Read the following case-based extract regarding Amazon and answer the questions that follow. Amazon Ever since Amazon went online in 1995, the e-commerce juggernaut has undergone a slew of changes – despite being led by the same man, Jeff Bezos, during the ensuing two-plus decades. When the Seattle-based company first launched its website, all it sold was books. Gradually, Bezos and his team expanded Amazon’s offerings to include things like CDs and DVDs. But Amazon never really stopped changing the inventory it sold. 18; 19; 20 2020 © The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2020 Page 7 of 8 Bezos said he wanted his store to become the world’s largest, so he worked hard toward meeting that goal – whether that meant offering new products, launching Amazon Prime, launching Amazon Instant Video ... the list goes on and on. Today, Amazon sells more than 200 million products to customers all over the world. Though for years, Amazon’s detractors insisted that the company wasn’t making enough profits to justify any investments, that all changed in 2015 when the company posted back-to-back successful quarters. The market responded kindly, and today Amazon boasts a market valuation of more than $440 billion. But Bezos isn’t anywhere close to done yet. There are talks of Amazon delivering packages via drone. And if that wasn’t enough, Bezos recently said he hopes Amazon can produce as many as 16 feature films each year. In 2017, Bezos and his team took home three Oscars. Indeed, it appears as though Amazon is a company that can be characterized as changing constantly. To date, they’ve been successful, probably because the company is always putting its customers first. 2 ) Describe any key external force of change at play in the Amazon case-based extract. 1 ) It’s clear from the Amazon case-based extract that change has been a key feature of Amazon’s success. John Kotter developed an ‘Eight Step Process’, stressing that change is a process not a checklist. Briefly discuss Kotter’s ‘Eight Step Process’ and do you think that it is something that Amazon could have used in its quest to implement change in its business. Why?
Critical Path Method
The critical path is the longest succession of tasks that has to be successfully completed to conclude a project entirely. The tasks involved in the sequence are called critical activities, as any task getting delayed will result in the whole project getting delayed. To determine the time duration of a project, the critical path has to be identified. The critical path method or CPM is used by project managers to evaluate the least amount of time required to finish each task with the least amount of delay.
Cost Analysis
The entire idea of cost of production or definition of production cost is applied corresponding or we can say that it is related to investment or money cost. Money cost or investment refers to any money expenditure which the firm or supplier or producer undertakes in purchasing or hiring factor of production or factor services.
Inventory Management
Inventory management is the process or system of handling all the goods that an organization owns. In simpler terms, inventory management deals with how a company orders, stores, and uses its goods.
Project Management
Project Management is all about management and optimum utilization of the resources in the best possible manner to develop the software as per the requirement of the client. Here the Project refers to the development of software to meet the end objective of the client by providing the required product or service within a specified Period of time and ensuring high quality. This can be done by managing all the available resources. In short, it can be defined as an application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to meet the objective of the Project. It is the duty of a Project Manager to achieve the objective of the Project as per the specifications given by the client.
Question 3
Read the following case-based extract regarding Amazon and answer the questions that follow.
Amazon Ever since Amazon went online in 1995, the e-commerce juggernaut has undergone a slew of changes – despite being led by the same man, Jeff Bezos, during the ensuing two-plus decades. When the Seattle-based company first launched its website, all it sold was books. Gradually, Bezos and his team expanded Amazon’s offerings to include things like CDs and DVDs. But Amazon never really stopped changing the inventory it sold. 18; 19; 20 2020 © The Independent Institute of Education (Pty) Ltd 2020 Page 7 of 8 Bezos said he wanted his store to become the world’s largest, so he worked hard toward meeting that goal – whether that meant offering new products, launching Amazon Prime, launching Amazon Instant Video ... the list goes on and on. Today, Amazon sells more than 200 million products to customers all over the world. Though for years, Amazon’s detractors insisted that the company wasn’t making enough profits to justify any investments, that all changed in 2015 when the company posted back-to-back successful quarters. The market responded kindly, and today Amazon boasts a market valuation of more than $440 billion. But Bezos isn’t anywhere close to done yet. There are talks of Amazon delivering packages via drone. And if that wasn’t enough, Bezos recently said he hopes Amazon can produce as many as 16 feature films each year. In 2017, Bezos and his team took home three Oscars. Indeed, it appears as though Amazon is a company that can be characterized as changing constantly. To date, they’ve been successful, probably because the company is always putting its customers first.
2 ) Describe any key external force of change at play in the Amazon case-based extract.
1 ) It’s clear from the Amazon case-based extract that change has been a key feature of Amazon’s success. John Kotter developed an ‘Eight Step Process’, stressing that change is a process not a checklist. Briefly discuss Kotter’s ‘Eight Step Process’ and do you think that it is something that Amazon could have used in its quest to implement change in its business. Why?
Step by step
Solved in 2 steps
