Introduction
In any organization, employees form one of the most important assets. It is because the employees ensure that the entire business operations are running and the business is headed towards its goals and objectives. For most organizations, they have come to put their customers as being more important than the employees. However, it is only through satisfied employees will a business get customers. The employees ensure the customers get the products and services that satisfy their needs and wants.
- Organizational Background
Amazon.com also referred to as Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. It is an American cloud computing and e-commerce corporation and is the largest internet –based retailer globally operating in more than 75 countries. The headquarters of the company are located in Seattle, Washington, USA. During its earlier years, the company only involved itself in the selling of online books which it has come to diversify over the years into other products. These include jewelry, softwares, DVDs, toys, food, furniture, clothes and audiobooks. The firm is also known for producing consumer electronics such as Echo, Fire tablets, and Kindle e-readers. The company is also the leading provider of cloud infrastructure services globally. As of the third quarter of 2015, the firm saw an increase in its sales by about 23% ($25 billion) and also a 48% increase in its employees as compared to same period in 2014 (Amazon's Annual Report).
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- Employee Turnover
In the past two decades, Amazon has been able to top transform into an online retail giant and expanded its operations into other countries. However, the greatest challenge that is faced by the company is high employee turnover rates which have been on the increase over the years. The median employee age at the firm is 32 years with median employment tenure of 1.0 annually. These statistics place the firm in the second position about having the least loyal employees among the Fortune 500 companies’ (Amazon Media Room).Such high turnover rates should raise the alarm for most employers. Most of the major causes for such high employee turnover rates are due to dissatisfied employees working conditions such as the salary and compensation packages. In case the employees have other options to move from Amazon into other firms, they will do it. As such, it is the duty of the company’s human resource management and top management to evaluate the factors that are causing their employees to move out of Amazon and improve the areas.
- Leader-Follower Relationship
Positive leader-follower relationship promotes a friendly working environment that allows for the growth of trust and commitment amongst the employees. Leaders who work towards having their employee form part of the decision-making process and other factors involving the company is bound to increase the employees' levels of job satisfaction (Dixon and Hart, 2010). As such, the employees will become hardworking, reliable, and loyal and excited with their work environment. This, in the long run, allows them to have a lot of opportunities for career development for their leaders are supportive. In case the employees are facing hardships, the leaders should sympathize with the affected employees and support them which further deepen the leader-follower relationship. As such, leaders who work towards creating an emotionally suitable working environment will, in turn, get hardworking employees for they would like to return the favors given unto them. All these are made possible by having transformational leaders who will boost their motivational levels and in turn allow them to attain their career goals which build employee loyalty to the company (Kovjanic et al., 2013). At Amazon, its management policies are unfavorable to the leader-follower relationship which results to the high turnover rates (Amazon Media Room). These policies are evident whereby the firm's management sacks the least efficient employees. These employees if given a chance, they can turn into good employees. Despite Amazon maximizing its short run productivity index among its employees, the long run consequences are negative. This is seen from the development of distrust among the employees which will affect productivity. The policy makes the management-employee relationship to be poor for employees would not like to create a bad reputation in front of the management(Amazon Media Room). As such, employees cannot approach the management in case they need help and management cannot communicate properly with employees for they feel the employees blame them for the sackings that have to be carried out annually. In the long run, a huge number of the employees will opt to quit their work and look for another working environment that is not stressful and one that is predictable.
- Data Collection Methods
The questionnaire and interviews will be used in collecting the data from the sample group. Through the questionnaires, they will include open-ended and closed questions. The advantages of the questionnaire are that it can be used in collecting large amounts of data from a huge number of participants within a short period. The questionnaires are also cost effective. A questionnaire offers the researcher limited effect on the validity and reliability of the data collected. Once the data has seen collected, it is easily quantified through the use of software applications or by the researcher. Through the interviews, they allow for a face to face talk with the sample group and one will get the information in an in-depth way. Any ambiguities that might be raised from the questionnaires can also be clarified, and the following up of incomplete answers is also easily done. Through the interviews, the personal feelings, opinions, and perceptions of the participants will also be recorded about the matter being investigated.
- Validity and Reliability
During the carrying out of any study, the collection of data forms a crucial part of the entire process. This is because, incorrect data will affect the end results of the study because; the findings cannot be used in making any meaningful decisions. As such, the data collection methods must undergo a validity and reliability testing process so as to ensure they are effective. In testing the validity and reliability of the data collection methods, a meta-analysis will be performed on the results (Van der Liden et al., 2010). This is a procedure that allows for the combination of information from multiple studies According to Reiley and Chao, a coefficient of .19 indicates that the data collection method, in this case, the interviews and questionnaires have provided correct data. Amazon is a large corporation, and it is bound to have a lot of other studies that have been made about the employee turnover rates even by the company itself. As such, this data will be used in comparing the result of the study to determine whether the data collection methods provided correct data.
- Conclusion
For any organization to emerge successful in its operations, it must have in place employees who are highly productive. It is the duty of the management to ensure that all employee needs are met and fully satisfied. However, dissatisfied employees will lead to a poor performing organization due to high turnover rates. As seen in the case of Amazon, it is a leader in most rates, however, when it comes to its employees, its performance is poor.
References
Amazon's Annual Report - SEC. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872415000006/amzn-20141231x10k.html
Amazon Media Room: Press Releases. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2100420
Dixon, M. L., & Hart, L. K. (2010). The impact of path-goal leadership styles on work group effectiveness and turnover intention . Journal of Managerial Issues , 22(1), 52-69.
Kovjanic, S., Schuh, S. C., & Jonas, K. (2013). Transformational leadership and performance: An experimental investigation of the mediating effects of basic needs satisfaction and work engagement . Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology , 86(4), 543-555. doi:10.1111/joop.12022
Van der Liden, D., Te Nijenhuis. & Bakker,A,B.(2010). The general factor of personality: A meta-analysis of Big Five intercorrelations and a criterion-related validity study. Journal of research in personality, 44(3), 315-327.
