Should Government Allow Amazon the Use of Drones for Package Delivery - Essay Example

Should Government Allow Amazon The Use Of Drones For Package Delivery? Should Government Allow Amazon The Use Of DronesFor Package Delivery? Amazon is one of the largest online retailers dealing with various commodities. The online retailer operates under a well developed business strategy that has no doubt led to excellent performance of the firm. The firm has captured a large market share all over the world hence an increase number of deliveries made by the company. As part of the company strategy, Amazon embarked on a process that would see an improvement in the delivery process in order to improve customer satisfaction. In this regard, the firm initiated experiments to test usage of drones in delivering customer packages. However due to the regulatory and safety implications of using drones in public, the project has received different opinions from various interest groups. To start with, the government should allow Amazon to use drones to deliver customer packages because of several reasons. Firstly, delivery of customer packages using drone improves efficiency of the company hence attracting more revenue to the government. Amazon.com Inc. is an international company based in the U.S meaning that the American government gets a significant amount of taxes from the company transactions. According to Suffolk University Law Review, a state legislation, commonly referred to as Amazon law, requiring on line retailers making over $10,000 in revenue to remit taxes to the state of New York was successfully enacted in 2008 (2013). This means that Amazon.com Inc remits annual sales tax to the government depending on the amount of sales made. Usage of drones to deliver packages can help to improve customer satisfaction and attract more sales in return. Consequently, the increased sales volume would translate to increased sales tax remitted to the government by the firm. Secondly, the government should allow the use of drones in delivery of customer packages using drone as a measure of enhancing consumer protection as promised in the constitution. Ideally, many governments all over the world protect their citizens from unscrupulous business deals through enactment of various trade legislations to protect consumers. Major consumer injustices are committed in the delivery systems where customers receive poor quality products or fail to receive their purchases at all. According to Federal Trade Commission, consumer protection entails protecting citizens from businesses that do not fulfill their promises or defraud money from purchasers (n.d). Considering the fact that Amazon.com Inc is an established retail outlet, permitting the use of drones by the company to deliver customer packages will contribute to the consumer protection objective. This is because consumers purchasing products from Amazon.com will be guaranteed of quality and timely delivery of their packages. However, it is important for the government to evaluate the key facts for effective decision making concerning the matter. One of the key factors that the government should consider before allowing the use of drones is to clarify the uncertainties involved in the process. According to Hammond, Keeney and Raiffa, understanding the likelihood and extend of future uncertainties is important in making decisions (1999). Rash and Wayne argue that inclusion of drones in skies that are already congested with other aircrafts could increases the likelihood of accidents (2013). This is a real uncertainty because it is unclear whether the drone can later be used for other activities that can endanger the lives of citizens. For example people with malicious intentions can use the opportunity to get pictures or videos of restricted areas in order to plan their activities (National Geographic Society, 2013). Additionally, the government should evaluate whether it can tolerate the risks involved in operation of drones by private enterprises. In most cases, decisions that involve uncertainties have some consequences that have to be taken up by the risk taker. For instance, increased number of drones in the public air space can lead to security deterioration or even accidents. Therefore, the government should evaluate whether the degree of such incidences can be handled before giving permit to Amazon.com. However, such risks can be minimized by implementing legislations that govern the use of delivery drones (BBC.com, 2013). This is because competent authorities such as Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) can develop relevant legislations that govern operations and ownership of drones. Considering the cycle of change, the Amazon Company is in the final stages of the organizational change. According to the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the final phases of change cycle are characterized by positive feelings, thoughts and behavior (n.d). In evaluating the process of introducing delivery drones by Amazon, two phases of change cycle are identifiable. To begin with, the decision on whether to use delivery drones or not is in the understanding stage. Understanding stage is characterized by confidence in the changes being implemented. In this case, confidence is exemplified by the Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, when he was quoted in the CBS Television saying that he is confident that the drone project will be a success to the company (National Geographic Society, 2013). Secondly, the decision making process is in the integration stage of the change cycle. This stage is characterized by increased focus on the new changes by intergrading with other supporting activities. According to Rash and Wayne, the FAA is keen in developing regulations in order to integrate unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the air space (2013). Considering that drones are classified as UAS, the efforts by FAA to develop a platform in which UAS will be operating indicate that the decision by Amazon Company is given a focus by integrating the services into national regulation. In addition, BBC.com quoted a spokesperson from Amazon company saying that the company hoped to get a green light from FAA as early as 2015 (2013). On the other hand, in making the decision of using delivery drones, the stakeholders involved factored in management of uncertainties, tradeoffs and risks involved in the process. The stakeholders, specifically the government and Amazon Company, both agree that relevant regulations should be developed by the FAA. Considering the arguments placed by the company CEO, it is evident that the Amazon Company acknowledges that relevant legislations have to be developed before the project is carried out in the field (National Geographic Society, 2013). Secondly, stakeholders involved acknowledge the risks associated with the use of delivery drones in public areas. According to Rash and Wayne, the project has to be implemented in populated areas close to Amazon warehouses (2013). This poses danger to other aircrafts since most airports are located in towns. This forms the basis in which all stake holders agreed that operation directives and legislations have to be put in place before commencement of the project. As the CEO of Amazon company, various things must be put in place in order to monitor the progress of the decision of using delivery drawn. Firstly, I would develop a committee to manage the operations of drone delivery. The committee would be responsible of identifying emerging challenges in relation to the project and evaluate alternatives to solve the problems. Secondly, I would keep the change alive through education of various stakeholders about the drone delivery services. In addition, I would keep the change alive by incorporating all the stakeholders in developing strategies of improving the service. In conclusion, the government should permit the Amazon Company to use drones in delivery of customer packages. This is because the service confers several advantages to both the government and the company. From the above discussion, it is evident that implementation of the project would result into increased sales for the company as well increased tax revenue for the government. However it is important for proper legislation to be laid down before implementation of the project in order to avert foreseeable uncertainties. References BBC.com. (2013). Amazon Testing Drones for Deliveries. BBC News Technology. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25180906 Federal Trade Commission. (n.d). Bureau of Consumer Protection. Retrieved from http://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection Hammond, J. S, Keeney, R. L and Raiffa, H. (1999). Smart choices: A Practical Guide to Making Better Decisions. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press National Geographic Society. (2013). 5 Surprising Drone Uses (Besides Amazon Delivery). Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131202-drone-uav-uas-amazon-octocopter-bezos-science-aircraft-unmanned-robot/ Rash and Wayne. (2013). Amazon Delivery Drones Could Hike Flight Risks in Crowded Urban Skies. Retrieved from Suffolk University Law Review. (2013). Online Retailers Battle with Sales Tax: A Physical Rule Living in a Digital World. Retrieved from http://suffolklawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Patch_Note_Web.pdf University of KwaZulu-Natal. (n.d). The Change Cycle. Retrieved from http://crtt.ukzn.ac.za/Libraries/Change_docs/THE_CHANGE_CYCLE_ARTICLE_WITH_COLOUR_CC.sflb.ashx Read More