Addressing Amazons Worrisomely High Employee Turnover Rates - Free Essay

This approval proposal aims to seek your permission to conduct a semester-long empirical and theory-based research on the worrying trend of employee disposability at Amazon. Amazon Company is one of the best-paying and lucrative destinations for employees. However, their recent churn-out model for disposing of employees is a matter that requires an urgent address. While some researchers have focused on this employee turnover as an issue on its own, other analyses consider the trend as a symptom of deeper human rights issues (Tung & Berkowitz, 2020). In our present proposed study, we intend to analyze the “disposable employee” phenomenon at Amazon both as a cause and as a symptom. We shall end the study by proposing possible solution directions for Amazon to restore employee trust and retention.

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Background

Amazon is a global company that deals with cloud computing, ecommerce, digital streaming, and marketing and artificial intelligence. While maximizing on the techno-economic paradigms of the 20th and 21st centuries, Amazon.com has continued to disrupt established industries including commerce, information technology, and marketing. Such commitments to innovation have propelled Amazon to the lucrative position as the second-largest employer in the United States. Recently, the company´s owner became the wealthiest man in the world. The company is furthermore the most valuable retailer in the United States. As such, Amazon is undoubtedly one of the best employment destinations in the United States, or is it? In this analysis, we shall describe a phenomenon that appears to continue to taint Amazon´s reputation – employee turnover and disposability.

Statement of the Problem

Recently, analysts have gathered employee satisfaction and retention indices for various Fortune 500 companies. According to Payscale, for instance, Amazon is the second-lowest ranking company in employee tenures (i.e., the highest employee turnover rates) (Giang, 2013). According to Chiat and Panatik (2019), employee turnover rates continue to be a persistent problem for companies globally. Employee loyalty to a single company has drastically reduced in the latter parts of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Analysts and business researchers, however, concede that high turnover rates are not necessarily a bad thing (Hom et al., 2017; Mahapatra, 2015). The increased turnover rates are often linked to a healthy job market. Nonetheless, the trend in employee turnover at Amazon has appeared worrisome to business analysts over the past few years.

As one of the most lucrative work destinations globally, the continuity of the workplace is essential. However, the organization currently has an average of eleven-month employee tenure (Mahapatra, 2015). A variety of reasons have been postulated for this trend in employee turnover. Such reasons include the intention to save medical and vacation costs by the company. Furthermore, the robust job market has been given as a reason for employee turnover rates. However, the author believes that such explanations are superficial and symptomatic. Instead, there is an urgent need to analyze the root cause of the turnover situation at Amazon. Approaching the issue from a motivational (Chiat & Panatik, 2019), managerial, and employee emotions (Cho et al., 2016) points of view, the researcher aims to identify the causative factors for this reduced loyalty of employees to Amazon.

Study Significance

Since the arrival of the postindustrial society, employees have continued to significantly gain active roles in their employment and organizational engagement (Hom et al., 2017). Due to the rising trends of civil actions globally, employees continue to become essential components of organizations´ organs. As such, players in academia and management have increased research and practice in human-centered management. Research output continues to address employee retention and turnover intentions through motivation, organizational behavior, and behavioral psychology perspectives (Hom et al., 2017). From the worrying trends of employee turnover intentions in Amazon, it is thereby essential that such evidence-based approaches to employee retention intentions are applied to Amazon. Employee loyalty and satisfaction have been determined as critical to the long-term growth of a company. The high turnover rates at Amazon, thereby limit their vision and value proposition as well as instilling a unifying organizational culture.

Proposed Research Purpose, Objectives, and Questions

The key objective of the present study shall be to analyze the causes of high employee turnover rates at Amazon. Employees shall be allowed to express their satisfaction levels with the organization and what factors lead to their turnover intentions. The research shall aim to understand the levels of employee intrinsic motivation while working with Amazon. To gain an in-depth understanding of employee satisfaction at Amazon, the researcher shall use the Motivation-Hygiene theory by Herzberg (Chiat & Panatik, 2019). Furthermore, the leadership trends and corporate culture for Amazon shall be investigated to find its possible connection to employee attrition.

The main research questions for this study shall include:

1. How do employees at Amazon perceive their levels of motivation and hygiene factors during their tenure?
2. Do the employees understand and share in Amazon´s vision, values, and organizational culture?
3. Do employees perceive themselves as emotionally safe while working for Amazon?

Methodology and Research Plan

This proposed project intends to employ a survey research methodology to understand the perspectives of the employees and ex-employees of amazon regarding their engagement with amazon. In the survey, randomly selected members and former employees of Amazon shall be chosen to respond to questionnaires. The questionnaires shall entail items and scales circling the aspects of employee motivation, emotional safety, as well as organizational behavior. This project shall thus entail a mixed-method research approach with the main focus on the quantitative data. Respondents in the study shall be selected randomly from all levels of Amazon´s organizational hierarchy.

The current project shall begin with a literature search for the relevant scientific evidence supporting the concepts of motivation, employee turnovers, and loyalty as well as organizational culture and behavior. From this literature review, the researcher shall gain a foundational knowledge base on the various factors that may lead to employee dissatisfaction in organizations. Satisfaction and intrinsic motivation have been determined to be crucial factors for the retention of employees. This project shall purpose to gain a vast knowledge base in such domains and their probable links to the success of a multinational corporation such as Amazon.

The survey shall thereby follow this secondary literature review. In the survey section of the project, the researcher shall contact the Amazon fulfillment centers in San Bernardino County, California, via email contacts. Such initial contact shall be aimed at requesting the opportunity to send employee satisfaction surveys to several employees. Due to time restrictions for the project, the researcher shall target 50 responses. As such, the author shall send out at least 200 survey questionnaires via email to the identified employees and ex-employees of the fulfillment centers in San Bernardino County. The researcher projects a minimum of 25% response ratio for the survey. Data reporting and analysis shall then follow scientifically-approved methodologies – the author shall use IBM´s SPSS25 tool for social studies data analysis.

Schedule

The tentative deadlines for this proposed project shall be as follows:

• September 12thReceive final revision inputs for the project proposal and begin the literature review phase.
• September 19thComplete the literature review and begin the development of the instrument (survey questionnaire).
• September 26th – 29thContact the organization (Amazon) to seek consent for the survey.
• October 4thDistribute the survey questionnaires through the emails supplied by the organization. Unreachable employees through emails shall be contacted through alternative means, including social media and phone contacts.
• October 16th Complete the core of the survey once the researcher gathers a minimum of 50 completed responses.
• October 30thConsolidate the survey results and report them privately to the organization. Also, the author shall share the results with the lecturer and University experts in business and management for professional input.
• November 4thSubmit the final version of Project 4: The Progress Report.
• November 15thComplete and submit a draft version of Project 5: The Formal Analytical Report.
• The final project shall include a list of recommendations for Amazon as well as overall recommendations for employee turnover alleviation.
• December 10th Submit final of Project 5: The Formal Analytical Report to the executives at Amazon as well as to the University.

Qualifications

I´m an enthusiast in people-centered management and employee motivation. Studying business and organizational behavior has allowed me to be competent in analyzing organization culture and what issues may serve as hygiene or motivation factors within an organization. I am, as such, deeply interested and concerned with employee behavior and turnover intentions in large organizations. My passion and in-depth research in organizational and behavioral psychology among employees equips me to handle the issue of employee turnovers and dropouts from Amazon and other MNCs.

Conclusion

I believe that the domain of a people-centered business approach is the future of organizational behavior and management. As such, I would be greatly interested in providing research output on one of the most dominant companies globally. While Amazon is determined as a market leader in market capitalization and revenues, their approach to employee retention has often been questioned. This study shall, as such, be immensely useful both for Amazon and the researcher.

References

Chiat, L. C., & Panatik, S. A. (2019). Perceptions of Employee Turnover Intention by Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Research in Psychology, 1(2), 10–15. https://doi.org/10.31580/jrp.v1i2.949

Cho, Y.-N., Rutherford, B. N., Friend, S. B., Hamwi, G. A., & Park, J. (2016). The Role of Emotions on Frontline Employee Turnover Intentions. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 25(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/10696679.2016.1235960

Giang, V. (2013, July 25). A New Report Ranks America's Biggest Companies Based On How Quickly Employees Jump Ship. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-ranked-by-turnover-rates-2013-7?IR=T.

Hom, P. W., Lee, T. W., Shaw, J. D., & Hausknecht, J. P. (2017). One hundred years of employee turnover theory and research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), 530–545. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000103

Mahapatra, L. (2015, December 6). Amazon.com Has Second Highest Employee Turnover Of All Fortune 500 Companies. International Business Times. https://www.ibtimes.com/amazoncom-has-second-highest-employee-turnover-all-fortune-500-companies-1361257.

Tung, I., & Berkowitz, D. (2020, March 6). Amazon's Disposable Workers: High Injury and Turnover Rates at Fulfillment Centers in California. National Employment Law Project. https://www.nelp.org/publication/amazons-disposable-workers-high-injury-turnover-rates-fulfillment-centers-califo...