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Case Code: HROB187
Case Length: 21 Pages 
Period: 1994-2016     
Pub Date: 2017
Teaching Note: Available
Price:Rs.400
Organization : Amazon.com
Industry : E-Commerce
Countries : US 
Themes: -  
Case Studies  
Business Strategy
Marketing
Finance
Human Resource Management
IT and Systems
Operations
Economics
Leadership & Entrepreneurship

Amazon's Workplace Culture

 
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INTRODUCTION

 
On August 16, 2015, US-based e-retail giant Amazon.com Inc. (Amazon) was hit hard by an article published in the New York Times (NYT). The detailed article kicked off a controversy as it described Amazon’s workplace as ‘bruising’. According to the article, the founder & CEO of Amazon, Jeffery Bezos (Jeff), to meet his ever expanding aspirations, was trying to push the employees so hard that the work environment had become toxic.

In the reports published by NYT, many former employees came out with statements exposing the allegedly inhuman treatment they received. They narrated several incidents in which they alleged employees had been humiliated during company meetings; that employees suffering from health complexities were put on a performance improvement plan; and many more. As per the allegations, the company forced its employees to work ignoring their family and other personal issues. Other allegations were: Stringent and unfair evaluation processes and secret feedback system that were prevalent in the company had made the employees emotionally and physically ill; employees had to work till late hours and even on weekends and during regular vacations; Employees were sent e-mails late in the night, and if they did not respond, text messages asking for a clarification were sent; Amazonians were encouraged to sabotage their co-workers’ ideas to outrun them. . ..
 
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