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Uploaded by LieutenantSeaUrchin4186
Week Three Project
Anastasia Marquez
Professor Ted Sun
BUS3001-Ethics in Organizations SU01
August 29, 2023
Amazon strives to be the world's most customer-centric business. The goal of the company is to establish a platform where customers can discover and purchase products and services online. To safeguard the health and well-being of its personnel, Amazon offers comprehensive health, dental, vision, and other insurance coverage to all employees of all levels, at all levels, at any time, at any level, at any job level, or at any position. The Company's Code of Ethics sets forth the expectations of its employees in the context of their job responsibilities, emphasizing that they should always act in accordance with the legal, ethical, and best interests of Amazon. Additionally, the Company's Code of Conduct sets forth the fundamental values that employees should observe.
Amazon is doing its part to help combat chronic homelessness by investing $100 million in a new homeless shelter inside its Seattle campus. The Mary's Place Family Center opened in 2020 and provides safe and supportive housing to hundreds of families each year. Amazon also created the Housing Equity Fund in 2020 to help build and preserve more affordable housing. “
Amazon's community outreach programs are designed to address the most pressing problems of the present day, such as housing and food deprivation, educational assistance, and the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Amazon Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) and Sustainability, 2018) Over $2 billion was put into the fund, which has helped create and preserve over 20,000 homes so far in Arlington, Puget Sound, and Nashville. Housing and food insecurity go hand in hand, so Amazon teamed up with food banks and schools around the world to deliver over 12 million meals. To help ease the everyday struggles of housing insecurity, Amazon gave $2 million to provide emergency and basic supplies to Seattle students in need.
“
The 2020 pandemic had a far-reaching effect on the world, and Amazon responded by investing around $4 billion into initiatives to assist both their employees and the wider community.” (Amazon Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability, 2018) As part of this effort, over 1 million COVID-19 in-house tests were done in the US to help keep track of the virus and stop it from spreading. Amazon also set up a $25 million fund to help out independent delivery service partners and seasonal workers who had to deal with financial hardship during the pandemic. Amazon also helped out a lot of communities who were dealing with the biggest challenges of their lives. From giving millions of meals to needy families to giving over 8,000 laptop computers to help students in the Seattle area, Amazon used its logistics
and operational network to help those who needed it most. To make matters worse, two employees were fired for supposedly asking for more protection for warehouse workers while the pandemic was happening. “While Amazon has invested heavily
in CSR initiatives, there have been numerous complaints and allegations, including reports of poor working conditions in Amazon's warehouses during the pandemic.” (Amazon Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability, 2018) Amazon responded to this criticism by releasing a public statement saying, "We fired these employees not for advocating for sustainable
working conditions or safety, but for repeatedly breaking internal policies." Amazon has since made over 150 changes to its processes to better protect its employees, including stepping up their COVID testing and sanitation and offering financial compensation to frontline workers.
Amazon is a great fit for this social cause because it helps kids and young adults in underrepresented and underprivileged communities. They help with immediate needs like reducing hunger and homelessness and serving communities after natural disasters. Amazon is also committed to education, and they gave $50 million in 2020 to support
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STEM education. They also have a program called Amazon Future Engineer that helps young people from underprivileged and underrepresented communities succeed in school.
Plus, Amazon donates $2 million a year to the Computer Science Academy at Carnegie Mellon University to give free computer science courses to schools around the world for three years. Amazon also continues to help with the economic disparity in STEM education by sponsoring Girls Who Code, which encourages more women in the computer field.
“Stockholder Theory is a theory that helps companies understand their relationship with stockholders and how to get the most out of them. It also helps companies figure out
how to serve their stockholders.” (Stockholder Theory Vs. Stakeholder Theory, 2021) Stockholders usually buy shares in public companies to make money over time, and it's important to know the difference between them and stakeholders so businesses can make decisions that are good for both sides. Stakeholders are usually stakeholders because they
care about the company's success and how it affects them. Stockholders can get a better return on their money as costs go down and profits go up. When a company goes up in value, it usually means an increase in its stock price, which means more money for stockholders.
A company should be creating value for everyone, not just its shareholders. But one of
the biggest challenges of using stakeholder theory in your business is how to figure out, prioritize, and manage all the different and sometimes different interests that your stakeholders have. “Stakeholder theory is a way of thinking about capitalism that emphasizes how important it is for businesses to have relationships with their customers and suppliers, their employees, their investors, their communities, and everyone else who
has a stake in their business.” (Stockholder Theory Vs. Stakeholder Theory, 2021) You might have to make trade-offs and tough decisions when it comes to satisfying different stakeholder groups who all have their values, goals, and expectations. You might have to deal with resistance, criticism, or legal action from your shareholders and competitors.
Amazon listens to what stakeholders want and has a well-thought-out CSR strategy to meet their sustainability, corporate, and business goals. Even though its CSR policies and programs change over time, Amazon keeps improving its efforts to meet the ever-changing needs and expectations of people in the e-commerce world. “
Amazon’s ability to satisfy stakeholders supports organizational growth in the e-commerce industry.” (Ferguson, 2023) Amazon’s CSR goals also consider what other companies are doing to manage their stakeholder management, like tech giants like Google Apple, Microsoft, Walmart, and Costco, and what their competitors are doing to be more sustainable, ethical, and corporate. This helps shape how the market views Amazon's CSR programs. Amazon has a corporate social responsibility program for communities. Communities are important because they shape how people view Amazon's products and services. Communities' interests include development, like education, health care, and environmental protection. Amazon's CSR efforts focus on these interests through charitable donations, like donations to various non-profit organizations. This approach allows Amazon's CSR strategy to meet the needs of communities, which are a big part of the IT and e-commerce industry.
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Altruism means acting in the best interest of others rather than in one’s self-interest. Some people believe altruism constitutes the essence of morality.” (Ethics Unwrapped, 2022) The moral judgments of humans are often influenced by emotions. Empathy for others is thought to be a driving factor in altruism. Additionally, an emotion known as "elevation" is thought to
motivate altruistic behavior. When we observe another person's act of kindness, such as aiding someone in need, we experience an emotional response of "elevation". Altruism is also thought to foster social connections. Research has demonstrated that individuals who practice altruism are more content, healthier, and live longer. Although altruism encourages us to act in the best interests of others, it can also lead to feelings of satisfaction.
Amazon workers have to work hard to make ends meet. One worker who joined Amazon just
two years ago says they've done 30,000 miles and 400 routes. He's been put on shifts that make him deliver to 70 different three-story buildings with over 350 packages, and he's had to climb over 120 flights. He says Amazon keeps reminding him that they prioritize profits over their employees. He ended up with a normal 200-stop day on Easter Sunday, and no one showed him any mercy. “
During the period of lockdown, Amazon's fast delivery services provided a lifeline to many. However, as we move closer to a return to normality, many are re-evaluating the habits and behaviors we adopted during the Covid pandemic.” (Reporter, 2022) The physical toll is clear. A survey of workers at an Amazon warehouse on Long Island found 42% of them had physical pain in their daily work mostly in their feet and lower back as well as psychological pressure and a loss of sleep. The workers say the workload is too much, and there's no time to take breaks. It's impossible to finish a route, take a break, and get back to the station on time.
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The extensive cultivation of palm oil necessitates the destruction of rainforest ecosystems. This has far-reaching implications, including the exacerbation of climate change, biodiversity depletion, and human rights violations.” (How Ethical Is Amazon.com Inc? | Ethical Consumer, 2023) Amazon's supply chain is physically certified, however, less than 50% of its products are untraceable. This means that half of Amazon's palm is not traceable and may be linked to the exploitation of rainforest resources and human life. Furthermore, Amazon does not have a public
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policy in place to protect against the use of hazardous chemicals in its electronic products. Toxic chemicals, such as Brominated Flame Retardant and Polyvinyl Chloride are extensively used by electronics manufacturers and have a considerable negative environmental impact upon disposal.
References
A framework for making ethical decisions | Science and Technology Studies. (2013). https://www.brown.edu/academics/science-and-technology-studies/framework-
making-ethical-decisions#:~:text=The%20Consequentialist%20Framework&text=We
%20ask%20about%20what%20outcomes,to%20produce%20the%20most%20good.
Amazon Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. (2018). https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/other/amazon-csr-sustainability/
Engaging with the communities where we live and work. US About Amazon. https://www.aboutamazon.com/impact/economy/community-
investments#:~:text=Through%20in%2Dkind%20and%20cash,for%20children%20and
%20their%20families.
Ethics Unwrapped. (2022, November 3). Altruism - ethics unwrapped. https://ethicsunwrapped.utexas.edu/glossary/altruism
Ferguson, E. (2023). Amazon Stakeholders & Corporate Social Responsibility. Panmore Institute. https://panmore.com/amazon-com-inc-stakeholders-corporate-social-
responsibility-analysis
Fernando, J. (2023). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) explained with examples. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-
responsibility.asp
How ethical is Amazon.com Inc? | Ethical Consumer. (2023, August 1). Ethical Consumer. https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/company-profile/amazoncom-inc
Reporter, G. S. (2022, May 10). Exhausted workers, polluting journeys: how unethical is next-
day delivery? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/may/10/next-day-delivery-
unethical-amazon-workers-pollution
Stockholder theory vs. stakeholder theory. (2021, November 20). Bizfluent. https://bizfluent.com/info-8483188-stockholder-theory-vs-stakeholder-
theory.html
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