Ethical Decision Making

Tax Avoidance: Amazon has aggressive tax planning and barely pays any federal income taxes through avoidance (Rushe, 2019). I would address this issue since it is the legal and moral thing to do. Not paying taxes limits the company’s chances to conduct CSR since taxes usually go back into the community, helping in issues such as poverty and reducing income inequality.

Labor Standards: From a human rights perspective, I would ensure minimum wage, offer reasonable overtime and pay accordingly, keep accurate records, and adhere to the child labor standards. The company has been noted to escape the minimum wage regulation and compelling workers to take overtime jobs. In some instances, the company has failed to pay overtime sessions (Overtime Pay Laws, n.d.).

Work Standards and Conditions: Amazon warehouses are one of the facilities with significant ethical issues that I would address. The company has somewhat a bad reputation due to poor working conditions in the warehouses. Some are reported to have a flawed air-conditioning system, causing health risks associated with poor aeration and heat. Yarow (2011) reports that at one time, warehouse workers endured about 100 degrees of heat.

Human Rights Issues: In the same context, I would stop the abuse of Amazon warehouse workers. First, there are cases of overworked and underpaid workers. Secondly, the supervision is beyond what can be termed as reasonable, where employees do not have quality time to use the bathroom. Besides, employees are subjected to fines for petty breakages in the warehouse.

Integrity: Amazon has a smart way of attracting customers and partners but exploits them to make profits. I would abolish hiding shipping costs for products posted by companies that sell on Amazon.com. This ends up creating a bad reputation for the sellers. There are accusations over Amazon selling data collected on their websites, which I would strongly ban. The company should become a global example of ethical conduct in entrepreneurship.

References

Overtime Pay Laws. Warehouse Workers Accuse Amazon of Violating Overtime Pay Laws. Overtime Pay Laws: Lawsuit Resource Center. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.overtimepaylaws.org/california-warehouse-workers-accuse-amazon-violating-overtime-pay-laws/.

Rushe, D. (2019). Amazon made an $11.2bn profit in 2018 but paid no federal tax. the Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/feb/15/amazon-tax-bill-2018-no-taxes-despite-billions-profit.

Yarow, J. (2011). Amazon Forced Warehouse Employees To Work In Suffocating 110 Degree Heat. Business Insider. Retrieved 7 December 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-warehouse-2011-9?r=US&IR=T.