Paper Example on Amazon: US E-Commerce Giant Pioneered by Jeff Bezos

Introduction

Amazon.com, Inc is a US multinational company with its headquarters in Seattle. The company is in the e-commerce industry, dealing in digital streaming, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (Gupta, 2020). Jeff Bezos, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, established the company on July 5, 1994, in Bellevue, Washington, as an online platform for selling and purchasing books (Gupta, 2020). However, in 1997, the company went public and expanded to accommodate other products such as electronics, video games, software, jewelry, toys, apparel, food, and furniture (Majed et al., 2018). Moreover, in 2002, the organization established the Amazon Web Services that availed statistical data on internet traffic patterns and website popularity for developers and marketers (Majed et al., 2018). It operates in an industry dominated by technological and marketing giants such as Alibaba Group, eBay Inc, Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc, Walmart Inc, among others, which give it a significant competition (Gupta, 2020). Further, Amazon.com Inc has a significant operational income of $14.541 million and enjoys stability in the market with substantial revenue of approximately $280.522 million as of 2019 (Gupta, 2020). Amazon’s subsidiaries like A9.com, Amazon Logistics, Amazon Air, Twitch, Goodreads, Kuiper Systems, ComiXology, IMDb, Amazon Games, among others, have enabled it to penetrate the market and increase its competitiveness and market shares. Today, Amazon is the second-largest private employer in America, with more than 820 400 employees not only in the US but also around the world (Majed et al., 2018). Despite its consistent success, the legislators’ interest in Amazon’s possible violation of anti-trust laws endangers its progressive sustainability in the market since it resulted in tarnished reputation, reduced sales, and loss of customers (Majed et al., 2018). Therefore, the company must innovate viable strategies to uplift its public image, increase its profitability, and influence the political process to remain afloat in the market.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Recommendations

Business Project Team

Amazon should continue investing in its internal resources by employing highly trained personnel to manage all aspects of organizational development. Internal resources encompass the skills, abilities, and practices within an organization that helps it to effectively meet the stipulated goals and objectives (Galloway, 2017). The personnel that organizations recruit and employ aid in streamlining the company and enabling it to deliver quality goods and services that meet the consumers’ preferences and needs. It helps in protecting the company’s image from detrimental and tarnishing conduct (Galloway, 2017). For instance, Amazon has actively invested in its employees to ensure they have adequate skills, abilities, and professional practices that can facilitate the delivery of services to both buyers and sellers (Galloway, 2017). The decision not only guarantees a high satisfaction rate between the two stakeholders but also ensures it has a pleasant and welcoming image that could quickly propel its expansion in the future.

While currently, the company faces active threat from the anti-trust scrutiny, it can utilize its current internal resources like the highly experienced employees to improve its image to the consumers and gunner definite attraction from the American populace (Majed et al., 2018). For instance, with more than 820,400 employees not only in the US but also around the world, the company can encourage its employees to depict Amazon as a caring, responsible, and favorite employer, and the negative impacts that the current anti-trust would have on the company’s image (Majed et al., 2018). With a broad financial base, the company can offer tokens or increase the wages of the employees to positively portray the company that may change the legislators’ perception and abandons the anti-trust investigation (Majed et al., 2018). Moreover, such publication also makes Amazon attract new customers and increase its revenue that will facilitate growth. Therefore, Amazon should engage its employees to propel its expansion and advocate against the anti-trust scrutiny.

The company should continue to increase its investment in the legal department, which deals with various legal and legislative issues. For instance, it has a qualified and separate legal team that enables it to operate within the legal boundaries without violating any laws (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018). The company has approximately 400 lawyers in more than 15 countries across the globe, which advocate and protects its interests in different jurisdictions (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018). With a transparent, determined, and competent general counsel, David Zapolsky, the company today tackles even the complex aviation laws that cover its drone programs (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018). Moreover, due to its multinational expansion, the company trades in different jurisdictions guided by various decrees, which, when violated, may result in negative repercussions such as massive fines or business bans in some countries (Galloway, 2017). The legal team actively works to assess and advise the concerned authority on the gravity of the anti-trust investigation and explore any vulnerabilities that the government’s legislators may use to corner the company (Galloway, 2017). Hence, it can increase its investment in the legal team.

Amazon can use the highly experienced legal team to defend it against the government’s pursuit of anti-trust scrutiny against the company. Through analytically and cunningly navigating through the corporate laws, the lawyers could efficiently utilize the justice system to prevent the government from suppressing, threatening, and extorting the company (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018). Since the US legislators often utilize the executive powers to prompt the decision, the lawyers can use the justice system to highlight or expose the government’s violation. Pressuring its lawyers to pursue this strategy will help it dodge the unpredictable outcome of the anti-trust scrutiny that the legislators are currently seeking (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018). Therefore, without wasting any other internal resources, the 400 lawyers and more than 800 employees in its legal department can find a suitable strategy that would benefit Amazon during the crisis of legislators’ anti-trust investigation (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018).

Moreover, the company also has a highly experienced Board of Directors, which comprises of former business managers and associates of other successful organizations across the nation that can successfully guide the company past the threat that the government official poses with their anti-trust inquiries (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018). The Board of Directors is an essential and exclusive part of the internal resource that has massive influence in both internal operations and external depiction of the company (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018). Amazon can utilize its influential Board of Directors to steer it forward during tough times when the company is taking pressure from looming investigations from the legislators. While many outside politicians view the company to violate anti-trust laws by blocking other competitors from acquiring substantial market share, its Board of Directors can prevent such allegations from crippling the company by steering it through the turbulence to appease the shareholders (Onyusheva & Seenalasataporn, 2018).

The company can engage its Board of Directors with annual retreats, celebrating a professional accomplishment, and hosting out-of-work parties to empower the Board of Directors to facilitate the interest of the company (Galloway, 2017). As the company adopts rampant innovations in different sectors of the economy, the Board of Directors plays a significant role in enabling such decisions and spearheading the company towards the correct direction, which would guarantee massive returns and benefits to different stakeholders and shareholders (Galloway, 2017). Despite facing threats from external forces, engaging the Board of Directors, and inspiring them remains a critical part and element to facilitate the accomplishment of the company’s interests (Galloway, 2017). Therefore, Amazon should prompt annual treats to its board to enable it to commit itself not only to save the company from the negative impact of the anti-trust investigations but also to promote stable progress and advancement.

Consequently, top leadership is vital for an organization when facing external threats that a company cannot stop but only manage its impact on the organization. Amazon has such a reliable and robust leadership that has seen it pass through previous threats like the current anti-trust scrutiny. The tough, smart, determined, and business mogul, Jeff Bezos, the founder, and Chief Executive Officer of Amazon, is an experienced individual who will defend Amazon and guarantee its continued operations and steady growth (Galloway, 2017). Despite being the founder, the management must support the Chief Executive Officer of Amazon to ensure he remains reliable and competent to defend the organization during the current threat that the anti-trust scrutiny poses. The management can engage the Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey Bezos through substantial remuneration, training, advancements, and giving respect and allowing autonomy in leadership to impact his to work in the best interest of the organization (Galloway, 2017). While the Chief Executive Officer is the highest management officer in the daily operations of the company, he understands the vulnerability and strength of the organization, which the anti-trust politicians and legislators can utilize to exploit and extort Amazon (Galloway, 2017). Encouraging and supporting the CEO without contradicting his leadership decisions will empower him to make the best choices that elevate the company into a high level of profitability, efficiency, and revenue remission (Galloway, 2017). Therefore, the company has adequately qualified human-based resources and financial capability that it must utilize during its tough moments to address the threat that the scrutiny may pose to Amazon.

Communication

Effective communication is an essential element in boosting the company’s image. Corporate image or company reputation describes and determines how the general public perceives the activities, manners, products, and services an organization offers (Kim et al., 2017). Whether local, national, or multinational, organizations strive to establish a positive and exclusive image to their consumers, financial communities, shareholders, and the general public (Kim et al., 2017). Negative corporate image consequently attracts detrimental repercussions such as increased employee turnover, reduced stock value, decreased sales, and poor relationships with various stakeholders like the government or suppliers (Kim et al., 2017). Amazon has strived to maintain a high and positive brand image among its customers, shareholders, and employees (Kim, 2019). Currently, Amazon’s image is under threat as both European and US legislators resorted to conducting anti-trust scrutiny on Amazon (Kim, 2019). The legislators have publicly alleged that Amazon uses its influence in the market to oppress its competitors while, on the other hand subjecting its employees to adverse working conditions (Kim, 2019). Despite such accusations giving legislators motive to proceed with its investigation against the company, they taint the strong reputation the company has struggled to forge and gain the trust, respect, and admiration of its consumers (Kim, 201...