Instructions For this essay, use the same company you previously used, and analyze how the company has implemented a corporate strategy or a future policy rollout. Consider strategy development, and t

Running head: CORPORATE STRATEGIES AT AMAZON

Corporate Strategies at Amazon

George Landry

Columbia Southern University

Part A

In simple terms, a functional strategy is defined as the executive plans organized for multiple functional fields of the structure of an organization. A company’s functional strategy is modified to a particular industry and is utilized to support other business and corporate strategies (Rossman, 2017). The functional strategy of Amazon enables the business to view the management decisions as precise to a functional area of the company, such as public relations, marketing, finance, human resource, and information administration. Amazon ensures that resources and employees are assigned tasks that best costume their interests and skills. Amazon has emerged as a leader in the e-commerce platform due to its functional strategy. Amazon ensures that employees are selected and hired on the basis of their qualification and expertise, thereafter; the employees are assigned tasks based on their skills and interests. The fact that Amazon is a big company has made it easy to overcome the detriments that come with the functional strategy (Rossman, 2017).

Part B

Stability strategy is implemented when a firm endeavor to uphold its present position and centers solely on the incremental developments by simply adjusting a single or more of its business operations within the perspective of technology options, groups of customers and functions of customers either collectively or individually (Waśniewski, 2017). Amazon has made significant efforts each financial year with the aim of implementing a stability strategy. Stability strategy has enabled Amazon to counter the current competition in the global economy. Amazon, however, has focused much on the profit strategy as it aims at expanding its operations in the global market. The management of Amazon always provides efficient customer services through advancing production technology, for instance, the use of drones. The management of Amazon also ensures that the products are priced fairly as this is the best way of ensuring stability (Waśniewski, 2017).

There are a number of advantages that Amazon is likely to have with the implementation of a stability strategy. First, the company will run successfully and it will achieve its objectives due to suitable performance. Secondly, Amazon will avoid additional risks that might affect its operations. Third, Amazon’s operations will not be affected in any way (Majed, Nuraddin & Hama, 2018).

Despite the advantages, stability strategy has various disadvantages (Chae-Bogk Kim & Park, Sung-Min, 2016). First, it inhibits expansion and growth in the organization. Secondly, it hinders response to opportunities hence jeopardizing the organizational operations. Third, it leads to poor customer satisfaction as the business doesn’t adopt any measures to make changes in production technology. Moreover, stability strategy demoralizes the employees as it doesn’t provide opportunities for growth and development.

Part C

Amazon has embraced the cooperative strategy through strategic alliances with other firms. Jeff Benzos clearly knows that one has to join those he/she can’t beat (Bernstein, 2015). Amazon has cooperated with third-party sellers to its e-commerce system to ensure that there is efficiency in its operations. Amazon believes that efficiency is achieved through the sharing of resources with competitors and this guarantees noteworthy profits.

On the competitive strategy, Amazon always endeavors to beat its competitors in the global market. Through the implementation and adoption of competitive strategy, Amazon has emerged as a market leader. Amazon ensures that it provides quality goods and services that beat those of the competitors. Additionally, Amazon prices its products fairly as it knows that fair prices are the main competitive tool. Amazon also ensures that there is the availability of products through its extensive line of products. Another competitive tool that Amazon has is an efficient logistics and supply chain (Majed, Nuraddin & Hama, 2018).

Part 4

The main focus of the growth strategies is to expand the operations of the organization either internally or eternally. Amazon would face various advantages and disadvantages due to the adoption of internal or external growth strategies. The pros of internal growth include the provision of competitive advantage, easy to fit with the current business operations, can finance gradually out of returned earnings, and can easily be canceled in case of the plan results into losses (Waśniewski, 2017). The cons linked with the internal growth include taking off more time in developing a new concept or product, can be hard to convince new managers to attempt something new, can possibly ignore the utilization of money with a better return and can possibly result into a favored program taking time away from the existing business. External growth has various pros which include quick growth, leads to better distribution channels, overcomes market-entry barriers, increases the market share and leverages organizational efficiency. The cons linked with external growth include inefficient utilization of resources; inefficiency in performance, leads to overcapitalization and it is prone to many risks (Waśniewski, 2017).

Adoption of either internal or external growth all depends on the market opportunities and accumulation of revenue. However, companies that major on internal growth in their initial years of operation always emerge as market leaders. Internal growth ensures that a firm develops from the scratches and this is exactly how Amazon started. Retrenchment should only be adopted when the organization cannot survive with the current competition, or its operations have proved to be unprofitable. Organizations adopting retrenchment strategy are likely to curtail their operations in the foreseeable future especially when operating on small scale (Waśniewski, 2017).

References

Bernstein, D. (2015). Is Amazon Becoming the New Cool Software Company for Developers? IEEE Cloud Computing, 2(1), 69-71. doi: 10.1109/mcc.2015.10

Chae-Bogk Kim, & Park, Sung-Min. (2016). Case Study of Service Innovation: Furniture Amazon Company. Journal Of Korea Service Management Society, 17(5), 281-296. doi: 10.15706/jksms.2016.17.5.012

Majed, S., Nuraddin, S., & Hama, S. (2018). Analyzing Amazon success strategies. Journal Of Process Management. New Technologies, 6(4), 65-69. doi: 10.5937/jouproman6- 19264

Rossman, J. (2017). The Amazon Way: 14 Leadership Principles behind the World’s Most Disruptive Company. SDMIMD Journal Of Management, 8(1), 95. doi: 10.18311/sdmimd/2017/15723

Waśniewski, K. (2017). Corporate Strategies – The Institutional Approach. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.1635790