I think we’ve all learned something suspicious about Amazon at this point. A whisper of unethical practice, of a fearless article in their warehouses.But it’s hard to imagine an alternative when a mega-corporation is ever-present in our daily lives. Amazon is so massive that in modern society for many it will be inevitable to be a failure, and learning why they are troublesome may seem nearly fruitless.

Amazon has faced criticism for far more than just its tax avoidance.In June 2018 an article in the Seattle Times exposed the poor treatment of some of Amazon’s Chinese workers. It described how the Hengyang facility, “uses temporary and contract workers to an extent that violates Chinese law. Another ethical issue Amazon’s management and administration participated in was lying to OSHA about the working conditions and treatments of their employees.It’s highly dangerous for employees to work in the overheated factory where temperatures far reach 95 degrees in summer. Amazon’s dishonest and immoral reality is that many employees have suffered from and died from heat strokes.One of Amazon’s unethical actions rests with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration when it is asked to report any inappropriate or illegal behaviour in the workplace.After first warning, Amazon neglected problems of industrial hygiene, refused to comply with safety rules and declined to follow a safety policy and did not communicate information during and after the inspection.

Though Amazon has had various ethical issues, they have grown proportionately big and can not be easily avoided. Though millennials advocate for ethical practices within companies they support, Amazon seems to big to knock over with bad reviews. While some 41% of respondents agreed that Amazon shares their values, just 39% felt that Amazon rewards its employees fairly and only about one-fifth (19%) felt that the corporation speaks out on social issues that are important to them.

Amazon can do a couple of different things to help its brand rise above the most respected and valued companies. They should implement proprietary inspectors, with set working condition guidelines when aligning with a warehouse. In their contracts before partnering with any other business, they should list a few of the requirements, and hold quarterly inspections to keep those contractors in line. Also they can randomly select various employees to send surveys about their working conditions, and a private confidential line that workers can use in the event they feel they are being mistreated. All these resources and practices, will allow Amazon to keep all their third party private contractors accountable for the working conditions.

Willow, F., Willow, F., Willow, F., & Geordie. (2019, August 15). Amazon Is Unethical, Here’s How To Make Them Change. Retrieved from https://ethicalunicorn.com/2019/08/16/amazon-is-unethical-heres-how-to-make-them-change/

James, G. (2015, September 26). Top 10 Brand Scandals of 2015. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/top-10-brand-scandals-of-2015.html

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.