Strategic Human Resource Management: Amazon Case Study Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Amazon's Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) practices. It begins with an introduction to the evolving field of HRM and the importance of SHRM in aligning employee objectives with organizational goals. The report then provides an overview of Amazon's business activities, including its e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital streaming services. The core of the report examines Amazon's SHRM, including its approach to human resource planning, job analysis and design, recruitment, employee retention, performance management, training and development, and employee engagement. It also explores emerging trends in HRM, particularly the impact of technology. The report identifies HRM issues faced by Amazon and analyzes the practices adopted by the company in response to these issues, discussing the impact of these practices on achieving strategic objectives. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and insights into Amazon's SHRM strategy.

Running head: STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY OF
AMAZON
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................2
Overview of the business activities of Amazon............................................................3
Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM)......................................................4
Emerging trends in Human Resource Management (HRM)........................................5
Technology as an emerging trend............................................................................6
HRM issues faced by Amazon.....................................................................................7
HRM practices adopted by Amazon in response to the issues....................................8
Human Resource Planning and Alignment...............................................................9
Job Analysis and Design.........................................................................................10
Recruitment.............................................................................................................11
Retention of employees..........................................................................................12
Performance Management.....................................................................................13
Training and Development......................................................................................14
Employee Engagement...........................................................................................14
Impact of HRM practices on the achievement of Strategic Objectives......................15
Conclusion..................................................................................................................16
References.................................................................................................................17

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Introduction
As opined by Cascio (2015), the field of human resource management (HRM)
is a constantly evolving one and had undergone a significant amount of change over
the last few decades because of the integration of the new emerging trends within its
framework. Noe et al. (2017) are of the viewpoint that the resultant effect of this is
that the HRM teams of the modern-day business enterprises rather than being
relegated to the background of the enterprises are playing an ever-important role
within the enterprises. More importantly, it had been seen that the HRM teams of the
different business enterprises through the effective usage of the process of strategic
human resource management (SHRM) align the individual objectives or the goals of
the employees with that of the goals or the objectives itself (Bailey et al. 2018). This
in turn ensures that the business enterprises are being able to effectively attain the
business objectives that they have formulated for the entire enterprise itself. On the
score of these aspects, it can be said that the HRM teams of the different business
enterprises have become a pivotal part of the enterprises and greatly facilitate the
growth or the development of the concerned enterprises.
Stewart and Brown (2019) argue that the change that had taken place within
the construct of HRM becomes apparent when an analysis of the different job roles
that the HR professionals are performing within the spectrum of the different
business enterprises is being taken into account. In this regard, it needs to be said
that unlike the traditional times when the HRM teams or the HR professionals were
required to perform the job role of recruitment only in the present times it is seen that
they are not only playing an integral role in the effective management of the workers
but also help the business enterprises to achieve their business objectives as well.
The resultant effect of this is that the HR professionals are required to perform a

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plethora of activities like performance management, job design, HRM planning, offer
training, help in the career development of the individuals and others within the
spectrum of the contemporary (Delery and Roumpi 2017). More importantly, the HR
professionals are required to take into account the different emerging trends within
the field of HRM and also the business world for the effective designing of these
practices or activities. The purpose of this report is to undertake a critical analysis of
the HRM practices of the enterprise Amazon.
Overview of the business activities of Amazon
Amazon or Amazon.com, Inc. founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and
headquartered in Seattle, Washington, is an American multinational business
enterprise which specialises in offering e-commerce services, cloud computing
services, financial services, artificial intelligence, digital streaming and other similar
services to the customers from all over the world (Amazon.com 2019). In this regard,
it needs to be said that although the concerned enterprise started its journey from a
small room yet presently it is operational in more than 181 different nations of the
world from all over the globe (Cnbc.com 2019). More importantly, it had been seen
that the e-retail or e-commerce services offered by the enterprise under discussion
which offers the opportunity to the customers to buy groceries, books, furniture,
electronic products and others had been greatly appreciated by the customers over
the years (Amazon.com 2019). Furthermore, it is seen that in response to the
success attained by it with regards to its e-retail services, the concerned enterprise
had also launched its digital streaming services which is called by the name of
“Amazon Prime” (Nytimes.com 2019).
The annual revenue generated by the concerned enterprise for the year 2018
was more than US$232.887 billion there making it the largest “internet company of

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the world” in terms of profitability (Amazon.com 2019). As a matter of fact, Amazon
forms a part of the “Big Four” technological enterprise (the largest technology-based
enterprises of the world) which includes Facebook, Apple and Google. More
importantly, the enterprise under discussion here is the second largest employer in
the USA and for the year 2018 it offered employment to more than 647,500
individuals (Amazon.com 2019). In this regard, it needs to be said that the large
workforce that the concerned enterprise boasts of had been hired by the enterprise
so as to help it to achieve its business objective. The business objective of the
enterprise Amazon is “To be Earth's most customer-centric company, where
customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and
endeavours to offer its customers the lowest possible prices” (Amazon.com 2019).
Thus, the employees are required to offer services to the clients or customers to
ensure that they are satisfied which in turn will lead to repeat sales and thereby
enhance the profitability of the enterprise.
Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM)
Hollenbeck and Jamieson (2015) have articulated the viewpoint that the
construct of SHRM is one of the most important recent trends within the mould of the
modern-day business world and it is seen that the majority of the business
enterprises are trying to take the help of this construct because of the benefits
offered by it. As opined by DeCenzo, Robbins and Verhulst (2016), the construct of
SHRM can be defined as the process through which the business enterprises try to
align their strategic goals or objectives with those of the human resources or human
capital that their enterprise boasts of. On the other hand, Martin et al. (2016) have
noted that the major objectives of the business enterprises behind the usage of the
process of SHRM are to foster innovation, improve the motivation level of the

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employees, enhance their job satisfaction, productivity and others and thereby help
the enterprises to effectively improve their productivity. More importantly, it had been
seen that one of the most important benefits offered by the construct of SHRM is the
fact that it helps the business enterprises to achieve or attain their business
objectives or goals that they have formulated (Brewster 2017). However, at the same
time it needs to be said that the different business enterprises in order to effective
use the concept of SHRM needs to ensure the fact that the HRM team of the
enterprise is working in close conjunction or association with the management team
of the enterprise so as to understand the needs of the human resources, offer them
the right kind of training and thereby help the enterprise to attain its goals or
objectives (Collings, Wood and Szamosi 2018). The resultant effect of this is that the
enterprises taking the help of the process of SHRM are required to understand the
fact that the workers are not just resources rather they are the assets of the
enterprises and for the effective utilisation of this asset they need to undertake
effective planning (Brewster, Mayrhofer and Morley 2016).
Emerging trends in Human Resource Management (HRM)
Sánchez, Marín and Morales (2015) are of the viewpoint that the field of HRM
just like the business world itself had experienced different changes over the years
and even in the present times it is seen that different kinds of new trends are
emerging which as a matter of fact had forced the HR professionals to amend the
HR practices that they had been used to following. As discussed by Brewster, Chung
and Sparrow (2016), some of the most important emerging trends noticed within the
spectrum of the contemporary HRM are the technological changes, extensive usage
of data analytics, focus on the retention of the employees, integration of the concept
of work-life balance, focus on health-care benefits and others. However, at the same

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time a detailed analysis of all these emerging trends reveals the fact that the majority
of them are related to the trend of technological changes. As a matter of fact, it is
seen that the different HR professionals are increasingly taking the help of the recent
developments in the technological field for the purpose of improving the HRM
practices used by them and also help the enterprises to attain their business goals or
the objectives (Meyer and Xin 2018).
Technology as an emerging trend
As discussed by Albrecht et al. (2015), technology is perhaps one of the
single-most important factors which had singlehandedly changed or transformed the
modern world including the business world as well. On the other hand, Morschett,
Schramm-Klein and Zentes (2015) have noted that the impact of technological
developments within the spectrum of the modern-day business world not only
manifests itself within the framework of the commodities or the services offered by
the business enterprises but also when the business models followed by the
enterprises are being taken into account. More importantly, it is seen that the HRM
teams of the different business enterprises are giving up the method of “pen and
paper” or the traditional methods that they have been used to following and
increasingly embracing the technological advancements for the jobs that they
perform (Berman et al. 2019). As a matter of fact, it is seen that the extensive usage
of different technologies had substantially changed the recruitment process,
performance management, training process, career development, job design and
others activities that the HR professionals used to perform taking the help of thee
traditional methods in the earlier times (Kianto, Sáenz and Aramburu 2017). More
importantly, they had facilitated or improved the process of communication between
the management team and the HRM team of the business enterprises and thereby

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helped them to work in a collaborative manner for the effective attainment of the
business goals or the objectives that the enterprises have. In addition to these, it is
seen that the extensive usage of the technological advancements had also reduced
the cost that the business enterprises in the earlier times had to bear for their HRM
related activities and also enhanced the effectiveness or the efficiency of the same
as well. However, at the same time it needs to be said that despite the plethora of
benefits offered by the emerging trend under discussion here it is seen that there are
various issues which the business enterprises face related to the usage of the same
for the management of their human capital or resources (Nankervis et al. 2016).
HRM issues faced by Amazon
As discussed by Lawrence and Chang (2018), an important aspect of the
enterprise Amazon is the fact that although the entire business of the concerned
enterprise is based on technology and technological advancements yet at the same
time it had been seen that until recently the enterprise had been taking the help of
traditional practices for the management of its human resources or capital. More
importantly, in the present times it had been seen that the enterprise under
discussion had integrated the emerging trend of technology within the framework of
the HRM practices or activities followed by it (Marchington 2015). However, this in
turn had given rise to different issues that not only the HRM team of the concerned
enterprise is presently facing but as a matter of fact even the employees or workers
are also facing. Some of the most important issues that the HRM team of the
enterprise Amazon is presently facing on the score of the integration of the emerging
trend under discussion here are listed below-
 One of the most important issues that the enterprise is presently facing
related to the usage of the emerging theme under discussion here is the fact

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that it had developed unreasonably high expectations or for that matter is
trying to achieve a very high standard of results through the usage of the
same (Shrm.org 2019).
 The HRM team of the concerned enterprise is facing various difficulties
regarding the effective usage of the same and this in turn had shifted the
focus of the HRM team from the adequate management of its human
resources or for that matter the achievement of the business goals or the
objectives of the enterprise (Nytimes.com 2019). This in turn is one of the
major reasons for the extremely low-retention rate of the enterprise under
discussion here regarding its employees.
 The HRM team of the enterprise because of its extensive focus on the
technological aspect is failing to offer the right kind of training to the
employees which in turn had declined the quality of the work that they
perform. This in turn had reduced the job satisfaction of the employee and
thereby contributed towards the problem of low-retention of the employees.
 The integration of the emerging trend under discussion here had
substantially enhanced the cost of the management of its human resources
incurred by the enterprise rather than decreasing it as was expected at the
beginning (Cnbc.com 2019). The resultant effect of this is that the enterprise
in order to lower its operations cost had reduced the amount of rewards that
it used to offer to its employees in the earlier times and this in turn had once
again reduced the job satisfaction of the employees of Amazon.
HRM practices adopted by Amazon in response to the issues
The HRM team of Amazon in the present times had formulated different kinds
of measures or practices the purpose of which is to overcome the issues emerging

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from the usage of the emerging trend under discussion here. More importantly, they
are also intended to help the enterprise to achieve its strategic goals or objectives
and thereby add value to the enterprise. Some of the most important measures in
this regard are listed below-
Human Resource Planning and Alignment
Brewster et al. (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that one of the most
important job attributes of the HRM teams of the different business enterprises is to
effectively calculate the number of employees that it would be needing, undertake
recruitment to cater to the human resource needs of the enterprises, calculate the
deficit and make arrangements for the fulfilment of the deficit number. Amazon being
one of the largest technology-based enterprises of the planet and also the
aggressive expansion that it is undertaking requires the help of a large workforce to
effectively manage its workflow (Lawrence and Chang 2018). More importantly,
despite being the second larger employer in the nation of the USA it is seen that the
enterprise is facing a labour crisis which in the longer run threatens to adversely
affect the business prospects or for that matter the profitability earned by the
concerned enterprise. The resultant effect of this is that the HRM team of the
enterprise under discussion here had resorted to the extensive usage of the
technological advancements for the purpose of overcoming this issue and the other
mentioned above so as to add value to the concerned enterprise.
The HRM team of the concerned enterprise regularly conducts meetings with
the management team of the enterprise to effectively understand the number of
employees it needs and on the basis of this recruitment is being done by them
through the usage of the e-recruitment strategy (Botter, Rosa and Lima 2018). In
addition to this, the deficit calculation is also being made through the usage of

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different software to ensure that there are no errors involved in the process and the
results which are being obtained are completely accurate. Furthermore, it is seen
that different kinds of briefing meeting, interactive video sessions and others are also
being organised by the HRM team with the employees so as to make them
understand the kind of strategic goals that the enterprise is trying to achieve, the kind
of actions or performance that the employees need to offer or for that matter is
expected from and others (Nytimes.com 2019). This in turn had enabled the
enterprise under discussion here and also its HRM team to strategically align the
employees with the overall strategic goals or the objectives of the enterprise. More
importantly, through the regular organisation of different kinds of video conference
meetings and others, the HRM team had also been able to effectively link the
different departments or the teams of the concerned enterprise as well.
Job Analysis and Design
Bratton and Gold (2017) are of the viewpoint that the HR professionals are
required to effectively design the job roles that the individuals are required to perform
within the spectrum of a particular enterprise on the basis of the needs or the
strategic objectives of the concerned enterprise. As discussed by Noe et al. (2017),
the performance or the productivity given by the workers greatly depends on the kind
of job roles or the job designs that they are required to perform within the enterprises
and it is precisely here that the job role of job design performed by the HR
professionals gain prominence. In the particular context of the enterprise Amazon, it
is seen that an elaborate process is being followed by the HRM team for the
designing of the job roles of the individuals or for that matter determining the which
job role would be performed by whom. As a matter of fact, it is seen that at the time
of joining the enterprise, the individuals are required to fill in a form wherein they

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mention the different aspects of their character, their personality type, their
qualifications, past experiences and others and on the basis of these data or
information offered by the candidates a quick analysis is being conducted to see in
which department of the enterprise the concerned candidate would be able to fit in or
perform in a better manner (Shrm.org 2019). This in turn ensures that the workers or
the employees of the enterprise are performing the job roles which best suits their
capabilities or aptitude and thereby helps the concerned enterprise to maximise their
performance for the achievement of its strategic objective.
Recruitment
Bailey et al. (2018) have articulated the viewpoint that the process of
recruitment and selection is perhaps one of the most important job roles which is
being performed by the HRM teams of the different enterprises even in the present
times. However, at the same time it needs to be said that the process of recruitment
and selection or the method which is being used by the different HR professionals or
the business enterprises for conducting the same itself had undergone a substantial
amount of transformation in the present times on the score of the extensive usage of
modern technological advancements. In this regard, it needs to be said that e-
recruitment or social media recruitment had become the recent trend and the
resultant effect of this is that the business enterprises and the HR professionals
related to them are resorting to the usage of the same for overcoming the problem of
labour crisis or getting the right number or kind of human resources (Stewart and
Brown 2019). In the particular context of the enterprise Amazon, it is seen that the
HR professionals are taking the help of the process of e-recruitment for the purpose
of overcoming the problem of labour crisis. In this regard, it needs to be said that the
advertisements regarding the job vacancies of the enterprises are not being