From the very beginning, Google had a policy that was suppose to define how they did business, interacted with their customers, and treated their employees: Do Not Be Evil. This concept soon became a wild fire concept to continue to use for many online start ups.
One of the biggest online companies that is making nearly $50 billion dollars does not subscribe to this same model. They were established because of a tax loop hole, seeking EVERY single possible way of saving money, and it would seem that their bottom line is to earn the almighty dollar.
Who could be this evil company? It may not be who you think (except that it is in the title):
Amazon.com
[Click for Larger]
Does something like business ethics affect you buying from them and if so, will you stop buying from Amazon.com?
Are they evil or genius?
[HT Mashable | via MBAOnline.com]
Tyler H says
some of the anecdotal stuff is a little unfair…with all those employees, a couple of bad stories about bad management (especially in a warehouse) are bound to come out…anyone who has ever worked in a tough labor environment would not be surprised by that kind of thing
Jeremy Smith says
Is that good enough to sweep it under the rug? I am not condoning it, but that coupled with initial intentions and future focus, it does not look fair on their part…
Tyler H says
I’m just saying that a couple of incidents at such a large company are not necessarily indicative of the whole.
Jeremy Smith says
Love it! I completely agree with that statement. I do not think this is black and white (hence why I do not give my side in the article!).
Bill says
The sales tax issue is changing, and Amazon seems to be rolling with it. Where I am in Indiana there are three Amazon facilities withing a few miles of where I live, and they are building another one an hour away. Before their latest expansion, Indiana offered incentives, but countered with a requirement that they collect Indiana sales tax. So next year, they will start charging me sales tax, which I see as a fair deal, considering the access Amazon gives to the things that I need and are hard to find locally.
Jeremy Smith says
True. Though where does the ethical and moral line get drawn?
Levi says
I wonder if the warehouses and factories in China are any better? A must listen: Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/454/mr-daisey-and-the-apple-factory
Jeremy Smith says
Nope. But it is harder for Americans to make change over there… we can easily make a difference here and need to!
Frank Gantz says
Zero in charitable contributions? Out of $48B, that should be a negative percentage (a $100 company with zero contributions would also be at the same %).
I sell a little bit of stuff on Amazon, but some of this info is making me rethink that.
Jeremy Smith says
Interesting. It amazes me how much companies are willing to push it for a single buck… and how evil it can be.
Paul Clifford says
The last point isn’t the whole picture either. As a self-published author, I’m a publishing company of 1. It doesn’t get smaller than that. My books are printed by an Amazon company (Create Space) and I make most of the profit. In fact, I make 80% if I sell it myself undiscounted. If it sells on Amazon.com, I make 40%. I don’t warehouse the books; I don’t ship them. I sit on my butt in my home office and make 6x what traditionally published authors make per book.
Now, what about Kindle? I’ve steeply discounted my Kindle books to $3.99 each. I make 80% of that and if someone borrows it, I make about 56% of the cover price. I’m not seeing how any of these is losing money.
If small publishers aren’t efficient enough to do what I can do myself, that’s their fault, not Amazon’s.
Paul
Jeremy Smith says
Thanks for your insight. I would agree that this infographic is biased in many ways, but at the same time, they did not just come up with this out of thin air. That being said, it does paint a picture that Amazon is making it impossible to make money when you have easily shown that you can do just that.