Contemporary Management of AmazonCom Success - Coursework Example

A Report on Amazon.Com Success Table of Contents Page Executive summary…………………………………………………………….3 Introduction……………………………………………………………………4 Factors enhancing the success of Amazon…………………………….............4 Digital channels……………………………………………………………......5 Web analytics………………………………………………………………….6 Management and organization…………………………………………….......7 Online Book sales……………………………………………………………..11 Mergers and acquisitions……………………………………...………………11 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….11 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………...12 Executive Summary This report elaborates on how Amazon.com achieves its success through the use of digital channels over the internet. The paper majorly reports on how the digital technology has enhanced the performance of the company over the past years since it began in 1994.The technology used in most cases involves that which enhances purchases and sales over the internet(Marcus, 2004). Therefore, the company mainly depends on the effectiveness of digital channels, web analytics, competent management and organization, online sales and mergers and acquisitions to enhance its performance hence achieving its goals. Introduction In a world where individuals can purchase anything online, it can be cumbersome to establish and maintain a business selling commodities online media for example books, movies and compact discs which are common ware sold on the internet. During the last ten years, online stores have emerged and several people have scoffed at their inception (Marcus, 2004). Nevertheless, Amazon.com is not such a corporation instead one of the biggest online sellers of media in the world recently. This company has expanded its selections to entail clothing, beauty products, house wares and thousands of other items. Amazon Company was established by Jeff Bezos in 1994 in Seattle, Washington, where people began purchasing books all over the world. Amazon developed rapidly and recently they even sell products such as software, home improvement items, electronics, video games and toys (Marcus, 2004). Amazon partners with other online companies like Toys R Us, Target, Old navy who have agreed to sell their products through its website. Hence, Amazon has emerged the world’s largest online vendor. Amazon Company is majorly known for its customer centrism which is reflected in the company’s values statement. Factors enhancing success in the company Amazon Company majorly relies on the personnel in the information technology department that has an immense obligation to over see a large system that is extremely reliable to the customers and the suppliers. This department includes employees who are system database developers and networking experts who form and operate highly dependable, accessible distributed systems with terabyte databases and arrangements that can accommodate a massive number of transactions. Consequently, this company uses high performance transactions, complex rendering and object caching, business intelligence, data analytics, machine learning and data recognition, neural networks and probabilistic policy and decision making and work flow and queuing systems to enhance its online business like selling and purchases from customers. Digital channels The technology used in Amazon.com majorly targets customer satisfaction. This technology applied by the company comes from the company itself and those from the third parties. The digital channels such iPhones, android and snap tell to help customers shop the company’s products online. This aims at simplifying and improving the customer shopping experience. When most customers find an effective ways of purchasing items such books over the internet it bears the concept of simplicity where everybody should be able to fit and understand how to use the system. The digital channels also help the company in the fulfillment and customer service operations (Marcus, 2004). The company majorly focuses on strategies such as developing efforts to enhance a continuous innovation through initiating and encouraging advancements in specialized, proprietary software which is unique to the business as compared to other online businesses. The organization continually invests on digital channels that concentrate in areas such as customer satisfaction, development of customer and seller platform. This technology supports more standard electronic retail facilities (Jones& George, 2010). In addition, the company uses digital channels that have a set of applications for allowing and validating customer orders, placing and tracking orders with suppliers. This ensures that every suppliers or customers prudently get attended to virtually through various software applications. The digital channels are also used in managing and allocating inventory to consumer orders and scrutinizing proper shipment of products to consumers. The company’s digital transaction system is made in such a manner that it is capable of accommodating millions of items. This makes it efficient for the company to handle many customers at a time resulting into huge profits. The digital channel also enhances the capacity for several status inquiries, numerous shipping addresses, many requests from gift wraps and the customer’s preferences on the shipment methods (Marcus, 2004). These channels allow the customers to get single or many shipments based on the availability and to examine the progress of each order. This technology also manages the procedures of accepting, charges through customer credits and authorizing. The channels used in Amazon technology handles back-end operations on a daily basis as well as queries from more several third parties. This helps the management through the data obtained to make various decisions concerning the improvement of customer service, competition and how to improve quality of the organization’s products. Web analytics Amazon uses web analytics in collaboration with digital channels as a measurement, collection, analysis and reporting for the understanding and optimizing of web usage. This method helps it in measuring web traffic especially in determining the amount customer and consumers who are interested in the company’s products (Loudon & Laudon, 2011). In addition, web analytics is not just a tool for assessing traffic on the web but also an important tool for business and market research. This tool helps the company is assessing and improving the effectiveness of the website to enhance the consumption of the company’s producs.Amazon.com uses this tool to measure the results of the advertising campaigns thus enhancing efficiency of estimating how movement to a website varies after the establishment of a new advertising campaign. Amazon Company benefits from this tool as it shows the number of visitors to its official website and the number of pages viewed by the visitors. Consequently, web analytics helps the company to measure traffic and reputation trend which is important for the market research. When the company gets the data, it is able to make proper management decisions that can result into the company’s tremendous performance. Amazon Company mostly uses on site web analytics whereby the company measures the visitors journey once on the website (Loudon & Laudon, 2011). This type of web analytic contains drivers and conversions for instance; the site has got landing pages which encourage people to buy the company’s product such as books. On set web analytics measures the performance of the company’s website in a commercial context. This entails estimation and measurement of the data that helps the company determine the amount of customers who visit the site, the kind of products that the consumers are mostly interested in and the price range that could attract more customers (Round, 2004). This data obtained through onsite web analytics is compared and use to enhance the company’s website and the marketing campaign’s audience response. Amazon Company benefits a lot from the new technologies because; it is able to analyze data effectively through the recent applications helping it in quick decision making. Management and Organization The management of the company is effective since the results obtained in the recent past have been positive. Amazon experiences the nature of effective management because; it is the world’s biggest media seller over the internet. It applies theories of change and development thus aiding into its improved performance (Jones& George, 2010). Effective management is experienced especially when the company is capable of maintaining positive employee relations. This shows that the company’s management is perfect as they manage their employees competently. Effective communication is put in place to enhance better management which adds value throughout and beyond the company. This advances by modern design of communication systems thus offering informed alternatives to the organization’s smooth running (Chaffey & White, 2011). Customers purchasing the company’s products enjoy effective methods of communication through the internet creating large profits made by the company (Round, 2004). This situation has undergone evolution since the ancient times when there were no effective communication systems hence, better management. This shows that embracing good management policies and thoughts has enhanced effective management in modern organizations such as Amazon Company. Effective managers are those who apply various theories of thought and are flexible enough to changes that might result in the due course. The company focuses not only on education but numerous aspects of hiring, the company managers’ hire individuals with diverse knowledge and is able to work with practicable experience hence this provides the workers with motivation thus advancing in their respective fields effectively. The effective management of the company enhances employee performance through appraisal activities such as outings, healthy meals, medical cover and fringe benefits (Jones& George, 2010). The company practices system theory which is the new model of contemporary management. Robbins, De Cenzo& Coulter (2010) suggest that system theory of management helps managers to interpret complex patterns and events at the work place. This model focuses on various parts of the organization especially the interrelated parts of the organization such as coordination of the central management with the rest of the organization hence, helping in departmental synchronization. This differs with contingency model where by managers make decision according to the prevailing conditions for instance Amazon has been undergoing continued effort to recognize the best leadership style that fits with its current situation thus, if an individual is managing a hospital a facilitative leadership is the best. In consequent to this, Amazon encounters various challenges concerning contemporary management. The macro environment of the company gives it a challenge especially as it struggles to achieve it goals. The Company’s expansion affects the management whereby the expansion creates a complexity in the management style and criteria to be applied (Jones& George, 2010). This makes it hectic especially when the company is also experiencing intense competition from other parties. The rapid global expansion of the company’s product poses a complexity in the business and places a strain on the management, operations and personnel. This expansion curbs external environmental factors like economic aspects that is, price stability and inflation effects to enable the company performs effectively. The company also experiences political and government challenges regarding formation of policies regulating its products. These factors affect the management and the operations of the company especially in decision making in a complex organization like Amazon. Management ethics give organizations foundation for good working conditions by broadening an individual’s corporate significance far from traditional business aims of profit and enrichment of shareholders. Therefore, managerial ethics ensures effective management to avoid misunderstandings and chaos in the company which is unethical. The company’s top managers should ensure that the company services remain relevant to the community. Managerial ethics encompasses corporate social responsibility (Robbins, De Cenzo& Coulter, 2010). Amazon has to be socially responsible to the neighboring society however; this creates an impact to the company especially when it flops to meet the needs of the society. The company finds a challenge in this area since it is required by the society to be socially responsible to avoid any negative image. When this is maintained, the company experiences a sustainable growth which generates large amounts of profits and the company’s goals achieved. Amazon continues to use business information systems to improve its performance whereby this system increases the company’s efficiency in operations, efficiency and minimizing operating and transaction costs (Chaffey & White, 2011). This also improves employees’ performance through applied information technology there is flexibility, time saving and security in their jobs. Amazon uses digital technology to enhance its planning activities which boost decision making according to its complex organization structure. This enhances the company’s leadership since; managers are able to create a flexible and competent organizational culture encompassed with effort to enhance team management. Managers in this company are flexible and are informed about the recent technology hence finding it easy to encourage effective team management with the employees in the company (Boddy, 2011). Eventually, modern organizations should embrace management theories in line with new technology as applied in amazon to achieve better results. Online book sales The company uses technology especially for online sales through Google text, banner adverts and use of on site web analytics. Consumers use an application known as shopping cart where they add the books or goods they need then they wire their payment digitally through Amazon visa card (Marcus, 2004). All these are found in the company’s shopping website thus; through the recent digital technology it becomes efficient to purchase the company’s products easily. This new technology sets up prices for commodities and is able to discount in application items letting the company to keep its pricing power while controlling developers not to losses as a result of it hence, enhancing sales of the books online. Mergers and Acquisitions Finally, Amazon targets at making mergers and acquisitions to be more successful in the business world. Using the recent technology Amazon has merged and acquired some organizations that have various technologies that boost the company’s products in the market. The company has merged with companies such as Zappos, Ashford, Alexa.com and Della.com to enhance its performance by diversifying its financial status (Round, 2004). This enables Amazon to incorporate new technology that allows the consumers to shop efficiently from its websites that has been enhanced and started by other acquired companies. Conclusion Eventually, Amazon Company continuously improve its performance through the application of the new technology majorly on digital channels and the effective use of information systems in management and organization of the company. The company also enhances better relationships with its employees hence ensuring rapid developments and minimal complaints since, these issues are amicably solved in the organization (Chaffey & White, 2011). Consequently, the organization also applies the recent technologies of leadership and management practices that conform to the technology applications to boost its performance in the company. The new technology makes it effective and efficient for proper and competent decision making hence saving on time as a vital factor in management. Bibliography Boddy D., 2011: Management: An Introduction (5th Edition). Financial Times Press. Chaffey, D. and White, G., 2011: Business Information Management: Improving Performance Using Information Systems (2nd Edition). Financial Times Press. Jones, G. and George, J., 2010: Essentials of Contemporary Management (4th Edition): McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Loudon, K. and Laudon, J., 2011: Managing Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm (12th Edition), Pearson. Marcus, J., 2004: Amazonia. Five years at the epicenter of the dot-com juggernaut: The New Press, New York, NY. Round, M., 2004: Presentation to E-metrics, London, May 2005 www.emetrics.org Robbins, S. De Cenzo, D. and Coulter, M., 2010: Fundamentals of Management (7th Edition): MyManagementLab Pack. Read More