The financing activities section of the cash flow captures the issuance and repurchase of a companys own debt instruments such as bonds and shares. It also captures the number of dividends bought. Table 1.0 shows the investing section of the cash flow statement for 2006 and 2007.
Table 1.0.
Financing activities
2007, $ million
2008, $ million
1
Proceeds from exercises of stock options
91
35
2
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation
257
102
3
Common stock repurchased
(248)
(252)
4
Proceeds from long-term debt and other
24
98
5
Repayments of long-term debt and capital lease obligations
(74)
(383)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
50
(400)
From the table, in 2006, the net cash flow used in financing activities amounted to US$ (400) million. In 2007, cash flow generated from financing activities amounted to US$ 50 million which is an improvement from the previous year. The cash outflows from financing activities reported in 2006 resulted from repayment of long-term debt, payments on capital lease obligations, and repurchases of common stock. Repayments of long-term debt and capital lease obligations amounted to US$ 383 million. The company purchased 8 million shares in 2006 amounting to US$ 252 million. These two major cash flows contributed to the cash outflow from investing activities in 2006. The company reduced repayment of long-term debt and capital lease obligation in 2007 thus yielding cash inflow from investing activities. All other items under this section remained relatively stable apart from excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation which increased by the US $ 155 million.
Review of investing activities of Amazon for 2007
The investing activities section of the cash flow statement gives information on the acquisition and sale of long-term investments. It also captures information on the purchase and resale of property, plant, and equipment. Table 1.1 shows the investing section of the cash flow statement for 2006 and 2007.
Table 1.1.
Investing activities
2007, $ million
2008, $ million
1
Purchases of fixed assets, including internal-use software and website development
(224)
(216)
2
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired, and others
(75)
(32)
3
Sales and maturities of marketable securities and other investments
1,271
1,845
4
Purchases of marketable securities and other investments
(930)
(1,930)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities
42
(333)
From the table, in 2006, the net cash flow used in investing activities amounted to US$ (333) million. In 2007, cash flow generated from financing activities amounted to US$ 42 million, which is an improvement from the previous year. The biggest variation in the net cash flow resulted from purchases, maturities, and the sale of marketable securities. Purchase of fixed assets, including internal-use software and website development, increased by US$ 8 million from 2006 to 2007. Acquisitions increased by the US $ 43 million from 2006 to 2007. The sale and maturity of marketable securities and other investments declined by US$ 573 million from 2006 to 2007. Finally, purchases of marketable securities and other investments declined by US$ 1,000 million. This decline contributed to the cash inflow recorded in 2007. The low cash inflow generated from investing activities as a result of investment in technology infrastructure, related assets, and development of new products and features. The company also incurred costs in acquiring subsidiary companies and buying intellectual properties. In a conclusion, it is clear that the company carried out massive investments especially in 2006 hence the low cash inflows.
Regression analysis is an essential task for business intelligence in order to predict the future development of a companys operational performance based on the data already available. For this analysis, we used data from two variables, namely sales and income. Sales should be understood as the total amount of goods sold, measured in hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, depending on the companys turnover. Income, in turn, is a measure of the amount of money received during the reporting period. Income could be negative with positive sales if the company suffered significant losses on other expense items. To flesh out the analysis, this paper uses sales and income variables for Amazon from 1995 to 2011. Figure 1 shows the scatter plot as a relationship between the companys income and the number of sales. At first glance, it can be seen that starting from some position, the increase in income with increased sales was almost linear, but there is a high variance at the initial positions.
Regression analysis was applied to the current data set using a polynomial function. An indicator of the reliability of the polynomial trend was the coefficient of determination R2 the higher it is, the greater the variance of the data from the set can be covered by the constructed model. Thus, the expectedly highest coefficient of determination (R2 =.9771) was characteristic of the sixth-order polynomial trend. In this case, the multiple regression equation was determined according to Fig. 2. Notably, using the sixth-degree polynomial in the trend function creates a dip in the region of about 35 to 43 sales units, which may imply that Amazons income is projected to be negative in this sales range. This may seem counterintuitive, so it is additionally recommended to consider a fifth-order polynomial regression where the coefficient of determination is not very different from Figure 2, but no serious dip in income is created (Figure 3).
Amazon is the most widely used online marketing store worldwide, famous for its quick, efficient deliveries and a variety of goods to choose from. However, there is a suspicion the company prioritizes speed over workers safety. The former and current employees of Amazon have been complaining about the poor conditions in the company. Online marketing firms with large personnel often neglect their workers safety to reach mass production. However, a companys social responsibility towards its stakeholders is crucial in preparing its strategic plan. It secures the best interest of everyone in the organization considered. The occupational obligations make sure the business can be successful in a long-term perspective.
The story of one of the Amazon workers presents the company as a firm that does not value ethics in its strategic scheme. Allen used to proceed with an average of 600 items an hour until she injured her back during work. She claims that Amazon tried to minimize the size of harm by not sending their employee to the doctor straight away. The employers made her wait for weeks for the proper treatment (NBC Nightly News, 2018). The company has violated part 1910.151(a) of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) legislation (1998, para. 1), which says, the employer shall ensure the ready availability of medical personnel for advice and consultation on matters of plant health. Moreover, Amazon refused to pay for her sickness absence over a workers compensation claim. The unlikely chain of events left Allen in the worst-case scenario: now she is homeless and disabled because of her back injury (NBC Nightly News, 2018). The story of one worker illustrates the irresponsible behavior of the firm towards its personnel.
Furthermore, Amazon denies its fault in the incident and claims it offered medical treatment and monetary compensation. Dave Clark, Amazon senior vice president of worldwide operations, admits that the station Allen was working on the day of the incident was missing a component. He claims: When she found it and reported it, we immediately fixed it (NBC Nightly News, 2018, 2:11). He insists that employees are safe while at work, considering the number of people working at Amazon. Unfortunately, the companys explanation of the situation is questionable since it offered Allen 3,500 $ in case of her agreement not to disclose the information on her experience and to free the organization from any responsibility. Amazon had previously received the OSHA warning regarding the providence of untested medical supplies for its employees at the working centers. OSHAs representative, David Michaels, says, They made some terrible mistakes, and people were terribly hurt or treated very poorly (NBC Nightly News, 2018, 2:57). Thus, the company must take care of the worker if harm is caused by the organization and establish adequate compensation for the workers disablement.
Allens story illustrates the importance of employer responsibility towards his workers safety and health. Occupational safety is vital in achieving a companys goal as it directly affects employees behavior and performance at work (Beck-Krala & Klimkiewicz, 2016). That is why companies should make the health of their workers a top priority. Careless treatment of employees may result in severe setbacks for workers and the loss of the image of the reputable organizations such as Amazon. It is a matter of ethics to prioritize the employees well-being and consider it in strategic planning. Therefore, an effective plan in Allens case would be to ensure authorized medical care on time and the obligation to pay proper compensation in case of injury occurred because of work at the company.
To conclude, an employer must set ethics and social responsibility as a top priority when constructing a strategic plan. The safety at work and the readiness to provide the worker with timely medical treatment are part of the companys social responsibility. The effective strategy for a secure workplace environment includes immediate reaction to staffs injuries during work and providing medical care in hospitals. Additionally, it is crucial to carry out periodical check-ups of equipment.
The position is the following on Amazon Job portal. Assessing the job posting, one can say that the description provides specific skills, knowledge, and qualifications for applicants to evaluate their experience and understand whether it will match the job to be a successful candidate. At the same time, the job posting does not include any information they want to know about the organization. Culture, leadership principles, benefits, and blog stories are located on other pages that can be found on the job portal.
It can be noted that Amazon provides a very user-friendly interface for the online application process that generally requires an applicant to have only updated CV to apple for a position. Amazon job search portal also includes an opportunity to look for specific positions, filter results, and remember information that a person has already filled previously. Therefore, the application process is easy and convenient, requiring candidates to spend a short amount of time and see updates in the account.
Employer: Schneider Job portal
Description of the position (Sales Account Rep) includes:
A combination of the position and opportunities description;
Overview of tasks and activities (bullet points);
Salary, benefits, opportunities, vacation plans;
Employees qualifications and skills;
Company overview, links to videos about office culture;
Core values and vision statement;
Statement on equality and inclusivity of the workplace;
General questions (eligibility criteria, work permits);
Specific questions on education, salary, sales experience;
Attachments (certificates, diploma);
Work experience, education;
eSignature, review & submission of the application.
The position is the following on Schneider Job portal. Evaluation of the position gives an overview of the activities, tasks, and qualifications required from applicants. In comparison to Amazons posting, the description of skills and requirements for the job is a bit vague and needs further explanations. Unlike in the Amazon description, this job posting includes clear information about Schneider, its values, work culture, links to external videos, which might be appealing for candidates and helpful in the decision-making process.
Schneider uses the Taleo platform for online applications that has a user-friendly interface. Still, the application process is less appealing and time-consuming because the platform requires to fill forms correctly. If an applicant fills in the wrong type of data, the platform asks to fill the information again. Schneiders job search portal also includes an opportunity to look for specific positions and filter results. Thus, the application process is less convenient, which might be explained by the fact that it aims to automate the collection of applications.
Quality of the job portal: Indeed
Applicants view:
User-friendly platform;
Opportunity to send CV directly to employer;
Broad coverage of job positions;
Different filters to narrow search;
Disclosure of data about salary, specifics of job;
Employers view:
Easy to connect to the platform;
Opportunity to collect CV via portal;
Broad coverage of applicants;
Space to present companys information, manage reviews, etc.
Statistics and dynamics of applications available.
Comparing the quality of the job information for employers mentioned previously and Indeed website from an applicants and employers point of view, one can say that this job portal might bring a company broader reach among applicants than the comprehensive job portal of the company, which increases the chances to hire a better candidate. At the same time, it gives candidates a broader option to search for specific positions and choose the most appealing ones.
Quality of the job portal: Simplyhired
Applicants view:
User-friendly platform;
Opportunity to send CV directly to employer;
Broad coverage of job positions;
Different filters to narrow search;
Disclosure of data about salary, specifics of job;
CV-builder and other related services;
Employers view:
Easy to connect to the platform;
Opportunities for free posting;
Opportunity to collect CV via portal;
Broad coverage of applicants;
Statistics and dynamics of applications available.
Comparing the quality of the job information for employers mentioned previously and Simplyhired website, it can be noted that the site acts as Indeed website but has fewer opportunities for companies to manage their reviews, salary estimations, and overview. At the same time, Simplyhired provides better career services for applicants, including tips, CV-builder, etc.
Summary of findings for CapraTek
For using job portals:
User-friendly platforms;
Opportunity to get more applicants;
Management of companies brand image as employer;
Easy to collect and manage applications;
Against using job portals:
Greater competition of job positions;
Job posting appearance depends on search algorithms;
High number of unqualified candidates;
Redundancies in applications and spam.
Summarizing all findings, it can be concluded that CapraTek might need to advertise its jobs via job portals, in case the company needs to build the brand image as an employer and reach a broader target audience. Job search portals might be helpful if the company does not have its online application website and resources (LinkedIn) to post job opportunities. However, the number of irrelevant applications might be high and lead to redundancies for HRs. At the same time, the competition among job positions of different companies might also increase indirectly due to job portals.
Necessary qualifications for CapraTek sales representative
Technical experience: knowledge of MS Office, CRM systems (SAP, Salesforce).
Skills: 3-5 yrs of experience in computer or consumer electronics sales; consultative sales approach; track record of achieving revenue KPIs; communication and presentation skills.
Abilities: to travel to clients (50-100% of time); to build relationships with C-level clients; to negotiate and close deals.
CapraTek is looking for a regional sales representative with at least a bachelors degree with 3-5 years of experience in sales or other related fields (Robert, 2018). A person should be able to communicate with different clients and convey the value of CapraTek products. It is essential to travel to clients and have a passion for consultative sales methods (Olensky, 2015).
The physical environment and working conditions at CapraTek
Physical environment:
an open workplace, with rooms for calls and meetings;
work at places in clients company may differ;
dynamic environment with facilities full of light and air;
Working conditions:
full-time work at clients sites and the office;
an equal opportunity employer;
opportunities forflexible work schedule;
benefits (medical and tuition reimbursement, 401K retirement plan).
It is essential to balance the information about the physical environment at the office of CapraTek and the facilities of clients because they may differ substantially and influence the motivation of the sales representative to work. Nevertheless, the benefits of working at the company should be highlighted as CapraTek is an equal opportunity employer and has excellent benefits for employees that help them develop their skills (McQuerrey, n.d.)
The essential duties of a sales representative
Essential:
Visiting clients to assess needs or give presentations (40% of the time);
Generating leads (20%);
Negotiating contracts with prospective clients (20% of time);
Preparing and closing sales contracts (10% of time);
Helping to create pricing quotes, promotions (5% of time);
Preparing reports (5% of time);
Non-essential:
Support relationships with clients daily;
Maintaining client data;
Answering client questions about promotions, products, credit terms, prices and availability;
Coordinating sales efforts with marketing department.
A regional sales representative should focus mainly on generating leads, visiting clients to estimate their needs, asking questions, giving presentations of products and services, negotiating contracts, and preparing sales deals. Among non-essential but still crucial tasks is a communication of efforts and development of promotions with a marketing department, keeping clients data and records, updating clients on their questions.
Amazon has grown tremendously in the past few years and is now the largest online retailer. To retain this position, the company must be strategic in its operations. One way to do this is to be adaptable to customer needs. For instance, during the past year, many people resorted to online shopping to reduce the risk of being infected with the coronavirus (Weise and Corkery). An e-commerce company such as Amazon should be able to anticipate such customer needs and adjust its strategy appropriately. Amazon will continue to be the largest e-commerce retailer if it remains adaptable and is able to conveniently deliver what customers expect.
In July 2021, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos resigned as the companys CEO. In the past, he has been associated with unfair labor practices, including underpaying employees and providing poor working conditions. It was amid these controversies that Bezos resigned, leaving the CEO position to Andy Grassy. This was a good approach because the company suffered too much bad publicity under Bezos. Additionally, Bezos had led the company for twenty-seven years since its formation in 1994. It will be interesting to see what new strategies a new leader will employ to raise the company further.
One internal condition that Amazon needs to address is its treatment of employees. There are numerous complaints of the company treating its employees poorly and making them work in deplorable conditions. Failure to do so will increase employee turnover and possibly cause a labor shortage. In the external environment, Amazon needs to address legal issues such as compliance (Weise and Corkery). Due to its massive growth, Amazon is bound to be heavily regulated. It should ensure its operations are all within the confines of the law.
Millions of potential customers visit Amazon.com daily to search for or buy products. This means that any product listed on the site can be seen by millions of people from different regions. A thousand monthly sales through the site is enough to make a company profitable. Conversely, selling on Amazon has many disadvantages, including the possibility of fake items and an inability to control marketing (Taher, 2021). Thus, whether or not to sell on Amazon is a contentious issue for many brands, particularly emerging ones. In this context, DripIt, an upcoming mens apparel brand, is uncertain whether it should sell on Amazon. This essay outlines DripIts management decision problem (MDP), the appropriate market research problem (MRP), and the approach to solving it.
The Management Decision Problem (MDP)
Will listing Dripits products on the Amazon.com marketplace increase the companys sales and customer reach?
DripIt has gained popularity among teenagers and young adults since it started operations a few years ago. The majority of its current clientele are aged between 10 and 26 years. Many of these customers have transformed into enthusiasts are always visiting DripIt to stores to check if there are new products. This has enabled the company to add one additional physical store from the original two. The management has seen the potential of the company becoming even more popular but is worried that the growth has stagnated, especially since not many grownups relate to the brand. Indeed, DripIt has been adding a wide range of apparel that should appeal to this particular clientele, particularly for males above 25 years. However, this strategy has not worked, so DripIt is considering listing its clothes on Amazon.com to increase sales and add more customers. The company understands that this is a great opportunity since eCommerce has grown significantly in the past two years. Moreover, in 2019, a third of all internet users were between the ages of 25 and 34, with internet users in this demographic constituting the largest group of internet users globally (Johnson, 2022). Accordingly, the company considers its ambition realistic and economically viable.
As initially stated, DripIt is concerned that listing on Amazon.com might hurt its thriving business. Primarily, the management feels that selling on the eCommerce platform increases the likelihood of its apparel being counterfeited. DripIt understands that the brand has succeeded mainly because of the unique design of its clothing lines. Listing on a site with over 200 million subscribers from different parts of the world risks this competitive advantage (Howley, 2021). At the same time, selling on Amazon.com implies will require the company to play by the sites rules. This encompasses upholding their A-to-Z guarantee, how they interact with customers, and what they can and cannot sell. In other words, if DripIt wishes to market its products on Amazon, it will lose a significant level of control and independence.
Whether a product will be listed on Amazon or not is seldom a choice made completely by the business. Since Amazon is an online platform, it allows people and businesses of all kinds and sizes to sell their products. This is intentional, as Amazon executives feel that extra vendors equal more choices, which equals increased pricing competitiveness and broader options for Amazon consumers. Essentially anybody can create a merchant account in seconds and begin selling an item obtained through different reputable, dubious, or entirely illegal means. Due to this unregulated planform framework, DripIt should assume that any of its products will appear for purchase on Amazon.com with or without the companys approval.
The Market Research Problem (MRP)
DripIts market research problem is to figure out which distribution strategy is ideal for the brand to maintain lucrative control over what occurs on Amazon.com. In this case, the brand executives must choose between selling on or to Amazon.com. The focus concerns, difficulties, and product management goals will be determined by which of these pathways it selects and the distribution method it adopts in that sector. The ability of DripIt to control its brand tactics (e.g., pricing, brand content, marketing), make profits, and establish a sustainable frequency for overseeing operations on the site will be impacted by either distribution option.
Approach to Solving It
Analytical framework
Amazon is the leading platform customers use when undertaking an eCommerce search, surpassing even internet search giants like Google. Amazon currently accounts for 38.5 percent of all online transactions in the US, with third-party vendors now accounting for 60% of its online sales (Howley, 2021). These statistics illustrate the many advantages of selling products on Amazon.com.
Analytical model
Mainly, it comprises a selection of variables linked together in a particular way to represent the whole or a portion of a real-world system or process. Models may take several formats, but this research will concentrate on visual models. That is a representation of the theory graphically and pictorial with supporting explanations. This will provide a clear picture of the current market state and how it influences brand decision-making.
Research Questions
Do shoppers who frequent Amazon.com prioritize quality above price?
Are grownups being targeted by the company fashion-conscious?
Could they afford to pay more for higher-quality apparel?
Is the success of competitors such as Calvin Klein and Levis on Amazon.com tied to cost-effectiveness or brand popularity?
Is the grownup population higher than teenagers and young adults to help DripIt gain market share?
Hypothesis (H1): Grownups are not fashion-conscious, and they prefer inexpensive or reasonably-priced apparel.
Hypothesis (H2): Grownups are fashion-conscious, they are more discriminating about the sort of clothing they wear, and they prefer to spend extra for higher-quality clothing.
Specification of the Required Data
The researcher may identify what evidence should be gathered by concentrating on every element of the problem, the research questions, and the hypotheses. It is beneficial to repeat this process for every element of the problem and create a checklist detailing all data that needs to be gathered. I will seek out accessible secondary data to address every aspect of the research questions. To begin, I will utilize target demographic data for my research. There is a wealth of data available that has studied the figures in three crucial groupings; age, income, and ethnicityand questioned authorities from across the sector regarding how these factors influence fashion (Huaman-Ramirez & Merunka, 2019). The second aspect that requires clarification is: What do clients expect from online fashion brands? I will determine if the issue is cost, convenience, or quality. Ultimately, my investigation will ascertain what shoppers see in Amazon.com to make the company dominant in the sector and what DripIt can do to compete favorably. Through aggregating this information, I may have a new perspective of the customers preferences and motivations.
In general, there are main concepts that must be continuously developed and maintained for a product to have a strong base on Amazon. They include branding, distribution, pricing, product availability, and catalog selection.
Branding: What information is utilized on Amazon to explain the firms goods? Who is accountable for ensuring that the information is factual, comprehensive, and aligned with marketing activities across all other touchpoints for the product?
Distribution: Which Amazon vendors represent the product? How many of those vendors are familiar with the company and are enthusiastic about its items as anything more than a selection of widgets to resell?
Pricing: How are the companys items priced compared to the companys pricing across all touchpoints? Are there any unplanned or uncontrollable price changes? What level of control does the company over the pricing of its products?
Product Availability: How efficient is the company at keeping its items in stock, or at least adequately supplied compared to other brands targeting Amazon shoppers?
Catalog Selection: When and how will the companys new merchandise be available on Amazon? Is a specific seller in place to ascertain that a companys new merchandise is released as quickly as they are made accessible in other touchpoints?
Conclusion
The management decision problem inquires about the policymakers action plan, while the marketing research problem inquires about what evidence is necessary and how it may be collected. The research goal is to provide the data needed to make an informed choice. The management decision problem is execution-oriented, focusing on what must be accomplished. The marketing research problem, on the other hand, is evidence-oriented. The research goal is to provide the knowledge needed to make an informed choice. DripIt management must differentiate these concepts and apply them appropriately to make the best decision.
References
Huaman-Ramirez, R., & Merunka, D. (2019). Brand experience effects on brand attachment: The role of brand trust, age, and income. European Business Review, 31(5), 610-645. Web.
Taher, G. (2021). E-Commerce: Advantages and limitations.International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting Finance and Management Sciences, 11(1), 153-165. Web.
Amazon is one of the companies with a remarkable history and marketing strategy. It is one of the largest online retailers and a notable example of successful electronic commerce based on an effective marketing strategy (Hall, 2019). Amazons case can be used to illustrate that the development of a marketing information system (MIS) is vital for the organizations success.
Novikova (2015) notes that the establishment of such a system requires the determination of customers needs, the identification of the data along with the means of its protection, and the development of a structure. The development of an MIS ensures that marketing managers receive accurate clients information timely. The example of Amazon shows that the companys ability to organize information, track fraud, and analyze the consumers behavioral patterns may allow for the improved quality of services and products.
Discussion
Another significant concept related to e-commerce is customer relations management (CRM). According to Cheng and Xu (2015), it can be utilized to obtain records, such as purchasing trends and use it to provide personalized services.
For example, Amazon works with users information to create wish lists for individuals based on their purchases. Moreover, CRM allows the company to develop advertising campaigns based on the data it collects, as the technology ensures that the organization can make suggestions about the items that customers may find interesting or useful. It is necessary to note that the development of CRM, as well as the MIS, is a complex process that requires significant investment, sufficient knowledge about the market and potential customers, and training for personnel. Moreover, the consideration of the organizational and legal aspects of data collection is also vital.
eBay
eBay is one of the most popular platforms where individuals can purchase and sell items. Currently, it has more than 175 billion active buyers and more than a billion active listings (Who we are, 2019). It is evident that the company uses information about customers behavioral patterns to meet their requirements and provide them with a high-quality service. It allows eBay to remain competitive and influence the market by establishing a high standard of e-commerce.
Discussion
It is vital to describe how eBay uses analytics for its business in detail. Lopez (2016) notes that the organization utilizes machine learning and big data to perform A/B testing, improve the personalization of its services, and enhance merchandising. It allows eBay to recommend items to their customers based on their interests and purchases, as well as prevent risks for buyers and sellers, as well as to detect fraud and account take-overs.
It is necessary to mention that eBay also utilizes various software tools to work with big data. For example, Murphy (2016) reports that the company uses Hadoop, Storm, and Kafka for the data streams and repository. These tools allow eBay to access and query information and search tags related to metadata. The organizations example is notable as it shows what options other platforms may use to manage large volumes of data to accomplish their business goals.
Conclusion
In addition, eBays decision to collect users information utilizing the feedback system is crucial for the success of the company. The organization allows individuals to share their opinions on the products, pricing, and services. This feature helps customers to choose trusted sellers and avoid fraudsters. This example shows that eBays strategies of data analysis and collection help the company to develop trust-based relationships with its customers and make its performance effective.
In todays fluctuating world, all companies strive to support their employees and ensure they have credible knowledge and practical skills to compete with others by offering them training programs. AT&T, the American leader in telecommunications, media, and internet services is not an exception, as the company provides Nanodegree training. Meanwhile, Amazon, a multinational e-commerce company, focuses on multiple training programs for its staff. More extensive geographic segmentation allows Amazon to have more efficient and diverse training programs than AT&T.
The significant difference between the two companies lies in the number of offered training programs and their professional approach to them. AT&T offers only a Nanodegree program, while Amazon has many apprenticeships focusing on various aspects such as technical, mechatronics and robotics, UX research, and design. This variety is justified by the fact that the company accelerates its international sales, having more broad geographic audience than AT&T, limited in the US borders. That is why the company quickly covers 95% of the tuition fees of the Career Choice program abroad (Amazon, 2022). Moreover, many pieces of training use a gamification approach when game design elements are utilized in non-game contexts (Armstrong & Landers, 2018). For example, Amazon Technical Academy implements engaging behavioral modeling-styled training where employees relate learned concepts to real-life examples. Therefore, each of Amazons many programs has extraordinary features, such as gamification, which makes them unique.
The Nanodegree program is tightly intertwined with the STEM employees, allowing AT&T to provide essential data science, artificial intelligence, programming, and development skills. Unlike Amazons primary focus on the companys employees only, AT&T allows everyone to join its program (AT&T, 2022). Meanwhile, Amazon contributes to the skills of hired employees by involving them in a Machine Learning University, where they learn software programming quickly. Although Amazon has training programs that invite non-staff members, their number is negligible because the company is interested in promoting its workers and enhancing productivity rather than just offering training to everyone. This difference hints at the idea that Amazon wants its employees to succeed, while AT&Ts training is more inclusive.
Another differing feature of the training programs companies offer is their eagerness to accept people completing them. For example, AT&T admits that the skills obtained by their program meet only some of the entry-level jobs, accepting only 100 people as interns (AT&T, 2022). Considering that thousands of people graduate from the Nanodegree program, but only a few get hired full-time is very frustrating. In contrast, 95% of employees graduating from Amazon Technical Academy were promoted to software development engineers (Amazon, 2022). Additionally, evaluating training effectiveness through return on investments point that training returns such as task performance and competency outweigh its costs only in Amazon (Andrews & Laing, 2018). Hence, unlike Amazon, AT&T provides training but does not guarantee its success.
The similarity between the programs is their formative evaluation, assessing employees at different periods. Both companies realize that performance evaluation occasionally neglects essential episode sets emerging over time and provides an incomplete perspective (Sitzmann & Weinhardt, 2018). For example, AT&T conducts several online interviews and testing to ensure that the applicants keep up with the courses pace. Thus, AT&T and Amazon monitor their participants to improve the programs annually.
To conclude, AT&T currently provides only one training, which includes many people seeking a job, but only some get employed upon graduation. In comparison, Amazon has many programs for its employees to ensure they gain new skills to get promoted within the company. Although Amazon demonstrates significant superiority over AT&T in employee training, both companies strive to improve their productivity and advancement of the working force.
There are several important factors that have to be considered when discussing the overall success of Amazon across the retail sector. First, the company offers an extensive list of products that cover practically all categories. The company also remains client-friendly in developing personalized recommendations and generating unique offers that could appeal to existing consumers and attract new ones (Ives, Cossick and Adams, 2019). Improvements made to the companys interfaces make Amazon one of the most heavily customer-centered businesses in the world. The second important factor that has to be discussed is an incredible focus on scalability, as Amazon always tries to step away from smaller initiatives and deploy their larger alternatives. This was how cloud computing and e-commerce became the biggest sources of income for Amazon (Aurambout, Gkoumas and Ciuffo, 2019). Either way, these strategies are important because they contribute to a thorough exploration of online retail and its inherent capacity.
On the other hand, the industrial distribution could be noted as one of the key elements of enhanced marketing strategies applied at Amazon. Various affiliations push the company forward and make it safe to say that customer targeting is an exceptional strength that has to be exploited by the organization. As noted by Baker (2014), online marketing channels bring the most conversions, so Amazon continues to target customers on social media and different websites. Being the largest e-commerce retailer, Amazon also has the opportunity to showcase how it carries out its responsibilities and promotes sustainability. With millions of products and thousands of third-party partners, the company shaped itself into a large platform where sustainable choices have to be made to appeal to consumers (Ives, Cossick and Adams, 2019). Overall, it shows how the focus on collaboration brings out the best in all parties involved.
Path to Sustainability
Another important topic is the existence of sustainable decision-making and how the latter is applied by Amazon. The bottom line for retail businesses is that a set of perfect standards has to be developed to ensure a safe workplace and display respect for human rights (Aurambout, Gkoumas and Ciuffo, 2019). Amazon carefully approaches sustainability in order to enhance the organizations supply chain and make sure that strict compliance brings new competitive advantages into place. From health and safety to ethics, businesses have to take care of supply chain transparency to monitor operations and understand the source of existing issues affecting the company (Ives, Cossick and Adams, 2019). With Amazon, the idea is that the company always interacts with industry experts and stakeholders to understand how the existing operations could be improved further. Additional enhancements have to be viewed through the prism of supply chain needs and employee aspirations.
At the same time, Amazons path to sustainability is affected by how the company treats the community. It means that the company is open to cooperation in an attempt to improve environmental conditions and find workarounds to improve the community. In line with Aurambout, Gkoumas and Ciuffo (2019), sustainability has to be perceived as an opportunity to create new jobs and enhance the local economy. With this information in mind, Amazon can be considered a sustainable organization because it tries to reduce unemployment rates and create a positive working environment. This means that the company understands the notion of corporate social responsibility and pays attention to how various resources are utilized and conserved. Jobber and Ellis-Chadwick (2016) believe that international enterprises have to lead the way in terms of how they resolve significant issues pertaining to socioeconomic background. Thus, Amazon is a corporate citizen and a sustainable organization.
Reference List
Aurambout, J. P., Gkoumas, K. and Ciuffo, B. (2019) Last mile delivery by drones: an estimation of viable market potential and access to citizens across European cities, European Transport Research Review, 11(1), 1-21.
Baker, M. J. (2014) Marketing strategy and management, Macmillan International Higher Education, New York.
Ives, B., Cossick, K. and Adams, D. (2019) Amazon Go: disrupting retail?, Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 9(1), 2-12.
Jobber, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2016) Principles and practices of marketing, McGraw-Hill Education, New York.
Amazon.com encompasses a Fortune 500 multinational electronic commerce company situated in Seattle. It is identified as the worlds largest online retailer, established in 1994 and launched in 1995 by Jeff Bezos, under his regret minimization framework.
Its business is not only limited to America, but also spans United Kingdom, India, Germany, Canada, Spain, France, China and Japan (Amazon.com Inc 1). Though it is engaged in selling various products according to its diverse departments, it also ships the products that have been purchased from it to certain specified countries.
Initially, it was launched as an online bookstore, but later diversified into the sale of MP3 downloads, DVDs, CDs, video games, software, apparel, toys, furniture, food and electronics. Amazons issued its public offering of stock in 1997 at an $18.00 per share price under AMZN stock exchange symbol of NASDAQ.
In terms of its annual reports and Proxy Statements in 2011, it had a revenue of $ 48 billion, operation income of $862 million, net income of $631 million, total assets of $25.2 billion, total equity of $7.75 billion and 56,200 employees.
Benefits and limitations of the Amazons online Retail Model
As the most effective online retail model, Amazon.com utilizes the Affiliate Business Model. This model is utilized alongside the market mix of pricing, promotion, product and people, to enhance the companys marketing capability.
The Affiliate Business model provides people customers with various purchasing prospects, regardless of the place they are surfing from. The Affiliate Business Model proffers many affiliated partner sites with various incentives.
These sites provide with the necessary points that link to the merchants while purchasing, with the aim of generating sales. Owing to the fact that it is a pay-for performance model, the non-generation of sales by the affiliates does not translate into costs for the merchant.
This online retail model is highly suited for the World Wide Web; hence, explaining its popularity. This popularity aids Amazon to generate a high volume of sales.
Benefits
In terms of easy access, the website provides the customer with various categories of the products available that help the customer to easily search the product he or she needs from the department under which the product is listed.
The various departments of products displayed on the Amazon website ascertain that a variety of products are available to satisfy the diverse customer needs.
It reduces overhead expenses and ensures that the products are accessible to a larger demographic group. In terms of security and efficiency, payment is conducted in a discreet manner to ensure security and the products are delivered efficiently and within the deadline provided.
Limitations
In terms of shipping cost and shipping time, shipping the products does not only pose additional and expensive costs for the customer especially if the merchant is far from the customer, but it also inconveniences the customer because he or she cannot receive the product earlier than five days after the purchase.
Essentially, communication between the buyer and the merchant is difficult, as there are no communication options provided on the website. Inherently, due to the fact that the customer cannot physically view the product, a product of less quality can be delivered to him or her, culminating into mistrust and low customer satisfaction.
The manner in which Amazon.com changes the market for books
Initially, the company sold and shipped books to customers (Sampson 54). This was later advanced to the sale of digital e-books that could be downloaded or printed. This did not generate the required sales volumes culminating into the current introduction of Kindle, a portable e-book reader (The New York Times 1).
Kindle utilizes wireless connectivity to enhance downloading, shopping, browsing, and reading of magazines, newspapers, e-books, blogs and other types of digital media in various chosen countries.
Bezos asserted that in 2009. Electronic reader sales made up to 35% of the physical book sales. The popularity of this application has aided the company to change the market for books from sale and shipping of books, to e-reading and downloading of full books or pages from certain books at a fee.
How the Design of Amazons website facilitates user efforts to locate a particular product
A search button is situated at the top of the website to allow customers to either search a product from all the Amazon departments provided, or from a specific department. Essentially, on the left hand corner of the website, the departments and sub-departments are displayed to help the customer narrow down his or her search of the specific product they would like to purchase (Amazon.com Inc 1).
Additionally, each customer is accorded with a cart that can help in selecting the different number of products he or she is willing to purchase. The websites middle part contains the Amazons most sold products to enable the customer have an idea of the products mostly preferred and purchased by other customers.
This might convince the customer to try such products. The website also utilizes collaborative filtering that recommends to the customer the other products that he or she would prefer given his or her choice of a certain product. All Amazon products have prices that enable customers to compare with such prices with the others offered in the market to facilitate high volumes of sales.
Collaborative filtering and how Amazon uses this technique to encourage sales
Collaborative filtering encompasses a common Web Technique utilized in generating personalized recommendation. This is done through filtering or making automatic predictions on a users interests through collaborating or the collection of tastes and preference information of other users (Ekstrand et al 4).
The main assumption utilized in the case of collaborative filtering is such that id a person B posses the same opinion as person C about an Issue X, then there is a high likelihood that Person B will take up Person Cs opinion on another issues Y as compared to him taking the Opinion Y of another random person.
The data collected on customer behaviors is utilized by Amazon to conduct collaborative filtering. In this way Amazon generates a list of personalized items a certain customer might be interested in depending on the purchases and interests of other customers that hold the same customer behaviors as his or hers. This encourages a higher volume of sales.
Selling used books alongside new versions as a reasonable business practice that does not undermine the market for new books.
Selling used books alongside new versions encompasses a reasonable business practice that does not undermine the market for new books, because it allows the economically weak customers to purchase needed books (Sampson 125).
Some people keep used books in places where they keep things that they will never use because they are not in need of them anymore. Allowing them to sell such books offers others with the opportunity to access needed books at a lower price.
Essentially, the money acquired from such sales can aid customers to purchase newer versions of the other books they needed, but could not afford. Additionally, some customers might be in need of various books, but they cannot afford to purchase all books due to the quoted prices of the newer versions.
According them with lower priced versions will enable them to purchase the newer versions of the books they are in dire need of and the used versions of the books they least need.
Works Cited
Amazon.com Inc. Amazon.com.1995. Web.
Ekstrand, Michael D, John Riedl, and Joseph Konstan. Collaborative Filtering Recommender Systems. Hanover, Mass: now Publishers, 2011. Print.
Sampson, Brent. Sell Your Book on Amazon: Top-secret Tips Guaranteed to Increase Sales for Print-on-Demand and Self-Publishing Writers. Denver: Outskirts Press, 2007. Print.
The New York Times. Amazon.com Inc. The New York Times 31 January 2012 late ed.: Al. Print.