Background Information on Amazon

Almost everyone in the world knows about Amazon and what services it has now from a streaming platform both music and video. They sell housewares, electronics, toys and countless other goods. Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and he named the company after the vast forest in South America. When amazon was started it was meant to deliver any book to any reader anyplace in the world. While everyone else in the business world thought amazon would likely fail Bezos new that Amazon could grow to be the largest online retailer in the world. Along the way Amazon has acquired several companies including Twitch, Whole Foods, PillPack, Audible, Zappos, and IMDB. amazon now even has their own brand for products called amazon essentials which make clothing, accessories, jewelry, shoes and winter coats.

Amazon's vision statement is "To be Earths most customer-centric company". The mission statement is "to serve consumers through online and physical stores and focus on selection, price and convenience" both of these are customer centered and mean that the company could prioritize customer satisfaction over employee safety and well being. Poor working conditions could be farther exacerbated by the rapid growth and demand for the company. Both these states and the corporate culture and philosophy behind them are why the warehouse workers are treated so poorly. The vision statement alone is very telling, they don't want to be the leading company they want to the best on earth regardless of how hard it is on their employees. Even though optimistic mission and vision statement are common in corporate America when they vision statement could be potentially be leading to a dangerous working environment it s potentially time to change it.

Amazon does have a Code of Business and Ethics. "In performing their job duties, Amazon.com employees should always act lawfully, ethically, and in the best interests of Amazon.com". Under the Health and Safety paragraph is says "Amazon.com provides a clean, safe and healthy work environment. Each employee has responsibility for maintaining a safe and healthy workplace by following safety and health rules and practices and reporting accidents, injuries and unsafe conditions, procedures, or behaviors." I think this code like other companies code is a bit of a check the box type of thing, I find it hard to believe amazon employees and executives are always following the code of conduct. They are not running their warehouses in an ethical manner nor treating their delivery drivers fairly either. 

References:

https://www.amazon.jobs/en/landing_pages/about-amazon#:~:text=Amazon's%20mission%20is%20%22to%20be,the%20heart%20of%20that%20mission.https://ir.aboutamazon.com/corporate-governance/documents-and-charters/code-of-business-conduct-and-ethics/default.aspx

https://www.officetimeline.com/blog/amazon-history-timeline