Amazon Individual Learning Project By Faith Chibuzor Ogbo ✓ Solved

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Describe in recent times, in the marketing industry, Amazon has risen to become one of the largest online stores. In addition to this, they have added several services which includes streaming music and movies. Jeff Bezos who is the Chief Executive Officer of the company initially established the business as an online book seller. However, the business has since then grown to include the sale of many more products including food items.

When the business was established in the year 1994, it was initially known as Cadabra which later got changed to Amazon in the year 1995. The company currently has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington although they have a vision to expand to more states (Jurevicius 2020). The company recently started making plans to expand and develop big locations in cities such as Atlanta, GA and Dallas, TX. Amazon just like many other companies provides loads of opportunities for its employees and individuals who are looking to develop their careers. Amazon basically serves its customers through their online website and they are mostly focused on offering low cost products and services in the most convenient way for customers.

The company has designed its website in a way that makes it accessible everyone of all ages. (Jurevicius 2020). SWOT Blotcher, et al. states that the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis is basically an organized procedure which seeks to identify a company’s critical success factor (CSF). The analysis also identifies their skills and core competencies which the company implements in their day to day activities. The information below was retrieved from an article by Prachi Juneia. Strengths · Amazon has a competitive advantage because of their IT advancement · Third party sellers · Offers a large merchandise selection with low cost structure system · Highly advanced logistics and distribution techniques Weaknessess · Diversification strategy (there is a limited penetration into developing markets) · Free shipping; may seem like an advantage for customers but, create a danger of losing margins · Limited brick and mortar presence can affect sale of some products Opportunities · Ability to improve their payment system, security, and privacy · Opportunity to partner with new firms in order to offer more products under their brand · Opportunity to expand into developing markets locally and internationally · Expansion of brick and mortar business operations which would generate more sales and revenue Threats · Cybercrime: online shopping can lead to several cases of identity theft and hacking of customer information · Amazon has been subject to lawsuits from competitive pricing · Intense competition from both online and non-online retailers “This Amazon SWOT analysis reveals how the largest online retailer used its competitive advantages to become the dominant player in the retail industry†(Jurevicius 2020).

The balance scorecard is an “accounting report that includes a firm’s critical success factors in four areas; (1) customer obsession, (2) financial performance, (3) internal process improvement, (4) learning and growth†(Blotcher et, al., 2018). These are key factors in the implementation of business strategies. The balance scorecard strategy basically provides a much comprehensive performance measurement. Customer Obsession For this project, several Amazon employees were interviewed for their opinion of some of the critical success factors of the company. Due to their right to privacy, the employees interviewed will not be referred to by their actual names.

The first employee that was interviewed will be called Sarah for the sake of this paper. Sarah mentioned customer obsession as one of the major critical success factors of the company. Sarah emphasizes the fact that the company has worked so hard to earn the trust of customers. Sarah claimed that the leaders are more focused on the consumers and ensuring they are satisfied with their products and services. While they also consider competition from other retailers, they believe that focusing on customer expectations and getting their feedback is more important to the business.

Hence, they obsess over their customers and vigorously advocating for them consistently especially during major decision making. Amazon has done a good job with providing customers the opportunity to give their feedback and criticisms which in turn helps them improve and succeed. Sarah highlighted these reasons as some of her influence towards staying with the company (Sarah 2020). Learning & Growth In the second interview, John (not real name), an Amazon employee of about 5 years suggested the company’s ability to learn and grow as one of their many critical success factors. John emphasized the fact that the “members and employees in leadership positions are always eager to learn new things and advance themselves.†John also claimed that most people who work in the organization are interested in exploring new possibilities and advancement opportunities.

The leaders do not want to remain in their comfort zone. They usually encourage themselves and push each other to create more ideas that can lead to the general success of the company. They seek to develop their skills and discover new potentials within the organization (John 2020). Financial Due to recent events, Amazon has experienced massive increase in sales and revenue. The current pandemic has pushed people to do more online grocery shopping.

According to Davis (2020), “Online grocery sales that tripled year over year powered Amazon.com Inc. to a 43.4% increase in second quarter sales in North America and 33.5% growth worldwide.†The company has also hired more employees this year which means that they will increase their production. “Online grocery sales that tripled year over year powered Amazon.com Inc. to a 43.4% increase in second quarter sales in North America and 33.5% growth worldwide†(Davis, 2020). Amazon is one company that has definitely expanded with many technological advancements. Their innovative advancement rises from the fact that the leaders of the company consider their goals and future. They always consider what they would want to see in the nearest future, and this pushes them to become more innovative.

According to a Forbes article by Tucker in 2018, “Bezos spends most of his time examining how the world will look three, five and 10 years out. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He is focused on baking in results for the third quarter two years from now. He moves from its original idea of becoming an online retail store to developing of one the world’s largest streaming network for both movies and music. They also developed their system Alexa which is a virtual voice responding assistant. While this technology is not quite perfect, the company has recorded major sales as people are becoming accustomed to it.

This has helped the company improve its finances as well. Process Improvement The last employee that was interviewed for the purpose of this paper will be referred to as Martha. Martha stated that the company’s constant improvement of the process by offering promotions is one of the critical success factors. Martha claims that leaders of the company improve performance by rewarding employees from their hire date and constantly as they grow with the organization. According to Martha, “at Amazon, they recognize talents and exceptional skills and are not worried about employing people who may seem smarter than them†(2020).

They seek to help every individual grow in a department that soothes them. Hence, they willingly move or transfer them throughout the organization. Amazon focuses on team effort and they create assignments and goals that may be challenging and requires them to work together for a solution. Martha emphasizes honesty as another important quality that leaders possess within the organization and this has helped them improve. The leaders are fond of giving honest and critical feedbacks to employees which is necessary in discovering their strengths and weaknesses.

Amazon invests both time and money in training their employees and also ensuring that they understand the company’s expectations. When employees understand the process, they can all work together as a team to determine a way to improve and succeed (Martha 2020). Conclusion Regardless of Amazon’s many successes, just like any other organization, there is always room for improvement. There are several areas they may need to focus on in order to continue developing their business. Some of these areas include the issue of imitation.

“Another threat is imitation, which is an external factor that could reduce the e-commerce company’s market share and brand value†(Greenspan 2019). There have been several issues of Amazon selling counterfeit products which can also be misleading for consumers looking to buy the real product. Amazon may also need to consider the idea of establishing more brick and mortar stores in future. Although, technology is fast improving many individuals are getting accustomed to it, there are still certain people who prefer to shop in store. Hence, this may prove to be a future challenge for the company as a result of competition between them and many brick and mortar stores.

Generally, this company has seen many accomplishments and they are constantly growing and improving their business.

References

• Blotcher, E. J., Stout, D. E., Juras, P. E., & Cokins, G. (2016). Cost management: A strategic emphasis (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
• Don Davis. (2020). Amazon sales, Amazon revenue and Amazon annual profits. Digital Commerce 360.
• Greenspan, R. (2019). Amazon.com Inc. SWOT Analysis & Recommendations. Panmore Institute.
• Jurevicius, O. (2020). Amazon SWOT Analysis (5 Key Strengths in 2020). Retrieved from https://strategicmanagementinsight.com.
• Prachi Juneia. (n.d.). SWOT analysis summary. MSG Management Study Guide. Retrieved from https://www.managementstudyguide.com.
• Tucker, R. (2018). How Does Amazon Do It? Five Critical Factors That Explain Amazon's Incredibles Success. Business Strategy.
• Blotcher, E. J., Stout, D. E., Juras, P. E., & Cokins, G. (2018). Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance. Journal of Business Strategy, 39(1), 34-41.
• Jurevicius, O. (2020). Amazon SWOT Analysis (5 Key Strengths in 2020). Retrieved from https://strategicmanagementinsight.com.
• Greenspan, R. (2019). Amazon SWOT and Recommendations. Panmore Institute.
• Reilly, B. (2019). The Future of Amazon’s Brick-and-Mortar Expansion. Retail Insight.