Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 1

Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making

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 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 2

Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making

Executive Summary

This research paper aims at giving a perception of Amazon Inc. The paper will majorly

seek to understand Social Corporate Responsibility Frameworks. Theoretical models, such as

utilitarianism and rights theory. The report will, therefore, use this model to generate more

information on how SCR culture has benefited big companies like Amazon. The way in which

SCR gives Amazon a better competitive advantage that enables them to retain employees or

attract talents will be discussed herein.

Attention will be drawn closer to the censors received by Amazon based on human rights

theories as well as the utilitarian perception that Amazon depends on for it to become ethical.

The paper will also seek to explain the issue of glocalization. This is an explanation of how

glocal problems arise. The research found that it meets objectives on every level, although there

are some issues on an ethical level that questions all company's philanthropic level. That is to see

if it is credible so as to seek some financial reductions such as tax reduction.

Introduction

Amazon is one of the most renowned companies in the world, and its brand comes third

after Google's and Apple's. The company is well known for its competition with top brands of

many industries, such as media, electronics, logistics, and others. The company was founded in

the year 1995 by Jeff Bezos, who originally thought of naming it "Cadabra," but his first lawyer

opposed it because it sounded like "Cadaver" (Hartmans 2017). The company has achieved a lot

to be termed as successful. Amazon started on a very poor background with a shortage of labor,

but as of 2017, it could employ up to 540 000 people per day (Fiegerman, 2017). Ideally, the
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 3

figure is just an approximation since Amazon hires a lot of people seasonally to meet demand.

On Amazon's stock market history, if it started from a mere $1.5 in 1997 to a whopping $1250 at

the beginning of 2018, what translates to an 83,400% profit (Stoffel, 2018) in only 21 years.

Therefore, this paper seeks to understand how Ethical and Social Responsibility (ESR) has

helped the company to make decisions that have led to these achievements. The research also

seeks to explain how the ESR has enabled the company to be on a competitive edge. In the

research process, issues such as ethical models prioritized by Amazon will be discussed. The

critical approach in this paper will force us to analyze the Social Responsibility Framework

employed by Amazon.

Objectives

This research aims to investigate and analyze Amazon's Ethical and Social Responsibility

Framework and its impacts on the company's decision making. Thusly, the paper will define

SCR and investigate the ethical responsibility of Amazon based on ethical models that will be

discussed. Moreover, the paper will end up introducing "Glocal," define it, and present the

conflicts of the stakeholders from a "glocal" perspective. Therefore, by the end of this research,

ethical models used by Amazon in their ESR framework, how the ESR is important to the

company's decision making, and lastly, give life examples of the company's ESR good and bad

decisions.

Research Method

This research employs the use of secondary sources since there were no specific data

collected as well as no specific data collection method used. The findings of this paper are purely

sourced from printed and published academic journals, books, magazines, market activity blogs,
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 4

distributor reports, and other online libraries. All the information is presented through online

research. Secondary data collection, as well as desk study applied in this report, is not limited to

any of the chosen bibliographies. Therefore, all the sources of information used in the research

are listed in the reference list at the end of the paper.

Ethics and Social Responsibility

There are basic ethical standards that everyone was taught at a young. Such standards

include do not steal or cheat. It is obvious that ethics and business ethics involves differentiation

of the wrong from the right and doing the right thing always. Ethical dilemmas are never that

simple and so are business ethics. For example, a business should not be involved in intellectual

property seizure and lying to the court that it did not do so when caught. A business should not

also be involved in blaming others but be liable for all their responsibilities. However, such

issues are not the main causes of problems amongst several companies because if a company

chooses to be unethical, it is their own business decision hence intentional.

Some companies can act legally but their actions are morally wrong. This one of the most

problematic areas in business because they could act blindly and unprepared for the

consequences of their actions. For example, Amazon banned the sale of items such as firearms

and any other item related to criminal activities and spying. On the contrary, Amazon deals in the

sale of these items itself. The question that arises here, therefore, is how is Amazon prepared for

the consequences of such an act.

The best business ethics involves doing the right thing regardless of position in the

business market. Therefore, business ethics should satisfy users, customers, suppliers,

employees, and society as a whole. This will ensure that the business does not lose sight of its
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 5

goals. To achieve this, a company must ensure that it recognizes what is right and not just what is

legal.

On the other hand, social responsibility is the most important part of business ethics. A

responsible company or organization recognizes and ponders on the effects of its decisions and

the impact of its actions on the society as well as the environment. Therefore, the latter can serve

as the best definition for Ethics and Social Responsibility (ESR). A company’s management

should therefore behave in a manner that impacts positively the development of a sustainable

business, welfare, and the health of the society.

Now that the birthplace and significance of ESR have been set up, where would we be

able to discover instances of these activities from Amazon? A portion of the projects it

distributes on its site incorporate supporting neighborhood networks, teaching and engaging

workers, productive energy utilization by Amazon and other ESR activities, and altruistic gifts.

Notwithstanding, this report will dissect their structure just as the clouded side of their activities,

not all great activities hold honest goals, and each organization has activities that have brought

them monetary advantages at the cost of some minority deception or common freedoms

infringement.

Ethical Foundation That Amazon Rely On

How does Amazon perform under three ethical points of view, Rights hypothesis,

Kantianism, and Utilitarianism? To begin with, we should comprehend the organization Flora

Carr published on Feb. 15, 2018, that Amazon's fairly estimated worth outperformed Microsoft

just because, being the third most esteemed organization (Carr, 2018), just Google and Apple are

above Amazon. Being an organization, this enormous is dependent upon Public Relations
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 6

investigation, so how does Amazon manage Ethics and Social Responsibility (ESR)? Under said

hypotheses.

Taking a gander at the working environment, from an accomplished representative

published on The Morning Call September 2011, said he quit in light of the obligatory additional

time, more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit inside the stockroom weight, dissatisfaction and taking a

gander at a portion of his collaborators being pulled out on wheelchairs, ambulances, and cots.

Employees were continually undermined with the end of the agreement due to profitability on a

work pace that nobody could support. Hands-on laborers definitely made some harsh memories,

while office laborers have better conditions generally speaking. In any case, the entirety of this

made workable for Amazon to reach the third position as the most important organization on the

planet (Soper and Kraus, 2011).

We should take a gander at Kantianism since it's how they get censured. Under this

ethical hypothesis, we ought to pose two fundamental inquiries, can I rationally order that

everybody go about as I propose to act? and do my activities regard the objectives of individuals

instead of simply utilizing them for my gains? (Arnold et al., 2018). This is not viewed as good,

ethical, and sometimes not even legitimate to withstand these working conditions. Under this

ethical hypothesis, the organization does not play out a position of authority on SCR; it is

something contrary to what individuals request from huge organizations nowadays. Addressing

the subsequent inquiry, it does not safeguard the individuals; it is utilizing them to accomplish

better edges and higher benefits. This straightforwardly identifies with the rights hypothesis,

where we can see again that the organization does not regard common freedoms, and it exploits

industrial laborers and misuses them. That is Amazon under these hypotheses, however

outwardly, we can likewise see some upsetting realities. Under similar ethical standards, we can
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 7

reveal a monopolistic pattern on the whole of Amazon. It lands on a particular nation or city and

expects to pick up as much market as possible. How they do this is with exceptionally low edges,

close to 4 percent (Arnold et al., 2018) in certain urban areas or nations, which converts into

hindrances of passage for new businesses, less rivalry (making Amazon the determinant for

quality, for fortunate or unfortunate) and debilitating of neighborhood retail industry in the city

or nation. Under similar ethical support, it is noticeable that the organization does not agree with

ethics or ethics.

However, it is an alternate story for when we see this organization under the

Utilitarianism point of view. This ethical point of view verifies that human instinct is driven by

slender personal circumstances and physiological and ethical vanity. In which case, then the

organization is ethical. "Self in regards to the intrigue is transcendent over social intrigue"

(Attuned 2014, p163); this implies everybody is winning in this range of personal matters, hands-

on laborers are winning an occupation and pay, they are not enduring because they decide to

work in Amazon and on a personal circumstance perspective they enthusiastically withstand the

work conditions, nobody is driving them to work there, and there are other openings for work.

From the investor's perspective, they make great benefits and partners gain enthusiasm for their

ventures. Under Utilitarianism, Amazon is ethical and moral. This hypothesis additionally

depends on consequentialism, in which Amazon may plan to settle on choices dependent on a

normal outcome. This consequentialism might be to extend employment opportunities and give

cash to a family, this activity can be taken or can be disregarded, and whenever taken,

individuals can stop, and as an organization, this is not misused or low pay, it is only an offer, so

it can legitimize being good and ethical under these hypotheses.

 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 8

Outside of the organization, we can likewise observe ethical and moral endorsement

under these hypotheses, for they examine higher income and benefits, so it is ethical and good to

utilize the entirety of its assets to deliver and sell by volume at the ideal cost. As an organization

that sells by volume for all intents and purposes to all the world at modest costs, at the expense

of about scarcely any industrial laborers being pushed as far as possible to make this conceivable

is likewise inside the chiefs of Utilitarianism, everyone's benefits at the expense of the trivial

few.

Amazon’s Unethical Practices and Its Effects on Stakeholders

Exploring about Amazon is significant to see whether they are associated with any ethical

issues or outrages inside the previous hardly any years and shockingly discovered many

unethical experiences that the tech monster had. The accompanying exploration shows and

blueprints the issues they confronted, how they dealt with it, and what impacts the event had on

their partners.

1.0 Treatment of Workers

As we as a whole know, amazon has an incredible example of overcoming adversity as it

originated from an unassuming start, be that as it may, after an article delivered by "The New

York Times" in 2015 by Jodi Kantor and David Streitfeld named Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big

Ideas in a Bruising Workplace, another face of the organization was uncovered. Workers are

praised for decimating their kindred representatives' thoughts. Amazon workers utilize a mystery

input framework to destroy rivals (Lew, 2015).

The workers that advance and delivery their developments to clients to acquire little

fortunes and the representatives who don't arrive at same principles are driven out or have their
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 9

business ended in a yearly assessment. A previous HR chief for Amazon expressed that a few

specialists who are experiencing ailment or ailment, for example, disease, unsuccessful labors, or

other individual issues have had their work assessed unjustifiably as opposed to allowing them to

recuperate. The author and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has an alternate way of thinking which

is attempting to get however much yield from its representatives as could reasonably be expected

without putting much in them. Another article by Harry J. Lew from the National Ethics

Association says that at one of Amazon's stockroom offices, the organization decided to let its

representatives work during brutal warmth bringing about a portion of the representatives

crumbling from heat weariness, rather than introducing climate control systems to improve their

workplace. Amazon's malice was clear when representatives who become sick or expect time to

deal with individual emergencies were frequently punished for their powerlessness to be open for

work. In one situation where a worker who had set up high appraisals for quite a long time

needed to go on vacation to think about her father that became sick to malignancy. Her boss gave

her trouble for it.

1.1 Effects on Stakeholders

This issue influences different partners, for example, clients, investors, and in particular

the laborers themselves. This unfeeling treatment of amazon towards their workers can influence

the nature of yield and execution which will likewise influence client connections. Helpless

worker execution has been connected with expanded client protests and brand exchanging (Ying,

2012). Besides this, work turnover will be exceptionally high since representatives will arrive at

a specific breaking point, and once they do, they will leave the organization. Occupation

disappointment could make workers leave once they have arrived at choices on the allure of

development and the apparent simplicity of development (Ying, 2012).

 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 10

2.0 Sale of Anti-Semitic Books

Against Semitism is characterized as unfriendly conduct toward individuals of Jewish

better than average essentially because they are Jewish. It might come in various structures, for

example, strict lessons, political endeavors to confine, or now and again cause hurt. Hostile to

Semitism is a philosophy, a method of deciphering the world.

On March 2, 2017, Robert Singer distributed an article in the Los Angeles Times named

"For what reason is Amazon selling Holocaust refusal and against Semitism?" The news story

expresses that Amazon sells books that keep the event from getting the 1945 Holocaust which

incorporates the massacre of around 6 million European Jews. Even though it is plainly

expressed in Amazon's rules about the disallowance of offer of items that "advance or laud

disdain, savagery, racial, sexual or strict bigotry" yet they sell items like this at a tick of a catch.

Another article composed by Stephanie Courouble, a history specialist for the Huffington

Post expressed that the tech monster even sells these Holocaust disavowal books in numerous

European nations where holocaust refusal is unlawful. Such is the situation on the Italian site,

Amazon.it. This has raised a colossal discussion because the principal correction in the United

States doesn't disallow them from distributing these books, yet gives Amazon the last decision

whether to sell them or not.

Robert Singer composes that the World Jewish Congress has attempted to connect with

the Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on various events for the solicitation of the evacuation of disdainful

and hostile to the Semitic substance from its foundation. No reaction was gotten neither have the

contemptuous items been eliminated. Amazon is profoundly prepared to do yet reluctant to

eliminate such substance.

 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 11

2.1 Effects on Stakeholders

Since Amazon didn't notice the World Jewish Congress's solicitation to eliminate against

Semitic books on their site, this has brought about Amazon getting a ton of scorn most

particularly in European nations. Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post says that anybody

looking for books about the Holocaust can locate these enemies of Semitic materials including

youngsters dealing with school ventures.

This embarrassment influences one of the most significant partners which are the clients.

It is sheltered to state that Amazon has lost a lot of clients who either moved to different

contenders or simply quit utilizing their foundation. The organization brought about getting an

awful picture that can hurt every one of their endeavors to depict themselves as an ethical

business. Amazon has a sufficient number of representatives that are Jewish. This issue could

affect labor turnover or just failure of workers because of the absence of inspiration.

3.0 Opposition of Trade Unions

A worker's guild is an association of individuals that comprises of laborers that are joined

to advance regular interests. A worker's guild can be just characterized as a coalition of laborers

to reinforce their endeavors in dealing with their reporters (Shrestha, 2012). A portion of the

elements of a worker's guild incorporate an arrangement of wages, explain any debates between

the laborers and the business, help settle complaints, and so on…

On the sixteenth of January, 2014. Verne Kopytoff from Time magazine delivered an

article about how Amazon annulled their worker's guild. Amazon has been known to be against

worker's guilds since they have battled off worker's organizations since its establishment in 1994.

A gathering of support and fix specialists documented an appeal with the National Labor
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 12

Relation to compose an association, be that as it may, Amazon was not excited about this.

Amazon recruited a law office that is had practical experience in ending associations. They

likewise held gatherings wherein the chiefs would demoralize representatives to restrict the

arrangement of the association. The tech goliath has been known to fight off association sorting

out. For instance, in the year 2000, 400 client assistance workers needed to frame an association,

notwithstanding, Amazon shut down the call community and guaranteed it was essential for cost-

cutting. Since Amazon has an extremely serious work environment and is known for firing

failing to meet expectations representatives, unionization will make it harder for them to

terminate workers because there is a danger that they can be sued for the improper end.

3.1 Effects on Stakeholders

Amazons working condition has been censured lately after media sources point by point

the debilitating workplace for representatives. Ambulances have been recorded holding up

outside their offices to help laborers who experience the ill effects of exceptional warmth

because of the absence of cooling. This negative exposure brought about a reaction on Amazon

as clients began to pay heed to the helpless minding of representatives and work turnover began

rising because the administration couldn't give what an association could to them.

Amazon's Company Policy and Code of Ethics

Morals are fundamentally worried about the ethical standards of good and bad to advise

our judgment to assist individuals with concluding acceptable behavior. Morals are rules for

recognizing good and bad, for example, the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have

them do unto you") (Resnik, 2013). Enormous organizations generally have their arrangements,

arrangements, and code of morals plainly expressed on their site. Such is the situation with
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 13

Amazon, be that as it may, they have another code of business direct and morals which they

guarantee they advance and follow.

In their code of business direct and morals, there exists 12 passages that layout how

Amazon functions concerning behavior and morals. The fourth section plots their arrangement

on separation and provocation which expresses that they give equivalent open door in all parts of

work and don't endure any sort of segregation or badgering. Their activities have repudiated this

approach since there are various instances of Amazon directors badgering workers for a variety

of reasons. For instance, when representatives present their work late because of disease or put a

hold on work to keep an eye on the family. They get a tremendous reaction from their chiefs

where it even arrives at the point that Amazon representatives can be seen crying before their

work areas.

Section 9 discusses revealing infringement. It expresses that representatives are urged to

talk with anybody in their administration chain or Legal Department when they have an inquiry

regarding the utilization of the Code of Conduct. Amazon has been scandalous for being brutal

on its representatives and it is generally realized that Amazon needs representatives who

accomplish work without any inquiries posed. If representatives show even a touch of disarray in

the work environment, they have the possibility of being assessed ineffectively. This is another

arrangement of Amazon that they have by and by negated through activities.

Amazon accepts that they offer their representatives a sound and security work

environment. In Paragraph 5 of their code of business direct and morals, they talk about Health

and Safety. The arrangement subtleties that they give a spotless, safe, and sound workplace for

their representatives and that representative should report mishaps or any dangerous conditions.

Amazon has been censured for the unforgiving working conditions for its stockroom
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 14

representatives. It was recorded that ambulances were holding up outside distribution centers

because of the enormous warmth in light of the absence of cooling for laborers.

Finally, Amazon posts their arrangement on items being sold on the entirety of their sites.

On this page, they clarify in detail their arrangement on items. It expresses that the offer of

unlawful, hazardous, or other confined items recorded on the site is carefully disallowed. Be that

as it may, Amazon was engaged with an outrage where they were selling holocaust disavowal

books accessible to everybody. They even sold these books in nations where holocaust

forswearing is illicit. Not exclusively was this demonstration unethical, however, they offered

help for spreading counterfeit convictions around the globe.

Proposals

There are different manners by which Amazon could have dealt with their ethical issues

concerning their representatives just as the items they sell on their tremendous stage. The

utilitarianism hypothesis passes judgment on the ethical nature of a choice by its outcomes. The

premise of ethics is utility, or the best satisfaction guideline holds that activities are directly in

extent as they will in general advance joy, wrong in extent as they will in general create the

opposite of joy (Mill, 2008). For the situation where they positioned ambulances outside their

distribution centers for laborers that experience the ill effects of warmth depletion, they could

have recently introduced forced air systems to take care of the issue for all the laborers in the

stockroom. They would have been saved with all the terrible exposure and reactions that media

sources shared.

Prudence morals is another hypothesis that could have profited Amazon. It underscores

the part of an individual's character and righteousness in a moral way of thinking as opposed to
 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 15

satisfying one's obligation or acting to achieve great results. When all is said in done, it poses the

inquiry of how one should carry on with one's life, with the end goal of living admirably through

dealing with one's character (Bowin, 2017). Amazon ought to have guaranteed that their top

administration and chiefs all have upright characteristics of the character. Having their top

administration with phenomenal representative relations make their organization more practical

as a working spot for untouchables. Rather than having gained notoriety for irritating

representatives because of a straightforward issue like not presenting the work on schedule or

putting a hold on work to watch out for the family.

Conclusion

Taking everything into account we can see that Amazon has had many outrages or ethical

issues since the time they began developing at a tremendously quick movement. During the time

they have been condemned for some issues, for example, helpless treatment of laborers for

invalid reasons, the offer of holocaust forswearing items which are illicit in European nations,

and resistance of worker's guilds for that battles for the privileges of their laborers. Essential

moves have been made by Amazon to patch the picture of their business. As of late, there have

been no significant outrages for Amazon which shows the public that they are centered around

being a more ethical organization.

The two ethical speculations that are recommended were utilitarianism which can assist

Amazon with handle their representatives' working conditions and prudence hypothesis which

chips away at their top administration with the expectations of executing a superior working

relationship with representatives.

 Impacts of Ethical and Social Responsibility on Amazon's Decision Making 16

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