Global Strategy and Sustainability

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of global strategy and sustainability, focusing on Amazon.com. It includes an external analysis of the industry, internal analysis of Amazon, critical evaluation of sustainability and corporate social responsibility, and recommendations for global development. The report also discusses CSR dilemmas faced by Amazon's board of directors and the impact of global development recommendations on these dilemmas.

Global Strategy and Sustainability

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY ..................................................................................................................................3
External Analysis of the Industry................................................................................................3
Internal Analysis of Amazon.com ..............................................................................................6
Critical analysis and evaluation of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility ...........8
SWOT analysis of Amazon.........................................................................................................9
Recommendations for Global Development in context to Amazon .......................................10
CSR Dilemmas the Amazon.com Board of Directors' face......................................................10
The impact of Global development recommendation on these dilemmas and the
Recommendations to improve it...............................................................................................10
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................11
REFRENCES.................................................................................................................................12
Books and Journal.....................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Global strategy and sustainability means the business organisation approach that is used
to create long term value by considering all social, ecological and economic environment. This
helps the company to develop assumption that the business will survive for long term in global
market. Under global sustainability the focus is on all the stakeholders and fulfilling their needs
and wants and making strategy that is sustainable for the business. This report is based on global
strategy that is used by Amazon and a proper analysis of the company is described in this report.
Amazon company was established in 1994 by Jeff Bezos (Rodrigues and Franco, 2019). The
company has its headquarters in Bellevuve in Washington. Amazon started its business by
selling online books and now it sells variety of products through its own application. The
company is considered as one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. Which focuses on e-
commerce, digital streaming,cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. In the report there is
internal and external analysis of Amazon with the help of several models and evaluation of
Corporate Social Responsibility used by company. Along with that recommendations for
Amazon.com’s Strategic Development and CSR and discussed in the report.
MAIN BODY
External Analysis of the Industry
It is important for a business to analyse the external factors that have impact on business.
To analyse the impact of these external factors on Amazon PESTLE Analysis is mentioned
below:
PESTLE Analysis

This is a framework that is used by organisations to study the impact of macro economic
factors on the organisation. Amazon is a multinational company that has to face many challenges
as they have operations in various countries (Ng 2018). The external factors have negative as
well as positive factors on different organisation. Lets discuss the impact of these external forces
on Amazon:
Political Factors: Amazon operates globally so the company gets impact from political
influence of different nations. The company is getting benefit of political stability in European
Countries and in U.S.A. Which is an opportunity for them. Also government is supporting e-
commerce platform because of which company is getting benefit as company can expand its
operations globally. Along with that Amazon has to follow so many rules and regulations as
government is taking care of cyber security.
Economic Factors: The economic condition of the country in which the company has its
operations also impact the the business. It is important to understand the condition and make
strategies according to the condition of the nation (Olawumi and Chan, 2018). Amazon has
growth opportunities in developing countries as people are ready to spend and this can be taken
as opportunity by the company. There is also economic stability in developing countries and that
has a positive impact on the company. But, the economic recession is China is a threat for the
company as Amazon has customer base in China. Company should analyse the economic
condition of different nations while they are operating in the country.
Social Factors: Under this factor of PESTLE Analysis the social trend and their impact
on the organisation are described. The customer needs and wants are changing and they are
shifting towards online modes to buy products and services (Amankwah-Amoah, 2020). This is a
positive factor for company as Amazon is a leading online retailer and is satisfying the needs and
wants of customers in an effective way. Company makes proper research and development to
know about the current trends in the market.
Technological Factors: Technology has a direct impact on the businesses. In today's
time the technological advancement is important for an organisation as it helps to make its
operations easy and attracts more customers. To make a good image in the market an to satisfy
needs and wants of customers the company has to regularly focus on technological update. The
company can take advantage of improving its performance based on the rapid increase of IT
resource efficiencies.

Environmental Factors : Amazon.com operated online so the company gets influenced
by natural environment. The company is focusing on reducing pollution that is caused by them
due to their delivery procedure. The company is also contributing to social responsibilities as
they understand the importance of serving the environment. They are also interested in waste
management and energy consumption programmes.
Legal Factors: Thus factor under PESTLE Analysis is about the laws and regulatiuons
that the organisations have to follow. There are laws related to product regulation and Amazon is
abiding the law which is opportunity for the company (Biermann, Kanie and Kim, 2017). The
import and export regulations are also followed by the company and that helps to make a
successful position in the market. Amazon also takes care of all its employees and abide with all
labour laws.
Amazon is a big players in e commerce industry and the economic conditions are in
favour as the customers are switching to online mode for making purchase. The company can
expand its operations in developing countries and should focus on regularly update the
technology and takes care of cyber security. It is vital follow all the laws and regulations to
operate successfully in the market and maintain the brand image.
Porter's five forces Model
Another way through which company can check the impact of external forces on the
company is Porter five forces model. This model helps to analyse about the competitors in the
industry and measures that can be taken by company to gain competitive advantage. Porter's five
forces Model in respect to Amazon is discussed below:

Threat of new entrants: This factor says that is the players in industry are making profits
then new entrant will enter the market. If there will be no threat to entry like taxes, heavy capital,
etc. There is low threat of new entrants if there are barriers to entry (Christ, Burritt and Varsei,
2017). The customers can easily switch to new entrants as there is low switching cost but along
with this the new player will take long time period to establish the brand image. So, high cost of
brand development is a barrier to entry in case of Amazon.
Competitive Rivalry- It is important to know about the competitors in the industry. The
biggest competitor is Walmart. It is important to provide quality services to its customers so as
to gain competitive advantage in the market. Amazon should focus on strategies and provide
offers to customers to attract more customers and gain advantage over the competitions.
Bargaining powers of buyers: Buyers are important for very organisation. This force
under five forces model deals about the power of buyer. In relation to Amazon the company is
customer centric and focuses on satisfying needs and wants of customers (Weiss and Barth,
2019). The buyers have high power as they have information related to substitutes and there are
direct competitors like Walmart. Also the switching cost is low because of which customers can
easily switch to competitors.
Threat of Substitute: Amazon has to compete with the substitutes that are available in
online retail market. Also the switching cost is also low. There are direct substitute available o
customers can switch and buy the same products from competitors. In this regard Amazon can
provide offers and discounts to all its customers to attract them. This shows that there is high
threat of substitutes in case of Amazon (Sroufe, 2017).
Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers are important part of an organisation, as they
provide the goods and services to the company. There are small number of suppliers that serve

these e commerce players. Also it is privilege to provide goods to a established brand like
Amazon. So there is moderate threat of suppliers in case of Amazon.
From the above analysis it can be concluded that Amazon should make strategies that
would help them to gain competitive advantage as the company is facing threat of substitutes.
Also the company should provide offers and discounts that would help to gain good customer
base and provide them quality services to gain loyalty of customers.
Internal Analysis of Amazon.com
Internal Analysis is important for an organisation as it helps to know about the
competencies and areas of development to attain a good position in the market. VRIO Analysis is
done to internal analysis of the company.
VRIO analysis
VRIO Analysis is used to analyse the internal forces that impacts the company. It checks the
unique and rare resources of the company and formulate strategies that are beneficial for the
company.
RESOURCES VALUE RARE INIMMITABLE ORGANISED
Employees Yes Yes Yes Yes
Brand Image Yes Yes Yes No
Global Presence Yes No No No
Customer Loyalty Yes Yes No Yes
Valuable- This shows that the resources of company are valuable and helps to make
more profit. The employees of amazon are hard working and work with full dedication fro the
organisation. Company has developed a brand image in the market that has helped the company
to gain loyal customers (Ahmed and Meenar, 2018). Along with that Amazon has its operations
in various comp0anies that is beneficial for the organisation. All these resources are valuable for
the company.
Rear- The means the resources used by company are rear and not every organisation has
access to those resources. Amazon has provide proper training and development to its employees
so the human resource of Amazon is rear. It takes time to build a brand image in the market and
every company is unable to formulate such image in the market (Beachcroft-Shaw and Ellis,

2017). The customers of Amazon are loyal towards the organisation and that is also rare in case
of various companies.
Inimitable: The resources that can not be copied easily are called inimitable. Employees
can not be copied by other organisations as Amazon have provided proper training to its
employees and they are loyal towards the company. Brand image can not be copied as that is
made by company due to its valuable services.
Organised- It is important to organise the process and resources of company to achieve
success. The employees of Amazon are organised and they provide quality services to its
customers that shows that the customers base of the company is also organised.
Porter's Value Chain
Another method for analysing the internal factors that have influence on the company is
Porter's Value Chain. This model discusses the collection of activities that are performed by the
company to serve its customers. It is a structure that shows interdependence of conversion of raw
materials to finished goods. The Porters value chain in respect to Amazon is discussed below:

Inbound logistics: Amazon does not have long term contact with vendors. Amazon use
logistics to serve the market place.
Operations: The operations that are performed by the company. The operations of
Amazon are divided in three segment (Koskinen, Linnanen and Breyer, 2018). Those segments
are Amazon Web Services (AWS), International, North America.
Outbound logistics: Amazon outbound logistic integrates Co-sourced and outsourced
arrangements, Digital delivery, Fulfilment centres and Physical stores.
Marketing & sales: Amazon focuses on marketing and sales department to increase its
sales to compete in this competitive market. There marketing conveys and promises to provide
variety of goods, fast delivery at attractive prices.
Support Activities: The activities that are supporting the business of Amazon are
considered as support activities. In relation to Amazon are mentioned below.
HRM: As the development and success of company depends on the employees. It is
important to recruit and select skilled and talented staff for the company. Amazon recruits the
best employees for the organisation (Laužikas and Miliūtė, 2020).
Technology: Technology is an important element for growth and development of an
organisation. Amazon focuses on using best technology and taking advantage of technological
advancement to serve its customers and provide them better services.
Critical analysis and evaluation of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a management term that takes care of social and
environmental concerns and try to reduce those in the business operations. Carroll’s CSR
pyramid is described below:
Carroll’s CSR pyramid

This is a framework that helps to understand the need and importance of social
responsibility that an organisation should follow. This framework is in form of pyramid and
there are four responsibilities that are mentioned below in respect to Amazon:
Economic Responsibility: It is economic responsibility of company to fulfil the needs
and wants of customers by providing the goods and services. Amazon assures that the product
they are selling is at affordable price and normal customer is able to afford the product
(Johannsdottir and McInerney, 2018). Also the economic responsibility includes giving fair ways
and pay to all its employees as they are helping the company to grow and become successful.
Legal Responsibility: It is legal responsibility of every company to follow all the laws
that are formed for the company. Amazon is a multinational organisation and has its operations
all over the globe. So the company has to follow the legal requirements of all the nations along
with that they have take care of cyber security. It is important for an organisation to follow the
legal responsibility.
Ethical Responsibility: It is important for an organisation to follow the ethics as they
operate in society that they have to serve. A company should understand what is right and what
is not for the organisation and should work accordingly. Amazon tries to work according to
ethical responsibility and according to ethics.
Philanthropic responsibility: The last level of Carroll’s CSR is philanthropic
responsibility which includes its responsibility towards the society. Amazon participates in
donation activities and is indulged in charity. It is responsibility of organisations to participate in
social activities and should contribute to the society.
A company to be successful should follow all the responsibilities that will help the
company to establish a brand image and gain competitive advantage in the market. Along with
that company should focus on profit earning.

SWOT analysis of Amazon
SWOT Analysis help the company to identify the strengths and competencies that are
contributing to growth of the company (Wood, 2017). Weakness should also be identified be
identified and worked upon. Amazon makes proper research and analyses the opportunities and
grab them while try to eliminate the threats.
Strengths-
 Amazon is world’s leading online retailer and they focus on providing variety of products
to its customers and attract more and more customers.
 The company has achieved competitive advantage and is using information technology to
achieve success. Amazon focuses on customers and provide them quality goods and services at affordable
price because of which they have loyal customers.
Weakness-
 As amazon provides free shipping to its customers because of which they are loosing
profit margins. Amazon has diversified the business and because of which the focus is waved from its
core competence of retailing books online.
Opportunity-
 As amazon provides the option of online payment they have able to boost the sales. The company has option to expand its operations at other places and the company can
increase its portfolio to attract more and more customers.
Threats-

 The biggest threat that Amazon is facing is related to privacy of customers as the data of
customers can be exposed.
 Along with there is a lot of competition that is faced by the company. Also the company
has to face competition from local retailers.
Recommendations for Global Development in context to Amazon
Amazon is a successful business that has its operations around the globe but to develop
globally below mentioned are the recommendation for the organisation:
 Amazon should develop strategies that help them to gain competitive advantage as there
are many competitors of the company.
 Company should focus on cyber security as there is so much risk in today's time. As there
will be problem if data of customers is hacked.
 Amazon should make proper research before expanding its operations. As it is important
to know about the impact of external factors on the business operations.
 The marketing plan could also be improvised to attract more customers and to improve
the brand image. As Amazon is less focused on advertisement as compared to its
competitors.
CSR Dilemmas the Amazon.com Board of Directors' face
The company is facing dilemmas related to CSR as Amazon has received worst rating as
the BOD do not provide an information related to environmental degradation. The company do
not makes proper report and the company has no policy for toxic chemicals used in the
production. Also the company is having negative publicity of tax avoidance in countries like UK
and US.
The impact of Global development recommendation on these dilemmas and the
Recommendations to improve it
The following should be done by company to establish a positive image in the market:
 Amazon should improve its image and remove the tag of tax avoidant by paying proper
and timely taxes.
 The company is earning good profits so they should contribute some percentage of profit
towards Corporate Social Responsibility and reduce environmental harm.

 The company should manage waste and try to establish the factories at non domestic area
of the society and should follow the measures that are set by government.
It is important and beneficial for company to contribute to corporate social responsibility
as it helps to establish a brand image in the market and gain advantage over competitors.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that Amazon considered one of the Big Five
companies in the U.S. The company has formulated various strategies to make global presence.
There are various internal and external factors that have impact on business and are discussed in
the report. As it is important to study those factors and formulate strategies. Along with this
Recommendations for Global Development in context to Amazon are also mentioned. In the end
corporate dilemmas that are faced by company ans recommendations to improve them are
discussed.

REFRENCES
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