Facilitating Change
Amazon, a United States-based international company, is the world’s largest e-commerce business. The organizational leaders want to expand into China but doing so requires them to evaluate their organization structure to determine if it aligns with the consultants’ recommended strategy for expansion and innovation. This paper begins with an evaluation of Amazon’s existing organizational structure, design, and challenges associated with the existing design. There is a review of the recommended changes to the organization’s strategies, followed by recommendations to changes of the organizational structure and how the recommended changes might help the organization in a changing environment.
Existing Organizational Structure
Amazon uses a divisional organizational structure but more specifically a multidivisional organizational structure. Divisional organizational structures are structures where functions are group according to specific demands of markets, customers, or products (Jones, 2010). This type of structure aligns the company according to individual divisions based on service, products, or geographic locations (Jones, 2014). Each unit has separate support functions thus creating self-contained divisions which may lead to communication issues between the different functions (Jones, 2014).
The organization also uses a hierarchy organizational structure which is useful with high complexity organizations. High complexity organizations contain
One of the companies that exploits opportunities and business ventures to create growth and sustainability is Amazon, Inc. Amazon was founded in 1994 and since then it has opted to take its business online and thus develop a global strategy that has paid off and turned the company into a technological business hub that serves consumers by offering an assortment of products and services in a noteworthy customer service. These strategies have made Amazon one of the leading online retailers with a revenue of US$ 88.988 billion as of 2014. This paper thus seeks to describe Amazon’s grand strategies of product development, market development, and concentration as part of its long-term growth strategy.
At Amy’s work, I noticed that there is the use of the hierarchy of traditional organizations. Weekly the company will have conference
This sort of global expansion adds great complexity to the functionality of Amazon’s management, personnel, operation systems, technical performance, financial resources, and internal financial control and reporting functions. With the perplexity of current situations, Amazon may not be able to sustain growth effectively, which ultimately could bring damage to their reputation and limit their operating growth as well. .
Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1995, started as an online bookstore with a vision to become the Earth’s biggest bookstore. It was soon diversified into selling DVDs, software, video games, electronics, and etc while the company’s positioning changed to the Internet’s No.1 retailer. In 2001, Amazon set a new goal as the Earth’s most customer centric company. Ever since, building up a customer-centered service business enterprise is the development direction of Amazon. Soon after gaining a firm footing in Europe, Amazon eyed on China as its next
Analyzing Amazon’s strategy will identify internal and external forces that Amazon must consider when deciding how to navigate the online market. Conducting both internal and external analyses is vital to the survival of any business, let alone the first online retailer. To accomplish this, looking at Amazon’s past behaviors, as well as conducting a PESTEL analysis, analyzing Porter’s Five Forces, and a SWOT Analysis as it pertains to Amazon will give further clarity on their position in the e-commerce market.
Amazon.com’s acquisition of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion evidenced its resoluteness in implementing its pursuit for expansive strategies. There are, however, several opportunities available for its long-term strategic growth. The aim of this paper is to review opportunities for global business expansion beyond its current breath, while utilizing its competitive advantages.
With the advent of the information technology, specifically the internet, it is said that more and more companies are existing in the online world. The changes in the business market also allows customers to change and become more dependent on online stores and online shopping than go and find something in shopping malls or retail store. One of the existing and considered as the largest and competitive online shopping in the world is Amazon. In this report, the goal is to analyse Amazon based on the case study provided. The analysis includes the discussion of Amazon’s s strategic intent, main resources and capabilities. In addition, this will also include analysis of the resources and capabilities that give
Amazon.com is one of the biggest companies worldwide due to its strengths (See Appendix A for the SWOT Analysis). First, as an e-commerce retailer, it has a low-cost structure. It lacks the infrastructure and labor costs associated with maintaining and opening new physical stores. Second, Amazon has high brand equity due to its variety of products and low prices. Third, Amazon has a rapid revenue growth rate. To illustrate, Wal-Mart has increased its revenues by 77% for the past ten years, whereas Amazon.com has jumped by more than 1,000% for the same duration (Shaw, 2014). Fourth, two competitive advantages of Amazon.com are its information technology (IT) and supply chain management systems that work together in both determining what customers
The idea of organizational goals has a long history in economics, in which the classic position posits an entrepreneur or ownership group which in turn establishes the goals of the firm. Alternatively, these goals may represent a concesus arrived at by all members of the organization.
Amazon.com, from a strategic approach, is dominating the world-wide-web. They have become the world leader in online sales of books, music, videos, movies and other products and services. Amazon knew that the Internet could be used as a distribution channel, thus reducing their supply chain relations. By making these strategic advances, Amazon was able to achieve and sustain their competitive advantage.
Their organizational structure enables extensive control over global e-commerce operations. Organizational or corporate structure establishes the design and system of interactions among members. As MEYER stated, Amazon is the leading online retail business they must maintain organizational structure that adequately supports its expanding market (Meyer, 2017). Evolving corporate structure can benefit Amazon when the company adds more products and gradually diversifies the business.
2. Operations – In terms of the structure of the company, Amazon is likely using a multidivisional structure (“Company,” 2011). Amazon is made up of multiple different divisions each with a vice president that reports directly to the CEO
Overall, having the right focus to the right market in a business are two important factors in a successful organization. Amazon is a great example of a business structure that implements the idea of strategic thinking. The company is constantly developing an
The goal of this report is to analyze the Amazon's e-business strategies and activities. This report also discusses the result of strategies adopted by Amazon and how far it has been successful.
The cost leadership strategy emphasizes having the lowest costs, not necessarily the lowest price, in a market. A firm attempting to realize a low cost strategy should stress resources that facilitate efficiency. A firm that has successfully achieved a low cost position will have the lowest costs relative to competitors. A firm can use such a position to either lower its prices and gain market share and sales from rivals or keep its prices at the present market level and make relatively more profit per unit sold. The key idea is that cost and price are independent choices, and this strategy is focused on cost.