Discuss the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ Management Balance in Amazon’s Warehouse Practices by Using Taylorism, Leadership Grid, and McGregor Theory X and Theory Y

Discuss the ‘Hard’ and ‘Soft’ Management Balance

in Amazon’s Warehouse Practices by Using Taylorism, Leadership Grid, and McGregor Theory X and Theory Y

Introduction

Amazon is an e-commerce giant which rely on its powerful logistics and warehouse system, so-called fulfillment center (FC). Amazon provided various shipping speeds choices for their customers, including morning delivery, one-day delivery, two-day delivery, etc. In order to meet those specific and tight deadlines, Amazon’s fulfillment center has a series of efficient management approaches. This essay will discuss five main management approaches in Amazon’s warehouse: algorithmic system in handheld devices, points-based disciplinary system, ‘Blue badge’, ‘foreigner’ preference in recruitment and ‘Gemba Walk’. They will be explained by three closely relevant management theories including Taylorism, Leadership Grid, and McGregor Theory X and Theory Y, which can be simply divided into two styles – ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ management style.

First, from the most classical aspect, the scientific management theory of Taylor is a throwback in gig economy nowadays (like Uber and Deliveroo) under the guise of the algorithm, called Taylorism 2.0 (O’Connor, 2016). Taylorism mainly claimed that most workers are lazy and undisciplined, hence they need timed tasks to increase efficiency and productivity, and closely supervised by managers to ensure every worker can complete a ‘fair day’s work’ every day (Taylor, 1911). These ‘hard’ rules partially explained the ‘hard’ practices in Amazon’s warehouse like algorithmic system in employees’ handheld devices. Second, McGregor Theory X (1960) also has a similar standpoint with Taylorism that most people are lazy so organization must provide external incentives like the handle device. According to the theory X, Amazon use a points-based disciplinary system to reduce workers’ absenteeism. Although points-based disciplinary system did not directly push stress in working procedure like Taylorism, it also limits workers’ rights and increase their discontent. Therefore, Taylorism and Theory X are all kind of ‘hard’ management theory through oppress the working class and get support from boss class.

Amazon’s warehouse workers in the UK, Spain, France, Italy, and Germany are striking on Black Friday to protest those ‘hard’ approaches (Binder, 2018). However, Amazon is still a successful company which has its own admirers and still growing nowadays. Therefore, behind the ‘hard’ management theory is should have some other ‘soft’ theories to balance this situation. McGregor also has a Theory Y (1960) which an opposite and friendly idea compare with Theory X. According to assumptions of Theory Y, workers naturally want to be excellent so manager should encourage them to realize their full potential (Mullins, 2013). Amazon use ‘Blue badge’ to incentive their temporary and has a ‘foreigner’ preference in recruitment. These ‘soft’ approaches can minimize employee resistance and maximize the motivation effect. Nowadays, Amazon trying to emulate some Japanese shop floor practices including ‘Gemba Walk’ and ‘Kaizen’ programme, which allow employees have opportunities to influence their working environment.

Taylorism: algorithmic system in handle device

In Amazon’s warehouse, every staff has a smart handle device and should obey the strict count down commands (Bloodworth, 2018). Algorithm system in the devices will give workers an optimal way to picker the item and track their productivity which is like a mini manager who never tired. According to scientific management, it emphasis ‘a fair day work’ that measuring the maximum amount a ‘first class’ worker could do in a day and then set that amount as a standard target every day (Taylor, 1911).

Even Amazon’s official website shows that their warehouse workers’ performance expectation is set objectively and based on workers previous performance, it still increases employee’s resistance. Scientific management adding extra stress into the monotonous warehouse works itself. The employees in Amazon’s warehouse are always be the unskilled labour who just repeat some simple and boring works and requiring little skill, like picking, scanning and packing. Since unskilled labour was already monotonous, scientific management will eliminate the initiative of work, it almost certainly lower the whole capacity of worker in the long run (Cadbury E. 1914). Additionally, a BBC investigation about Amazon’s working conditions, an Amazon’s warehouse picker, Adam Littler said Amazon don’t trust them can think as human beings (Jivanda, 2013). Apparently, Taylorism treated workers from an engineering viewpoint and as machines.

Additionally, except timed task and productivity target giving by algorithm system, each group of workers also has a real human manager who can receive their personal performance report frequently from algorithm system. The group manager will urge the low efficient workers to increase their working speed they should have been (Bloodworth, 2018). Managers judged workers performance only depend on the cold data and the workers do not have any excuse for a low productivity. However, Amazon defended itself they use a ‘Gemba Walk’ practice nowadays, which give workers a directly chance speak to managers and discuss the next improvement step together. It can be explained by the Leadership Grid from leadership perspective.

Leadership Grid: ‘Gemba Walk’

Managing is an authority relationship and trying to make everything maintain stable. However, leading is an influence relationship and creates changes. In a Managerial/Leadership Grid (Black and Moulton, 1964/1991), there are two principle dimensions: concern for production means maintain a stable efficiency and concern for people means satisfying relationships (Mullins, 2013).

On the one hand, scientific management is clearly concerned about production which is an authority-compliance management on the horizontal axis of the Grid. Managers increase efficiency by looking workers’ performance report and informing their mistakes to minimum human elements interfere (Laurie J. Mullins, 2013).

On the other hand, unlike just looking the performance report, managers give amount of emphasis on workers as individuals and to their needs and expectations which is on the vertical axis of the Grid. Managers spend an hour on a ‘Gemba Walk’ - walk through the warehouse to discover what’s working well and what could be improved. This enables managers to hear from

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