11–20 of 114 posts
The Otto Group’s sales are up 17% in Germany since the recession, while Amazon’s have doubled since 2010. Huh? This comparison confused me. I wonder why the author didn't use the same years? What was the baseline?
But it's fairly ambiguous. It could mean any number of things.
It could also be that the numbers for the Otto Group aren't public for whatever reason.
Michael Otto’s family has been as omnipresent in German
postwar retail as Wal-Mart, Sears and Target have in the
U.S. So what does this 70-year-old patriarch of this $18
billion clan most want to talk about? A factory in
Bangladesh.
With gusto he describes how he and Nobel Peace Prize-
winner Muhammad Yunus hatched a plan to build a humane
clothing factory, where all profits would go back into the
community for schools and hospitals. At best, the Otto
Group would recoup its initial investment. Immediately
they faced red tape. Electricity would take five years.
Officials wanted bribes. Otto refused to base a social
business on a corrupt footing and walked away. “It’s
unbelievable,” says Otto, pounding on his wooden desk in
his corner office in Hamburg, Germany. “You would think
the government must be happy somebody is building such a
company and leaving the money in the country.”
...
Moral of the story is - people like their goods to be cheap, quickly delivered, and convenient to order. Amazon encompasses all of that and it seems that Otto's companies do not. I applaud his effort to put people ahead of profits, but unless he changes his business model amazon will continue to eclipse his empire.
Moral of the story is - people like their goods to be cheap, quickly delivered, and convenient to order. Amazon encompasses all of that and it seems that Otto's companies do not. I applaud his effort to put people ahead of profits, but unless he changes his business model amazon will continue to eclipse his empire.
Counterpoint: Perhaps government should enact regulation to lift the floor to prevent a race to the bottom. Amazon warehouses shouldn't become the sweatshops of tomorrow. Governments exist to protect their citizens, not their businesses.
I totally agree. The problem is that many people defend businesses because, they say, those businesses provide people with jobs. Following this line of thinking, they are willing to completely ignore the shitty practices of said businesses, because in their eyes, jobs > *.
Moral of the story is - people like their goods to be cheap, quickly delivered, and convenient to order. Amazon encompasses all of that and it seems that Otto's companies do not. I applaud his effort to put people ahead of profits, but unless he changes his business model amazon will continue to eclipse his empire.
Counterpoint: Perhaps government should enact regulation to lift the floor to prevent a race to the bottom. Amazon warehouses shouldn't become the sweatshops of tomorrow. Governments exist to protect their citizens, not their businesses.
They already are...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03k5kzp/Panorama_Amazo...
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/01/week-amazo...
There's such a strong negative connotation to "burning out" in the article. If an employee puts in a solid 2-3 years and delivers great results for a company, "burns out", and then moves on to a new role or company, is that really that bad? The company (in this case, Amazon) got great results from its employee, the employee had a good experience (and can leverage it to get a promotion, internally or externally). I gu…
I don't think it's unreasonable to put some grey space between being the best you can be and being laid back. Something like working reasonable hours, being thoroughly successful in your career, and still engaging in outside activities. I think that burning out=being the best you can be is pretty shortsighted.
The Otto Group’s sales are up 17% in Germany since the recession, while Amazon’s have doubled since 2010. Huh? This comparison confused me. I wonder why the author didn't use the same years? What was the baseline?
I read it as 2010 being the baseline for both, with "since the recession" meaning 2010. But it's fairly ambiguous. It could mean any number of things. It could also be that the numbers for the Otto Group aren't public for whatever reason.
There's such a strong negative connotation to "burning out" in the article. If an employee puts in a solid 2-3 years and delivers great results for a company, "burns out", and then moves on to a new role or company, is that really that bad? The company (in this case, Amazon) got great results from its employee, the employee had a good experience (and can leverage it to get a promotion, internally or externally). I gu…
You're not being the best when you burn out. You're killing yourself and your productivity with it. We have decades of research concluding that productivity falls when you're overworked.
"The company (in this case, Amazon) got great results from its employee, the employee had a good experience"
The employee does not have a good experience when they're working themselves to exhaustion.
"If an employee puts in a solid 2-3 years and delivers great results for a company, "burns out", and then moves on to a new role or company, is that really that bad?"
Yes, because companies shouldn't have to work their employees to the bone to extract value from them. A long time ago, we decided that it's cruel, and created labor laws. Where have you been?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Counterpoint: Perhaps government should enact regulation to lift the floor to prevent a race to the bottom. Amazon warehouses shouldn't become the sweatshops of tomorrow. Governments exist to protect their citizens, not their businesses.
"Amazon warehouses shouldn't become the sweatshops of tomorrow" They already are... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03k5kzp/Panorama_Amazo... http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/dec/01/week-amazo...
(This was nearly impossible to read on mobile) Michael Otto’s family has been as omnipresent in German postwar retail as Wal-Mart, Sears and Target have in the U.S. So what does this 70-year-old patriarch of this $18 billion clan most want to talk about? A factory in Bangladesh. With gusto he describes how he and Nobel Peace Prize- winner Muhammad Yunus hatched a plan to build a humane clothing factory, where all pro…