Argyris

Reading:

Amazon came under fire in 2011 when workers in an eastern Pennsylvania warehouse toiled in more than 100-degree heat with ambulances waiting outside, taking away laborers as they fell. After an investigation by the local newspaper, the company installed air-conditioning. (Kantor and Streitfeld, 2015)

The tensions between Amazon and its warehouse employees came to a head during the Covid-19 pandemic. As demand for Amazon's services skyrocketed, so did employees' fear of the virus, dissatisfaction with the company's response, and anger at Jeff Bezos for not doing more to share the wealth (Dickey, 2020). Needing to expand hiring in the face of employee protests, sickouts, and a union-organizing effort, Amazon raised wages and took steps to protect health (masks, taking temperatures, providing hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes). But it also fired activists who protested the company's failure to provide enough protection against Covid-19. One Amazon vice-president was so incensed at the firings that he resigned in a very public protest (Bray, 2020).

Using terms you have learned from the text:

a) What kind of management style led to workers protesting Amazon in this example? Explain in detail.

b) Amazon had a response to the protests. Do you think this response would work in the long run? Explain in detail.

c) What frame are you using to consider these questions? Explain in detail.