NY Times Article about Amazon

[rc08234]

I did a few searches and didn't see this article posted. I absolutely love it, and hope amazon is ran that way and it's not a fluff article.

I am 100% against the google 'chill and play pool, work when ya want' type model. 100% against it.
99% of people will read this article and threaten a boycott against amazon, but being this is a entrepreneur forum and we have a lot of business owners I am deff interested to hear your thoughts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/t...g-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=1

 

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[ToniLene]

I did a few searches and didn't see this article posted. I absolutely love it, and hope amazon is ran that way and it's not a fluff article.

I am 100% against the google 'chill and play pool, work when ya want' type model. 100% against it.
99% of people will read this article and threaten a boycott against amazon, but being this is a entrepreneur forum and we have a lot of business owners I am deff interested to hear your thoughts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/16/t...g-big-ideas-in-a-bruising-workplace.html?_r=1

What do you love about the Amazon business model? Surely there is a reasonable, productive business model inbetween Google's "chill and play pool" and Amazon's pass out and faint in a 100 degree fulfillment warehouse? Where's the Workers Union when you need it?

 

[rc08234]

What do you love about the Amazon business model? Surely there is a reasonable, productive business model inbetween Google's "chill and play pool" and Amazon's pass out and faint in a 100 degree fulfillment warehouse? Where's the Workers Union when you need it?

I love it because it's more along the lines of real job. Boo hoo a few people "passed out" in the warehouse. There are plenty of times in my teens and early 20's I got heat sickness working construction jobs and had to keep working. I was a bouncer and worked 16hr shifts back to back with only 6 hrs off inbetween we would sleep in the break room. I'm willing to bet the amazon workers got paid better, and had health benefits. When I was a carpenter and a nail would hit a strike plate and curl around into my finger, no one gave a damn. You wrap it in duck tape and finish the day.

There might be a productive business model inbetween, but it's not going to be as productive as amazons. No matter how well you treat employees, the stat is something like 7/10 people hate their job.

 

[Lavi Fletcher]

I think the main difference between the two is that Google has a money printing machine with Adverts as well as other sources of income.

Google is billions into profit, whereas Amazon doesn't have any profit at all.

Google is the epitome of tech, where to become bigger, you just need more developers and engineers (ignoring their other ventures like Calico and self-driving vehicles), whereas Amazon is investing into more efficient production processes, warehouses and other tangible, physical forms of capital.

The businesses are completely different, despite them both being online and why the laid back culture Google works and why it's one of the most popular companies for graduates to work at.

Your personal experiences of "no one giving a damn" and getting heat sickness may of been normal when you were younger, but they're not anymore.

You honestly seem older and still set in his ways from back in the day. In Australia where I live, bricklayers are paid in excess of $1 every brick they lay and weekly wages equaling $3K+ are not unheard of, and this is all for essentially unskilled work. There's not an insane supply of bricklayers and you can really just apply at an construction/labourer place and get a job pretty easily. So why don't you think everyone is wanting to become a bricklayer and get that easy 100K+ salary?

Because it takes a shit ton of hard work and effort to be good and efficient at it. Coupled with the fact that you'll be in either in the freezing cold or burning heat for 8 hours a day (weather in Australia is weird) doing physically demanding and tiring work, people just straight up don't want to do that and would rather half the salary with the comfort of air conditioning and safety.

I love it because it's more along the lines of real job.

What do you mean by "real job"? That unless it takes manual and physical labour, it's not a real job?

Times have changed.

 

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[ToniLene]

I love it because it's more along the lines of real job. Boo hoo a few people "passed out" in the warehouse. There are plenty of times in my teens and early 20's I got heat sickness working construction jobs and had to keep working. I was a bouncer and worked 16hr shifts back to back with only 6 hrs off inbetween we would sleep in the break room. I'm willing to bet the amazon workers got paid better, and had health benefits. When I was a carpenter and a nail would hit a strike plate and curl around into my finger, no one gave a damn. You wrap it in duck tape and finish the day.

There might be a productive business model inbetween, but it's not going to be as productive as amazons. No matter how well you treat employees, the stat is something like 7/10 people hate their job.

So just because you chose to suffer in a job, everyone should? Sounds like a sweatshop mentality and that's unethical. I would guess that the Amazon fulfillment workers are paid the least and are treated as such

I don't know how productive Amazon actually is when their turn over rate is so high. Frankly, Amazon Sellers bring most of the business by selling there and not somewhere else.

 

[rc08234]

I think the main difference between the two is that Google has a money printing machine with Adverts as well as other sources of income.

Google is billions into profit, whereas Amazon doesn't have any profit at all.

Google is the epitome of tech, where to become bigger, you just need more developers and engineers (ignoring their other ventures like Calico and self-driving vehicles), whereas Amazon is investing into more efficient production processes, warehouses and other tangible, physical forms of capital.

The businesses are completely different, despite them both being online and why the laid back culture Google works and why it's one of the most popular companies for graduates to work at.

Your personal experiences of "no one giving a damn" and getting heat sickness may of been normal when you were younger, but they're not anymore.

You honestly seem older and still set in his ways from back in the day. In Australia where I live, bricklayers are paid in excess of $1 every brick they lay and weekly wages equaling $3K+ are not unheard of, and this is all for essentially unskilled work. There's not an insane supply of bricklayers and you can really just apply at an construction/labourer place and get a job pretty easily. So why don't you think everyone is wanting to become a bricklayer and get that easy 100K+ salary?

Because it takes a shit ton of hard work and effort to be good and efficient at it. Coupled with the fact that you'll be in either in the freezing cold or burning heat for 8 hours a day (weather in Australia is weird) doing physically demanding and tiring work, people just straight up don't want to do that and would rather half the salary with the comfort of air conditioning and safety.



What do you mean by "real job"? That unless it takes manual and physical labour, it's not a real job?

Times have changed.

You honestly seem older and still set in his ways from back in the day. In Australia where I live, bricklayers are paid in excess of $1 every brick they lay and weekly wages equaling $3K+ are not unheard of, and this is all for essentially unskilled work. There's not an insane supply of bricklayers and you can really just apply at an construction/labourer place and get a job pretty easily. So why don't you think everyone is wanting to become a bricklayer and get that easy 100K+ salary?

Your comparing apples and oranges, your describing a pieceworker as opposed to an hourly employee. Pieceworkers don't usually have benefits etc.

Your personal experiences of "no one giving a damn" and getting heat sickness may of been normal when you were younger, but they're not anymore.

You honestly seem older and still set in his ways from back in the day.

This is funny, I'm 26, I was a bouncer 3 years ago, and a day labor 6 years ago.

Because it takes a shit ton of hard work and effort to be good and efficient at it. Coupled with the fact that you'll be in either in the freezing cold or burning heat for 8 hours a day (weather in Australia is weird) doing physically demanding and tiring work, people just straight up don't want to do that and would rather half the salary with the comfort of air conditioning and safety.

What do you mean by "real job"? That unless it takes manual and physical labour, it's not a real job?

No... hard work=real job. Your actually proving my point with your last sentence. They rather NOT do physically DEMANDING work and would rather sit in an office for half the pay.

 

[rc08234]

So just because you chose to suffer in a job, everyone should? Sounds like a sweatshop mentality and that's unethical. I would guess that the Amazon fulfillment workers are paid the least and are treated as such

I don't know how productive Amazon actually is when their turn over rate is so high. Frankly, Amazon Sellers bring most of the business by selling there and not somewhere else.

No not at all, but if you apply for the job, be able to do it. I would really like to look at the physicals/diets of the people that passed out. More then likely overweight or out of shape. But amazon can't not hire them because of that because it's discrimination.

They are paid the least because they are the least valuable. They shove bubble wrap and items into boxes all day, I'd much rather pay someone more bringing me ideas on new products or how to cut the bottom line then someone fulfilling orders.

Turnover rate does cost a lot of money, but 80% of productivity comes from 20% of it's workers. No need to support the dead weight.

 

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[Delmania]

https://medium.com/@jaycarney/what-the-new-york-times-didn-t-tell-you-a1128aa78931
https://medium.com/@NYTimesComm/dean-baquet-responds-to-jay-carney-s-medium-post-6af794c7a7c6

Personally, while I think the the means are toxic, I think the ends are laudable. People do need to be motivated to work hard and not just suck on a paycheck.

 

[Bouncing Soul]

https://medium.com/@jaycarney/what-the-new-york-times-didn-t-tell-you-a1128aa78931
https://medium.com/@NYTimesComm/dean-baquet-responds-to-jay-carney-s-medium-post-6af794c7a7c6

Here’s what the story didn’t tell you about Mr. Olson: his brief tenure at Amazon ended after an investigation revealed he had attempted to defraud vendors and conceal it by falsifying business records. When confronted with the evidence, he admitted it and resigned immediately.

Oh, right then, always that.

There is so much bullshit in these stories. Do the people at Amazon work in a high pressure place? Yes. Is it less so than Google? Apple? Microsoft? No.

(EDIT- I speak from experience, not from reading other stories)