BUS FPX 3007 Assessment 2: Developing a Business Perspective

Companies must invest in the creation of a comprehensive set of strategic focus. In the modern era, businesses are evaluated by consumers based on how they can live up to their respective corporate mission, vision, and goals. The public also uses these strategic statements to compare firms in the same industry, mainly to evaluate the alignment in the strategic objectives and business tactics adopted by organizations. Companies within the same industry are using these facets as strategic tools to enhance their connection and relationship with their customers, while also strengthening their market position (Stangis, Smith, and Boston, 2017). 

BUS FPX 3007 Assessment 2: Developing a Business Perspective

Amazon.com presents a succinct corporate statement about the company’s identity on its corporate website. Discussed under the “Who We Are” article is the firm’s implied vision “to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, Earth’s best employer, and Earth’s safest place to work”. Apart from this, the company fails to present its mission statement. This can be improved by creating direct and identifiable mission and vision statements that are comparable with the statements of its competitors. In this way, the central objective and primary outlook of the firm are made available to the public. More importantly, a competitively positioned mission and vision statement can help Amazon.com in strengthening its corporate citizenship while transforming it into an internal competitive advantage (Stangis, Smith, and Boston, 2017). Amazon stated its vision in an implied manner; hence, its impact and power get diluted because it is not distinguishable (Leape, et al., 2020). 

A clearly defined vision statement, after all, functions as a guide for the strategic decisions made by the company’s leaders (Ashkenas and Moore, 2022). A well-written mission statement supports the ideas of a vision statement because it helps the company identify the critical stakeholders who will be affected by the activities of the business, and how the company will deliver its promises to its beneficiaries (Stangis, Smith, and Boston, 2017). Even if Amazon presented its corporate principles through its website, it fails to account for whom the company aims to dedicate and deliver the outcomes of its actions. 

Amazon must upgrade its website and include a separate heading for the mission and vision statement within the Who We Are page in the company’s corporate website. The discussions can be organized in frames, alongside the existing contents for leadership principles, company awards, and corporate position. From this, hyperlinks can be added in the statements to provide access to a variety of company-published and company-owned resources presenting the different programs spearheaded by the company to support its corporate mission statement (Leape, et al., 2020). For the vision statement, it is ideal to embed a variety of content such as videos and stories of pertinent data summarizing Amazon’s corporate goals, plans, and current initiatives that are aligned with the imagery encompassed in the firm’s short-term and long-term outlook for the business. An interactive infographic resource or animated presentation embedded in the webpage is recommended to make the presentation of the corporate mission and vision statements attractive and interesting. These materials summarize Amazon’s corporate programs aligned with the vision statement. These mentioned web elements will aid in creating an impactful mission statement for the intended audiences. Amazon can do this by leveraging it tech capabilities which is a competitive advantage of the firm. 

BUS FPX 3007 Assessment 2: Developing a Business Perspective

Amazon, on the other hand, did well by providing a thorough and comprehensive discussion about the company’s ethical prescriptions through its “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” which can be accessed through the company’s Investor Relations page. It is part of the firm’s corporate governance publication. It is well organized, itemized, and succinctly stated which helps the target audiences to identify the company’s level of commitment to honest, transparent, legal, and ethical business operations (Massotte, 2017). The company’s code of ethics also narrates the actions, behaviors, and corporate conduct that Amazon employees are required to adhere to so that the company can fulfill its promises, responsibilities, and duties to the external stakeholders and corporate shareholders. The extensive but concise listing of the components of Amazon’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics also highlights the critical areas where employees are deemed vital assets. 

Amazon.com may be a leading firm in the eCommerce industry and cloud computing services market, but we can do more by revisiting our strategic focus. It is vital that Amazon.com creates a distinct set of mission and vision statements and share it with the public through the company’s website so that it can establish a stronger position in the market by differentiating its corporate purpose from its industry competitors. Perhaps most importantly, having a formal mission and vision statements can strengthen the value of the products and services that Amazon.com creates and offers in the market for its customers. Amazon’s ethical commitment, meanwhile, must be continuously strengthened by routinely updating the elements included in the firm’s code of conduct to ensure that the firm can adapt and respond to the changing ethical challenges in the continuously evolving business environment. 

References

Amazon.com. (2022). Who We Are. https://www.aboutamazon.com/about-us 

Amazon.com. (2022). Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. https://ir.aboutamazon.com/corporate-governance/documents-and-charters/code-of-business-conduct-and-ethics/default.aspx 

Ashkenas, R. & Moore, P. (2022, Apr 8). Keeping Sight of Your Company’s Long-Term Vision. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2022/04/keeping-sight-of-your-companys-long-term-vision 

Leape, S., Zou, J. Loadwick, O., Nuttall, R., Stone, M. & Simpson, B. (2020, Nov 5). More than a mission statement: How the 5Ps embed purpose to deliver value. McKinsey Quarterly. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/more-than-a-mission-statement-how-the-5ps-embed-purpose-to-deliver-value 

Massotte, P. (2017). Chapter 3: Why Ethics? Behavior Between Convictions and Responsibilities. Ethics in Social Networking and Business 1: Theory, Practice, and Current Recommendations. iSTE. ProQuest eBook Central

Stangis, D., Smith, K. V., & Boston, C. (2017). The executive’s guide to 21st-century corporate citizenship: How your company can win the battle for reputation and impact. Emerald Publishing Limited. ProQuest eBook Central