BUS-FPX3007 ASSESSMENT 2 INSTRUCTIONS: MISSION, VISION, AND ETHICS IN ORGANIZATIONS
Name
Capella University
BUS-FPX3007 Developing a Business Perspective
Prof. Name Date
Mission, Vision, and Ethics in Organizations: A Case Study of Amazon.com
Introduction
In the modern business environment, organizational success is increasingly measured not just by quarterly financial performance, but by the tangible alignment of a company with its stated corporate mission, vision, and core values. These foundational elements serve as critical benchmarks for consumer evaluation, guide strategic decision-making, and enable direct comparison among firms regarding their strategic objectives and business tactics (Stangis, Smith, & Boston, 2017). Amazon.com, a preeminent global leader in eCommerce, cloud computing, and logistics, presents a unique case study in corporate identity. While the company is globally recognized and highly influential, its corporate articulation of mission and vision is often implied rather than explicitly stated.
The company’s public profile on its website hints at its aspirational vision—to be “Earth’s most customer-centric company,” “Earth’s best employer,” and “Earth’s safest place to work”—yet it notably lacks a singular, formalized mission statement that defines its current operations, key stakeholders, and unique value proposition. Addressing this deficiency is crucial for Amazon.com, as developing identifiable, explicit mission and vision statements can profoundly enhance customer relations, solidify its market position, and transform these statements into internal competitive advantages and cultural anchors, which is a key focus of this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2 (Stangis, Smith, & Boston, 2017; Leape et al., 2020).
The Strategic Imperative of Mission and Vision
A well-defined vision statement is more than a slogan; it is a foundational, forward-looking ideal that articulates the company’s ultimate desired state, guiding long-term strategic decision-making by its leaders (Ashkenas & Moore, 2022). Conversely, a robust mission statement defines the organization’s core purpose, identifying critical stakeholders affected by the company’s activities, and outlining precisely how the company will deliver on its promises to these groups.
While Amazon articulates its corporate strategy through its renowned “Leadership Principles”—a set of ten core behavioral tenets—this approach, while effective internally, does not fully satisfy the public and external strategic need for explicit mission and vision statements. The ambiguity concerning the explicit beneficiaries of Amazon’s actions leaves a strategic void that can be exploited by competitors who clearly state their commitment to specific societal or environmental goals.
The mission statement, in particular, must address three core components: what the company does, who it serves, and what value it provides. For a conglomerate as vast as Amazon, encompassing everything from retail and digital media to artificial intelligence and space exploration (Blue Origin), unifying these disparate activities under a single, coherent statement is challenging but essential. Such a statement provides a constant ethical and operational compass for all business units. Furthermore, the explicit identification of stakeholders—customers, employees, shareholders, and the planet—allows for better accountability and performance measurement against those promises. Filling this corporate identity gap is paramount to the successful completion of this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2.
Amazon’s Corporate Identity Gaps and Analysis
Amazon’s primary public-facing identity documents often default to its Leadership Principles (e.g., Customer Obsession, Ownership, Invent and Simplify). While these principles are excellent for internal culture and management, they function more as a code of conduct than as a strategic mission or vision. The current fragmented public identity—where the vision is implied across three distinct goals (customer-centric, best employer, safest workplace)—dilutes the powerful simplicity that a singular statement provides.
This current approach fails to clearly articulate the “how” of Amazon’s operation and the “why” of its existence beyond maximizing customer and shareholder value. This lack of clear, holistic communication complicates its corporate social responsibility (CSR) messaging, particularly in areas where it faces significant public scrutiny, such as labor practices, market dominance, and environmental impact. For a company of Amazon’s scale, the mission and vision must serve as unifying narratives that address these criticisms head-on by clearly stating the organization’s purpose in terms of value creation and ethical behavior, not just operational goals. The subsequent recommendations propose specific statements tailored to meet the strategic requirements identified during this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2.
Proposed Mission and Vision Statements and Strategic Alignment
To address the gaps identified, Amazon.com should adopt formal, explicit mission and vision statements:
Proposed Mission Statement: To serve a global community by continually inventing essential services and seamless platforms that empower people, enable businesses, and minimize friction, delivered responsibly and sustainably.
Proposed Vision Statement: To be recognized globally as the indispensable engine of progress, innovation, and ethical commerce, driving positive transformation for every customer, community, and stakeholder on Earth.
These proposed statements align strategically with Amazon’s current and future trajectory. The mission statement incorporates the current focus on “inventing” and “seamless platforms” but adds the critical components of “delivered responsibly and sustainably,” directly addressing environmental and societal concerns that its existing principles often omit. The phrase “global community” is a more inclusive stakeholder identifier than simply “customers.”
The proposed vision is an evolution of its existing three-pronged goal, consolidating the customer, employee, and safety aspirations into a single, high-impact goal: being the “indispensable engine of progress, innovation, and ethical commerce.” This grand, singular vision provides a powerful, unified focus for all its diverse business lines, from AWS infrastructure to Prime delivery. Successfully integrating these concepts into the corporate identity is a central task for the management detailed in this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2.
The Role and Substance of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
While Amazon lacks formal mission and vision
statements, it demonstrates a strong commitment to ethical principles through its mandatory “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics,” which is publicly accessible via the company’s Investor Relations page. This document outlines the company’s ethical prescriptions, organizational principles, and commitment to honesty, transparency, legality, and ethical business operations (Massotte, 2017). However, the effectiveness of any ethical code lies not merely in its existence but in its robust implementation and continuous adaptation to modern challenges.
For Amazon, the ethical code must be a living document that explicitly addresses complex, high-stakes areas beyond standard anti-corruption and legal compliance. These areas include:
- Data Privacy and AI Ethics: Given the vast amounts of consumer data Amazon processes, the code must contain detailed stipulations regarding data governance, consent, and the ethical development and deployment of artificial intelligence algorithms to avoid bias and ensure fairness.
- Supply Chain Sustainability: The code needs to move beyond legal minimums to enforce stringent human rights, labor, and environmental standards across its immense global supply chain.
- Corporate Citizenship: Given its significant tax footprint and market dominance, the code should detail the company’s commitment to community reinvestment and non-predatory competition. Reinforcing these elements is crucial for reinforcing public trust. The depth of analysis required for this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2 highlights that these ethical challenges are inextricably linked to the perception of the company’s underlying mission and vision. A continuous, proactive review of the code, moving it from a compliance document to a core strategic asset, is necessary to future-proof the company against evolving societal expectations. The focus on proactive ethical compliance, rather than reactive policy adjustments, is a key component of this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2.
Recommendations for Communication and Implementation
To maximize the impact of the newly formalized Mission and Vision statements and to reinforce the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Amazon must dedicate substantial digital real estate and technological resources to their communication.
First, the company must enhance its “Who We Are” page by creating a dedicated, easily navigable section for the explicit Mission and Vision statements. This presentation should leverage diverse media formats, aligning with Amazon’s technological capabilities (Leape et al., 2020). For the vision statement, this could involve diverse content formats, such as short videos and success stories summarizing Amazon’s goals and initiatives, BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2 presenting a comprehensive outlook. An interactive infographic or animated presentation embedded on the webpage would make the presentation of the corporate mission and vision statements engaging and captivating.
This approach transforms a static corporate document into an immersive brand experience. Furthermore, the explicit nature of the proposed statements will allow for better internal communication. New employee training and quarterly business reviews should directly tie performance metrics to both the Vision (the future aspiration) and the Mission (the current responsible operation).
Second, the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics should be actively marketed, not just filed. Internal and external communications must regularly reference specific sections of the code when discussing business decisions or addressing public concerns. This reinforces that the ethical code is not merely a formality but a mandatory, actionable document guiding all employee behavior. Finally, the company must establish transparent channels for reporting and investigating ethical breaches, ensuring employees feel safe and incentivized to uphold the code’s tenets.
A robust system of accountability, extending from the board level down, ensures the ethical framework functions as intended. The successful execution of the plan outlined in this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2 will hinge on organizational commitment. These actions will strengthen Amazon’s market position and differentiate it from competitors, thereby enhancing the perceived value of its products and services in the eyes of customers and stakeholders, and providing a powerful response to the requirements of this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2.
Conclusion
Amazon.com stands at a critical juncture where its phenomenal growth must be matched by a formalized and clearly communicated corporate identity. While the company operates effectively using its internal Leadership Principles, its failure to articulate distinct, explicit mission and vision statements leaves a void in its public-facing strategic narrative. The recommendations presented—namely, the adoption of specific mission and vision statements that integrate sustainability and ethical commerce, BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2 and the elevation and expansion of its Code of Business Conduct and Ethics—are vital strategic maneuvers.
Sharing these statements proactively with the public through technologically enhanced delivery methods is paramount to strengthening customer relations and overall brand perception. Ultimately, Amazon’s ethical commitment must be continuously reinforced by updating its code of conduct to adapt and respond to the complex, evolving ethical challenges in the 21st-century business environment. A complete, cohesive, and clearly communicated corporate identity is the necessary foundation for Amazon to maintain its position as a global leader and successfully address the requirements set forth in this BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2.
References
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
Amazon.com. (2022). Who We Are. https://www.aboutamazon.com/about-us
Ashkenas, R. & Moore, P. (2022, April 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, November 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/BUS-FPX3007 Assessment 2
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.
RELATED: BUS-FPX3007 ASSESSMENT 1 INSTRUCTIONS: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND GOALS
Order This Paper
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.