Role of Leadership in Promoting a Productive View in Amazon Corporation

The Role of Leadership in Promoting a Productive View in the Workplace within the Amazon Corporation
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The Role of Leadership in Promoting a Productive View in the Workplace within the Amazon Corporation
The productivity of employees plays a significant role in the success of an organization. As such, many organizations are always strengthening the factors that aid employee productivity while eliminating those than hinder productivity. As Chen and Sriphon (2021) note, organizations consider employees the most critical assets whose well-being should be catered for to achieve organizational growth. The welfare of workers and their potential to be productive in the workplace are determined by many factors. One such factor is organizational leadership. Organizations that embrace positive leadership experience success in all organizational areas, more so because of the impact such leadership has on employees. According to Khan (2022), positive leadership enhances employees' productivity and commitment to their work, even during difficult times, because it focuses on the strengths of employees and the factors that elevate them. In the last couple of years, the world has faced many challenges contributing to global unrest. Many organizations have had to adapt and adjust in the midst of the global unrest to achieve organizational productivity and growth. Achieving organizational productivity and growth in the midst of global unrest requires strong leadership behaviors that create a positive workplace capable of remaining productive to promote growth. It is imperative to study real organizations' leadership practices to understand leadership's role in promoting a productive view in the workplace during challenging times. Information from such a study can be useful to organizations trying to remain productive during uncertain and difficult times. To this end, this research paper will focus on how leadership promotes a productive view within Amazon Corporation during global unrest.
Problem Statement
Scholars and practitioners have long recognized the importance of strong leadership in driving organizational productivity and growth. Nevertheless, many organizations still face productivity and growth issues, especially during periods of uncertainty, which can be traced back to the kind of workplace environment the organizations’ leadership has created. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, some companies remained highly productive while others experienced declining productivity. Garton and Mankins (2020) reveal that the difference in productivity among organizations during the pandemic was caused by the difference in how leaders managed their workforce. Leaders in companies that remained highly productive during the pandemic were able to keep their employees focused despite everything that was going on in the world. The shift from working in the office to working from home affected employees’ productivity differently, depending on whether they received adequate support from their leaders (Poovaiah & Mathew, 2022). Adequate leadership support, especially through training, enhanced employee productivity.
The pandemic was only the beginning of the challenges faced by organizations. The cost of energy has gone up, and the world is now experiencing an economic crisis. Leaders have been forced to take drastic measures such as cutting jobs, reducing employees’ working hours, and putting hiring on hold. These are actions that create uncertainty and can derail employee productivity. Many organizations continue to struggle with productivity, and as such, there is a need for a better understanding of how leadership can promote a productive view in their organizations in times of uncertainty and hardships.
Purpose Statement
This research paper aims to analyze how leadership within the Amazon Corporation maintains a productive view in the workplace and contributes to positive growth amid global unrest without getting stuck in the negative past.
Objectives
The key objective of this research paper is to explore how Amazon's leadership maintains a productive view in the workplace during global unrest. The specific objectives are:
* To explore Amazon’s productive view and growth during uncertain times
* To outline the role of Amazon’s leadership in promoting productivity and organizational growth during uncertain times
* To review diversity and ethics at Amazon and its effect on productivity during times of uncertainty and change
Literature Review
Leadership
In traditional and contemporary forms, leadership involves a leader influencing followers to achieve a set of shared goals, often through leader-follower interaction (McCauley & Palus, 2021). In this sense, leadership is viewed in a relational context that gives leaders the power to influence the action of their followers. Leadership influence is not only targeted at individual followers but also teams, workgroups, and organizations. Leadership is a widely studied concept in management and organizational development. Different theories and concepts of leadership have been developed. For instance, leadership is often classified as transformational, participative, empowering, charismatic, or ethical (Cheong et al., 2019). Each of these forms of leadership has different outcomes for employees and overall organizational success.
Leadership and Employee Productivity
Employee productivity is defined as the output produced by an employee, using labor as the input (Daniel, 2019). It measures how well organizational human resources are utilized to produce the desired outcomes. The three main sources of employee productivity are time, energy, and talent (Garton & Mankins, 2020). Employees must dedicate time to productive work every day, with zero or minimum distractions. Further, they must invest a significant degree of energy in their world, and finally, they must bring a particular talent to their work. Leaders who effectively manage these three sources of employee productivity can successfully promote a productive view in the workplace, especially during times of uncertainty, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic (Garton & Mankins, 2020).
The work environment also influences employee productivity. According to Ahmed et al. (2021), poor or unsupportive workplace environments hinder employee productivity by causing distress and inefficiency among employees. Leaders determine the workplace environment for their employees. Even when working from home, leaders can influence the employee work environment and ultimately, productivity. During the pandemic, many employees were forced to work from home. When leaders create positive work environments by empowering their employees with the necessary resources to perform their job, they report enhanced employee productivity (Patanjali & Bhatta, 2022).
Leadership during Uncertainty and Change
Leadership influences how followers respond to change or uncertainty. The impact of leadership on employees during change or uncertainty depends on the level of communication and support the leaders provide and the degree to which employees are involved in decision-making (Oreg & Berson, 2019). Adequate communication, support, and involvement promote positive responses from employees in times of uncertainty. Dirani et al. (2020) reveal that employees require supervisory support, appreciation for their work, and positive reinforcement from their leaders in times of crisis and uncertainty. These leadership competencies allowed many organizations to maintain productivity during the pandemic because leaders were able to meet employees' needs in trying times.
Further, the response of followers during a crisis is dependent on the trust between leaders and their followers. Ahern and Loh (2020) reveal that leaders must create trust during times of uncertainty, such as a pandemic, by planning, relying on data, and adapting accordingly. They must also sustain trust by remaining transparent, authentic, and taking responsibility. Such actions instill and nurture trust, allowing employees to focus on the shared vision and goals of the organization. Further, leaders can positively influence employees during uncertain times or crises by acting with urgency, engaging in problem-solving, communicating transparently, and constantly updating employees on what is happening (Kerrissey & Edmondson, 2020). It gives employees a clear picture of what is expected of them, making it easy for them to accept the challenge and focus on their work. In addition, leaders can promote organizational growth during a crisis, whether internal or external, through effective decision-making, increased organizational resilience, communication, learning, and reflection (Bhaduri, 2019). Building organizational resilience and learning are especially critical leadership competencies that will help the organization continue growing even after the crisis.
Methodology
The primary research method for this research paper is case study research. According to Ylikoski and Zahle (2019), case study research focuses on one single case or a few cases, at most, to provide a detailed account of the case through a question-driven approach. This research paper's goal is to provide insights into the role of leadership in promoting a productive view in the workplace during a crisis. Amazon has been selected as a single case that will be studied. The focus will be on how the company’s leadership has maintained a productive workplace view amid global unrest. Data will be obtained through a review of secondary sources such as news articles, the company’s website, and other studies that have been conducted about the company.
Findings and Discussion
Amazon: Brief Overview
Amazon is a US-based multinational company focusing on e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and cloud services. Its mission is to be the most customer-centric company and the best and safest employer in the world (Amazon, n.d.a.). Amazon has remained an industry leader driven by innovation and effective leadership. It is guided by 16 leadership principles, including ownership, customer obsession, hiring and developing the best talent, earning trust, invention, and thinking big (Amazon, n.d.a.). Amazon’s success continues to be seen to date, even after the coronavirus crisis. According to Palmer (2020), Amazon thrived during the pandemic and recorded high profits. However, this came with a set of negative publicity as it was accused of not protecting its warehouse workers sufficiently. However, despite negative publicity on employee rights, it has maintained a productive view and organizational growth.
Amazon’s Productive View and Growth during the Global Unrest
Amazon has been operational for close to three decades and during this time, it has experienced and conquered crises and uncertain times. The most recent crisis has been the COVID-19 pandemic, and the company has thrived in the midst of the pandemic and associated global unrest. At a time when most organizations experienced a decline in growth, Amazon kept soaring (Rapp & Harty, 2021), despite facing a labor cr...