Amazon Case Study: Impact Of Employee Training On Organisational Performance
Question
Task: Write a reflective journal on computer architecture assignment analysing the theoretical concepts captured from the weekly material.
Answer
1. Introduction
As per the research on Amazon case study, it is stated that the corporate environment is constantly witnessing increase in new entrants and intense competition in the global market. There is no exception in the case of e-commerce industry. Thus, to overcome challenges in the global market, increasing the productivity of the workforce within the firm has become one of the important strategies. Employee productivity is defined as the efficiency of the employees that enhances production (Nda and Fard, 2013). Employee training is responsible for enhancing the productivity of the employees that further has an impact on the performance of the organisation. These strategic decisions have also been made by the corporate leaders of Amazon UK.
1.1 Research background
Amazon is a US based organization that is operating in various parts of the world. Similarly, the organization has also expanded its business in the UK market. UK is identified as one of the developed countries and the country has witnessed economic development for a long time period. In 2019, UK has witnessed a GDP growth rate of 1.43% but due to the outbreak of a global pandemic the GDP has fallen but it is expected that UK will start recovering from the loss and the GDP will grow from 2022 (Statista, 2021). This is one of the major reason major players in the global market tries to enter into the UK market. Therefore, with the increase in competition in the UK market, Amazon UK is trying to develop strategies to develop the satisfaction among employees that can further have an impact on the organizational performance. To enhance the level of satisfaction among employees, they need to be valued and well-informed. This can only be done with the help of employee training.
1.2 Problem statement
Increase in competition in the UK market increases the bargaining power of employees. This is one of the primary reason Amazon often witnesses rise in the turnover rate of the employees. Increased rate of employee turnover has a negative impact on the productivity as well as profitability of an organization (Ozolina-Ozola, 2014). The same issue has been faced by Amazon UK.
1.3 Research scope
This research will discuss employee training and development and its impact on the performance of Amazon UK. It will give a brief overview of the e-commerce industry and how the productivity of employees within this industry can be increased.
1.4 Research aim
The aim of this research paper is to evaluate the impact of employee training on the performance of an organization. Amazon UK is undertaken as the case study for the research.
1.5 Research objectives
• To explore the importance of employee productivity.
• To understand the need of employee training.
• To explore the impact of employee training on organizational performance.
• To evaluate the training program initiated by Amazon UK.
• To discuss the benefits witnessed by Amazon UK by initiating employee training program.
1.6 Research questions
• Why employee productivity is important?
• What are the needs for employee training program?
• How employee training has an impact on organizational performance?
• What are the aspects of employee training program that has been initiated by Amazon UK?
• What are the benefits enjoyed by Amazon UK after initiation of employee training program?
2. Literature Review
2.1 Employee training
According to the study conducted by Hanaysha and Tahir, (2016), to increase the profitability of an organisation and ensuring sustainable competitive advantage, employee training has become one of the important aspects. Employees are trained within the workplace so that they can understand their responsibilities and opportunities within the firm. It also helps the entire workforce to enhance their productivity Furthermore, the author also states that employee training has a close association with job satisfaction of the employees within the workplace. It has an impact on the behaviours and attitudes of employees that further increases the satisfaction of the employees. On the other hand, as opined by Naqvi and Khan, (2013), employees are often preferred by training not to get promoted within the workplace but they want to increase develop their professional skills. The author also states that employee training has a close association with the performance of the organisation. Corporate leaders invest in training programs, seminars and workshops to enhance the skills of the employees and to leverage their expertise further. This is how employees can contribute to the growth of the organisation and help them to sustain in the global and domestic market.
2.2 Impact of employee training on organizational performance
As opined by Dar, Bashir, Ghazanfar and Abrar, (2014), strategic HRM is of utmost importance to enhance the competitive advantage of an organisation. Employee training is marked as one of the strategic steps undertaken by HRM team of several organisations across the world. The managers focus on conducting training programs that are skill-oriented. Organisations consider these training programs and the productivity of the employees and the organisation after this training sessions are marked as return on investment. On the other hand, according to the study conducted by Nasomboon, (2014), employee training is an important aspect of employers branding. Employers are trained in such a way so that they can bring competitive advantage for the organisation by enhancing the performance of the company. Furthermore, it is found that organisations often face environmental turbulence. These turbulences include recession, political conflicts, worker protests and many more. To cope up with these turbulences’ employees are often trained within the workplace. Skilled employees have the ability to develop strategies that can further help the firm to help the company grow despite these challenges. Moreover, the author also states that when employees are trained, it helps in adding value to the work they do. This further increases the commitment of employees towards the core business activities and enhances the performance of the organisation.
2.3 Impact of employee training in online retail sector
In the 21st century, online retail sector is gaining popularity significantly. Renowned organizations like Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart and many more has started operating in several parts of the world. With the increase in competition in the global online retail market firms are adopting employee training strategies to survive within the market. According to the study conducted by Karim, Huda and Khan, (2012), retail sector across the world is very customer-centric. Corporate leaders of this sector are primarily focused on enhancing the satisfaction level of the customers. Thus, employee training in the retail sector is adopted because it helps in adding superior value to the process of customer management. Furthermore, employee training and development enhances the well-being of the employees and it also adds value. This further strengthen the reputation of the organisation. On the other hand, as opined by Sarker and Ashrafi, (2018), employee training in the retail sector is considered as one of the motivational techniques. Employee training helps the employees working in this sector understand their responsibilities and how these responsibilities has an impact on the productivity of the organisation. This further motivates the employees and help the company operating in the retail sector grow significantly.
3. Research methods
3.1 Research philosophy
The objective of research philosophy is to deal with the source and develop knowledge accordingly. In this research, the researcher will follow interpretivism method. The contemporary social world can be identified with the help of this research philosophy technique (Chowdhury, 2014). In this research, the researcher will focus on interpreting the elements of employee training and how it can impact the productivity of organisations.
3.2 Research approach
The process in which data is collected, analyzed and interpreted by the researcher is known as research approach. In this research, the researcher will consider inductive research approach. The objective of this research approach will help the researcher present in-depth analysis of the data collected (Alase, 2017). In this research, the researcher will collect employee training strategies that have been adopted by Amazon UK and will analyse its impact on the growth of the company in the UK market.
3.3 Research design
The tools that are used by the researcher for measuring the collected data is known as Research design. In this research, the researcher will consider descriptive research design. The objective of this research design is to undertake a situation or phenomenon and analyze the situation thoroughly. Descriptive research design will help the researcher to understand the competition faced by Amazon in the UK market and how employee training is helping them to strive in this market.
3.4 Data collection
This is an important section of research methodology. The type of data collected and the methods used for collecting the data is known as data collection. A skilled researcher has the ability to collect data that can be aligned well with the research topic and can help the researcher give in-depth knowledge to the readers. There are two main types of data collection. One is primary data collection method and the other one is secondary. In this research, the researcher will consider secondary data collection technique. When information is collected from government reports, journals, company website and other reliable secondary sources it is known as secondary data. Secondary data has the ability to address the research questions accurately (Ellram and Tate, 2016). In this research, the research focus on collecting information about Amazon UK and its employee training program. Peer-reviewed journals, company websites and other sources will also be used to understand the impact of employee training program and workshops on the performance of Amazon UK in the UK market.
3.5 Data analysis
Once data is collected the objective of the researcher is to analyze the data using relevant analysis tool. There are two types of tool available for conducting research. The tools are qualitative analysis tool and quantitative analysis. In this research, the researcher will undertake qualitative analysis for interpreting and analyzing the secondary data. Qualitative analysis helps to provide insight of the collected data and will help the reader understand the importance of employee training program in enhancing performance of Amazon UK.
4. Conclusion
The main aim of this research proposal it to evaluate the training of employees and its impact on the performance of the organization. The case study of Amazon UK has been considered for the researcher. The employee training program adopted by this organization will be used for further analysis. Moreover, work of several authors has been used for conducting the literature review. In the final part of the research, the research methodology techniques that will be used by the researcher for addressing the research questions and objectives formulated in the introduction section. This research will give a detailed overview of employee training and will also show direction to other corporate leaders so that they can sustain in the UK market.
Reference List
Alase, A., 2017. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): A guide to a good qualitative research approach. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(2), pp.9-19.
Chowdhury, M.F., 2014. Interpretivism in aiding our understanding of the contemporary social world. Open Journal of Philosophy, 4(3), pp.1-7.
Dar, A.T., Bashir, M., Ghazanfar, F. and Abrar, M., 2014. Mediating role of employee motivation in relationship to post-selection HRM practices and organizational performance. International Review of Management and Marketing, 4(3), p.224.
Ellram, L.M. and Tate, W.L., 2016. The use of secondary data in purchasing and supply management (P/SM) research. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 22(4), pp.250-254.
Hanaysha, J. and Tahir, P.R., 2016. Examining the effects of employee empowerment, teamwork, and employee training on job satisfaction. Amazon case studyProcedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 219, pp.272-282.
Karim, M.R., Huda, K.N. and Khan, R.S., 2012. Significance of training and post training evaluation for employee effectiveness: An empirical study on Sainsbury's Supermarket Ltd, UK. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(18), p.141.
Naqvi, S.M.H. and Khan, M.A., 2013. Employees training and organizational performance: Mediation by employees performance. Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research, 5(4), pp.490-503.
Nasomboon, B., 2014. The relationship among leadership commitment, organizational performance, and employee engagement. International Business Research, 7(9), p.77.
Nda, M.M. and Fard, R.Y., 2013. The impact of employee training and development on employee productivity. Global journal of commerce and management perspective, 2(6), pp.91-93.
Ozolina-Ozola, I., 2014. The impact of human resource management practices on employee turnover. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 156, pp.223-226.
Sarker, M.A.R. and Ashrafi, D.M., 2018. The relationship between internal marketing and employee job satisfaction: A study from retail shops in Bangladesh. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research, 12(3), pp.149-159.
Statista, 2021. United Kingdom: Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate from 2016 to 2026. [online]. Available at
