Corporate Controls and Structure of Amazon

Amazon has many corporate controls in place to ensure the integrity of the organization. First, they have a code of business conduct and ethics that lays out the ethical rules that must be complied with. They have a system of internal auditing and controls in place to make sure that the company is not altering financial statements or committing any illegal activity in the financial reporting process. Amazon has an audit committee that is responsible for these types of activities as well as reviewing complaints from within the organization. Organization members are encouraged to anonymously submit instances in which employees are engaging in questionable accounting or auditing matters. The audit committee also helps the board of directors in verifying the accuracy of all financial statements and its compliance with all legal requirements.

In terms of the structure of the company, Amazon is likely using a multidivisional structure. Amazon is made up of multiple different divisions each with a vice president that reports directly to the CEO. Some of the divisions within Amazon, each with an officer overseeing them, are business development, seller services, Amazon web services, worldwide digital media, world wide operations, international retail, and North American retail. Each of these officers are responsible for overseeing a specific division of the company and reporting back to the CEO.

Amazon's Cooperative Strategy

Amazon.com has cooperative strategies in place with numerous other merchants. One such cooperative agreement is between Amazon and CDNOW, which is hosted by Amazon.com. Some other notable companies that Amazon has agreements with include: Target, bebe, Sears, Timex, and Lacoste, to name a few. For other companies such as Marks & Spencer, Benefit Cosmetics, and Mothercare, Amazon provides the ability for their customers to interact with the company over the Internet, in stores, and through customer service centers. All of these partnerships result in positives for all involved. While providing these companies with a variety of services, Amazon benefits from the ties these services create. These partnership agreements bring customers to Amazon's online marketplace that normally might not shop there. Another notable partnership that Amazon has is with AOL. For AOL, Amazon's Web services provide necessary services for AOL's shopping section of their website. Until 2006, Amazon had a partnership with ToysRUs.com, in which people typing in ToysRUs.com would be redirected to Amazon's toys and games section of their website.

Amazon's International Presence

Amazon.com has a considerable international presence in many countries. Amazon has established separate international websites for Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Germany, Austria, and China. This allows Amazon to offer products and customer services specifically tailored for the country they are involved in. This means that German customers are able to access a version of Amazon.com in German instead of using the website we have in the United States. Amazon is in a unique situation internationally because it is a online retailer. This means that other people throughout the world have access to the website and can view its products. Unfortunately, Amazon only offers international shipping to certain countries.

Due to the nature of their business, Amazon is engaged in exporting of their products. They have the ability to reach people throughout the world online, and then export their goods to the countries involved. Since Amazon has established international sites in a variety of countries, it is more difficult to describe the type of trade they are engaged in in those countries. In these countries, Amazon is most likely engaging in greenfield ventures. Amazon has a corporate structure that allows it to succeed in different countries. The international versions are essentially extensions of the business in the United States. The international versions of Amazon.com are similarly situated to the American version, but with different products advertised in a different language.