Business and Management: Contemporary Development Analysis of Amazon

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of Amazon's contemporary development in business and management. It begins with an executive summary, followed by an introduction to the concept of contemporary development within the context of Amazon, an e-commerce giant. Task 1 delves into the primary external influences, including political, economic, sociological, technological, environmental, and legal factors, using a PESTLE analysis to assess their impact on Amazon's operations in the UK. The report highlights the significance of these factors and their effects on Amazon's strategies. Task 2 focuses on the relevance of the marketing communication mix, evaluating its impact on the company's policies and decision-making processes. It critically assesses the effectiveness of Amazon's responses to these influences and suggests areas for improvement. The report concludes by summarizing the key findings and providing references to support the analysis. This report provides a detailed overview of the company's business and management strategies, including the impact of external factors and marketing communication mix.

Contemporary Development in Business
and Management

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report describes about the contemporary development through which a firm
becomes able in facing the changes that are occurs in the workplace. It is very essential for the
management of Amazon to understand the concept of contemporary development before making
any changes in their workplace. This report includes the external environmental factors which
influences on the business operations and function of a firm in positive and negative manner. The
external environment factor and their impact on the business operations can be analysed through
PESTLE analysis. A marketing communication mix is studied from which different tool for
interacting with customers are outlined that is direct selling, digital marketing, etc.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................4
Overview of the primary external influences and their importance for the firm....................4
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................7
1) Relevance of Marketing communication mix and its impact on the policies and decision
making of firm........................................................................................................................7
2) Critical Evaluation of effectiveness of organisation's response.......................................10
3) Demonstration of improvement in the response of firm..................................................12
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................13
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................14

INTRODUCTION
Contemporary development is defined as a development of the firm in current situation
so that the changes can be adopted according to the situations and changing era. In addition to
this, it is defined as the changes which can be adopted by the managers through analysing the
past experience. The changes may include modifications in the current plans and policies of the
firm. The chosen organisation for this assignment is Amazon which is an e-commerce firm and
providing its services in all over the world. The firm was founded in 1994 in Washington. This
report will discuss about the impact of macro environmental factors on the business operations
along with marking communication mix and its relevancy, evaluation and improvement will also
covered in this report.
TASK 1
Overview of the primary external influences and their importance for the firm
Amazon is an e-commerce firm with the headquarters in Washington, U.S the functions of
the firm are also influenced by the conditions of nation. It is providing various services in the UK
nation such as logistics, cloud computing, channel services etc. The firm has started its business
in the year of 1998 now the firm is providing its services across the UK.
There are a large number of factors through which the performance of firms is affected.
These factors are not connected with the firm directly but they gave a large impact on the
operations of firm (Van der Wagen, and White, 2018). This kind of factors are also known as the
Macro environmental factors which affects the functions of firm that includes political,
economic, legal, technological and many more. The influence of these factors on the business
operations of Amazon can more understood by as under:
Political environment: This factor is directly linked with the political conditions and
stability of the country where company is operating their business operations. It includes political
stability, restrictions on different types of trades, tariffs, rules and regulation etc. There is
political stability in UK so it won't create any problem for amazon to change their policies
accordingly. Though Brexit has created negative impact as company is planning to open two
more warehouse in UK but due to Brexit, if existing immigrant workforce would not be able to
live in UK then it will lead to increase in expenses of company. In 2018, UK government has
imposed Bezos Act due to low wages provided by amazon. It forces them to increase labour

wages which indirectly affects balance sheet in a negative way. So, it can be said that it is
important for the Amazon to analyse and regularly monitor the political conditions of UK for
managing sustainable business performance.
Economic environment: If country's economic condition is good then it also create a
positive impact on company operation as well as economic conditions directly affects price of
amazon product. It includes growth rate of gross domestic product, inflation rate, currency
fluctuations, etc. For instance, is inflation rate is high then amazon have to lower down their
prices as then only customer would be able to buy. Inflation rate of UK has surpassed existing
rate and rose to 2.5% due to weaker sterling which led to high shipment charges for amazon and
lower profitability of company. High inflation rate leads to lower disposable income of people
which is negative for company's growth rate. UK government debt is increasing since credit
crisis of 2008 due to which country could not able to provide subsidiary to the foreign countries.
To tackle this situation, amazon decrease their prices of products and is trying to invest more in
UK business so that people will get benefited from it which will also assist in managing goodwill
of firm. At last, UK is on the top position of ease of getting credits rank due to which it makes
the country favourable for business (Top Challenges of Doing Business in the UK, 2019)
Sociological environment: UK turns out to golden coin for Amazon as their sales and
turnover are increasing with a rapid growth rate. This factor is important for Amazon, as they
have changed their layout, pricing, promotions techniques etc according to the social trends
which have been running in the country. For instance, turnover of firm in Britain rose to 12.6 %
which is a positive sign for company in a competitive market. Main reason behind this success is
that amazon has understand the sociological conditions of the country. Sociological factor
includes latest trends, distribution of age, attitude towards life, beliefs, needs and preferences,
religion, etc. Amazon main focus is to understand the needs of customers as what types of cloths
and other products they prefer and at what cost. However, charges have been filed against
amazon for de ranking and removal of work done by LGBTQ people from their IMDB. It
affected company's image credibility and authenticity in the market. Furthermore, it has been
analysed that company need to modify their management and distribution strategy according to
the social trends in the market.
Technological environment: This is the only factor which helps company to gain
competitive advantage over others as amazon can capture any customer around the globe. For

instance, amazon ships product to those country also in which they are not operating their
business physically (Shire and Kerst, 2017). It consists advancement in R&D and Information
technology. As UK is sixth largest economy in the world, they have all the latest technologies
which could help Amazon to increase their quality and quantity of services they are offering. In
recent time, UK people are changing their preferences from cash transaction to online. As
amazon is equipped with all the technologies it would not affect their productivity at all. But on
the other hand, data breach is one of the problems which every company from Cloud computing;
E-commerce, AI is suffering from as it directly influences buying behaviour of people. Now
customers prefer to pay at the time of delivery instead of paying online. For instance, actress
Junie Hoang has filed case against amazon for revealing her real age through her credit card
details on IMBD site which is owned by them. Amazon have to secure its payment options and
try to protect customer confidential information to gain their trust again.
Environmental – This factor is also called ecological factor which influences the living
things. In the context of Amazon, the firm is providing their services in e-commerce sector
which requires a huge transportation system and storage system in their workplace. The firm is
based on delivering the products and services to their customers in a right way through which a
huge wastage is generated from the material handling department. These factors directly impact
environment and is leading various concerns (Osborne and et. al., 2014). UK government has
created strict laws such as Environmental law, 1995 which is followed by Amazon for protecting
environment which restricts firms from creating wastage in the environment of nation. It makes
positive impact on their brand image as well as sustainability in competitive market.
Organisation in this era are bound to make proper policies so that they can recycle their waste in
a proper way for protecting the environment of country. The UK government is focusing on fuel
saving so that the natural resources of nation are used in an effective manner. For this, the
management of Amazon have formulated various policies and invested a huge amount so that the
delivery of products can be conducted by the electric bikes and LPG based transportation system.
This investment will helpful for the firm as it supports the firm in terms of one-time investment
and benefit for a long time period. Hence, it can be said that the environmental factors are
helpful for the firm and guide them in making the environment free from the wastage through
which the impact of wastage on living individuals will be reduced.

Legal- These kinds of factors are related with the laws and legislations which are
formulated for the firms so that their functions can be performed in effective manner. These laws
are mostly created by the government which affects the business operations. In the case of
Amazon, the company is following the E-commerce regulations 2002 for rising products and
enhancement of import and export which have increases the demand of e-commerce products.
This E-commerce regulations 2002 is providing a huge benefit to the firm in terms of increasing
the revenue and sales figures. On the other hand, there are some regulations which provides a
negative impact on the business operations such as Electronic commerce act, 2000. Through this
act, the growth in electronic market is slowing due to which the electronic products are losing the
market share and sales of firm. UK government has formulated some laws for the e-commerce
sector so that the firm has to perform their functions in the boundaries of laws. UK government
has passed a law in which the firm has to buy a carbon credit through which they can release a
significant amount of carbon from the vehicles of firm. Due to this kind of legislations managers
of Amazon have to make more focus on these rules. Therefore, the managers of Amazon have to
invest some funds for this kind of factors through which they will able in performing their
business operations in effective manner.
TASK 2
1) Relevance of Marketing communication mix and its impact on the policies and decision
making of firm.
Marketing communication mix is defined as an art of promoting the product in the
marketplace so that the customers can get aware from the offerings of a particular firm. This
concept is wider because it includes development, merchandising and distribution along with
communication and pricing. Promotion is an essential tool for the firm because with the help of
it, customers can able in knowing the feature of offerings of firm and it also helps them in
selecting the product for purchasing. Marketing is also an essential tool through which the firm
can identify their targeted customers and spread the awareness about the offerings of firm.
In the present scenario, there is a huge competition in the market place therefore it is very
essential for every firm to promote their products or services (Grint, 2013). With the help of it,
firm can easily analyse the demands and wants of the customers and make changes in the product
accordingly. Marketing is a function which is performed by the firms for sending their messages

to their targeted customers. In the context of Amazon, the managers of firm have to use this tool
for promoting their quality of services. As the company is delivering services to their customers
therefore, the targeted customers of firms are those individuals who are usually book the
products and wants delivery of it on their preferred locations without visiting any physical stores.
There are some features which are considered by the managers of Amazon for adding in their
services such as online tracking of the goods, increasing the speed of supplying goods,
management of wastage, etc. all these features are considered the major features through which
the firm can take competitive advantage in future. These features are not only helping the firm in
attracting more customers but also helps them in increasing their market share in UK.
Marketing communication mix creates huge impact on the strategies and decision-making
process of a firm. Marketing communication mix enables different platforms to interact with
buyers which helps the firm to identify their target customers so that they can provide suitable
services. Marketing communication mix is providing a huge impact on the decision-making of
firm (Easterby-Smith, 2015). In the case of Amazon, for understanding its impact on the business
operations. The marketing mix is briefly explained as under:
Advertising – Marketing services of Amazon includes sponsored product ads, headline
service ads and product display ads on a cost-per-click which are provided to their partners.
Sponsored product ads is used on various online platforms in which the user needs to select the
product then the ads appear as sponsored product in the search result. The user only needs to pay
when the ad is clicked by the someone. It is the most important element of communication mix
in which focus of firm is on advertising services to boost sales and grab customer attention. In
Advertising all the messages are included that an organisation wants to communicate to their
customers. In this the firm pays an amount for reaching its targeted customers. It also includes
the messages and amounts of the budget which is estimated by the marketing manager of
Amazon for advertising function. In this process, the advertisers have whole control on the
messages which are delivered by them. Amazon implies use of different kind of channel for
delivering their messages to customers such as television, radio, pamphlets and other channels. It
also impacts on the decision-making process of Amazon because they have to allocate funds for
the advertising their product
Personal selling – It is generally known as direct marketing. This is common method for
communicating with the individuals. In earlier times, the amazon was using old method such as

door to door method which consumes more time and cost. But the current scenario is very
competitive, every firm wants to achieve a huge customer base for this they have chosen various
method for attracting a large number of customers towards the offerings of firm. In the case of
Amazon, their marketing manager have selected email method for providing information about
the products and services. With the help of this, the marketing team of Amazon can make
effective relations with the customers and also grab a huge customer base in the market.
Discount and promotions – This method is also similar with the advertisement. In this,
manufacturer who wants to increase the sales of its product. They have to provide discount to
their customers so that the customers get attracted towards the offerings of the firm. In this kind
of communication mix, the customer wants to buy those things which fulfils its needs and easily
available at low prices. In this element of market communication mix the focus of Amazon is on
Offer free shipping, using flash sales, offers discounts as per competitors and provide option of
buying more and moving more. . In the context of Amazon, it influences their decision-making
process as such method is used by the managers for attracting a large number of customers
towards the services of firm and also used when the sales figures are going down of firm. The
discount on the offerings can easily attract the customers because the customers wants the things
which can fulfils their expectations and easily afford by them.
Public relations – This method of market communication mix firms focus on making
effective relations with their customers because without this factor the brand image of the
product cannot be build and the product can't be sold in the marketplace. Under this kind of
method, the internal departments are integrated with the external departments of the firm. For
example- if the sales figure of a product is regularly going down then the marketing manager will
communicate with the production manager to stop the manufacturing products. With the help of
this method, the managers of Amazon can easily estimate the sales figure and profitability of the
firm. The firm focus on press release in which marketing team aim at making consumer aware
about the internal changes which helps the business in gaining customer trust and loyalty.
Direct marketing – It is the newest form of marketing communication mix. In this
method, marketing manager of Amazon can use email and mobile messaging methods but these
methods are not used in current time because they take more time and cost for delivering the
information to customers. Therefore, the latest form of this factor is Telemarketing by using this
method, marketing manager of Amazon can easily promote their products in front of a large

number of customers. So that, this method is most effective method when a large number of
customers are targeted by the firm. In this Amazon make use of social, sponsored search
and online advertising. This helps the firm in understanding customer expectation by tracking
their social media activities.
Event sponsorship – It is also a vital tool of marketing communication mix. In this
method, company wants to get attraction of customer in proper way. When amazon makes
sponsorship in sport event or programme it automatically builds a positive image of company in
the mind of customers. It is also called corporate social responsibility through which they can get
more positive response of the customers. It influences their decisions regarding conducting of an
event which assist their targeted customers in acquiring the knowledge about their services
offered by Amazon. Through this, management of Amazon can easily advertise their services for
attracting a large number of customers.
2) Critical Evaluation of effectiveness of organisation's response
Marketing communication Mix is a concept which is used by the firms for influencing
buying behaviour of customers. With the help of this concept, the business can easily identify
needs and demands of the customers and delivers services and products accordingly. Managers
have to identify the needs and provide services to customers so that their requirement will be
fulfil in effective manner. Make availability of the products for the customers without focusing
so much on the promotion tools. All the above features are very essential for customers. There
are some advantages of marketing mix which are given as under:
 Marketing communication mix is a wider concept because it helps the managers in
capturing huge market share with building a strong brand image of firm. Personal selling
is an effective tool of marketing communication mix through which Amazon can easily
sell their services. Whereas, it reduces the faith of customers towards the firm and also
impact on the brand image of firm.
 Direct marketing and advertising both methods are helpful for the Amazon in order to
attracting the customers towards offerings of firm. With the help of this, they can easily
communicate their information with the customers. On the other hand, the response of the
customers are lower then the expectations of the marketing managers of Amazon. Some
time it influence negatively on the brand image of firm.

 In event sponsorship the marketing manager of Amazon can easily target their customers
and promote their products or services in effective manner and the customer will also
gave their positive response towards the offerings of firm but when the event is over the
response of customer will over. Therefore, the event sponsorship can provide profitability
to the firm for a short time period because it is depending on the event.
On the other hand, there are some improvement which can be taken from the above advantages
of this concept which are given as under:
 In this concept, organisation have to invest more time and money for making effective
strategies and adding features in their products and services. As all features are essential
for the services so the managers of amazon have to make effective calculation of time
and money which will be invested by them for increasing the value of their services.
 This concept is not focusing on the behaviour and preferences of the customers. when all
the decision is made by the managers it influenced on the other sections therefore, the
behaviour of clients is not considered by the marketing communication mix. In the
context of Amazon, their managers are not able in taking decisions in that area where the
behaviour of customers is most important need.
 The marketing communication mix is a tool which is used by the firm for increasing the
sales figures and revenue. In this, customers are only targeted but not considered as the
main element of this process because this process is used for selling and promoting the
product. It is not considered the needs and wants of customers which can be decreases
sales figures some time (Kaplan, 2014). In the case of Amazon, the relations with the
customers are not considered in decision making process.
3) Demonstration of improvement in the response of firm.
 The company can improve their marketing strategies using the marketing communication
mix. With the help of this, company can easily attract and communicate with their
customers in an effective manner. The company can take feedback and suggestion from
their customers regarding their product and services and even can make improvement in
the product based on the feedback.
 Customers are considered as a targeted element which increases the sales figures and
revenue of the firm. For this, company have to provide pre-sale services and post-sale
services to them through which they can easily build healthy relations with the customers.

By using this method, company will attract a large number of customers towards their
offering and build a good image of company in the mind of customers.
 In order to reducing the cost and time of firm has to hire a knowledgeable and experience
candidates. By taking the support of the new candidate, the time and cost of firm will be
surely decreased. Company will easily select the direct marketing method of marketing
communication mix which will beneficial for the firm and increases the sales figures and
satisfaction of customers.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the above report that firm get influenced by the macro
environmental factors. The company is affected by the various environmental factors such as
political, economic, legal etc. which decreases the sales figures and profitability of firm. The
controlling of this factor at a particular time is very essential because it can affect the operational
activities of firm for a long time period. Whereas, the marketing communication mix is very
important because it guides and supports the managers to choose an effective method through
which the company can easily promote the offerings and takes competitive advantage in the
marketplace.

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