George is a junior at a small university in Washington State. He is a frequent user of Amazon to purchase materials for college including textbooks and school supplies.
Need Answer Sheet of this Question paper
Contact us at
M: 7019944355
Business Ethics
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
George is a junior at a small
university in Washington State. He is a frequent user of Amazon to purchase
materials for college including textbooks and school supplies. In fact, George
has an Amazon Prime account to save money on shipping, since he uses the site so often. George has recently
started to take advantage of his prime account by purchasing almost everything
on Amazon, from clothing to books to head massagers. On average, George uses
the website three to four times a month. One day, George is perusing the
Internet and notices an article headline that shocks him: Worse than Wal-Mart:
Amazon’s sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers.
George reads that Amazon is not only scientifically managed to the T, but that
the employees are treated more as cogs in a machine than as human beings. He reads
that Amazon uses monitoring technology to track movements and performance of
employees. The company has conducted several studies to find the fastest way to
perform tasks in the warehouse. All employees are instructed to follow the “one
best way” of completing tasks for maximum efficiency. The logic behind this
strategy is to ensure that employees are customer centric, creating a “cult of
the customer.” George goes on to read that workplace pressure at Amazon pushes
up employee productivity while keeping hourly wages at a barely livable rate.
The speed required to complete tasks
causes many employees to struggle to
meet targets and less skilled employees often fail. If an employee fails three
times, Amazon uses a three-strike policy and fires him or her. George is
shocked by this article, but at the same time he doesn’t know what to do. He has
already paid for his Amazon prime membership and relies on the website for most
of his purchases now.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
Should customer satisfaction be held with utmost regard, even if that means
that employees are treated as robots and pushed to unrealistic limits? Debate
Q2.
What can George do to better the circumstance of the Amazon workers, if
anything? Explain.
Need Answer Sheet of this Question paper
Contact us at
M: 7019944355
Comments
Post a Comment