...Comparing Two Similar Businesses: Amazon.com & Borders Books Strayer University Bus 302 – Management Concepts October 31, 2011 Envisioned by its company founder and CEO Jeff Bezos since 1994 as "Earth's most customer-centric company" Amazon.com today, with more than 17 million customers and over a billion and a half dollars in annual sales, stands as the world’s largest E-commerce E-tailer. Named after the Amazon River, one of the largest and most exotic rivers in the world, Amazon.com started as an online bookstore but quickly diversified its selling efforts to DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, and toys with the aim, as implied by its logo “A to Z with a smile,” to attain customer satisfaction and carry every product from A to Z. Although it was a slow starter, not showing a profit for the first five years, and enduring the dot-com burst, Amazon.com persevered and now profitable it is recognized as having popularized online shopping (Schneider, 2011). Without any experience in the business of selling books, Jeff Bezos realized that the books had a great potential shipping profile for online sales. Always believing in the economic network effects, he decided to setup his company in Seattle, WA, very close to the largest book distribution warehouse and talented computer programmers in the U.S. According to a quote that Bezos said in an article publicized in U.S. News, “While we're crossing the...
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...Assignment 1: Comparing Two Similar Businesses Bus302: Management Concepts Border Books and Amazon.com both started out selling books. So, why is Amazon.com one of the largest retailers in the world and Borders Books is out of business? There are many things that go into making a business a success. It is not enough to have a product to sell and a location to sell that product. In order to understand the difference between Amazon.com and Borders Books, it is important to look at the history and core business of each company, the management approach each company took to Internet marketing and sales, the reasons for Amazon’s success despite not turning a profit for the first five to six years, the reasons Borders Books, although they were initially successful ended up in bankruptcy, the extent to which the management of each company adapted to changing market conditions, and ways a company should build flexibility to back up its decision making process so to adapt to changing market conditions. In order to understand the difference between Amazon.com and Border Books, it is important to understand the history and core business of each company. Looking at Amazon.com first, Amazon.com opened for business on July, 16 1995. “The company was nothing more than a few people packing and shipping boxes of books from a two-car garage” (Webley, 2010). The company was using a desk made out of an old door to pack the books. When Amazon.com first started selling...
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...Title: Comparing Two Similar Businesses Name: Latosha Faust Course: BUS 302 Management Concepts Date: 7/25/12 Instructor: J. Angles Describe the history and core business of each company. Jeff Bezos, vice-president of the Wall Street firm D.E. Shaw, left his job in 1994, moved to Seattle, and began to work on a business plan that would become Amazon.com. After reading a report that projected annual web growth at 2,300 percent, Bezos drew up a list of 20 products that could be sold on the internet. He then narrowed his list to what he felt were the five most promising: compact discs, computer hardware, computer software, videos, and books. Bezos eventually decided his venture would sell books over the web, due to the large worldwide market for literature, the low price that could be offered for books, and the tremendous selection of titles available in print. A businessman by the name of Nick Hanauer believed in Bezos' idea and invested $40,000 in his venture. When Amazon first debuted online in 1995, its layout was not as flashy as it is today. In fact, the site looked very plain and unattractive to most visitors, causing the business to start on shaky ground. A man by the name of Tom Alburg decided to invest $100,000 in Amazon in 1995, which helped the company fund a better-looking website and hosting capabilities. If he wanted people to come back as customers, Bezos new he had to create more than just a bookstore. The option of buyers to write their own book...
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...Comparing Two Similar Companies Business 302 Strayer University August 12, 2011 Abstract In comparing, Amazon.com and Borders Books, two of the most prominent sources of literature within the industry at one time offering a great selection of reading material for students and avaricious readers. For 40 years Borders Books served the public with establishing 659 stores at the height of their success but after years of debt the struggling company could not withstand the changing times and competitive market. Meanwhile, Amazon survived the worst of the struggling economy and competitive market at its peak during hardship. Amazon a fortune 500 company with many other diversified items to greater serves the public and its loyal customers. In times of adversity and economy failure Amazon found ways to adapt to the changing conditions of the market, contemporaneously Borders went on a downward spiral and never recovered. Introduction The history of Amazon and Borders Books goes back to times of great success at the height of competition in online shopping. Realizing the popularity of online shopping Amazon started changing with the time, which was the differences between them and Borders because paperbacks were becoming obsolete just like everything else within society after the Internet. Amazon one of the first big companies to sell books over the Internet in 1994 quickly diversified with numerous other items (Schneider, 2011). Borders management did not...
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...Week 4 Assignment 1 . Students, please view the "Submit a Clickable Rubric Assignment" in the Student Center. Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor Center. Assignment 1: Comparing Two Similar Businesses Due Week 4 and worth 280 points Access articles about the history, business approach, management, and marketing of Amazon.com and Borders Books. Amazon (primarily an online book and product sales site) started in the mid 1990s and was not profitable in the first few years but has grown and become very successful and highly profitable. By contrast, Borders bookstore, which started in 1971, was successful and profitable up until 2004. Borders filed for Chapter 11 in 2011. Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you: 1.Describe the history and core business of each company. 2.Compare and contrast the management approach each took to Internet marketing and sales. 3.Analyze three (3) reasons for Amazon’s success despite not turning a profit for the first five to six (5-6) years. 4.Discuss three (3) reasons Borders, although initially successful and profitable, ended up in Chapter 11. 5.Discuss the extent to which the management of each company adapted to changing market conditions. 6.Recommend three (3) ways a company should build in flexibility to back up its decision-making process so as to adapt to changing market conditions. 7.Use at least three (3) quality sources to support the content of the paper. Your assignment...
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...Comparing Two Similar Businesses Professor Kevin McKenzie BUS 302- Management Concepts April 29, 2012 Describe the history and core business of each company. Amazon is considered one of the biggest retail internet companies of today.It is a plain and simple site that attracts an online community. Amazon opened for business July 16, 1995 by a young man named Jeff Bezos. It started out as nothing more than a few people packing and shipping boxes of books from a two car garage in Bellevue, Washington. The books were ordered on line then packaged and mailed away. Today, Amazon is one of the largest retail online companies in the world. Amazon started out as a only having books on sale to being able to purchase items ranging from music CD’s, to clothing. The best thing about Amazon would be the price of the products/ items. Many of the items are sold cheaper on Amazon than in a local retail store. Amazon has grown to be the easiest way of shopping online. Amazon’s core business is definitely good as well as keeping their promises. It has grown from books to products in over 30 categories but the business model are intact. Amazon’s goal is to attract customers with a competitive, cheap retail service that would be hard for any other retail store can compete. Amazon also offers many discount prices, is easy to navigate through for shopping, and has a quick, easy way to checking out. Due to the great shipping charges, great turnaround for shipping merchandise...
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...Appendix 19 Executive Summary Borders Bookstore is a major leader in the book retail industry, with a differentiated strategy focusing on customer experience and a category management system. New technological growth such as the “Title Sleuth” and e-commerce capabilities allow Borders to stay competitive. The book retail industry is affected by the recent decline of the USA economy, though Borders continues to make a profit. Globalization and technology are factors of the industry, as well as dealing with large amounts of inventory. The competition is fierce and aggressive, consisting of Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Books-A-Million, independent book sellers, Wal-Mart, Target, and Sam’s Club. Rivalry among competitors is amplified between Borders and Barnes and Noble. Other forces, such as substitutes, buyers, suppliers, of the industry environment range in strength. Comparing Borders and Barnes and Noble’s financial data shows that Borders appears to be gaining more profits and using equity more advantageously than the competitor. Yet, Borders must not lose sight of its own weaknesses and threats. Focusing on strengths and opportunities, while improving weaknesses is key for Borders’ success. The value net for Borders is another consideration for the company. Although customers are the number one priority, Borders must realize the effect its decisions have on the stakeholders. Borders seems to be leading the market, and should remain competitive...
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...of the world’s major markets from each other. Many countries set tariffs very high to discourage international trade and investments. More recently, the walls of high tariffs have been removed to reveal a more connected environment ripe for international trade. This phenomenon, termed as globalization, encompasses the ongoing economic integration and growing interdependency of countries worldwide (Cavusgil). In this new environment, the country borders are not deterrents to trade. Instead because of incentives and technology, other countries have become opportunities to expand market share. To exemplify this world environment, this study involves comparing the consumer experience in searching for a product on an US based company website with a global audience as opposed to a US based company website with a US audience. The basis for comparison involves search behavior and results as well as buying behavior intentions. The subjects of this study are Amazon.com and Bookpassage.com. Background: Amazon.com, Inc. Amazon.com, Inc. is headquartered in Seattle Washington and is termed America’s largest online retailer as of January 2010. (Wikipedia). Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos, this company began as an online bookstore but later expanded its offerings to include DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food and toys. Amazon has established separate websites...
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...Bowman’s strategy clock.........................13 Section 3 Implementation issues............................... 16 Cultural web................................................16 Kotters 8 step theory................................18 Conclusion....................................................21 Reference list..............................................22 Appendix..........................................................30 Managing Strategy 3 Amazon INTRODUCTION Amazon is an e-commerce platform based organisation established in 1995 by Jeffrey P. Bezos. Amazon.com is based in Washington, United States. Amazon is recognised as customer centric e-commerce organisation giving wide varieties, low price offers and convenience to its customers by offering services virtually. Amazon provides retail websites and platforms for third parties to sell their products and services on their websites, such as, amazon.com. amazon.co.uk, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.jp, amazon.fr and for third parties, a9.com, alexa.com, imdb.com etc. Amazon in 2006 launched Amazon web services, which is known as cloud computing which provides servers & IT expertise for those who are recently...
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...Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) is an American-based multinational electronic commerce company. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, it is America's largest online retailer, with nearly three times the Internet sales revenue of the runner up, Staples, Inc., as of January 2010.[3] Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com, Inc. in 1994 and launched it online in 1995. It started as an online bookstore, but soon diversified to product lines of VHS, DVD, music CDs and MP3s, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and so on. Amazon has established separate websites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, and China. It also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. On January 15, 2009, a survey published by Verdict Research found that Amazon was the UK's favorite music and video retailer, and came third in overall retail rankings.[4] History Amazon was founded in 1995,[5] spurred by what Bezos called "regret minimization framework", his effort to fend off regret for not staking a claim in the Internet gold rush.[6] While company lore says Bezos wrote the business plan while he and his wife drove from New York to Seattle,[7] that account appears to be apocryphal.[8] The company began as an online bookstore;[8] while the largest brick-and-mortar bookstores and mail-order catalogs for books might offer 200,000 titles, an online bookstore could offer more. Bezos named the company "Amazon" after the world's...
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...sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (þ44) (0) 1865 843830; fax: (þ44) (0) 1865 853333; email: permissions@elsevier.com. Alternatively you can submit your request online by visiting the Elsevier website at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ permissions, and selecting Obtaining permission to use Elsevier material British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Control Number: 2005938727 ISBN–13: 978-0-7506-6731-9 ISBN–10: 0-7506-6731-1 For information on all Butterworth-Heinemann publications visit our website at http:/ /books.elsevier.com Printed and bound in The Netherlands 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1 Introduction Key issues Defining e-business The development of the new economy Types of e-business and related industries The growth of e-business Use of the internet Key people Scope of the book Structure of the book Case studies References Chapter 2 E-business technology Key issues...
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...IV 1 Introduction.................................................................................................. 1 2 Market Leadership as a Strategic Goal in Electronic Commerce ................ 1 2.1 Value Chains and Actors in EC............................................................. 1 2.2 Principles for Success in Electronic Commerce.................................... 3 2.3 Porter’s Branch Structure Analysis applied to EC Markets ................... 4 2.4 Context Factors and Value Creation Potentials in EC Markets ............. 8 2.5 First Mover Advantage and the Role of the Pioneer ............................. 9 3 Amazon.com – The Road to Market Leadership ....................................... 10 3.1 Company Portrait ................................................................................ 10 3.2 Redefining Book Retailing: Amazon vs. Barnes & Noble .................... 11 3.3 Realizing the...
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...S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights. For Isabella and Calista Stone When you are eighty years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. —Jeff Bezos, commencement speech at Princeton University, May 30, 2010 Prologue In the early 1970s, an industrious advertising executive named Julie Ray became fascinated with an unconventional public-school program for gifted children in Houston, Texas. Her son was among the first students enrolled in what would later be called the Vanguard program, which stoked creativity and independence in its students and nurtured expansive, outside-the-box thinking. Ray grew so enamored with the curriculum and the community of enthusiastic teachers and parents that she set out to research similar schools around the state with an eye toward writing a book about Texas’s fledgling gifted-education movement. A few years later, after her son had moved on...
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...M02_TURB3315_05_SE_C02.QXD 9/4/07 7:54 PM Page 42 2 E-MARKETPLACES: STRUCTURES, MECHANISMS, ECONOMICS, AND IMPACTS Learning Objectives Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to: 1. Define e-marketplaces and list their components. 2. List the major types of e-marketplaces and describe their features. 3. Describe the various types of EC intermediaries and their roles. 4. Describe electronic catalogs, shopping carts, and search engines. 5. Describe the major types of auctions and list their characteristics. 6. Discuss the benefits, limitations, and impacts of auctions. 7. Describe bartering and negotiating online. 8. Define m-commerce and explain its role as a market mechanism. 9. Discuss competition in the digital economy. 10. Describe the impact of e-marketplaces on organizations and industries. CHAPTER Content How Blue Nile Inc. Is Changing the Jewelry Industry 2.1 E-Marketplaces 2.2 Types of E-Marketplaces: From Storefronts to Portals 2.3 Transactions, Intermediation, and Processes in E-Commerce 2.4 Electronic Catalogs and Other Market Mechanisms 2.5 Auctions as EC Market Mechanisms 2.6 Bartering and Negotiating Online 2.7 E-Commerce in the Wireless Environment: M-Commerce and L-Commerce 2.8 Competition in the Digital Economy and Its Impact on Industries 2.9 Impacts of EC on Business Processes and Organizations Managerial Issues Real-World Case: Wal-Mart Leads RFID Adoption Appendix 2A: Build-to-Order Production ISBN: 0-558-13856-X 42 ...
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...|BPR |23rd March | | |2011 | | | | ROLE OF IT IN BPR Submitted By Abhinav Johnson (F09001) Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 4 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IT & BPR 6 IT Capabilities and Reengineering 6 Phase 1: before the process is designed (as an enabler) 7 Phase 2: while the process is being designed (as a facilitator) 9 Phase 3: after the design is complete (as an implementer) 13 ROLE OF IT IN REENGINEERING 16 Principles of Reengineering by Hammer 17 BPR – The Current focus in IT 20 Concept of Database 20 Data Mining: 20 Data Warehousing 21 STRATEGIC USES OF IT AND CRITICALITY OF IT 22 BPR TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES 23 The Nature of IT Support for BPR 23 Integrated Enterprise Models 24 Analysis 26 Software Functionality 28 New ways of building models 29 Communication and Visualization 30 Intended...
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