Respond to… 

Using the annual report from Amazon, discuss the risks the company faces and the actions they take to mitigate those risks.  Refer to the Management Discussion and Analysis section of the annual report for this information. 

According to Kim (2019), there are 4 risks that could affect Amazon.  1) the law of large numbers: Amazon is so big that it would become harder to impress investors with rapid growth rates. He stated, for example Amazon needs $2.3 billion of additional sales just to generate 1% growth.  2) Succession: What is going to happen when Jeff Bezos decides to step down? It could lead to a significant succession risk.  3) Competition: In order to sustain its growth rate, Amazon will have to enter new, large markets, where more competition awaits.  4) Regulation: the US Government could stop Amazon if it steps up antitrust or other regulatory scrutiny of the company.  The company’s huge market influence could draw additional regulatory pressure. 

References: 

Kim, E. (2019, May 30) CNBC. “One of Amazon’s biggest bulls explains four risk that could cause the  ‘demise’ of the company.  Retrieved from 

Respond to…

Discuss the risks the company faces and the actions they take to mitigate those risks.

Google LLC is a multinational technology company.  While the company is the largest and most used search engine it faces a variety of risks.  For instance, because the company is the largest search engine in the internet sector it has to deal with the threat of government regulation.  According to Hong, Bandyopadhyay, Lim, Yang & Cheng (2017), in 2010 the FCC proposed net neutrality rules consisting of four core principles: transparency, no blocking, no unreasonable discrimination, and reasonable network management (p. 354).  If this regulation goes into effect it could have an enormous effect of Googles content operation by limiting its search engine results and advertising.  These actions could be detrimental as the majority of the companys profits come from these factors.  An additional issue could from the advancements in technology.  Search engines are slowly becoming antiquated as the versatility of mobile applications grow.

Risk mitigation techniques include; avoidance, diversify, control, reduce, transfer, and accept (McNamee, 2000).  Mitigating risk when it comes to government regulations is going to be difficult as the government is going to eventually achieve in some way or manner its objective of having some control over the internet.  Lessening the effects of this risk financially is going to the best method of minimizing the impact of this risk.  For instance, Google should continue its current efforts in other business opportunities, such as driverless cars and biotechnology.  Investing on application and new technology is also going to help mitigate the risk of becoming outdated and less use as it will make it more competitive in the technology market.  In both case the best course of action may be the techniques of acceptance and diversify

As part of your response consider whether you think the risk mitigation techniques are reasonable.  Discuss what others concerns or advice you would offer if you had the opportunity.

In my opinion the risk mitigation techniques are reasonable.  Certain risks are just unavoidable and uncontrollable, such as government regulation.  When companies become too large, government is always going to step in to control and avoid a monopoly.  My advice in regard to government regulation would be to accept as there are no other options.  However, diversification is going to be Googles best option as it will present other avenues that could be highly profitable and will aid in Google staying competitive in the tech industry.  From 2017 to 2018 the company had decreased its investing and research activities by 6%.  The company should increase its investing activities back to previous levels in a way to create other avenues of revenue.

References:

Hong, G., Bandyopadhyay, S., Lim, A., Yang, Y.-C., & Cheng, H. K. (2017). Effects of Competition among Internet Service Providers and Content Providers on the Net Neutrality Debate. MIS Quarterly, 41(2), 353-A29. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bsh&AN=123148192&site=eds-live&scope=site

McNamee, D. (2000). Targeting Business Risk. Internal Auditor, 57(5), 46. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=3845099&site=eds-live&scope=site

Respond to… 

A group is two or more people gathered or classified together for a common purpose. As well as a team being two or more people with a common purpose with roles that depend on each other and members complement each other.Consider a group as a broader term that encompasses a wide range of activities and a team as a specific kind of formal group of individuals with not only a common purpose but also interdependent roles and complementary skills. (Warrick, 2016, 7.1) A team may be a two or more people that have to rely on each other to get a project done. On the other hand, a group is a two or more people that have to work together to get the project done.  A few things that may influence a group or a team may be internal or external, for example, history of the team, the mission, goals, the culture, the purpose and task, the team members characteristics, and the status of the team.  There are a lot of things that a lead  may need to consider when trying to influence a group or a team. Being able to consider all of the above reasons when trying to motivate their team and to drive them to a successful project is important. If a leader is unable to motivate his or her team, it shows that they may not be cut out to be a leader. The leader has to be extremely vigilant in learning every team member in order to be able to relate to them and be able to make it personal. This way not only does the leader understand the follower, but the follower understands the leader. When the leader may ask for something, the follower will understand and will go above and beyond for the leader in order to help the leader get where they want to be. 

Warrick, D.D. (2016).  [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Respond to…

People often confuse groups and teams. Teams are different from groups in that team members depend on each other and share the work load. Groups on the other hand, consist of two or more individuals who interact to accomplish one goal (Warrick, 2016). Group communication can be more difficult because it involves more opinions and everyones ideas and opinions matter. Responses and feedback must be reviewed by everyone in the group. This could prolong coming to an agreement. Differing personalities or people that dont care to be in group discussions could exhibit difficult behaviors and attitudes. In order to have effective outcomes, all group members have to be equally involved.

Teams consist of highly qualified members whose skills complement each other (Warrick, 2016). Team members are hand-picked by management and can work separately to accomplish the goal. Each team member is assigned a specific task that when combined with other members tasks, complete the project. Team members hold themselves accountable for their specific roles. It is interesting to note that teams are groups as well, just smaller (Zeff & Higby, 2002). Managers often lead group initiatives, while team members share leadership roles within the team. Teams are usually self-directed and perform at a higher level than groups (para. 4).

In order for a leader to influence a group, he must be able to deal with different personalities, deal with issues that might hinder the groups progress, but must also encourage and motivate the members to come to an agreement. Group members do not normally have synergy. It is up to the leader to bring the group together. He can do this by clearly defining the goal and encouraging each members participation.

Because teams consist of such high quality talent, they do not need as much motivation or encouragement. Additionally, they are self-driven and self-directed. A leader can motivate but must create a strategy, then, that is efficient to maximize each members role. He must also clearly define the goal and then allow the team members to be creative in accomplishing those goals. By so-doing, he will influence the team members to maximize their performance for optimal results.   

References

Warrick, D. D. (2016). Leadership: A high impact approach. [Electronic version]. Retrieved from

Zeff, L. E., & Higby, M. A. (2002). Teaching more than you know. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 6(3). Retrieved from