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BTEC Business Level 3 Unit 37P4 M3
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- OCR
This assignment examines and explains the ethical concerns of communities of Amazon. Moreover, it suggests measures that could be taken to improve corporate responsibility.
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UNIT 37 BUSINESS ETHICSP4 & M3
In this assignment I will be examining and explaining the ethical concerns of
communities of Amazon. Moreover, I will be suggesting measures that could be taken to
improve corporate responsibility.
To begin, I will be explaining the general concerns of the business operation which
include tax avoidance, temporary workers exploitation and subjecting workers to
extreme conditions. Amazon is a known online retailer that sells loads of stuff which
allows the customers the option to purchase items directly from Amazon or from third-
party sellers.
Amazon has many warehouses where their workers do the pick and pack products for
delivery. There are multiple accounts of abuses at various Amazon warehouses, both in
the UK and America that occurred and keep occurring.
There have been several reports of employees that are pushed to meet extremely high
targets, subjected to strict breaks and a not so pleasant work environment, monitored
electronically, and worried that not meeting targets will result in immediately losing
their jobs. Some examples that occurred when people would not go to the toilet out
fear of being disciplined or terminated for ‘wasting time’ going to the toilet, to the point
where employees deliberately decide not to drink water so they don’t have to pee while
working.
https://ethicalunicorn.com/2019/01/12/how-ethical-is-amazon/
One employee became sick while pregnant and was given a warning, one was
hospitalised after having an epileptic seizure at work and received a strike for not
showing up the next day, another turned up for work with gastric bug, had to go home
after two hours and was given a strike despite getting a sick note from their doctor. One
woman tragically suffered a miscarriage while working, which she believed was ‘partly as
a result of continuous pressure to hit targets’.
In UK warehouses there are also records of increased depression, anxiety, and suicidal
thoughts in employees, alongside bullying and harassment.
The links between Amazon warehouses and ill health is concerning. In the UK a 2018
Freedom of Information request revealed that ambulances had been called out 600
times to Amazon’s UK warehouses in the previous three years.
The frequency of calls tended to climb during peak season. This is unethical as
Amazon wants the workers to meet high targets and they don’t allow them to go on
toilet this because they are interested in making sales and the more orders the
employees can make more money is coming in. As a result, this affects the HR as they
need to set their rules better and it also affects the employees as they are pressurized,
they become sick and with so many different mental and physical problems.
Furthermore, Amazon is known for exploitation of temporary workers. Amazon
warehouses are often staffed by numerous temporary hired by external companies who
Amazon outsource to. These temporary workers are normally hired during ‘peak season’
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