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Conflict does not happen by itself. There are aspects that can raise conflict to occur in society, especially in the private sector for companies like Amazon.com, where thousands of employees work. There are variables that can raise conflict; thus, understanding the need or rationale for conflict is important so that intervention to conduct conflict resolution can be done properly. At Amazon.com, conflicts between the board and the warehouse employees have two correlated issues: kapitalpolitik (conflict that is rooted from capital) and idealpolitik (conflict that is rooted from ideology).
The Amazon.com board and warehouse employees have idealpolitik, meaning that both sides have different identities and ideals (Wallensteen, 2011). The idealpolitik of the Amazon.com board is that it wants to apply everyday low prices for Amazon.com's customers by lowering operation costs and making the employees work as efficiently as possible. In contrast, Amazon.com warehouse employees have a different idealpolitik. Warehouse employees need work–life balance and work safety. The differences in idealpolitik thus raise the escalation dynamics between the Amazon.com board and the warehouse employees, causing conflicts.
In addition to idealpolitik, there is kapitalpolitik in the conflict between the Amazon.com board and the warehouse employees. The kapitalpolitk is about Amazon.com board wants to save money so that it can fulfill the vision of Amazon.com, which is offering “Everyday low prices,” so it pays low wages. The low wages causes conflict with the employees, who expect higher wages because of the extensive amount of work they do at Amazon.com. This kapitalpolitik is difficult to resolve because it is also rooted in the idealpolitik (Wallensteen, 2011).
In conclusion, idealpolitik, and kapitalpolitik are two aspects of politik that affect conflict among Amazon.com board members and Amazon.com employees. Idealpolitik is the differences in ideals between the board and the employees regarding applying everyday low prices for customers, while kapitalpolitik is related to money. Understanding these elements will help to identify both actors' needs in a conflict, so it increases the chance and the ability to intervene.
References
Mclelland, M. (n.d.). "I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave": Life Inside the Online Shipping Machine. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
Wallensteen, P. (2011). Understanding conflict resolution: War, peace and the global system.
The Amazon.com board and warehouse employees have idealpolitik, meaning that both sides have different identities and ideals (Wallensteen, 2011). The idealpolitik of the Amazon.com board is that it wants to apply everyday low prices for Amazon.com's customers by lowering operation costs and making the employees work as efficiently as possible. In contrast, Amazon.com warehouse employees have a different idealpolitik. Warehouse employees need work–life balance and work safety. The differences in idealpolitik thus raise the escalation dynamics between the Amazon.com board and the warehouse employees, causing conflicts.
In addition to idealpolitik, there is kapitalpolitik in the conflict between the Amazon.com board and the warehouse employees. The kapitalpolitk is about Amazon.com board wants to save money so that it can fulfill the vision of Amazon.com, which is offering “Everyday low prices,” so it pays low wages. The low wages causes conflict with the employees, who expect higher wages because of the extensive amount of work they do at Amazon.com. This kapitalpolitik is difficult to resolve because it is also rooted in the idealpolitik (Wallensteen, 2011).
In conclusion, idealpolitik, and kapitalpolitik are two aspects of politik that affect conflict among Amazon.com board members and Amazon.com employees. Idealpolitik is the differences in ideals between the board and the employees regarding applying everyday low prices for customers, while kapitalpolitik is related to money. Understanding these elements will help to identify both actors' needs in a conflict, so it increases the chance and the ability to intervene.
References
Mclelland, M. (n.d.). "I Was a Warehouse Wage Slave": Life Inside the Online Shipping Machine. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
Wallensteen, P. (2011). Understanding conflict resolution: War, peace and the global system.