Intercultural Management Case Study

Amazon

Student name: Tural Arif oglu

Student number: 46407

Contact: turalarifoglu@gmail.com
Amazon in US

There is no question technology can help improve efficiencies and increase safety.
Still, it can also pose a threat to job security, something I am sure is already on top of
many workers' minds. Bezos's admission that working conditions could and should be
better and the Day 1 obsession that drives much of Amazon's customer-centric
approach can translate into an employee-centric approach too are two reasonable first
steps Amazon has taken. Now starts the work and I am sure many will want to see
concrete steps towards a better workplace.

Diversity, equity and inclusion is where we have seen Amazon improve both in
transparency and in results. In her memo, Galetti (the Senior Vice President of
Worldwide Human Resources for Amazon) shared that the 2020 DEI goals were
reached. Amazon doubled the representation of Black directors and vice presidents,
launched inclusion training companywide and removed racially insensitive language
in its tech documentation. While most of the effort undertaken by Amazon in 2020
focused on the Black community, Galetti is confident that many of the learnings can
be applied to other underrepresented groups. Another big focus in 2020 was
improving hiring practices and development and promotion practices that offer equal
opportunity. In 2021, these areas have specific goals linked to them:

 Inspect any statistically significant demographic differences in Q1 2021

performance ratings by VP team to identify root causes and, as necessary,
implement action plans.
 Inspect any statistically significant demographic differences in attrition and
low-performance actions by VP team monthly to identify root causes and, as
necessary, implement action plans.
 Retain employees at statistically similar rates across all demographics.
Amazon’s “Two-Pizza Rule” Streamlines Global Teams

In 2019, Amazon employed just over 630,000 workers. Spurred by a dramatic increase
in e-commerce while much of the world went into lockdown during the COVID-19
pandemic, Amazon’s workforce grew to one million in 2020.

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, taking the company public just three years later.
The following year, Amazon began selling in the United Kingdom and Germany,
which today rank as the company’s two most profitable international markets. Today,
Amazon operates offices in over 30 countries across the world.

Amazon offers a wide range of services, from online retail and digital streaming to
artificial intelligence and cloud solutions. As a result of its varied offerings, the
company must hire workers with highly specialized skill sets. Managing workers with
diverse capabilities and responsibilities adds to the inherent challenges of overseeing a
global workforce.

To simplify the management of its international employees, Amazon concentrates

workers into smaller, more focused teams. The company practices a “two-pizza rule,”
in which meetings should not include more employees than two pizzas can feed. In
doing so, Amazon improves efficiency and limits bureaucracy while empowering
workers on an individual level.

At the same time, Amazon unifies its global teams by significantly investing in its
organizational culture. The company consistently holds trainings to keep employees
aligned with its overall business philosophy, values, and strategy. Furthermore,
Amazon invests in programs that help employees learn the technical skills necessary
to grow within the company.

By promoting cohesive company culture, breaking employees into small teams, and
providing career-accelerating training programs, Amazon keeps employees engaged—
and increases their likelihood of staying with the company long-term.

Forbes ranked Amazon as number four on its newly released World’s Best Employers 2021
list.
To compile this year’s list, Forbes surveyed 160,000 employees from 750 companies around
the world and asked them to rate their willingness to recommend their employers to friends
and family.
Ranking Amazon Culture according to Comparably.
Amazon in Poland

Amazon has been operating in Poland since 2014 and the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce recently announced that Amazon is the country’s largest U.S.
employer and the third-largest American investor. Amazon has created over
18,000 permanent jobs in nine modern fulfilment centres ( Poznan, Sosnowiec,
Wroclaw, Warsaw, Gdansk, Lodz, Szczecin, Gliwice, Okmiany). Amazon has
invested billions of dollars in infrastructure and technical services that help small
and medium-sized businesses reach new customers across Poland and around the
world, including simple listing tools that support all eight European Amazon
stores, enabling easy expansion within Europe, as well as 24/7 online Selling
Partner support, open and transparent selling conditions and pricing, and reports
and analytics tools to help them grow. As a result of this investment there are
now 1.7 million small and medium-sized businesses around the world selling in
Amazon’s stores, with more than 200,000 entrepreneurs worldwide who
surpassed $100,000 in sales on Amazon in 2019.

References
Walter de Gruyter (Sciendo) - Journal of Intercultural Management ISSN: 2080-0150
https://velocityglobal.com/blog/international-workforce-management/

https://www.forbes.com/lists/worlds-best-employers/#38bc62831e0c

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinamilanesi/2021/04/20/the-role-of-
diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-making-amazon-the-best-employer-on-
earth/

https://www.comparably.com/companies/amazon/diversity

https://www.aboutamazon.eu/press-release/amazon-pl-launches-in-poland