All the controversy this week about how Amazon treats its people has raised a lot of questions about corporate culture. Comparisons are being made between what is accepted in Silicon Valley culture or start-up culture versus retail culture.
Amazon has disrupted more businesses than almost any other company. Think bookstores. All gone. Thank you Amazon. Think of all the specialty retailers who are gone or going, because we can buy toys, make-up, clothes, tools, household cleaners, spices, etc. etc. from Amazon. The price is cheaper than we can buy it at the company’s website or the store. And with Amazon Prime, we get it in 2 days delivered for free.
Why do companies sell their products that cheaply to Amazon? Because if they don’t, their competitors will. And, look at your own behavior — you look for the cheapest price on Amazon and click, you’ve bought it.
So far, it is a lucky quarter when Amazon makes money. Wall Street loves them, the customer loves them. And, they go on their merry way disrupting one industry after another. Think downloading movies and music. Think original television shows streaming on Amazon Prime.
Does the Amazon business model demand a different relationship between the employee and the company? Do we object to how Amazon treats its people because we like how they treat us?
Think again about where Bezos wants to take this company. Pay attention to the vision. How employees are treated is just one small part of the picture.
The NY Times article also raises the issue of when does the work day end? We will talk about that next week.
illustration – Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, is pictured in Santa Monica, Calif., Sept. 6, 2012. (Reed Saxon/AP)