Amazon faces major issues that threaten its leadership in e-commerce including increased competition, challenges with operational execution due to fast growth, and rising complexity. The document recommends optimization strategies across five areas: strategy, organizational structure, project management, leadership, and control systems. Specific proposals include increasing R&D spending to beat competition, implementing lean principles to minimize complexity, and applying customer surveys and advanced IT to improve operational execution. The comprehensive plan aims to resolve critical issues over 12-18 month timeframes requiring cross-functional collaboration.
Toys for T2BG aims to be the largest toy retailer in the world. It will partner with toy franchises to source inventory and reach customers. Key activities include e-commerce operations, manufacturing, distribution to stores, and store management. The value proposition is providing families easy access to a variety of quality toys through online and store channels. Revenue will come from sales of toys, baby products, and clothing through fixed pricing. Resources include distribution centers, stores, employees, and the ToysforT2BG website.
Air asia x can the low cost model go long haul Rehan ali
Covers mission vision and all the internal and external evaluation, including IFE EFE SPACE MATRIX BCG MATRIX GRAND MATRIX QSPM
Feel free to contact : rehankango@ymail.com +92337548656
Siemens Corporate Strategy and Proposed AcquisitionFrancesco Colombo
Siemens is considering acquiring KiteGen, a company focused on harnessing high altitude wind energy through kite technology. Siemens is a global technology leader with businesses in electrification, automation, and digitalization. The acquisition of KiteGen could provide Siemens a competitive advantage in renewable energy and allow it to exploit an untapped energy source. KiteGen relies on numerous patents for its kite technology but requires significant financial resources for development. The proposed acquisition price of €260 million is based on the market value of KiteGen's patents and could provide attractive returns given Siemens' large operating cash flows. The acquisition fits with Siemens' strategic focus on innovation and renewable energy.
Amazon started as an online bookstore in 1995 and has since expanded into many other business areas. It began selling other products like music and videos in the late 1990s. Amazon launched Amazon Web Services in 2002 which has become a major revenue driver. The company also enables third-party sellers on its marketplace and acquired Whole Foods in 2017. Amazon continues to grow through acquisitions and expanding into new services and devices.
Scandinavian Airlines was faced with a decision to purchase new Boeing 737 aircraft and had to choose between a standard engine or a more expensive "green" engine. The green engine, a two-stage dual annular combustion engine, produced significantly lower NOx emissions but would cost the airline an additional $2 billion. As an airline known for its environmental leadership and operating in a culture that values environmental protection, SAS had to weigh the financial costs against the benefits of upholding its green reputation.
Dell produces and markets PCs and technology products for consumers, education, enterprise and government. Founded in 1984 by Michael Dell in Round Rock, Texas, Dell developed a built-to-order model allowing PC customization. Dell has expanded globally over the years but now faces threats from tablets/smartphones and cloud computing reducing PC needs, as well as price wars and losing market share to competitors like HP, Lenovo, and Apple. Dell currently focuses on business customers and customized products.
Assuming Control at Altex Aviation (A).pptxAijazAslam1
The document summarizes the case of Altex Aviation, which was acquired by two managers, Frank and Ted. It outlines the problems the company was facing under previous ownership, including losses, an informal accounting system reliant on one employee, and growing debt. The new owners implemented a new organizational structure and control systems to decentralize decision-making, implement performance-based pay, and clarify expectations. While profits initially increased, the summary notes some risks in the new system that require ongoing monitoring, and it's unclear if all the owners' objectives were fully met.
The document discusses the challenges facing the US airline industry, including rising costs, excess capacity, and increased competition from low-cost carriers. It notes that the industry's financial problems predate 9/11 and that major restructuring will be needed for the legacy carriers to adapt to current market conditions and regain profitability. Code-sharing agreements between carriers are seen as one way to cut costs through increased cooperation.
Toys for T2BG aims to be the largest toy retailer in the world. It will partner with toy franchises to source inventory and reach customers. Key activities include e-commerce operations, manufacturing, distribution to stores, and store management. The value proposition is providing families easy access to a variety of quality toys through online and store channels. Revenue will come from sales of toys, baby products, and clothing through fixed pricing. Resources include distribution centers, stores, employees, and the ToysforT2BG website.
Air asia x can the low cost model go long haul Rehan ali
Covers mission vision and all the internal and external evaluation, including IFE EFE SPACE MATRIX BCG MATRIX GRAND MATRIX QSPM
Feel free to contact : rehankango@ymail.com +92337548656
Siemens Corporate Strategy and Proposed AcquisitionFrancesco Colombo
Siemens is considering acquiring KiteGen, a company focused on harnessing high altitude wind energy through kite technology. Siemens is a global technology leader with businesses in electrification, automation, and digitalization. The acquisition of KiteGen could provide Siemens a competitive advantage in renewable energy and allow it to exploit an untapped energy source. KiteGen relies on numerous patents for its kite technology but requires significant financial resources for development. The proposed acquisition price of €260 million is based on the market value of KiteGen's patents and could provide attractive returns given Siemens' large operating cash flows. The acquisition fits with Siemens' strategic focus on innovation and renewable energy.
Amazon started as an online bookstore in 1995 and has since expanded into many other business areas. It began selling other products like music and videos in the late 1990s. Amazon launched Amazon Web Services in 2002 which has become a major revenue driver. The company also enables third-party sellers on its marketplace and acquired Whole Foods in 2017. Amazon continues to grow through acquisitions and expanding into new services and devices.
Scandinavian Airlines was faced with a decision to purchase new Boeing 737 aircraft and had to choose between a standard engine or a more expensive "green" engine. The green engine, a two-stage dual annular combustion engine, produced significantly lower NOx emissions but would cost the airline an additional $2 billion. As an airline known for its environmental leadership and operating in a culture that values environmental protection, SAS had to weigh the financial costs against the benefits of upholding its green reputation.
Dell produces and markets PCs and technology products for consumers, education, enterprise and government. Founded in 1984 by Michael Dell in Round Rock, Texas, Dell developed a built-to-order model allowing PC customization. Dell has expanded globally over the years but now faces threats from tablets/smartphones and cloud computing reducing PC needs, as well as price wars and losing market share to competitors like HP, Lenovo, and Apple. Dell currently focuses on business customers and customized products.
Assuming Control at Altex Aviation (A).pptxAijazAslam1
The document summarizes the case of Altex Aviation, which was acquired by two managers, Frank and Ted. It outlines the problems the company was facing under previous ownership, including losses, an informal accounting system reliant on one employee, and growing debt. The new owners implemented a new organizational structure and control systems to decentralize decision-making, implement performance-based pay, and clarify expectations. While profits initially increased, the summary notes some risks in the new system that require ongoing monitoring, and it's unclear if all the owners' objectives were fully met.
The document discusses the challenges facing the US airline industry, including rising costs, excess capacity, and increased competition from low-cost carriers. It notes that the industry's financial problems predate 9/11 and that major restructuring will be needed for the legacy carriers to adapt to current market conditions and regain profitability. Code-sharing agreements between carriers are seen as one way to cut costs through increased cooperation.
This document provides an overview of Netflix including its business model, strategy, and financials. It discusses Netflix's mission to offer high quality streaming and DVD services to customers. It outlines Netflix's subscription-based business model and pricing, as well as its strategy of acquiring new content and expanding internationally. The document also analyzes Netflix using PEST, Five Forces, and SWOT frameworks. Financially, it notes Netflix's high subscriber growth and cash balances, but also cost pressures from competition and expansion. Overall it finds potential opportunities for Netflix through continued global expansion and acquisition.
This document provides an overview of Tesco, the largest retailer in the UK. It discusses Tesco's industry, competitors, strategies and financial performance. Tesco has over 2,400 stores worldwide, a 30% market share in the UK grocery market, and sales of over £22 billion in 2007. The document analyzes Tesco using various frameworks including Porter's five forces, resource-based view and SWOT analysis. It recommends Tesco focus on improving existing stores and potentially form strategic alliances to address weaknesses.
A free version of Amazon.com SWOT analysis 2017. To get the full presentation buy the SWOT here: https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/amazon-swot-analysis.html
Under the leadership of CEOs Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt, GE transformed from an American manufacturer into a global conglomerate with diverse business units including energy, aviation, healthcare, and media. Welch grew earnings from $12 billion to $280 billion from 1981 to 2001. Immelt launched marketing campaigns like "Imagination at Work", "Ecomagination", and "Healthymagination" to communicate GE's focus on innovation and technology. As a predominantly B2B company, GE's success relies on establishing itself as an innovative brand through effective B2B marketing.
Netflix Infographic and Report (NETS2003/NETS5006) Karen Wong
The following infographic and report was created for a group assignment.
All media cited remains property of and copyright to the respective rights holders.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution
CC BY-NC. For more information, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Toys "R" Us was founded in 1957 by Charles Lazarus and captured 20% of the US toy market by 1988. It faced major barriers entering Japan due to regulations protecting small retailers. It overcame this by establishing a joint venture in 1991, becoming the largest toy retailer in Japan within 20 years due to its large stores, direct buying from manufacturers, and adapting products for the Japanese market. Toys "R" Us now operates internationally with over 1,500 stores in 33 countries and revenues of $13.6 billion, pursuing strategies like eco-friendly toys and internet retailing to adapt to changing demographics.
Amazon Web Services SWOT & Competitor AnalysisBessie Chu
The document provides an analysis of Amazon Web Services' (AWS) position in the cloud computing market, including a SWOT analysis of AWS and competitor analyses of Rackspace, Google Compute Engine, and Microsoft Azure. It finds that AWS has a large infrastructure and client base but risks from outages and complexity. Competitors like Rackspace focus on customization but lack AWS's scale, while Google and Microsoft's cloud offerings are still in early stages.
Technology and innovation make significant influence in today’s market and it has become the basic requirement for any organization to make the survival of any industry. Therefore, organizations try to implement technology advancements with innovation in order to protect their market position for long time. This report is based on one of famous case analysis of Eastman Kodak Company. Even the Kodak has competitive market position in traditional photography film industry; they lost their market position with digital transformation of photography.
Report explains the Kodak case with reference to the selected three strategic perspectives such as Blue ocean strategy, strategy as narrative and transient advantage. Each of these strategies discuss with three initiatives. Three initiatives such as: academic review of the theory, implication to the case study and recommendations for future improvements. Finally, it explains the conclusion and recommendations of the case analysis.
Amazon has diversified its business beyond its original online retail operations through services like Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Fire Phone, FireTV, and same-day grocery delivery. AWS started in 2002 as a way to manage Amazon's internal infrastructure but now generates significant revenue. In 2012, Amazon beat IBM, an experienced cloud computing company, to win a $600 million CIA contract, showing its strength in this new area. The document discusses Amazon's diversification strategy and references several books and videos for further information.
Amazon was founded in 1994 and began as an online bookstore, later diversifying into other products and services. It remains the world's largest online retailer. While its businesses span online retail, internet services, and Kindle, its core values of low prices and customer convenience have endured. Amazon faces medium competition in e-retail due to low entry costs online but must contend with large incumbents like itself that have scale advantages. It has numerous suppliers but high bargaining power over them. Intense rivalry exists in e-retail due to easy entry and unpredictable demand. Amazon's largest competitor by market share is eBay but it has higher margins and revenues than eBay.
For Amazon vendors and sellers, operational management continues to be critical. Learn how you can accurately predict, forecast, procure, and fulfill on Amazon to optimize your operational strategy and balance your supply and demand.
Amazon is looking to enter the Indian market. It currently has a presence in 3 Indian cities. Its vision is to be the most customer-centric company and provide the best online shopping experience. Entering the Indian market poses some ethical issues around stakeholders like suppliers, customers, employees, competitors, and society. Amazon will need strong logistics, product diversification, and innovation to compete with established Indian e-commerce leader Flipkart and gain market share in India. A SWOT and competitive analysis was conducted to evaluate Amazon's strategy for entering the Indian market.
Dell's mission is to be the most successful computer company in delivering the best customer experience. Its vision is to understand customer and technology needs. Dell uses a direct sales model and just-in-time manufacturing to offer customizable computers at low prices. It focuses on consumer, business, government, and enterprise segments. Dell engages in social media, advertising, and community initiatives for branding and promotion.
IBM was formed in 1924 and became a leader in computing technology throughout the 20th century. It introduced many innovations including the personal computer in 1981. More recently, IBM has expanded into consulting services and acquired companies to grow. It aims to increase profits and market share, especially in Asia. Potential strategies include increasing marketing in Asia, entering the mobile phone market, and producing video game consoles. The best approach is increasing Asian marketing and entering mobile phones given market potential. Contingency plans address issues that may arise with these strategies.
The document summarizes key statistics about India's domestic aviation industry from January to April 2013. IndiGo had the largest market share at 29.7% while Jet Airways and Jet Lite combined held 22.6%. Total domestic passengers during this period were 20.289 million. The aviation industry has attracted $449.26 million in foreign investment. It is estimated that India will be the third largest aviation market by 2020, handling 336 million domestic and 85 million international passengers annually. Airlines plan to add 370 new aircraft worth $27.5 billion by 2017 to meet growing demand.
Netflix represents a classical subscription-based video on demand service model where users pay a subscription fee for access to streaming content. Netflix was founded in 1997 as a DVD rental service and transitioned to streaming in 2007. It is now the largest online streaming provider with over 75 million subscribers globally. The document discusses Netflix's industry structure, competitive forces as streaming faces competition from services like Hulu. A SWOT and Porter's Five Forces analysis is presented. The value chain and role of data and algorithms in powering recommendations is also examined. Current and potential strategies like expanding internationally and replacing cable boxes are proposed.
This document provides a strategic business analysis of Delta Airlines. It includes an executive summary that outlines Delta's strengths in customer satisfaction, diversification, and vertical integration through subsidiaries. However, it also notes risks from overdependence on domestic markets and pension obligations. The document then analyzes Delta's financial history and status from 2012-2014 through various financial ratios compared to competitors. It finds that while Delta shows strong performance, macroeconomic factors and pension liabilities could hinder future growth. The analysis concludes Delta should be considered a hold at this time.
Nokia had an integrated global supply chain that linked suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers. It sourced components from over 60 strategic suppliers located around the world. Nokia used a hybrid manufacturing model with both in-house plants and contract manufacturers. It had a wide distribution network to effectively reach end consumers. Through collaboration with suppliers and emphasis on continuous improvement, Nokia was able to keep costs low and maintain leadership in the mobile phone industry.
Amazon started as an online bookstore in 1994 and has since expanded into many product categories. It is now the world's largest online retailer. Amazon uses a variety of strategies to drive growth, such as expanding its third-party marketplace, growing its Prime membership program, pursuing acquisitions, and developing new services and devices. The company focuses heavily on customer service and building trust with consumers through features like customer reviews and 1-click ordering.
The document discusses environmental sustainability initiatives for supply chains and operations. It introduces a sustainability dashboard for Microsoft Dynamics AX that tracks key performance indicators like energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy costs. The dashboard aims to provide visibility into environmental impacts and costs to help companies reduce footprint and make more informed decisions. It will initially launch in early 2009 for customers in select regions.
Whether just considering the M&A process or actively preparing your company for sale, you want to understand the process from the perspective of those who have been there before. In Part 3 of Corum’s Annual Tech M&A Report, hear from an international panel of founders, CEOs and owners who recently sold their tech firms. What surprised them? What did they learn? What would they do differently? How did they ensure that they achieved an optimal outcome through the process?
This document provides an overview of Netflix including its business model, strategy, and financials. It discusses Netflix's mission to offer high quality streaming and DVD services to customers. It outlines Netflix's subscription-based business model and pricing, as well as its strategy of acquiring new content and expanding internationally. The document also analyzes Netflix using PEST, Five Forces, and SWOT frameworks. Financially, it notes Netflix's high subscriber growth and cash balances, but also cost pressures from competition and expansion. Overall it finds potential opportunities for Netflix through continued global expansion and acquisition.
This document provides an overview of Tesco, the largest retailer in the UK. It discusses Tesco's industry, competitors, strategies and financial performance. Tesco has over 2,400 stores worldwide, a 30% market share in the UK grocery market, and sales of over £22 billion in 2007. The document analyzes Tesco using various frameworks including Porter's five forces, resource-based view and SWOT analysis. It recommends Tesco focus on improving existing stores and potentially form strategic alliances to address weaknesses.
A free version of Amazon.com SWOT analysis 2017. To get the full presentation buy the SWOT here: https://www.strategicmanagementinsight.com/swot-analyses/amazon-swot-analysis.html
Under the leadership of CEOs Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt, GE transformed from an American manufacturer into a global conglomerate with diverse business units including energy, aviation, healthcare, and media. Welch grew earnings from $12 billion to $280 billion from 1981 to 2001. Immelt launched marketing campaigns like "Imagination at Work", "Ecomagination", and "Healthymagination" to communicate GE's focus on innovation and technology. As a predominantly B2B company, GE's success relies on establishing itself as an innovative brand through effective B2B marketing.
Netflix Infographic and Report (NETS2003/NETS5006) Karen Wong
The following infographic and report was created for a group assignment.
All media cited remains property of and copyright to the respective rights holders.
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution
CC BY-NC. For more information, go to https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Toys "R" Us was founded in 1957 by Charles Lazarus and captured 20% of the US toy market by 1988. It faced major barriers entering Japan due to regulations protecting small retailers. It overcame this by establishing a joint venture in 1991, becoming the largest toy retailer in Japan within 20 years due to its large stores, direct buying from manufacturers, and adapting products for the Japanese market. Toys "R" Us now operates internationally with over 1,500 stores in 33 countries and revenues of $13.6 billion, pursuing strategies like eco-friendly toys and internet retailing to adapt to changing demographics.
Amazon Web Services SWOT & Competitor AnalysisBessie Chu
The document provides an analysis of Amazon Web Services' (AWS) position in the cloud computing market, including a SWOT analysis of AWS and competitor analyses of Rackspace, Google Compute Engine, and Microsoft Azure. It finds that AWS has a large infrastructure and client base but risks from outages and complexity. Competitors like Rackspace focus on customization but lack AWS's scale, while Google and Microsoft's cloud offerings are still in early stages.
Technology and innovation make significant influence in today’s market and it has become the basic requirement for any organization to make the survival of any industry. Therefore, organizations try to implement technology advancements with innovation in order to protect their market position for long time. This report is based on one of famous case analysis of Eastman Kodak Company. Even the Kodak has competitive market position in traditional photography film industry; they lost their market position with digital transformation of photography.
Report explains the Kodak case with reference to the selected three strategic perspectives such as Blue ocean strategy, strategy as narrative and transient advantage. Each of these strategies discuss with three initiatives. Three initiatives such as: academic review of the theory, implication to the case study and recommendations for future improvements. Finally, it explains the conclusion and recommendations of the case analysis.
Amazon has diversified its business beyond its original online retail operations through services like Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Fire Phone, FireTV, and same-day grocery delivery. AWS started in 2002 as a way to manage Amazon's internal infrastructure but now generates significant revenue. In 2012, Amazon beat IBM, an experienced cloud computing company, to win a $600 million CIA contract, showing its strength in this new area. The document discusses Amazon's diversification strategy and references several books and videos for further information.
Amazon was founded in 1994 and began as an online bookstore, later diversifying into other products and services. It remains the world's largest online retailer. While its businesses span online retail, internet services, and Kindle, its core values of low prices and customer convenience have endured. Amazon faces medium competition in e-retail due to low entry costs online but must contend with large incumbents like itself that have scale advantages. It has numerous suppliers but high bargaining power over them. Intense rivalry exists in e-retail due to easy entry and unpredictable demand. Amazon's largest competitor by market share is eBay but it has higher margins and revenues than eBay.
For Amazon vendors and sellers, operational management continues to be critical. Learn how you can accurately predict, forecast, procure, and fulfill on Amazon to optimize your operational strategy and balance your supply and demand.
Amazon is looking to enter the Indian market. It currently has a presence in 3 Indian cities. Its vision is to be the most customer-centric company and provide the best online shopping experience. Entering the Indian market poses some ethical issues around stakeholders like suppliers, customers, employees, competitors, and society. Amazon will need strong logistics, product diversification, and innovation to compete with established Indian e-commerce leader Flipkart and gain market share in India. A SWOT and competitive analysis was conducted to evaluate Amazon's strategy for entering the Indian market.
Dell's mission is to be the most successful computer company in delivering the best customer experience. Its vision is to understand customer and technology needs. Dell uses a direct sales model and just-in-time manufacturing to offer customizable computers at low prices. It focuses on consumer, business, government, and enterprise segments. Dell engages in social media, advertising, and community initiatives for branding and promotion.
IBM was formed in 1924 and became a leader in computing technology throughout the 20th century. It introduced many innovations including the personal computer in 1981. More recently, IBM has expanded into consulting services and acquired companies to grow. It aims to increase profits and market share, especially in Asia. Potential strategies include increasing marketing in Asia, entering the mobile phone market, and producing video game consoles. The best approach is increasing Asian marketing and entering mobile phones given market potential. Contingency plans address issues that may arise with these strategies.
The document summarizes key statistics about India's domestic aviation industry from January to April 2013. IndiGo had the largest market share at 29.7% while Jet Airways and Jet Lite combined held 22.6%. Total domestic passengers during this period were 20.289 million. The aviation industry has attracted $449.26 million in foreign investment. It is estimated that India will be the third largest aviation market by 2020, handling 336 million domestic and 85 million international passengers annually. Airlines plan to add 370 new aircraft worth $27.5 billion by 2017 to meet growing demand.
Netflix represents a classical subscription-based video on demand service model where users pay a subscription fee for access to streaming content. Netflix was founded in 1997 as a DVD rental service and transitioned to streaming in 2007. It is now the largest online streaming provider with over 75 million subscribers globally. The document discusses Netflix's industry structure, competitive forces as streaming faces competition from services like Hulu. A SWOT and Porter's Five Forces analysis is presented. The value chain and role of data and algorithms in powering recommendations is also examined. Current and potential strategies like expanding internationally and replacing cable boxes are proposed.
This document provides a strategic business analysis of Delta Airlines. It includes an executive summary that outlines Delta's strengths in customer satisfaction, diversification, and vertical integration through subsidiaries. However, it also notes risks from overdependence on domestic markets and pension obligations. The document then analyzes Delta's financial history and status from 2012-2014 through various financial ratios compared to competitors. It finds that while Delta shows strong performance, macroeconomic factors and pension liabilities could hinder future growth. The analysis concludes Delta should be considered a hold at this time.
Nokia had an integrated global supply chain that linked suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers. It sourced components from over 60 strategic suppliers located around the world. Nokia used a hybrid manufacturing model with both in-house plants and contract manufacturers. It had a wide distribution network to effectively reach end consumers. Through collaboration with suppliers and emphasis on continuous improvement, Nokia was able to keep costs low and maintain leadership in the mobile phone industry.
Amazon started as an online bookstore in 1994 and has since expanded into many product categories. It is now the world's largest online retailer. Amazon uses a variety of strategies to drive growth, such as expanding its third-party marketplace, growing its Prime membership program, pursuing acquisitions, and developing new services and devices. The company focuses heavily on customer service and building trust with consumers through features like customer reviews and 1-click ordering.
The document discusses environmental sustainability initiatives for supply chains and operations. It introduces a sustainability dashboard for Microsoft Dynamics AX that tracks key performance indicators like energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy costs. The dashboard aims to provide visibility into environmental impacts and costs to help companies reduce footprint and make more informed decisions. It will initially launch in early 2009 for customers in select regions.
Whether just considering the M&A process or actively preparing your company for sale, you want to understand the process from the perspective of those who have been there before. In Part 3 of Corum’s Annual Tech M&A Report, hear from an international panel of founders, CEOs and owners who recently sold their tech firms. What surprised them? What did they learn? What would they do differently? How did they ensure that they achieved an optimal outcome through the process?
Tech M&A Monthly: 9 Practical Tips for Presenting to AcquirerCorum Group
Presenting your company to potential acquirers is unlike any other kind of presentation. You’ve pitched products, investors and partners, but when the product itself is your company, it requires a new approach for what could be the most important presentation of your life. Thursday, August 10, Corum’s global team of dealmakers will walk through nine practical tips for giving management presentations during the tech M&A process. What should you present? How should you present it? Who should be involved? We’ll walk through key insights based on decades of experience to help you prepare. Plus, deals, trends and valuation metrics from across the technology industry.
Introduction to business environment ppt @ bec domsBabasab Patil
The document provides an overview of business environment including its introduction, goals, characteristics, Indian companies in Fortune 500 list, government role, diversification strategies, globalization, competition nature, challenges, and analysis tools. It discusses internal and external environment factors, PESTLE analysis, global competitiveness index, most competitive Indian cities, and questions for case study analysis.
Many financial sector firms are realizing that the “cloud” can be used for purposes other than the conventional wisdom which was restricted to only back office and administrative systems. This session will focus on how cloud computing can be used in connection with core operations. What developments can we expect to see in the clouds in the near term? Long term? This session will explore available options and the trajectory of the “cloud.”
Accenture is a global consulting and outsourcing firm with operations in the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions. It has experienced positive revenue growth in recent years due to increased demand for outsourcing services, investments in new technologies like cloud and analytics, and acquisitions that expand its domain expertise. Accenture has also shown profitability even under difficult economic conditions. Based on financial forecasts and valuation analyses comparing Accenture to competitors, the author concludes that Accenture's $60 billion market valuation is supported by its experience across industries and geographies, and that its shares are fairly valued based on assumed growth rates and discount rates.
This panel will examine the impact of the growth of the service economy on organizations and information systems from four perspectives: (1) internal changes in organizations, both service providers and service clients, in terms of their structures, processes, and competencies; (2) redefinition of inter-organizational relationships and re-drawing of organizational boundaries and identities; (3) the role of IS in enabling these new collaborative relationships; and (4) the possibility of designing better applications to enhance organizations’ capacity to engage in service exchanges.
1) Walmart is proposing a business process change to improve its warranty and claims process. Currently, claims are handled by customer service representatives with no standardized process.
2) The proposed change would implement a repeatable and documented process for handling claims at each stage of the Capability Maturity Model. This would involve defining documentation, managing data collection, and continuously optimizing the process.
3) Diagrams show the current process with claims handled by individual representatives, and the proposed new process which would automate claims logging and integrate it into the sales system using software applications. This aims to standardize and streamline the warranty and claims process.
This document discusses e-business strategies and opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It defines SMEs and explains that they comprise most businesses globally and are important drivers of innovation and competition. It then classifies different types of e-business models including B2C, B2B, C2C, and C2B. The document also outlines a five-stage e-business strategy process and an e-business development stage model. It discusses opportunities for SMEs through e-business adoption, as well as challenges and threats they may face both internally and from external competitors.
Tech M&A Monthly: Misconceptions Killing Deals TodayCorum Group
In today’s tech M&A market, it’s easy to find advice on how and when to sell a technology company. Unfortunately, a lot of it is wrong. And not simply wrong, but potentially damaging, both to your M&A prospects and potentially to your company’s future. In the May edition of Tech M&A Monthly, Corum’s global team of dealmakers will examine a multitude of misconceptions that can put your company’s value at risk, kill deals, and even destroy companies. Plus, news from the M&A trenches, plus key deals, trends and valuations from the last month.
1Fashion Institute of Design and MerchandisingFall 202.docxrobert345678
1
Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising
Fall 2022
BUMT 4200: Financial Management
A Case Study Research and Analysis of Microsoft Corporation
By: Elizabeth Manriquez, Josefina McKinnon, Najila Miles, Yen Pham & Melanie
Pesqueira
December 6, 2022
2
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction- Pg. 3
2. Major Findings- Pg.4
3. Implications on the Five Elements of a Business Model- Pg. 6
4. Historical Performance of the Firm- Pg.10
5. Current Financial Issues and Factors of the Firm- Pg.15
6. Financial Ratio Analysis- Pg.18
7. Assessment of Risk and Return on Capital Budget- Pg.28
8. Sales Forecasts Analysis and Implications on Cash Inflows- Pg.29
9. Recommendations and
Solution
s- Pg.30
10.Conclusion- Pg.32
11.Works Cited- Pg. 34
3
1. Introduction:
Microsoft Corporation is an American global technology corporation located in Redmond,
Washington. It is one of the largest software companies in the world and develops, manufactures,
licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and
related services. Bill Gates and Paul Allen launched the firm in 1975, and it is now one of the
world's largest software corporations, with over 13,000 employees and a market valuation of
more than $541 billion, with a market capitalization of more than $1 trillion as of June 2020.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft's current CEO, oversees the senior leadership team and is in
charge of the company's strategy and operations. He is supported by six other executive officers:
Amy Hood, Chief Financial Officer, Kevin Turner, Jean-Philippe Courtois, Chief Technology
Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, Chris Capossela, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice
President Judson Althoff, and Kathleen Hogan, Chief Human Resources Officer. The Board of
Directors of Microsoft is made up of eleven individuals, nine of whom are independent of the
firm. The Board of Directors is comprised of the following individuals: John W. Thompson,
Chairman of the Board; Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer; Reid Hoffman, Partner at
Greylock Partners; Maria Klawe, President of Harvey Mudd College; Dina Dublon, Member of
the Board of Directors of JP Morgan Chase and Company; G. Mason Morfit, President of Value
Act Capital; Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer; Charles H. Noski, Former Vice Chairman
of Bank of America; Helmu Investors and experts have applauded Microsoft's corporate
governance, with the majority of the Board of Directors being independent of the corporation.
This is critical for the corporation in order to maintain a balance of power among the Directors
and to preserve shareholders' interests. The Board of Directors is in charge of determining the
4
company's strategic goals, approving management choices, and supervising the company's
financial performance.
Microsoft's Board of Directors is responsible for providing oversight of the company's
operations and strategic direction, as well as moni.
#CorumReport, May 2018: M&A Launch - 10 Tips to Ensure SuccessCorum Group
Selling a technology company is a complex process. Where do you begin? The best place to start is with an intensive “launch meeting” with key stakeholders and the deal team from your advisor. During the May edition of Tech M&A Monthly, Corum Group draws back the curtain on their launch meeting process, built from the largest body of tech M&A in history. Who should be in the room? What needs to be covered? What should you leave out? How do you make sure to get the most value from this unique opportunity? Tune in Thursday, May 17, as Corum’s global team of senior dealmakers outlines the best way to kick off the most important transaction of your life.
- A proposal was developed by a cross-group team to more effectively compete against low-cost competitors like Linux in large education and government deals.
- The proposal involves a $50 million fund to provide incentives for add-on products and services rather than offering low-cost software, aimed at addressing affordability, training, and other needs.
- A process is outlined for escalating deals to regional response teams who will take a full-solutions approach to understanding customer needs and how Microsoft products can address them.
This document provides an analysis of IBM, including its customers, opportunities, threats, strengths, weaknesses, competitors, and recommendations. IBM's largest customers are large enterprises across various industries. It has opportunities to expand services to smaller businesses and increase cloud computing, but also faces threats from increasing competition and potential economic slowdowns. The analysis recommends that IBM expand its service offerings, offer more competitive pricing, and enhance its cloud computing architecture to maintain its market position against competitors like HP and Dell.
Cloud system management software market pptDheerajPawar4
[148 Pages Report] Cloud systems management software market categorizes the global market by solution, by service, by deployment, by organization size, by vertical, & by region.
This document provides an introduction to production planning and control (POM). It discusses key terms in POM like operations management. POM focuses on managing an organization's production system to convert inputs into products and services. The evolution of POM is then summarized, from the industrial revolution to developments in scientific management, human relations, operations research, and computer technology. Influential contributors to the development of POM concepts are also listed.
Running head AMERICAN EXPRESS CORPORATION ANALYSIS 1AMERICA.docxtoddr4
Running head: AMERICAN EXPRESS CORPORATION ANALYSIS
1
AMERICAN EXPRESS CORPORATION ANALYSIS
2
American Express Corporation Analysis
Xiaoxi Yue
Professor Minji
American Express Corporation analysis
American Express Corporation is an American multinational financial services entity with headquarter in New York City in the United States. The company is also known as Amex, and it operates in the Banking Financial services industry, where there are other competing companies (American Express Company SWOT Analysis, 2019). The primary aim of this article is to critically conduct a SWOT analysis of American Express Company to help to solve marketing problems that the entity face when performing its business activities.
Analysis of American Express Corporation and its industry
American Express Corporation is a financial institution which deals in an extensive range of products and services. The main products and services of the company are credit card products and charge and other travel-related services that aim at satisfying the needs of their clients (Havercome & Mujtaba, 2015). The company sells its products and services to various groups of clients from different parts of the world. The company has multiple segments that help it to market and sell its product and services. Below are some the main segment of American Express Company and among others. The company uses different marketing strategies to market and sell its product. Besides, American Express Company operates in a competitive industry with many competing firms that use different marketing strategies to increase their market share. Some of the company's top competitors are Discover, VISA MasterCard, Bank of America US Bank, among others.
American Express Corporation SWOT analysis
American Express Corporation operates in a competitive industry with many competing firms that offer a variety of products and services to potential clients. As such, the company has strength, weakness, opportunities, and threat that determine its operations.
Strengths of American Express
Brand strength is one of the advantages the company enjoy in its industry. Currently, American Express has the privilege of being among the treasured brands all over the world. The latter is one of the internal strength that has enabled the company to increase its market share in its industry.
Employee strength and market capitalization are other advantages also different strengths of the company. The company has a high number of employees, and the level of their satisfaction is relatively high compared to those of its competitors (Hickman & Silva, 2018). On the other hand, the company has a more significant market capital, unlike its competitors. This has enabled the company to perform all its operation more efficiently without financial difficulties. As such, this has enabled the company to one of the top financial services providers in the world.
Furthermore, the status symbol is another strength for the company.
Microsoft has the opportunity to reach a $1 trillion valuation by the end of 2019 by optimizing its platform-based business model and leveraging changes in the device industry. Microsoft understands customer needs but is not fully exploiting the devices market, as hardware revenues underperform the industry. If Microsoft increases its devices revenues by $11 billion to close the profit gap, it could achieve $102 billion in additional market value.
Running head: RISK ASSESMENT AND MILESTONE 1
RISK ASSESMENT AND MILESTONE
4
Risk assessment, milestone and contingency plans
Floyd Cooper III
MGT – 660
Dr. T
09-24-2014
Risk assessment
Risk assessment process describes the various techniques of determining the risks that Microsoft project faces from project start-up. The severity/impact and frequency of attack forms the basis of risk assessment. The understanding of the risks helps to device contingency plans and other risk prevention and mitigation mechanisms. Major risks facing the project includes price of resources fluctuation due to inflation, insufficient finance, failure of project completion on time and inadequate skilled work force. Microsoft has developed contingency plans to shield itself from the above risks.
Milestone schedule
Typically, the completion of activities in any project involves a stage-by-stage process known as milestone. The developmental process of Microsoft’s windows version 8.1 involves a sequential process as outlined below.
Project milestone
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Milestone Schedule
YEAR 2014/2015 (MONTHS)
ACTIVITIES
SEPT
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAV
FEB
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEPT
Windows 8.1 initiation
Windows 8.1 development planning
Windows 8.1 requirement analysis
Windows 8.1 design
Windows 8.1 development planning
Windows 8.1 integration and testing
Windows 8.1 implementation
Windows 8.1 operation and maintenance
Windows 8.1 Evaluation
launching the windows 8.1
TOTAL DURATION
Contingency plans
Almost all the projects experience some deviations in time, cost and resources (Caron, 2013). The deviations may impede the project in terms of completion time. The Microsoft project manager has developed several measures in case the project does not go on as planned. They includes developing a contingency budget, procuring extra system development resources to cater for normal and abnormal losses, beginning as many activities as possible simultaneously to ensure project completion on time and conducting a proper risk assessment analysis.
Reference
Caron, F. (2013). Project Risk Analysis. In Managing the Continuum: Certainty, Uncertainty, Unpredictability in Large Engineering Projects (pp. 57-65). Springer Milan.
Financial Plan1
Financial Plan2
Financial Plan
Floyd Cooper III
MGT-660
09-17-2014
Microsoft Inc. financial plan
Overview
With the headquarters in Redmond Washington, Microsoft is a multinational company that manufactures, develops, supports licenses and sells computer software, personal computer, consumer electronics and services.
Mission
The organization mission and values is to aid people and businesses through the world recognize their full potential. We exist to maintain and attract customers. When we observe this maxim, the rest will fall into the right.
1. The document discusses Netvibes, a real-time business intelligence and decision making tool.
2. It presents Netvibes' 3A process for decision making: aggregate all relevant data and content, analyze numbers in social context, and automate decision making.
3. The document provides examples of how a global financial investment firm uses Netvibes dashboards to gain insights for portfolio managers, including case studies on analyzing brands, markets, and assessing risks.
This document provides guidance on assessing candidates for hiring. It outlines important qualities to evaluate such as integrity, intelligence, maturity, energy, ability to energize others, ability to make tough decisions, ability to execute, and passion. It also provides questions to ask and behaviors to observe to measure candidates on these qualities. For senior positions, it recommends evaluating authenticity, foresight, ability to build a smart team, and resilience after failures. The overall goal is to identify candidates that will perform well and have the right fit for the organization through a thorough qualitative and quantitative assessment.
La implementación efectiva de la filosofía Lean Company implica tres cambios fundamentales: 1) Los procesos departamentales funcionales se reemplazan por equipos multidimensionales que administran cadenas de valor completas; 2) Los oficios simples se vuelven trabajo multidimensional donde los trabajadores toman decisiones por sí mismos; 3) La estructura jerárquica se transforma en una estructura plana donde los gerentes son líderes que inspiran y entrenan a los equipos en lugar de supervisores.
This document discusses alternative solutions to economic recession and slow global recovery from 2001-2015. It analyzes two main objectives: fighting unemployment and reducing public deficit. For the first objective, it recommends using Keynes' model of increasing global demand through reduced taxes, lower interest rates, higher public expenditure, and reduced exchange rates. However, it also notes that under some models, demand can negatively impact unemployment. For the second objective, it suggests increasing taxes and reducing public expenditure. The document also discusses Mundell's optimal currency zone model and concludes that during high unemployment, countries should use Keynes' model combined with salary flexibility linked to productivity rather than inflation.
Ivan Rodriguez é um executivo global sênior com experiência de liderança em grandes empresas de fabricação eletrônica e manufatura por contrato. Ele tem mais de 20 anos de experiência transformando operações e melhorando resultados financeiros através da implementação de práticas Lean/Six Sigma. Atualmente é Vice-Presidente e Gerente Geral da Invensys na América do Sul, liderando quatro fábricas e mais de 2.500 funcionários.
O documento lista 10 razões para o sucesso de um negócio: 1) experiência dos gestores, 2) energia dos gestores, 3) um produto superior com bom serviço, 4) marketing estratégico, 5) habilidades de vendas, 6) desenvolvimento contínuo de produtos, 7) redução de custos, 8) tratar todos com respeito, 9) boa localização e promoção, 10) mix de produtos para diferentes cenários econômicos.
Bz 1 o aprendizado em equipe, a essência da inovaçãoIvan F Rodriguez
Este documento discute como as organizações podem maximizar a inovação através da criação de equipes de aprendizagem, compartilhando conhecimento e permitindo experimentação. A inovação prospera quando os empregados em todos os níveis têm autonomia e são encorajados a desafiar o status quo. Líderes devem compartilhar conhecimento e recompensar novos pensamentos, não punir experimentação controlada. Quando uma organização aprende continuamente, ela aumenta seu valor e chances de sucesso contra ameaças como desempreg
Articulo 1 2014 - camino a la excelencia, como competirIvan F Rodriguez
El documento discute los efectos de la crisis financiera de 2007-2008 y las opciones para las personas a insertarse en la economía. La crisis fue causada por una falta de regulación en el sistema financiero que permitió instrumentos especulativos riesgosos. Esto afectó el empleo y la calidad de vida globalmente. Para sobrevivir en la economía, las personas deben diferenciarse a través de la inversión en I+D, resolución de problemas, adaptabilidad y velocidad ejecutiva impulsadas por la pasión y creatividad.
Articulo 2 camino a la excelencia, liderazgo transformacional irIvan F Rodriguez
El documento habla sobre el liderazgo transformacional y los elementos necesarios para lograr la excelencia y transformar la realidad de una persona u organización. Describe cuatro características clave del liderazgo transformacional: carisma, motivación inspiracional, estimulación intelectual y consideración individual. También destaca que para crear el futuro deseado se debe soñarlo, pensarlo, planearlo y ejecutarlo, y que la transformación comienza por uno mismo a través de la reflexión crítica.
Articulo 1 camino a la excelencia, organizaciones & aprendizajeIvan F Rodriguez
El documento habla sobre la importancia de los equipos de aprendizaje para fomentar la innovación dentro de las organizaciones. Explica que la diferenciación y creación de valor a través de la innovación son esenciales para mantener la preferencia de los clientes y lograr crecimiento. Señala que la innovación depende del talento de todos los colaboradores y ocurre cuando se combina la capacidad creativa con el conocimiento. Finalmente, propone que las organizaciones deben organizar su estructura en equipos de aprendizaje, cambiar el estilo de
This document summarizes the academic and professional achievements of Ivan F. Rodriguez. It lists his degrees from various universities in Mexico and the US, including an MBA and master's in engineering. It outlines his areas of expertise, including lean six sigma and operations, and experience in various industries. It also includes short quotes and presentations related to topics like culture, innovation, and vision.
Ivan f rodriguez theory in action collaborative innovationIvan F Rodriguez
Rodpol is presented as a new organization designed for the 21st century that utilizes open innovation and technology scouting. It aims to become a world leader in enhancing productivity and minimizing poverty in underdeveloped countries through connecting experts via online platforms. Rodpol's organizational structure is flat and flexible with three layers: agency leaders, program management, and resource management. It uses an engagement model and open innovation techniques like crowd-sourcing to solve problems. Performance is measured using metrics like budget accuracy, on-time delivery, and project effectiveness. The organization provides incentives like stock options and job security to reward innovation.
Ivan F. Rodriguez is a conference speaker from Matamoros, Mexico with a background in innovative thinking, team building, results orientation, operational excellence, and experience developing international businesses in the US, Mexico, Asia, and Eastern Europe. He is bilingual and an expert in Lean Six Sigma philosophy. He has degrees from several prestigious universities and specializations in fields such as finance, global operations, mathematics, and engineering. He has achieved significant cost savings through Lean Six Sigma certifications. The document discusses Rodriguez's professional strengths and educational background.
Ivan f rodriguez wealth creation virtuous circleIvan F Rodriguez
The document presents a virtuous circle model showing how lack of corruption can lead to increased economic growth. The model illustrates that lack of corruption enables better leadership and policies, which improve education, skills, and innovation; this in turn increases patents, innovation capacity, and economic growth, thereby reducing corruption. The document aims to validate this virtuous circle quantitative problem statement.
Master file final ir tecnología e innovación para el desarrollo económico e...Ivan F Rodriguez
Ivan F. Rodriguez presentó una conferencia sobre tecnología e innovación para el desarrollo económico. El objetivo fue proponer estrategias para revertir la pérdida de competitividad en el país. Explicó cómo el mundo cambia rápidamente y la importancia de adaptarse. Luego describió los orígenes de los paradigmas físicos y económicos, y cuestionó si los métodos actuales de medir el éxito económico capturan realmente el bienestar de la sociedad. Finalmente, propuso soluciones como el pensamiento cr
This document profiles Ivan Rodriguez and his professional experience and education. It lists his degrees which include a bachelor's degree in engineering, two master's degrees in business administration and finance, and certifications in Lean Six Sigma. It also outlines some of his strengths such as innovative thinking, building high-performing teams, and being results-oriented.
This document discusses using mathematical programming to optimize operations scheduling in a high mix-low volume manufacturing environment. It presents a linear programming model that considers multiple costs and constraints to generate a production plan that maximizes profit. The model was developed using data from a metal fabrication plant in Mexico with over 500 multilevel products. The plant was struggling due to its batch production system and challenges adapting to changing demand. The proposed optimization aims to improve the plant's financial and operational metrics through a more flexible continuous flow production schedule.
Nos transformaremos en una empresa ágil lo que implica el rediseño radical de los procesos de negocios, a traves de la implementacion de la filosofia Lean Six Sigma, los oficios que eran estrechos y orientados a una tarea, como la exclusividad del personal calificado en SMT, Punzonado o Doblez, por ejemplo; pasan a ser multidimensionales. Individuos que antes hacían lo que se les ordenaba toman ahora decisiones por sí mismos; pues tienen la responsabilidad de administrar de principio a fin su cadena de valor y ganan conforme esos resultados. El trabajo en serie desaparece. Los departamentos funcionales pierden su razón de ser, no hay distancia entre planners, programs, finanzas, producción, ingenieria, calidad, etc. Los gerentes dejan de ser supervisores para convertirse en entrenadores. Los trabajadores piensan más en las necesidades de los clientes y menos en las de sus jefes. Actitudes y valores cambian en respuesta a nuevos planes de incentivos.
La programación eficiente permite a las empresas usar sus recursos de manera más efectiva y generar mayor capacidad con menos inversión, reduciendo costos. Esto permite una entrega más rápida y un mejor servicio al cliente. Una buena programación da una ventaja competitiva a través de una entrega confiable. Esto eleva la confianza del equipo, permite mantener el enfoque y el desempeño, estableciendo nuevos paradigmas que dan estabilidad a la empresa.
Presentacion sobre implementacion de Lean Manufacturing como estrategia de creacion de ventajas competitivas en el marco del Primer Congreso de Ingenieria Industrial y Cibernética de la Universidad Marista en GDL.
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Presentation by Herman Kienhuis (Curiosity VC) on Investing in AI for ABS Alu...Herman Kienhuis
Presentation by Herman Kienhuis (Curiosity VC) on developments in AI, the venture capital investment landscape and Curiosity VC's approach to investing, at the alumni event of Amsterdam Business School (University of Amsterdam) on June 13, 2024 in Amsterdam.
Digital Marketing with a Focus on Sustainabilitysssourabhsharma
Digital Marketing best practices including influencer marketing, content creators, and omnichannel marketing for Sustainable Brands at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit 2024 in New York
Discover timeless style with the 2022 Vintage Roman Numerals Men's Ring. Crafted from premium stainless steel, this 6mm wide ring embodies elegance and durability. Perfect as a gift, it seamlessly blends classic Roman numeral detailing with modern sophistication, making it an ideal accessory for any occasion.
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IMPACT Silver is a pure silver zinc producer with over $260 million in revenue since 2008 and a large 100% owned 210km Mexico land package - 2024 catalysts includes new 14% grade zinc Plomosas mine and 20,000m of fully funded exploration drilling.
Storytelling is an incredibly valuable tool to share data and information. To get the most impact from stories there are a number of key ingredients. These are based on science and human nature. Using these elements in a story you can deliver information impactfully, ensure action and drive change.
Unveiling the Dynamic Personalities, Key Dates, and Horoscope Insights: Gemin...my Pandit
Explore the fascinating world of the Gemini Zodiac Sign. Discover the unique personality traits, key dates, and horoscope insights of Gemini individuals. Learn how their sociable, communicative nature and boundless curiosity make them the dynamic explorers of the zodiac. Dive into the duality of the Gemini sign and understand their intellectual and adventurous spirit.
The Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs to Follow in 2024.pdfthesiliconleaders
In a world where the potential of youth innovation remains vastly untouched, there emerges a guiding light in the form of Norm Goldstein, the Founder and CEO of EduNetwork Partners. His dedication to this cause has earned him recognition as a Congressional Leadership Award recipient.
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Explore the details in our newly released product manual, which showcases NEWNTIDE's advanced heat pump technologies. Delve into our energy-efficient and eco-friendly solutions tailored for diverse global markets.
HR search is critical to a company's success because it ensures the correct people are in place. HR search integrates workforce capabilities with company goals by painstakingly identifying, screening, and employing qualified candidates, supporting innovation, productivity, and growth. Efficient talent acquisition improves teamwork while encouraging collaboration. Also, it reduces turnover, saves money, and ensures consistency. Furthermore, HR search discovers and develops leadership potential, resulting in a strong pipeline of future leaders. Finally, this strategic approach to recruitment enables businesses to respond to market changes, beat competitors, and achieve long-term success.
Navigating the world of forex trading can be challenging, especially for beginners. To help you make an informed decision, we have comprehensively compared the best forex brokers in India for 2024. This article, reviewed by Top Forex Brokers Review, will cover featured award winners, the best forex brokers, featured offers, the best copy trading platforms, the best forex brokers for beginners, the best MetaTrader brokers, and recently updated reviews. We will focus on FP Markets, Black Bull, EightCap, IC Markets, and Octa.
Part 2 Deep Dive: Navigating the 2024 Slowdownjeffkluth1
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The global retail industry has weathered numerous storms, with the financial crisis of 2008 serving as a poignant reminder of the sector's resilience and adaptability. However, as we navigate the complex landscape of 2024, retailers face a unique set of challenges that demand innovative strategies and a fundamental shift in mindset. This white paper contrasts the impact of the 2008 recession on the retail sector with the current headwinds retailers are grappling with, while offering a comprehensive roadmap for success in this new paradigm.
Best practices for project execution and deliveryCLIVE MINCHIN
A select set of project management best practices to keep your project on-track, on-cost and aligned to scope. Many firms have don't have the necessary skills, diligence, methods and oversight of their projects; this leads to slippage, higher costs and longer timeframes. Often firms have a history of projects that simply failed to move the needle. These best practices will help your firm avoid these pitfalls but they require fortitude to apply.
Dive into this presentation and learn about the ways in which you can buy an engagement ring. This guide will help you choose the perfect engagement rings for women.
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The Steadfast and Reliable Bull: Taurus Zodiac Signmy Pandit
Explore the steadfast and reliable nature of the Taurus Zodiac Sign. Discover the personality traits, key dates, and horoscope insights that define the determined and practical Taurus, and learn how their grounded nature makes them the anchor of the zodiac.
2. About this Presentation
• Objective: Describe operations optimization strategies to maximize profits
and social value of global companies in today’s business arena.
• Methodology: This presentation was developed using the Leadership
Operational Plan tailor-made for Amazon, and it includes the following:
I. Company Overview
II. Company’ Major Issues Faced
III. Recommendations of the necessary changes to achieve optimization:
a) Strategy
b) Organizational Structure Behavior Practices
c) Operations Management
d) Project Management
e) Leadership Behaviors
f) Control Systems & Key Performance Indicators to measure the progress
2Ivan F Rodriguez | BUS721 University of Phoenix
4. Amazon Overview
• Who is Amazon?
It is the world’s largest online company, complex, global, ambitious and revolutionary
company. With headquarters in Seattle, Washington, Amazon trades in NASDAQ
(AMZN), NASDAQ-100 and S&P 5000 and employs approximately 230,800 full-time
and part-time employees. Amazon is both, a manufacturing organization producing
electronic goods; and a service organization distributing millions of products from
thousands of sellers (Amazon Annual Report, 2015).
• Vision
To be earth’s most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can
come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.
• Mission
To leverage technology and the expertise of our valuable employees to provide our
customers with the best shopping experience on the Internet.
• Business Strategy
To get big fast by investing aggressively in new product categories and new business,
by spending money on brand awareness and getting new customers.
4Ivan F Rodriguez | BUS721 University of Phoenix
5. Amazon Overview (cont.)
• Leadership Team
Amazon Executive Officers and Directors team includes eight people which
average age is 51 years, seven out of eight, are American nationals and they
have been employed by Amazon for at least nine years (see Table 1).
5Ivan F Rodriguez | BUS721 University of Phoenix
Table 1
Amazon’s Executive Officers and Directors
Name Age Hiring
Year
Current Position
Jeffrey Bezos 52 1996a
President, Chief Executive Officer, and
Chairman of the Board
Jeffrey Blackburn 46 2006 Senior Vice President Business
Development
Andrew Jassy 48 2006 Senior Vice President Amazon Web
Services
Brian Olsavsky 52 2002 Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer
Diego Piacentini 55 2007 Senior Vice President International
Consumer Business
Shelley Reynolds 51 2007 Vice President, Worldwide Controller,
and Principal Accounting Officer
Jeffrey Wilke 49 2007 Senior Vice President Consumer Business
David Zapolsky 52 2002 Senior Vice President, General Counsel,
and Secretary
Note: Adapted from Amazon Annual Report (2015).
6. Amazon Overview (cont.)
• Amazon Sources of Competitive
Advantages
1. Technology
• Expertise in technology
• “One-Click” System
2. Economies of Scale
3. Talented workforce
• Company Culture
4. Marketing
• Brand name and reputation
5. Extensive product offerings
6. Extremely low prices
• Shipping/delivery advantages
• Manufacturing of Kindle as
lowest-price e-reader
6Ivan F Rodriguez | BUS721 University of Phoenix
Figure 1
Amazon Web Services
Note: Grey squares refer to the specific Amazon’ masters servers
location (9 regions) and the white circles to the zones within each
server (25 zones). Source Amazon Annual Plan (2015).
7. Amazon Overview (cont.)
7Ivan F Rodriguez | BUS721 University of Phoenix
Figure 2
Understanding Amazon Competitive
Advantages Dependencies
Proposed Counter-
Measurements (see
details in Section III)
8. Amazon Overview (cont.)
8Ivan F Rodriguez | BUS721 University of Phoenix
Figure 3
Amazon’s Porter’s Five Forces Model
Note: Amazon’ business model success relies extensively on achieving the lowest
possible prices. Source Operational Plan for Amazon (2016).
9. Amazon Overview (cont.)
9Ivan F Rodriguez | BUS721 University of Phoenix
This table depicts Amazon’ Strengths
(S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities
(O), and Threats (T), and relates it to
its Competitive Advantages:.
This analysis is supported by
organization-specific, and peer-
reviewed references.
Table 3
Amazon Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (S.W.O.T)
Strengths Weaknesses
[S1] Operational Network
[S2] Customer-centric business
[S3] Differentiation of Business Model
[W1] Decline financial performance
[W2] Operational issues (deliveries and quality)
[W3] Bad reputation on social responsibility and
social value creation
[W4] High dependency on currency fluctuations
Opportunities Threats
[O1] Expansion capabilities to new markets (e.g.,
Africa, and the Middle East)
[O2] Strong scale economy to grow horizontally
(i.e., acquisitions, joint-ventures, merging)
[O3] Expansion capabilities on existing markets
(e.g., United States, Italy, United Kingdom,
Germany)
[O4] Profits and Net Income improvement by
products diversification (e.g., bank
services, payment services, etc.)
[T1] Foreign Exchange Risk
[T2] Competition (new and existing)
[T3] Dependency on one distribution channel, the
Internet
[T4] Government regulations and compliance
Note: S represents Strengths, W Weaknesses, O opportunities, and T means Threats. This analysis
is supported by organization-specific (Amazon Annual Report, 2015), and peer-reviewed
Table 2
Amazon’ Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats Analysis
(S.W.O.T.)
10. Amazon Overview (cont.)
10Ivan F Rodriguez | BUS721 University of Phoenix
Amazon
S.W.O.T.Analysis
Leadership Scale CashFlow Innovation Knowledge Total
S1 Operational Network 3 3 2 3 3 14
S2 Customer-centric business 3 1 1 3 2 10
S3 Differentiation ofBusiness model 3 1 3 1 2 10
S4 Senior Leadership business acumen and experience 3 1 3 3 3 13
W1 Declinefinancial performance 3 2 1 1 2 9
W2 Operational issues (deliveries and quality) 3 3 1 2 3 12
W3 Bad reputation on social responsibility and social valuecreation 3 2 1 1 2 9
W4 High dependency on currency fluctuations 1 3 1 2 1 8
O1 Expansion capabilities to newmarkets (e.g.,Africa and MiddleEast) 3 3 2 2 1 11
O2 Strongscaleeconomy to growhorizontally (i.e.,acquisitions,joint-ventures,merging) 3 3 1 2 3 12
O3 Expansion capabilities on existingmarkets (e.g.,United states,Italy,United Kingdom,Germany) 3 3 3 3 3 15
O4 Profits and NetIncomeimprovementby products diversification (e.g.,bank services,paymentservices,etc.) 3 2 2 3 2 12
T1 Foreign ExchangeRisk 2 3 1 2 2 10
T2 Competition (newand existing) 3 3 2 3 2 13
T3 Dependency on onedistribution channel,Internet 3 1 1 3 2 10
T4 Governmentregulations and compliance 0
Total . 42 34 25 34 33 168
Friday,October21,2016
CriticalSuccessFactor(CSF)
Table 3
Amazon’s Competitive Scope vs. Competitive Advantage
Data interpretation: The highest score
the highest the correlation. Leadership
has the biggest influence to maximize
strengths, minimize weaknesses,
realize opportunities, and reduce the
risk of the threats are those depending
on leadership effectiveness.
Figure 4
S.W.O.T. vs. Industry Critical Success
Factors
Note: The higher the number, the stronger the dependency between Critical
Success Factor (CSF) and S.W.O.T. Source Operational Plan for Amazon
(2016).
11. II. Major Issues Faced
Amazon’ Challenges to Continue
Leading the E-Commerce Industry
Globally
12. • Amazon´s competitive advantage relies extensively on the intangible ability to delight customers
with uncompromised quality, timely delivery, and unparalleled purchasing experience.
Furthermore, Amazon’s success relies deeply on its ability to keep their customers satisfied.
• Customer satisfaction is measured by four key performance indicators (KPI), (1) on time delivery,
(2) quality/reliability, (3) total landed cost (price of the good or service delivered in desired
location), and (4) purchasing experience (easiness to satisfy customers need –variety of products
and services, description of features and functionality, pre and post-sale interaction, speed to
resolve any problem).
• These are the most severe issues Amazon needs to resolve:
1) Competition: Amazon competes in six industries (i.e., retail, e-commerce services,
digital content, electronic devices, and web and infrastructure computing services) each
of them fighting vigorously to increase their market share and value.
2) Operational Execution: because of the fast execution pace (growing total sales
between 20% and 25% year over year) and aggressive timing of Amazon´s expansion
plans –geographic regions, products, services, and technologies, (Amazon Annual
Report, 2015), operational system becomes vital to Amazon.
3) Complexity: Complexity to manage resources efficiently in an uncertain and dynamic
global business is rising significantly.
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Major Issues Faced by Amazon
13. Major Issues Faced by Amazon
Quantitative Analysis
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Table 2
Amazon´s Issues to continue growing and delivering positive results
Number Issue Severity
(S)
Occurrence
(O)
Awareness
(A)
Issue Relevance
(S x O x A)
1 Competition 3 3 3 27
2 Operational
Execution
3 3 3 27
3 Complexity 3 3 3 27
4 Financial Projection
Accuracy
2 3 3 18
5 Compliance 3 2 3 18
6 Employees Motivation 3 2 3 18
7 Commoditization 2 2 2 8
8 Leadership Turnover 3 2 3 18
9 Retain and expand
network of sellers
3 2 3 18
10 Adoption rates of
Internet usage
3 1 3 9
11 Mix of Products and
Services
1 2 3 6
12 Lack of innovation 3 1 3 9
This table depicts the list of issues faced by Amazon using a comprehensive analytical approach
and adds three quantitative factors to measure them, using problem severity (S) to Amazon´s
financial results, the probability of occurrence (O), and Amazon´s awareness (A) to prevent
issues’ effect.
Table 4
Note: Source Operational Plan for Amazon (2016).
14. Major Issues Faced by Amazon (cont.)
Quantitative Analysis
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Table 2 (cont.)
Amazon´s Issues to continue growing and delivering positive results
Number Issue Severity
(S)
Occurrence
(O)
Awareness
(A)
Issue Relevance
(S x O x A)
11 Mix of Products and
Services
1 2 3 6
12 Lack of innovation 3 1 3 9
13 Fuel and gasoline
price increase
affecting total landed
cost for the customers
2 3 3 18
14 Spyware, viruses,
phishing, and other
spam e-mails
3 3 2 18
15 Terrorist Attacks and
armed hostilities
3 2 2 12
Note: Each factor is measured in the three levels, 1=Low, 2=Medium, and 3=High. Evaluation is
supported on organization specific, industry, and peer-reviewed references paired with author’s
assessment. The importance of the issue comes from multiplying severity times occurrence times
awareness, and it is used to identify what the biggest issues are to propose strategies and actions to
resolve them.
Table 4 (cont.)
15. III. Recommendations
Optimizing Amazon´ operating system is
vital for its present and future as the
realization of industry growth relies on
resolving these issues efficiently
16. Pillars of Amazon´s Operations’
Improvement Plan
Amazon’s generic corporate strategy, concentric diversification, has allowed the
company (1) creating value to their customers by using their technology expertise;
this is Amazon’s main lever to create scale-economy and distribute the substantial
investment in IT solutions (fixed cost) competitively, and (2) achieving the highest
value to their customer base. However, for this results to continue, Amazon needs to
update their strategy to resolve the identified critical issues efficiently (competition,
complexity, and execution).
Considering the deepness and relevancy of the proposals, they involve the
participation of the company as a whole and touch five areas where further
improvement is required (see Tables 5, 6 and 7) :
a) Strategy
b) Organizational Structure Behavior Practices
c) Project Management
d) Leadership Behaviors
e) Control Systems & Key Performance Indicators to measure the progress
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17. #1 Beat Competition
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Table 5
Amazon´s Operations Management Optimization Plan
Issue Proposed Solution Level of Strategic Change
and Function Responsible
for Execution 3
Estimated
Implementation Times
(Months)
Competition
1. Increase capital allocation
to R&D activities, raising
the 35% up to 40%.
2. Implement more advanced
technology solutions to
track its customers’
consumer patterns more
accurately.
3. Introduce a robust training
to their critical leadership
team to develop global
mindset,
4. Hire the services of
professional consultants in
global trading to penetrate
new markets with less
taxation and better fiscal
incentives.
1. Level 1, Amazon’ CEO and
Board decision and
execution.
2. Level 1, Amazon’ CEO and
Board decision and
execution.
3. Level 2, Amazon’ Chief
Operations Officer decision,
Divisional Operations
Directors and HHRR
Leaders execution.
4. Level 2, Amazon’ Chief
Operations Officer decision,
Divisional Operations
Directors and HHRR
Leaders execution.
1. Next Budget 2017-2018: 12
months.
2. Technology solution
identification: three
months; evaluation: three
months, implementation
six months (12 months
total)
3. Training material
selection: three months;
trainers certification; two
months; training and
assessment effectiveness:
seven months (12 months
total).
4. Consultants’ choice: one
month; financial strategy
definition: three months;
strategy execution: eight
months (12 months total).
Note: Source Operational Plan for Amazon (2016).
18. #2 Minimize Complexity
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Table 6
Amazon´s Operations Management Optimization Plan
Issue Proposed Solution Level of Strategic Change
and Function Responsible
for Execution 3
Estimated
Implementation Times
(Months)
Operational
Execution
1. Implement Lean Enterprise
Principles across all the
organization to eliminate
waste (e.g., motion,
transportation, inventory,
defects, reworks,
overproduction, and
space).
2. Implement an operational’
balanced scorecard focused
on monitoring actively
cycle time of core
processes (e.g., receiving,
shipment preparation,
labeling and packaging,
shipping, invoicing, etc.).
The focus is to minimize
cycle times of every step in
the process, and even
eliminate as many steps as
possible to make the
process flow continuous
and the inventory the
lowest.
1. Level 1, Amazon’ CEO
decision, execution relies on
the entire leadership team
(all functions included).
2. Level 2, Amazon’ Chief
Operations Officer decision,
execution depends on
Divisional Operations
Directors and Managers.
1. Next Budget 2017-2018:12
months.
2. Balanced Scorecard
definition and agreement
with all operational team:
six months; depletion of the
dashboard and monitoring
tool solution
implementation for real-
time tracking of KPI (Key
Performance Indicators): six
months, (12 months total).
Note: Source Operational Plan for Amazon (2016).
19. #3 Optimize Operational Execution
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Table 7
Amazon´s Operations Management Optimization Plan
Issue Proposed Solution Level of Strategic Change
and Function Responsible
for Execution 3
Estimated
Implementation Times
(Months)
Complexity
1. Apply Gartner’s survey to
Amazon’ customers to
identify the areas where
Amazon value proposition
is perceived complex.
2. Rethink Amazon’ global
footprint allowing simpler
segmentation by products
type. Consider reducing
the 35 departments to 20
(e.g., grouping clothing
with sports and outdoors).
3. Further enhance IT
(Information Technology)
solutions implementing
more advanced to make
sellers’ and customers’
transactions more efficient
(consider expanding Big
Data existing
infrastructure).
1. Level 2, Amazon’ Sales,
Business Development and
Marketing Director(s)’
decision, execution relies on
the entire customer service
department.
2. Level 2, Amazon’ Chief
Operations Officer decision,
execution depends on
Divisional Operations
Directors and Managers
(mostly those in the
fulfillment centers).
3. Level 2, Amazon’ Chief
Information Technology
Officer decision, execution
depends on Divisional IT
Directors and Managers.
1. Survey design and
customization: three
months; implementation
three months; results
analysis and action plans
definition: three months
(nine months total).
2. Global footprint analysis
accompanied with
quantitative and qualitative
assessment matrix: three
months; changes definition
and execution: 12 months,
(15 months total).
3. IT accompaniments
definition and assessment:
three months;
implementation in a pilot
operation: nine months;
and global deployment: 12
months (24 months).
Note: Source Operational Plan for Amazon (2016).
20. Organizational Structure and Leadership
Behavior Practices Improvement
Final Comments
• Amazon’s senior leaders should learn how to create a learning organization and
understand this is a core responsibility as company success will rely severely on creating
this solution to allow each employee to learn new processes, methods, use of information
technology tools, etc.
• Further, Amazon´s leaders should design an adapting organization that responds
efficiently (i.e., fast and coherently) to its market’ demands. Amazon is a global brand, with a
decentralized management who soon realized that growing from inside, developing their
own talent, financing with their own capital sources, and deploying one of the most
admirable innovative capacity, has created a successful and inspiring ecommerce
conglomerate.
• Amazon should seriously consider using the concept of transformational leadership, as
this should accelerate the “connection between the organization’s philosophy and shared
values, and embeds those values in organizational rules and actions in order to
communicate meaning and inspire followers” (Bennis & Nanus, 1985, p. 58). Amazon
should update its hiring profiles for senior positions to embrace a strict (non-negotiable) set
of leadership traits including critical reflective skills. Critical thinking should be a key
requirement to Amazon’ leaders, as it will improve their recognition abilities, getting to the
point, using their analytical skills to perform better evaluations of reality, eliminating biases
or at least, consciously reducing them, improving their alternatives searching, finding viable
approaches to improve their metrics, behaviors and the entire organization. Amazon can
leverage critical reflective skills to lead their employees in the process to improve ethical
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21. Project Management and Key
Performance Indicators
Final Comments
• Amazon’ key performance indicators (i.e., sales growth and free cash-flow per share)
depend on a mix of variables, some of them are internally controlled (e.g., quality and
delivery execution, cost of goods sold, employee satisfaction, social value creation, etc.),
some are induced (political stability, inflation and exchange rates, converging or diverging
technologies affecting Amazon’ value proposition.).
• Most of these variables are measured by Amazon in in a weekly dashboard; however, it is
highly recommended for Amazon to evolve this rather reactive performance management to
implement Hoshin-Kanri (HK), a Japanese tool to deploy strategy efficiently. This
recommendation is supported on the possibility HK opens for companies immersed in (a)
global footprints, (b) conflicting and several priorities, (c) uncertainty and insufficient
information to make decisions, (d) high risk of making superficial analysis on core metrics
and projects because the lack of resources (time, people, talent, tools, etc.); to deploy their
strategy efficiently, i.e. getting the objectives, resources, timing, execution responsible
people, performance metrics –dependent (bottom-line metrics) and independent (preventive
metrics), etc. defined and implemented efficiently.
• Last, it is recommended Amazon certifies their Divisional Directors and project executers in
the Project Management Institute methodology (PMI), and agree to document all projects
using the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) to prevent
failures on execution and value realization from these projects.
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22. References
Amazon Annual Report (2015). Retrieve from http://www.amazon.com/
Bennis, W. G., & Nanus, B. (1985). Leaders: the strategies for taking charge. Los Angeles, CA:
Harper & Row
Bossidy, L., & Charan, R, (2002). Execution: The discipline of getting things done. New York, NY:
Crown Business.
Chakravarthy, B. (2007). A new strategy framework from coping with turbulence. New York, NY:
Sloan.
Coates, K. (2013). Social dumping does not work. Financial World, 4(2), 19-25.
Cooper, H. M. (2015). Organizing knowledge synthesis: A taxonomy of literature reviews. Knowledge
in Society, 1, 104-126.
Cook, J. (2016). Amazon.com dubbed a corporate scrooge by hometown newspaper. Retrieve from
http://www.geekwire.com/2016/amazoncom-dubbed-corporate-scrooge-hometown-newspaper/
Mason, R. (2007). The external environment’s effect on management and strategy. A complexity
theory approach. Management Decision, 45(1), 10-28.
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23. References (cont.)
McKenzie, C., & James, K. (2004). Aesthetic as an aid to understanding complex systems and
decision judgment in operating complex systems. Emergence: Complexity & Organizations, 6(1-
2), 32-39.
OECD (2010). Enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs through innovation. Paper presented at the
Conference for Ministers responsible for SMEs and Industry, Bologna, Italy.
Rahman, N. M. (2012). The effective implementation of global supply chain management in small to
medium-sized companies in Malaysia: an empirical study. International Journal of Management,
29(3), 274-287.
Rosales, V., Juárez, A., Millán, J., & Matovic, V. (2016). Business Models. Journal of Management,
1(3), 1-42.
Sheriff, K. (2016). An adaptive strategy for managing knowledge in organizations. Journal of
Knowledge Management, 10(4), 72-80.
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Editor's Notes
APA 6th Edition is used on this presentation for properly formatting of in-text citation and the references.
Amazon brings the opportunity to analyze one of the most startling companies of the present time and the challenge to propose viable solutions to improve further their incredible revenues and profits growth rate.
Amazon stands out among hundreds of companies (even in the same industry) not only for the apparent simplicity of its business model (commerce and merchandising through the Internet) but for reshaping consumers’ purchasing preferences and moving an entire industry into a new platform, e-commerce.
Amazon’s financial success depends severely on its ability to deliver quality products, at the lowest landed cost, and as rapidly as possible (Rosales, et al., 2016). Therefore, Amazon´s must monitor closely at minimum five strategic critical success factors (CSF), (1) effective global leadership, (2) scale economies, (3) positive cash flow, (4) innovation –supported in an efficient research and development (R&D) department to pair the speed of expected service efficiencies without reducing value to customer through customization, and (5) knowledge generation, sharing and application (Sheriff, 2016).
Amazon’ business model success relies extensively on achieving the lowest possible prices. And these are some of the tactical actions defined and executed by Amazon to realize this objective:
Amazon prime members
Customers can avoid state sales tax
Free shipping offers
Small companies and individual sellers
Selling Kindle at a deficit
Amazon’s Price Check App
The biggest correlations to maximize strengths, minimize weaknesses, realize opportunities, and reduce the risk of the threats are those depending on leadership effectiveness.
Rating is done using 1 for low, 2 for medium, and 3 for high correlation between Critical Success Factor and SWOT element. The higher the number, the stronger the association (i.e., dependency between critical success factor and SWOT is more robust).
There are several pressures to Amazon continued success, among the most relevant, (1) fierce competition. Amazon competes in six industries (i.e., retail, e-commerce services, digital content, electronic devices, and web and infrastructure computing services) each of them fighting vigorously to increase their market share and value. Companies in these industries are getting more diversified, specialized and competitive (Rosales et al., 2016), and they push strongly to combine businesses and develop global alliances to strengthen their barriers to entry, and reduce supplier and buyer power, barriers to exit and substitutes (i.e., retail stores, sales by catalog, and rental services). Internet is how Amazon approaches and interacts with its customers, offers low entry barrier levels whose coped with the speed companies are grouping to get better-positioned increase exponentially its competition. These five giants’ online retailers are Amazon’ biggest competitors: Overstock.com, Target.com, Walmart.com and eBay.com (companies from the United States), and Alibaba (from China) (Rosales et al., 2016). (2) Operational execution, because of the fast execution pace (growing total sales between 20% and 25% year over year) and aggressive timing of Amazon´s expansion plans –geographic regions, products, services, and technologies, (Amazon Annual Report, 2015), operational system becomes vital to Amazon. Furthermore, operational system is supported vastly on leadership skills and information technology solutions will be challenged mercilessly. (3) Complexity. Complexity to manage resources efficiently in an uncertain and dynamic global business is rising significantly. Amazon will need to continue adapting their organizational structure (in all functions and roles) to remain competitive and appealing to the market. This organizational upgrading implies upgrading their employees’ skills to cope with the complexity induced by a bigger, faster and more demanding market. (4) Ability to project accurately financial and operational results. Internal financial controls need simplification, agility, and precision to pair with the growing governmental regulations to report financial performance, exposures and liabilities (Rahman, 2012). (5) Compliance. Legal compliance including labor, financial, intellectual property, antitrust, anticorruption, and environmental regulations are getting severer (Rahman, 2012). Amazon operates in local, regional and international markets, and needs to update the legal frame (and leadership skills) to muddle through such law and regulations convolution without increasing its liability and cost. (6) Employees motivation. Amazon requires dependable teams, inspired, focused and efficient, able to learn fast and apply this knowledge to define new processes and methods that yield higher operational efficiencies. Incentive programs, career paths, compensation, long-term employment, etc. must be supported with proficient systems and tools that make employees’ job productive and pleasant. (7) Growing commoditization, Amazon´s ability to differentiate its products and services to compete efficiently in the six industries they do business with (described above), is difficult as most of them are commodities with lower life-cycles and changing rapidly, consequently, Amazon´s competitive advantage relies extensively on the intangible ability to delight customers with uncompromised quality, timely delivery, and unparalleled purchasing experience.
(1) Competition: Companies in these industries are getting more diversified, specialized and competitive (Rosales et al., 2016), and they push strongly to combine businesses and develop global alliances to strengthen their barriers to entry, and reduce supplier and buyer power, barriers to exit and substitutes (i.e., retail stores, sales by catalog, and rental services). Internet is how Amazon approaches and interacts with its customers, offers low entry barrier levels whose coped with the speed companies are grouping to get better-positioned increase exponentially its competition. These five giants’ online retailers are Amazon’ biggest competitors: Overstock.com, Target.com, Walmart.com and eBay.com (companies from the United States), and Alibaba (from China) (Rosales et al., 2016).
(2) Operational Execution: Furthermore, operational system is supported vastly on leadership skills and information technology solutions will be challenged mercilessly.
(3) Complexity:
Based on above results, the most critical issues based on its relevancy to Amazon´s financial performance are (1) Competition, (2) Operational Execution, and (3) Complexity. This presentation depicts the strategies to resolve efficiently these issues to prevent damaging Amazon’ reputation, reducing its speed of growth, or affecting its operating results negatively. Furthermore, aligning Amazon´s current operating system to growth rate expectations is crucial to ensure Amazon’s continued financial success.
Generic Extrinsic Root Cause1
Globalization is the primary source of increased competition. Globalization is the inner force of the capitalism system to maximize profits. Hence it depends on the means used to determine if its effect will be positive or not. The most direct symptom of globalization is the race to the bottom line that companies follow (i.e. profits, measured typically by Operating Profit Before Interest and Taxes (OPBIT), Earnings Before Interest Taxes (EBIT), Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA), and Return on Investment (ROI)) doing everything to minimize costs (e.g., labor, materials, and overhead) and maximize profits.
Generic Intrinsic Root Cause2
Amazon has decided to compete in the Ecommerce industry which is characterized by the low entry barriers (Cook, 2016). In a competitive market, sales go to the competitor who offers the lowest price. Consequently, prices tend toward the level of the lowest cost producer, and when this tendency lowers the price of goods and services through the improved efficiency touted by the advocates of free-market forces, the effect is benign, but when corporations and governments lower the cost by reducing environmental protection, wages, salaries, health care, and education (Coates, 2013).
Note: 1 States the source creating the effect/issue outside of Amazon, in other words, how Amazon is affected by external factors out of its control. 2 Refers to the source creating the effect/issue within Amazon, in other words, how Amazon is contributing to the problem. 3 Denotes the level of Amazon´ strategy where the proposed solution is required, three levels are acknowledged, this highest, when strategy determines direction for the entire organization (e.g., vision, mission, values, principles, code of conduct, etc.), the next level discusses the business decisions required to improve company’ results (e.g., new products, new divisions, new markets, etc.); and the last level discusses the changes at operational level (e.g., equipment, process, method, tools, procedures, etc.).
Generic Extrinsic Root Cause1
Complexity is defined as the “measure of heterogeneity or diversity in internal and environmental factors such as departments, customers, suppliers, socio-politics and technology” (Mason, 2007, p. 45). Complexity derives from the augmented number of elements at a micro-level in a multifaceted system affecting “embryonic behavior and overall outcome at the macro-level” (McKenzie & James, 2004, p. 35).
Generic Intrinsic Root Cause2
Amazon’ complexity derives from its business mode –ecommerce 24x7 365 days per year (never stop servicing customers globally), size – more than $107 billion dollars, and the number of products and services offered to the market –more than 200 million (Amazon Annual Report, 2015). As the complexity of system upsurges, the capability to comprehend and utilize information to design and forecast the future becomes more challenging. Over time, the cumulative complexity leads to more change within the system (Chakravarthy, 2007). As the system becomes more complex, making sense of it becomes more challenging and adaptation to the changing setting becomes more difficult (Mason, 2007).
Note: 1 States the source creating the effect/issue outside of Amazon, in other words, how Amazon is affected by external factors out of its control. 2 Refers to the source creating the effect/issue within Amazon, in other words, how Amazon is contributing to the problem. 3 Denotes the level of Amazon´ strategy where the proposed solution is required, three levels are acknowledged, this highest, when strategy determines direction for the entire organization (e.g., vision, mission, values, principles, code of conduct, etc.), the next level discusses the business decisions required to improve company’ results (e.g., new products, new divisions, new markets, etc.); and the last level discusses the changes at operational level (e.g., equipment, process, method, tools, procedures, etc.).
Generic Extrinsic Root Cause1
According to Cooper, almost 90% of firms bankruptcies are related to leadership errors (2015). He classified the causes of failure in 12 types, (1) poor industry knowledge, (2) insufficient financing experience, (3) weak cash flow, (4) inadequate or insufficient business planning, (5) leadership ineptitude, (6) reduced competition knowledge, (7) impractical goals, and objectives, (8) weakening customer base, (9) inorganic growth, (10) unsuitable location, (11) weak management control, and (12) absence of entrepreneurial abilities –astonishing results because more than 51% of businesses’ proprietors have a college degree according to the data published by the OECD (2010).
Generic Intrinsic Root Cause2
Amazon’s aggressive growth plan is probably the most relevant internal factor affecting negatively its operational execution, leaving unhappy customers and creating financial exposures (lawsuits, excess inventory, etc.). Inorganic growth is affecting Amazon’ ability to remain effective in the new scale of activities. Incompetence by some operational leaders (e.g., stress on resources and time, arrogance, emotive pricing decisions, lack of experience of market dynamics, weak preparation, absence of financial know-how), instable management (e.g., growing too fast, incorrect borrowing policies –if any, insufficient credit granting practices), lack of leadership experience (e.g., short-term vision and commitment, lack of supply chain management practices), and last, leadership’ negligence, scam and calamity.
Note: 1 States the source creating the effect/issue outside of Amazon, in other words, how Amazon is affected by external factors out of its control. 2 Refers to the source creating the effect/issue within Amazon, in other words, how Amazon is contributing to the problem. 3 Denotes the level of Amazon´ strategy where the proposed solution is required, three levels are acknowledged, this highest, when strategy determines direction for the entire organization (e.g., vision, mission, values, principles, code of conduct, etc.), the next level discusses the business decisions required to improve company’ results (e.g., new products, new divisions, new markets, etc.); and the last level discusses the changes at operational level (e.g., equipment, process, method, tools, procedures, etc.).
From 2014 to date, Amazon has received an increased number of complaints about unethical practices (Cook, 2016). It seems imperative for Amazon to review their senior leaders’ compensation plans, and incentive programs to include the ethical responsibility dimension.
According to Bennis and Nanus (1985), critical reflective process can trigger transforming learning as it represent a viable and effective method for the leader to evolve from value-conservation to value-creation, and promoting critical thinking.
HK is a filter itself to ensure most common mistakes on project execution are prevented as HK appoints specific team members to own the process of defining, measuring, analyzing, implementing, and controlling the projects, an end-to-end process (Bossidy & Charan, 2002). HK is narrowed and specific, and Amazon could benefit from it to ensure the nearly 1,450 projects for 2016-2017 are prioritized, staffed, planned and executed timely and with the quality required to achieve sales and free cash-flow per share growth.
According to Bennis and Nanus (1985), critical reflective process can trigger transforming learning as it represent a viable and effective method for the leader to evolve from value-conservation to value-creation, and promoting critical thinking.