“Mark as Private Question and Answer- Final Strategic Plan Presentation Please Follow the instructions based on decision to complete the Strategic Plan. Final Strategic Plan Power Point Presentation Create the Final Strategic Plan. The Final Strategic Plan contains the elements of all the previous weeks’ components and incorporates instructor feedback. The strategic recommendations will be evaluated and the best options chosen for recommendation. The final strategic plan must include the following “Presentation Slides” below: Company is “Amazon.com” Slides must be in the exact order of the bullets provided below. Required Resources: Strategic Plans 1 –3 (Which I’ve provided as attachmentsPowerPoint Template to use (see attachment)Sample Presentation to reference only for presentation format/lay-out.(see attachment) ==================================================================== Table of ContentsExecutive Summary (350 to 700 words) with footnotesCompany Background with footnotesMission Statement with footnotesVision Statement with footnotesValue Statement with footnotesEnvironmental Scan with footnotesInternal Environmental Analysis with footnotesExternal Environmental Analysis with footnotesSWOT Analysis Chart with footnotesCompetitor Analysis with footnotesCompetitor Bench-mark Chart with footnotesStrategic Recommendation with footnotesImplementation Plan with footnotesOrganizational Change Management Strategies with footnotesKey Success Factors with footnotesBudget and Financial Forecast with Charts and footnotesRisk Management Plan with footnotesContingency Plan with footnotesConclusionReferences The Presentation must include 25- to 35-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation with speaker notes and charts, graphs and pictures on some slides to present the strategic plan, combining all relevant elements from previous weeks. The objective is to sell the strategic plan to investors or company directors. I have attached my last three papers that you will need to reference to do this paper as well as a PowerPoint presentation template and an example of someone else’s PowerPoint presentation which is similar to what this presentation needs to look like.Please no Plagiarism. Thank you so much,
part_1__environmental_scan_paper_032717.docx
part_2__internal_environment_analysis__040317.docx
strategic_plan__part_3__strategic_evaluation_and_recommendation_041017.docx
final_strategic_plan_presentation_assignment_instructions.docx
final_strategic_plan_template.pptx
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Running Head: PART 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN PAPER
Part 1: Environmental Scan Paper
March 27, 2017
1
PART 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN PAPER
2
Introduction
In essence, environmental scanning is the strategy utilized by companies to understand
the internal and external environment (Daft, Murphy and Willmott, 2012). This approach allows
firms to determine the external and internal factors that may affect the direction of its operations
both now and in the future. Environmental scanning enables businesses to maintain their
competitive advantage. This is because by identifying internal and external factors such as
threats, opportunities, strengths and weakness, organizations can develop ways of improving on
areas of poor performance. Moreover, companies can work on taking advantage of opportunities
available from environmental evaluations. This paper identifies the external environment of
Amazon.com through environmental scanning and further describes how the company can create
value and sustain its competitive advantage. It also determines the general environment and
industry operating environment for the enterprise. Lastly, the paper gives a SWOT analysis for
Amazon.com.
Environmental Scanning and Competitive Advantage
Environmental scanning is defined as the act of evaluating the environment of a business
to determine all factors that have an impact on its operations. These factors include weaknesses,
strengths, opportunities, and threats, social, political and economic factors among others. Each of
these factors affects the business in a positive or negative manner. The strengths and
opportunities of a company like Amazon enable it to remain successful and have a competitive
advantage over rival firms (Hitt, Hoskisson and Ireland, 2017). However, factors such as
weaknesses and threats limit the competitive advantage of the company.
PART 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN PAPER
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Amazon requires identifying means in which it can defeat the competitive enterprises in
the industry. Companies such as Overstock.com, eBay, and Wal-Mart bring stiff competition in
the retail business. As such, they are a threat to the operations of Amazon. In response to this
menace, Amazon should concentrate on these rival firms to create value for its products and
sustain a competitive advantage.
Secondly, Amazon should work on establishing strategies to overcome its weaknesses.
Through environmental scanning, the firm will determine areas of weakness and also learn about
the market demographics that can lead to improving on the weak areas (Williams, 2014).
Moreover, the firm should take advantage of its strengths in the market to sustain a competitive
advantage. Regarding opportunities, the company should take steps such as engaging in business
ventures with other firms that can utilize its software which in turn will help make the brand
appealing to customers and clients across the world. These steps will allow the company create
value and sustain a competitive advantage over rival firms.
External Environment
The external environment comprises of two major factors namely threats and
opportunities. Amazon is a recognized online retail company which is exposed to numerous
opportunities in retail business as well as threats from competition. The company has many
opportunities that it can consider for its expansion and create value for the products sold. In the
modern day, Amazon sells a variety of goods to the market ranging from music, books, CDs,
software and clothing among others. Moreover, it allows suppliers to sell products to consumers
by utilizing the company’s website. As such, it has opportunities to form more partnerships
across the world with many businesses.
PART 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN PAPER
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In contrast, the company is exposed to numerous threats especially from stiff competition
in retail business. Companies such as Wal-Mart are finding ways of working online and reaching
to customers like Amazon. Moreover, organizations like eBay and Buy.com have the capacity to
steal the market share of Amazon. Therefore, there is a chance of Amazon losing customers to
rival firms. Also, there is a chance that online customers may feel threatened if at one point they
suspect that their personal details may be at risk of being accessed by cyber criminals. This could
lead to shifting from online buying to shopping at physical stores like the Brick and Mortar
stores.
General Environment
Amazon’s general environment comprises of factors such as government policies, social,
economic status and technology advancement (Mennen, 2010). Government policies include
issues such as regulations and tax impositions on the business operations. The social context of
the company includes the perception of society on the online business. Although many people
are relying on technology, some are still opposed to business dealings using this technology.
Therefore, some individuals do not trust purchasing goods online thus limiting the market share
for Amazon.
The economic environment includes factors such as unemployment and economic
recessions as well as inflation. These factors may impact the functions of the company
negatively. The economic recession of 2008, for instance, has left many individuals doubting
online business operations as such this affects the company. Technology is another environment
that for Amazon is considered productive. Technology has allowed the firm to grow its
operations across different nations. The same technology is allowing other business people in
PART 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN PAPER
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partnership with the company use the company’s website to market products to consumers. As
such, its technology environment is a benefit to Amazon.
Industry Operating Environment
Analysis done on Amazon’s industry environment suggests that it consists of Porters five
forces. These forces affect the operations of Amazon in a positive or negative approach. The
forces include the bargaining power of the buyers, supplier bargaining power, the threat of
substitute goods, competition and threat of new entries (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson, 2016). The
strongest force from this environment includes competition, the threat of substitution and
bargaining influence of customers. These forces have the power to limit the market share for
Amazon. This is because the bargaining power of buyers allows them to decide on whether to
purchase goods online or opt for physical stores. Moreover, competition from rival companies
such as eBay and Wal-Mart limits its chance of dominating the retail industry. Lastly, in the case
of an increase in the price of products sold by Amazon consumers can always shift to cheaper
goods, for instance, those provided at Bricks and Mortar.
SWOT Analysis
Amazon is a growing online retail business that operates in the environment like other
firms despite carrying out operations online. The SWOT analysis for the company consists of its
power, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the environment. The company’s strength is
achieved from the strong brand, the presence of strong infrastructures, and the use of a developed
and advanced technology. Moreover, it also derives strength from the loyalty of its customers
and support from the same individuals and the present management team which is efficient and
of high quality. On the contrary, the company’s weaknesses include the lack of a website with
PART 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN PAPER
6
specific language, the risk of free shipping which makes the company incur the transportation
costs and limited finance performance.
Consequently, the firm has numerous opportunities in the retail industry. The growth of
Internet users creates an opportunity for expansion for Amazon (Thompson, 2015). The
existence of various product categories continues to provide the firm with chances of growth.
Moreover, the creation of a community of buyers for all kinds of goods online generates an
expansion and development opportunity for the enterprise. Nevertheless, threats such as
competition from rival companies, low barriers to entry and weak economic conditions limit the
chances for development for the enterprise.
Conclusion
Amazon is considered the world’s leading retailer in online business. The company has
remained successful in its online business for many years since it started in 1994. It has remained
at the top of other retail companies like the Brick and Mortars. Despite the growing competition
from rival companies like Buy.com and Overstock.com, Amazon remains a competitive online
retailer. The company has achieved a continuous success over the years as a result of its capacity
to evaluate the environment and determine factors that may hinder its success to improve them.
Thus, by working to improve environmental conditions that may hinder its success, the company
has remained a successful retailer.
PART 1: ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN PAPER
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References
Daft, R. L., Murphy, J., & Willmott, H. (2012). Organization theory and design. Andover:
South-Western College Pub.
Hitt, M. A., Hoskisson, R. E., & Ireland, R. D. (2017). Strategic management: Competitiveness
& globalization.
Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2016). Strategic management: Competitiveness
& globalization.
Mennen, M. (2010). Global Corporate Strategy – A Critical Analysis and Evaluation of
Amazon.com. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH.
Thompson, C. (2015). Vagrant Virtual Development Environment Cookbook. Packet Publishing.
Williams, C. (2014). MGMT: Principles of Management.
Part 2: Internal Environmental Analysis
April 3, 2017
PART 2: INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
2
Internal Environmental Analysis: Amazon.com
Introduction
The internal environmental analysis is an imperative endeavor in business management
since it ensures streamlined design and implementation of strategic plans. It evaluates a firm’s
cost position, competency, and competitive viability in line to its market environment (Hitt,
Hoskisson, & Ireland, 2017). To conduct an internal environment analysis, an organization needs
to evaluate its strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats (SWOT) analysis, and as well
assess the organizational resources to determine the apparent competitive position of the
business. The results of this process are exclusively relevant for the firm since they allow the
firm to develop strategic plans and objects that sustain and grow the business in highly evolving
markets (Hill, Jones, & Schilling, 2014).
Given this overview, the following article researchers on and analyzes the internal
business environment at Amazon.com. The paper studies Amazon.com Inc.’s strengths and
weaknesses perform a competitor analysis and evaluate the structural organization of the
business. This analysis helps to identify the firm’s current competitive position in the global
markets and the possibilities that Amazon.com receives as a result of this post.
The Internal Environment
Amazon.com is a virtual library operational under the innovations of e-commerce to
stabilize its economic status. Meant to revolutionize the industry of books, Amazon.com has
created a personal profile for all authors presenting books to it for advertisement while providing
its customers with multiple choices on books, music, magazines and electronics among other
more artworks. The establishments made by this firm has left many people with a trail need to
PART 2: INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
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know whether or not the so stated objective has been achieved or whether it is still on the
progression line to the positive direction (Mennen, 2010).
As Chan (2015) reports, the firm is solely driven by Jeff Bezos, the founder, and CEO.
Bezos empowers his managers and employees to recruit and train other employees. Bezos also
provides stocks to every employee of the firm. The combination of these internal business
environment features motivates the employees to speed up with their jobs and remain innovative.
Amazon.com also implements a decentralized decision-making paradigm. The approach allows
employees to innovate and find most efficient, fast, and convenient ways to meet consumer
needs (Seitz, 2009).
Strengths and Weaknesses: An assessment of organizational resources
The organizational resources, including the human resources sector, provide
Amazon.com with numerous advantages that have continued to propel the firm forward even in
hard in the global economy and highly competitive times in the industry. One highly remarkable
strength is the fact that Amazon.com was the first move into industry hence being able to
establish a broad consumer base and build a strong reputation. Another highly remarkable
strength is the availability of a robust business strategy (Chan, 2015). In combination with strong
leadership, these factors have allowed Amazon.com to remain ahead of the competition by
consistently utilizing the most developing technologies and watch ongoing industrial trends. The
highly user-friendly website by the firm also contributes to the internal strengths of the business.
With this site, Amazon has been able to cut across the global market and revolutionize the book
kindle industry using the reliable infrastructure and the efficiently distributed automation centers
for the website (Mennen, 2010).
PART 2: INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
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Nevertheless, Amazon.com has some weaknesses in its internal environment as well. For
instance, the firm’s website lacks diversity which is a key internal business element. The website
only supports English, but do not support other language versions for their highly diverse
consumer base. Similarly, as Chan (2015) reports, the fact that Amazon.com tried to diversify
itself from other competitors in the industry profoundly affected its internal business structure
that it lost focus of its exact business direction. Well, the firm’s mission statement clearly tells
that Amazon.com focuses on three primary consumers. However, it does not differentiate the
exact industry or business the firm aims at focusing at (Seitz, 2009).
Most Important Internal Environment Factors
Amazon.com has a set of internal environment factors that defines its competitive
position in the international markets and have profoundly contributed the apparent success.
These factors include:
i.
Customer friendly website. The firm’s manipulation of online shopping antiques
using web-based platforms has placed it miles ahead of its competitors. The site
enables Amzon.com to respond to its large consumer efficiently and promptly.
ii.
Reliable Business Infrastructure. The firm owns well automated, extensive, and
robust support that adequately serves its distribution centers effectively.
iii.
Low-cost structure. Amazon.com achieves this through the evasion of the need to
use physical retail outlets by use of online selling. As a result, the firm has
affected low prices on a wide variety of products, summing up to an excellent
consumer experience.
iv.
Third part sellers. Amazon.com has expanded its business strategy to
accommodate third party vendors to advertise and sell products through the firm’s
PART 2: INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
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site. In most cases, these vendors offer products unavailable through the firm’s
retail segment.
v.
Merchandise range. According to Sherman& Sherman (2017), when compared to
Wal-Mart, Amazon.com Inc.’s second-largest competitor and selling up to 8
million stock, Amazon.com sells up to 339.7 million stock through its online
shopping platform.
Competitor Analysis
The PORTERS FIVE FORCES analysis is used to perform a competitor analysis on
Amazon.com (Hill, Jones, & Schilling, 2014; Hitt, Hoskisson, & Ireland, 2017). It includes a
detailed review of the five key determinants of industrial competition as follows:
Competitive Rivalry: Amazon.com faces high competitive rivalry from Flipkart and Snapdeal,
who offer a similar set of products and services like Amazon. Nonetheless, the firm faces
medium competition regarding products offered and industrial attractiveness.
The Threat of New Entrants: Amazon.com faces a relatively low threat of new entrants given the
high economies of scale involved and difficult for start-ups to raise capital adequate to build
competition for Amazon. It is virtually impossible for the new business start-ups to reach the
status and magnitude maintained by Amazon.com.
The Threat of New Substitutes: Amazon.com faces quite a high threat of new substitutes. This is
propelled by the fact that there are numerous websites and physical stores that offer similar
products and services as Amazon.com (Sherman& Sherman, 2017).
PART 2: INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
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Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Suppliers only hold average bargaining power given the industry
of operation. Amazon.com could source inventories from a variety of suppliers, and since the
firm buys in bulk, it can easily influence the bargaining power of smaller suppliers.
Bargaining Power of Buyers: The consumers have a high impact given Amazon’s industry of
operations. For instance, Seitz (2009) provides that Indian consumers have low brand loyalty,
and are price sensitive. The users easily switch between competitors depending on products
price.
Organizational Structure and Its Influence on Performance
The organization structure of a business defines the system and design of interactions
among the various members of the firm. Similarly, Amazon.com Inc.’s determines the model in
which managers direct and affect, directly or indirectly, the operational activities of the firm. It is
the firm’s evolving corporate structure that allows Amazon to gradually diversify its business and
even add more products and service for its consumers (Purkayastha & Sharma, 2016).
In essence, Amazon deploys a functional organizational structure, allowing it to pay adequate
attention to its business functions. This way, the firm can easily determine how the various
components of the organizations interact, and hence being able to manage them better (Hitt,
Hoskisson, & Ireland, 2017). Some of the key features of the firm’s business structure include
geographical divisions, a global hierarchy, and the use of global functional-based groups
(Purkayastha & Sharma, 2016).
Amazon.com Inc.’s Current Competitive Position
It is evident that the firm has grown to a reflective position from which all other online
companies may wish to draw guidelines from. The successes have come about from the positive
PART 2: INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
7
will of the company to employ the most recent internet technology making the sale of its services
quicker, easier and more specifically, providing cost-effective services to its customers (Seitz,
2009).
Another important feature that has contributed to the successes in the firm is the fact that
Amazon successfully managed to revolutionize the book industry through a feature called
Amazon-branded Kindle. The feature improved capabilities of the companies to provide fast
delivery of substantial literature/electronic work through the wireless connection out doing the
usual bookstores which are a bit slower (Patric 2009).
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2 2013) is currently the most important
adaptation that improved the firm’s competitive position. The technology has emerged as an
acceleration factor in the quest for success (Chan, 2015). Considering the current enhanced
computing facilities all over the globe, the technology provides a simplified interface that allows
faster access to all services rendered by the firm once a client opens the Amazon.com site
(Robert 2004). Taking into account the advances the company has made, it would be much
recommendable that if it breaks its monotony in the internet and air its advertisements through
more hard-copy materials to possibly improve its economic status (Hill, Jones, & Schilling,
2014).
PART 2: INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Conclusion
Clearly, Amazon.com illustrates vast superio …
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