Amazon Management Principles: Conceal and Coerce?
July 12, 2021
I read “Amazon Tells Bosses to Conceal When Employees Are on a Performance Management Plan.” Let’s assume the report is accurate and not the outputs from disgruntled individuals familiar with the online bookstore which sells a few other things to a couple of people on the Kitsap Peninsula.
The write up states:
Amazon instructs managers not to tell office employees that they are on a formal performance-management plan that puts their job in jeopardy unless the employee explicitly asks, according to guidance from an Amazon intranet page for managers.
I assume the intranet page is company confidential. If it is, what does access to the page by a “real news” professional say about Amazon security? The question is important because Amazon has floated above the cyber breach storms which are burning some organizations.
Next, the write up explains:
The policy, a copy of which was viewed by The Seattle Times, helps explain why some Amazon employees have described the experience of being on the performance-management plan, called Focus, as baffling and demoralizing. Some managers, too, question why they are asked to conceal that their employees are on a pathway that often leads out of the company. The secrecy surrounding performance management is one more reason why some Amazon office employees say the company is not living up to its April pledge to become “Earth’s Best Employer.”
What this passage suggests is that there is a disconnect between the marketing spin of a technopoly and the reality of the business processes in use at the organization.
This is a surprise? The Bezos bulldozer is a delicate machine. Unlike other largely unregulated, corporate entities, the bulldozer does not run over flowers, small creatures, and competitors. It’s a sensitive beast.
The most interesting factoid in the allegedly accurate write up may be this passage:
Some managers flout the rules and reveal to their subordinates that they are on Focus, according to two managers and documentation of one employee’s Focus plan seen by The Seattle Times. “I always broke the rule,” said one senior Amazon manager. “If I cannot share that an employee is on a coaching plan, how can I give him a fair evaluation?”
A similar management policy appears to apply at Google, the mom and pop online ad agency. “Senior Google Executive Who Opposed Work-from-Home to Move to New Zealand to Work Remotely” asserts:
CNET reported that Urs Holzle, Senior Vice President for technical infrastructure is moving to New Zealand to work remotely. Holzle told staff on June 29 that he will be moving to New Zealand. As per the report in CNET, Holzle had initially opposed WFH for staff who did not have a certain level of seniority in the organization.
Does this mean that those with seniority and maybe an elected office in the high school science club have a different rule book? Sure seems like it to me. But maybe Mr. Holzle is moving to Detroit or another Rust Belt location and New Zealand was a red herring.
If accurate, these two reports suggest that Amazon and Google may operate with three levels of high school management magic.
First, official procedures are not disclosed. Anyone remember the cockroach guy Kafka?
Second, employees are uncertain. Keeping people on edge is a clever way to exert control. There’s nothing like control, just ask a prison guard.
Third, the rules are differential; that is, those with power have a different set of guidelines.
Stephen E Arnold, July 12, 2021
Is a New Wave of Disintermediation Gaining Momentum
July 9, 2021
Hacker News pointed to “We Replaced Rental Brokers with Software and Filled 200+ Vacant Apartments.” That real estate write up provides a good case example for using software to chop out the useless humanoids. Sound like an Amazon thing? I think so. Corporate special librarians were among the first to be allowed to find their future elsewhere. Other professions are finding ways to de-humanoid their business processes. How does that Ford Bronco get painted? Not by people with spray guns. Those made-for-TV car shows use humans. Real car makers don’t unless there is some compelling reason.
Now a start up is going to try and de-people Amazon AWS development and programming. Amazon is trying to train people to think Amazon for new t shirts and super duper online cloud services. But the company’s efforts are mostly free education plays and zippy presentations at Amazon-sponsored events.
The disintermediation of the Amazon developer is now a start up’s goal. Digger.dev says:
Digger automatically generates infrastructure for your code in your cloud account. So you can build on AWS without having to learn it.
Disenchanted with the Lyft and Uber thing? Tired of collecting unemployment? Bored with your lawyering gig? Now you can become an entrepreneur:
Deploy anything. Containers, Serverless Lambda functions, webapps, databases, queues, load balancers, autoscaling – Digger supports it all.
If Digger.dev is successful, the certified Amazon professional may be looking for a new career. COBOL programmer maybe?
Stephen E Arnold, July 9, 2021
Amazon Sends an E2EE Message to the Google and Microsoft
June 28, 2021
I gave a lecture to a group of cyber fraud investigators a week or so ago. I made a point of saying, “E2EE messaging is the new Dark Web.” I think some of the people in the audience resonated with my remarks, but Zoom lectures are not exactly in-person, meet-and-greet events.
I offered a similar observation at this year’s National Cyber Crime Conference. I know that at least one person was listening. I received on the sort of weird Whova app, an atta boy message from a real live Amazon professional.
I noted this story on June 25, 2021: “AWS Has Acquired Encrypted Messaging Service Wickr.” The write up states:
AWS will continue operating Wickr as is, and offer its services to AWS customers, “effective immediately,” notes a blog post from Stephen Schmidt, the VP and CISO for AWS, announcing the news.
Informative? Sort of. I think this is an important acquisition. The Silicon Valley real news story points out that work-from-home makes this type of communication method important.
Are there other reasons for the purchase?
Oh, yeah. I have a for fee briefing which explains three other motivators for this type of deal. Believe me, they are not the baby food work from home justification.
Stephen E Arnold, June 28, 2021
Facebook Has a Supreme Court and Now Amazon Has a Legal System
June 24, 2021
Nothing makes me laugh quicker than the antics of big technology high school management methods. I get a hoot out of the Facebook content supreme court. My hunch is that nice lunches are provided. The Amazon jury thing is a knee slapper too. Navigate to “Amazon Organizes Internal Juries to Consider the Final Fate of Employees at Risk of Being Fired.” Note: You will have to pay to read this real news article.
The write up says:
Amazon employees who are close to being fired can plead their case to an internal jury that’s partly selected by the company, according to documents reviewed by Insider and interviews with people familiar with the process. These appeals are part of Pivot, an Amazon performance-improvement program that some employees say is stacked against them.
Well, sure. The write up says:
… Employees are not allowed external legal support, people who have been through the program said. “You go in by yourself not understanding what you’re up against,” one person told Insider. The people spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from Amazon.
And what if one wins? No job guarantee.
Question: Who from the science club has a date for the prom? Answer: No one.
Stephen E Arnold, June 24, 2021
Amazon Burgoo: A Recipe from the Baedeker of Zuckland
June 17, 2021
“Amazon Blames Social Media for Struggle with Fake Reviews” sparked a thought I had not entertained previously. Amazon is taking a page from the Zuck Baedeker to Disingenuousness. This is a collection of aphorisms, precepts, and management tips which I imagine is provided to each Facebook employee. Whether it is a Facebook senior manager explaining how Facebook is a contributor to cohesiveness or another top puppy leaning in on Cambridge Analytic-type matters, I visualize this top secret compendium as the Book. A Facebooker’s success depends on learning by rote the hows and whys of Facebooking.
This image is from a Kentucky inspired cook who knows about burgoo. The dark meat in the mish mash of what’s in the fridge is squirrel and maybe other critters. Reviews of burgoo suggest it is the best possible meal for a hungry person with a pile of dead squirrels.
Now, it is possible, that this Baedeker has fallen into the hands of Amazon’s senior managers. The write up “Amazon Blames Social Media” reports:
Amazon has blamed social media companies for its failure to remove fake reviews from its website, arguing that “bad actors” turn to social networks to buy and sell fake product reviews outside the reach of its own technology.
I interpret this as meaning “not our fault.” It is a variation on the type of thinking which allegedly sparked this observation by the social media top dog:
A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa.
The write up “Amazon Blames Social Media” includes this passage, allegedly from the Bezos bulldozer’s exhaust pipes:
Amazon says the blame for those organizations should lie with social media companies, who it says are slow to act when warned that fake reviews are being solicited on their platforms. “In the first three months of 2020, we reported more than 300 groups to social media companies, who then took a median time of 45 days to shut down those groups from using their service to perpetrate abuse,” an unsigned Amazon blog post said. “In the first three months of 2021 we reported more than 1,000 such groups, with social media services taking a median time of five days to take them down. “While we appreciate that some social media companies have become much faster at responding, to address this problem at scale it is imperative for social media companies to invest adequately in proactive controls to detect and enforce fake reviews ahead of our reporting the issue to them.”
Delicious. One possible monopoly blaming another possible monopoly using the type of logic employed by other monopolies.
Okay, who is to blame? Obviously not Amazon. Those reviews, however, can be tomfoolery, but they are indexable. And in the quest to grow one’s share of the product search market, words are needed. Bulkage is good.
Trimming the wordage benefits not the bulldozer. Facebook-type outfits seek engagement. Remember the dying squirrel? Ponder the squirrel as a creature who wants truth, accuracy, and integrity to prevail in the forest. How’s that working out for the squirrel and modern business practices? Just great for some. For others, burgoo. Now try to take the carrots, beans, and dead squirrel out of the pot and uncook them. Tough job, right?
Stephen E Arnold, June 17, 2021
Amazon: Possibly Going for TikTok Clicks?
June 8, 2021
I don’t know if this story is true. For all I know, this could be the work of some TikTok wannabes who need clicks. Perhaps a large competitor of the online bookstore set up this incident? Despite my doubts, I find the information in “Video Shows Amazon Driver Punching 67-Year-Old Woman Who Reportedly Called Her a B*tch.” The main idea is that a person who could fight Logan Paul battled a 67 year old woman. That’s no thumbtyper. That’s a person who writes with a pencil on paper. The outrage.
According the the “real” news report:
SHOCKING VIDEO shows an Amazon Driver giving a 67 year old Castro Valley woman a beat down after words were exchanged. 21 year old woman arrested by Alco Sherriff…who says suspect claims self defense.
Yes, it is clear that the 67 year old confused the Amazon professional with a boxing performer. After a “verbal confrontation,” the individuals turned to the sweet science.
Pretty exciting and the event was captured on video and appears to be streaming without problems. That’s something that could not be said about the Showtime exhibition or Amazon and Amazon Twitch a few hours ago. (It is Tuesday, June 8, 2021, and Amazon was a helpless victim of another feisty Internet athlete.)
Exciting stuff. Will there be a rematch?
Stephen E Arnold, June 8, 2021
Amazon Continues to Channel the Google
June 8, 2021
In case you have forgotten, Amazon sells online. Over the years, Amazon has gone Googley. First, it was A9 search with views of the street. Then it was product search, a category of some interest to the GOOG. Next was a fling with Twitch and the content creation sector. Then it was online advertising, which caught the attention of the minions of Zuck. Now, armed with smart routing and designs on vehicles, the Bezos bulldozer is scooping maps.
“Amazon Announces a Google Maps Competitor That Uses Esri and HERE Maps” reports:
Amazon has recently announced the general availability of Amazon Location Service, a platform that’s been in preview since December and is a direct competitor to Google Maps Platform.
With Google Maps becoming somewhat difficult to use, Amazon has charted a skirmish or maybe a war with the high school science club infused Mountain View company. The angle for Amazon is the enterprise, but my suspicion is that one of the Amazonians will probe the consumer market. If there’s gold in them thar hills, the adventurous at AWS will head in that direction too. Money trumps marketing in many cases.
The write up says:
Amazon’s purpose was to pack all the necessary solutions into just one product that can provide companies with all the necessary tools they need for location-based applications.
Who loves maps the most? I would suggest public sector entities; for example, enforcement agencies.
What can one do with Amazon maps? Perhaps make the data another component of Amazon’s data services and a snap in for the online bookstore’s artificial intelligence and machine learning components.
With Google struggling in court and arm wrestling with its humanoid resources, Amazon may think the timing is right to put the Bezos bulldozer in gear and try to rework the geo landscape. There is anecdotal information becoming available that smart software may need to be fine tuned but maybe not.
Stephen E Arnold, June 8, 2021
Great Moments in Management: Rolfing and AmaZen
May 31, 2021
Happy holiday, everyone. I spotted two fascinating examples of message control and management this morning. The first is the Daily Dot “real” news about an Amazon driver getting into Rolfing. “Weekend Update: People Feel Sorry for Amazon Driver Caught Screaming from Truck” reports:
One of the TikTok videos in question features an Amazon driver screaming at the top of his lungs as he makes his way down the street in the delivery truck. His apparent distress while on the clock has sympathetic viewers calling for higher wages and better working conditions for all Amazon employees.
Yep, TikTok. Who can believe that content engine? Probably some of the deep thinkers who absorb information in 30 second chunks. I think of TikTok as a “cept ejector.” Yes, like Rolfing, “cepts” were a thing years ago. Rusty on Rolfing? Check out this link.
The second mesmerizer is described in “Introducing the “AmaZen” Booth, a Box Designed for Convenient, On-Site Worker Breakdowns.” This coffin sized object looks like a coffin. The story reports that an Amazon wizard said:
“With AmaZen, I wanted to create a space that’s quiet, that people could go and focus on their mental and emotional well-being,” Brown explains over footage of an employee entering what looks like a porta potty decorated with pamphlets, a computer, some sad little plants, and a tiny fan. She continues, calling the overgrown iron maiden a place to “recharge the internal battery” by checking out “a library of mental health and mindful practices.”
What do screaming employees and a work environment requiring a coffin sized Zen booth suggest? Many interesting things I wager.
Management excellence in action. Is this something a high school science club might set up as a prank?
Stephen E Arnold, May 31, 2021
Amazon: Fake Reviews Prompt Amazon to Explain Real Reviews
May 27, 2021
Fake reviews are a problem. Need some? Give Fiverr.com a try. In the meantime, Amazon is responding to what is a disinformation challenge. How? The “real” review method is described in “The Secrets of Amazon Reviews: Feedback, Fakes, and the Unwritten Rules of Online Commerce.”
The article quotes a former Amazon reseller as saying:
One of my complaints about Amazon is their inconsistency in enforcing their own terms of service.
Obviously the former reseller does not agree with Malcolm Gladwell (the 10,000 hour expert) who allegedly said:
Consistency is the most overrated of all human virtues… I’m someone who changes his mind all the time.
Amazon’s response presented in the write up is that Amazon is:
“relentless” in its efforts to police customer reviews, with “long-standing policies to protect the integrity of our store, including product authenticity, genuine reviews, and products meeting the expectations of our customers.” “To do this, we use powerful machine learning tools and skilled investigators to analyze over 10 million review submissions weekly, aiming to stop abusive reviews before they are ever published,” an Amazon spokesperson said via email. Amazon said it takes “swift action” against violators, including suspending or removing selling privileges: “We take this responsibility seriously, monitor our decision accuracy and maintain a high bar.”
Amazon’s policy is clear:
Customer Reviews should give customers genuine product feedback from fellow shoppers. We have a zero tolerance policy for any review designed to mislead or manipulate customers.
The write up includes a list of no nos for reviewers; for example, friends should not review rechargeable products which can catch on fire and omit this minor point.
Check out the policies for resellers operating via Amazon in the US. You can find that missive here.
Like Google and Microsoft, Amazon wants to do better.
Stephen E Arnold, May 27, 2021
iBabyRainbow Next: Another Amazon Twitch Pace Setter?
May 24, 2021
I read “Twitch Launches a Dedicated Hot Tubes’ Category after Advertiser Pushback.” The write up states:
Twitch says its policies on what is and isn’t allowed on the platform aren’t changing. The company is not going to prevent people from streaming in hot tubs or swimwear. While sexually suggestive content remains banned, context-appropriate clothing — like bathing suits in a pool — is allowed. “Being found to be sexy by others is not against our rules, and Twitch will not take enforcement action against women, or anyone on our service, for their perceived attractiveness,” the company wrote, in bold, in a blog post this afternoon.
The creator innovation of people in bathing attire sitting in kiddie pools is fascinating. The segregation of these creators based on advertiser feedback makes clear that Amazon’s live streaming platform is moving downstream.
In our preparation for our lecture at the 2021 National Cyber Crime Conference and an upcoming talk at the Connecticut IAFCI Spotlight on Fraud event in June, we revisited the Amazon Twitch stream for iBabyRainbow. This talented performer offers content on other Web sites under the clever name of BabyRainbow. With a bit of clicking and posting, one can find fascinating content available for a fee.
Parents of young persons are, based on our research, are essentially behind a curtain of cascading data flows. Awareness of these talented performers’ contributions to video art is low, vanishingly small.
Will there be advertisers who want to deliver messages to the viewers of the inflate-a-pool streams and the even more roiled data streams from iBabyRainbow’s pool?
It seems as if there will be advertisers eager to dive in and bat the colorful floating animals in glee. If my references to these creators’ content seem murky like a mine drainage pond, do some exploring in the digital Amazon. You might be surprised at what you find at the end of the rainbow. A new channel tailored to certain advertisers behind a dam of salaciousness.
May we suggest the curious run queries for “iBabyRainbow” on Amazon Twitch and then query the phrase “BabyRainbow” on other general purpose Web search services. Better yet, give TikTok or Twitter search a whirl.
And check out the function of Twitch tags to segregate users and content.
Stephen E Arnold, May 24, 2021
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