QSO 321
initial
Amazon Effect and Unethical Practices in Business
The “Amazon effect” refers to the widespread impact of Amazon’s business practices and
technology on the retail industry and consumers. Positive impacts of the “Amazon effect” on
customers include convenience with Amazon’s vast product selection and fast shipping make it
easy for customers to purchase what they need without leaving their homes. Increased
competition among retailers, leading to lower prices and better selection for customers.
Innovative services such as Amazon Prime, which offers free shipping and other benefits to
customers. Whereas, Negative impacts of the “Amazon effect” on customers include job losses,
dependence on a single company, decreased human interaction. Job losses include the jobs which
are connected to commerce like brick and mortar stores and workers in that industry. Another
one is the dependency of a single company creates the vacuum for so much market control and
prices controlled by that company.
The responsibility for unethical business practices can be seen as shared between
businesses and customers. Businesses have a significant role to play in ensuring that their
operations are conducted in an ethical manner. This includes ensuring fair treatment of
employees, reducing environmental impacts, and being transparent about their operations and
supply chains. Businesses have a legal and moral obligation to operate in a responsible and
sustainable manner. On the other hand, customers also play a role in shaping the business
practices of companies. By making informed choices and using their purchasing power to
support companies that have ethical and sustainable business practices, customers can encourage
businesses to change their practices. Customers can also advocate for changes through social
media and other channels to raise awareness about the impact of business practices on people,
planet, and profit.
In conclusion, both businesses and customers have a responsibility to promote ethical
business practices. Businesses must take action to ensure they are operating in a responsible and
sustainable manner, while customers must be informed and use their purchasing power to
encourage ethical business practices.
References
Pezeshk, M. (2022, October 20). The crushing impact of the Amazon effect. FlashBox. RetrievedFebruary 7, 2023, fromhttps://flashbox.co/blog/business/the-crushing-impact-of-the-amazon-effect/
Zeiger, S. (2019, March 11). Effects of a lack of ethics on a business environment. SmallBusiness – Chron.com. Retrieved February 7, 2023, fromhttps://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-lack-ethics-business-environment-23332.html
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In your replies to at least two peers, continue the discussion surrounding the influence andimpact of customer demands. You may use the following questions to guide your response:
● How can organizations influence consumer behaviors and increase awareness of the valueof the triple bottom line?
● How can an organization leverage its mission, vision, and values in its communicationswith customers?
● Should organizations ignore customers with unethical demands? What are the potentialbenefits and drawbacks of doing so?
Peer 1:
Keefe Picard :
Class,
The “Amazon Effect” has had a tremendous impact on how we the consumer approach shoppingand has driven traditional brick and mortar stores to re-invent themselves. A few positiveimpacts include, shopping has become much simpler, Amazon has made the customer’s shoppingexperience as straightforward as possible. The check out process and even the return process areso simple that even the non-tech savvy among us can order and return items without any troubleat all. Amazon allows consumers to rate their experience of shopping online and thus forcedothers to do the same, which provided value to the consumer as their opinions matter andenhanced experiences are generated. Amazon has everything the customer could ever dream ofon their site. If you are shopping for something valued at a dollar such as a pen or pencil, youcan find it or purchasing big ticket items such as televisions to furniture. Finally, Amazon putsits customers first, they think like a customer would think and provide what they want which hasmade them a leader in loyalty of their customers.
However, just like everything else there are areas of concern or negative aspects to thee-commerce world and Amazon is a leader here as well. With the ease of doing business withAmazon, they have created consumers that have lost their patience with their shoppingexperience. Be it not getting their items delivered in a timely manner that they feel is next daydelivery for free or even the lack of inventory in the stores. Then there are the environmentalimpacts of more delivery trucks out that are possibly harming the environment with theemissions. The amount of excess packaging and waste that it creates due to items then beingindividually being shipped.
v/r
Keefe
References
Soomo Learning. (2020). People, planet, and profit. https://www.webtexts.com
Peer 2:
Azra Ljaljic
Amazon is an impressive company that showed what innovation could do for business. It startedas an online bookstore in 1995 and is currently a leading e-retailer with over 500 billion netsales. Amazon has changed customer behavior and expectations and positively impacted thelives of many busy consumers by offering a massive selection of products, free shipping andreturns, and same or next-day free delivery. In addition, Amazon set a new standard to make iteasier for customers to return the product free of charge and extended return policies in manycases. Customers also benefit from their excellent customer service and prompt refund of moneyto their accounts. Product reviews help customers get some assurance on the quality before theybuy. The small print on some items is easily enlarged online if someone is interested in readingingredients, for example. In addition to offering same or next-day delivery to Price members, thecustomers can also track the delivery of their products and get an idea at what time the packagewill be delivered (Soomo Learning, 2020).
On the other hand, the Amazon effect has also negatively impacted customers and their pockets.For example, Amazon uses an algorithm that suggests products based on customer shoppingbehavior, and more often, customers fall into the trap and buy items they may not need.Customers are losing touch with smaller, local brick-and-mortar retailers that are part of thecommunity. In addition, customers cannot feel, touch and interact with products as they usuallydo in a physical store. Amazon Effect also created unrealistic expectations for customers whowant the product delivered now, and many retailers cannot provide this level of service. It madecustomers less environmentally friendly by providing convenience. The average consumer oftendoes not think or understand the environmental impact of having something tomorrow vs. twodays from now. An interesting fact is that Mintel’s research showed that 56% of US consumersanswered that they would stop buying from companies they believe are unethical. In addition, 68percent of Americans are confused about what certain ethical icons mean, and only 10% knowthe icons for Fair Trade USA and Cruelty-Free International (PR Newswire, 2015). Businessescould do more in providing education to customers. While customers can influence businessbehavior, the ultimate responsibility for unethical practices falls on companies.
References
Soomo Learning. (2020). People, planet, and profit. https://www.webtexts.com
PR Newswire. (2015, November 18). 56% of Americans stop buying from brands they believeare unethical. PR Newswire US.
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BUS 225
initial
Presentation Skills and Project
To make my presentation more curious and engaging, I will use the segmentation for my
audience and make the segments in my audience to target the audience segment wise. This will
create the groups in my audience and will have equal attention from my side for each group. The
line of individual process is really interactive to have everyone in the audience. Providing the
decision making for your presentation is really crucial. I will also have analysis on my audience.
I will analyze their interest, problems, my interest from them, and common grounds to solve the
questions arising in their minds. Providing the process for each product in competition would be
more accurate to give the audience which are stakeholders in this case. I will provide the growth
rate about each of the products and will give them analysis on each type of the product and tell
them about their positive and negative aspects to give them more insight about the product.
Crafting the story for the audience with the impact of the product on market and competitive
analysis with other successful products would be a better idea to make it successful.
After the craft, I will have to stay relevant and that would impact the conclusion of the
presentation. Choosing what not to say is more important than choosing what to say. Because
being clear about the purpose of the presentation and story provide you the vision of choosing
what to say and what not to say. This strength gives you the power of illustration and staying
relevant to the topic. Also, providing the right numbers and figures is the most important part
which provides vision and decision making ability to the audience on the basis of that content.
So, choosing the data carefully helps you stay focused on the story and stay relevant to the story.
Explaining the data in more depth impacts the listener about your story and to form the opinion
as you want them to. So explaining the data in the presentation is really important.
References
Guardian News and Media. (2017, February 16). Master the art of presenting: Tell a story, keepit brief. The Guardian. Retrieved February 9, 2023, fromhttps://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2017/feb/16/master-art-presenting-tell-story-brief-audience
In response to at least two of your peers, address the following:
● What suggestions can you make about your peers’ strategies for their presentations tohelp engage the stakeholders in the conversation? How would you suggest addressingquestions, comments, and general feedback?
Peer 1:
Carson Peardon
While working on the speaker notes for the Project Two part of the project, I wasalready beginning to craft a story. The purpose of this presentation is to showstakeholders why diversifying into our chosen industry is a good move for thecompany. You also have to remember who you are presenting to and what theaudience values and deems important and you have to appeal to that. Whenpresenting to stakeholders, it’s important to remember that they are looking at thisdecision from a financial standpoint, and that is the way you should present thedata and key points. You have to make the data work in your favor. Thevisualizations are a great way to illustrate the story and to get the audience to seethe data being presented, not just hear it. The visualizations I have chosen not onlypresent the data in a strong manner, but I have also chosen a variety of types ofvisualizations to use. I think that will work in my favor as that shows the audiencethe data in several different ways.
Peer 2 :
Soraya Sherman
Hi class! This class has been extremely tough for me but i am pushing through!!
Typically when I tell a story; I am a nervous wreck! I find what works the best forme is being prepared. Having knowledge of what i am presenting, what i amtelling, is truly important for my words and presentation to come to life. I firstwould need to know my audience. Who am i speaking too? is it a colleague? ateacher? investor? Research is important at this moment, to know a littlebackground of those that will be reviewing my reports and hearing me speak.
To illustrate my story and to make sure it stays relevant, I would need to make suremy audience knows the reason for this story, and why I am telling it.. The audienceneeds to know that there is a reason and there is a purpose. Which i would need tostart from the beginning, which is that the company is looking to diversify? why?paint the picture to the problem. I would then need to explain who the companyplans to partner with and show them how it can succeed.. by showing visuals.