, 2017). Amazon is able to create a healthy working
environment which has positive impact on daily business operations due to increased
employee well-being.
 Grievance management: A grievance is defined as complaint or concern which is raised
by member of the workforce. Grievance management included a procedure which
enables employees to file a formal grievance raising their concerns which is followed by