The internal environment at Overstock.com
Purchasing of products over the internet is a key strong point for Overstock.com, especially with the advancement in technology. The firm is the pioneer in the field of online shopping; hence the company has gained a competitive advantage over its competitors that ventured into online shopping technology later on. By being a pioneer in the industry, Overstock.com is in an advantageous position as it has developed its capabilities over time (Overstock.com, 2011). For instance, the firm has gained a huge market share due to its advanced expertise and trust that they have won from the customers. This has led to the firm realizing a high rate of sales turnover due to increased demand from the current and new users of their products (Overstock.com, 2011). The firm’s report (Overstock.com 2011) indicates that its employees are highly motivated; this is a factor that enhances its production. To enhance productivity, Overstock.com has opened a university whereby associates are further equipped on management tasks among others. This is a strategy that prevents brain drain out of the company and enhances the development of skills of the personnel existing in the organization (Zahorsky, 2009).
Overstock.com’s strategic choices at the business, functional, and corporate levels
Overstock.com applies the corporate strategy level in conducting its business as indicated by participation in the merchandizing of businesses at the same time. The company deals with the sale of its online products to its consumers, advertising other companies’ products, and auctioning of their products online (Overstock.com, 2011). This is indicative of a good corporate strategy level of operation performed by the firm. The company is, for instance, involved in the diversification of its markets throughout the world to win over customers from all over the world. The firm does this through both online and TV advertisements intending to gain a larger market share and a higher market command than those they have (Bramha, 2011).
Overstock.com’s strategy implementation
The company applies mainly a corporate strategy in conducting its affairs. It implements it by involving various parties including the managers and board of directors among other stakeholders. For example, the performance of the company went down in the year 2007, but the intervention of the founders made the company come back into the market (Henry, 2007). The company focuses on the following factors as it pursues its strategy. These are formulating new business entrance points, the formation of alliances with other businesses, and diversification of the line of the business it deals with, among the others. In this strategy, its top managers are involved in making the essential decisions for the actions that are to be taken. Once the top managers have made the decisions, then they convey the information to the shareholders. The directors ensure that these roles are appropriately performed. In my view, with this size and kind of company, the corporate strategy is the best strategy for Overstock.com (Henry, 2007).
Concepts applicable to the professional discipline as a law enforcement officer
As a law enforcement officer, the two concepts that can be drawn from the events of the company are integrity and decisive concepts. Integrity is an important code when a law officer is serving. Overstock.com has outlined a high level of integrity coupled with honesty, transparency, and trust. These values allowed the company to win clientele trust. Similarly, emulation of such a concept by a law enforcer will ensure that the nation will build trust in the officers that are serving them. Secondly, an officer must always be decisive of the right course of action to take as they are often found in situations requiring urgent decisions to be made without flaws (Overstock.com, 2011).
References
Bramha, D. (2011). Internal Analysis in Strategic Management. Web.
Henry, A. (2007). The Internal Environment: A Resource-Based View of Strategy. Understanding Strategic Management. Web.
Overstock.com. (2011). Sustainability and Social Responsibility report. Web.
Zahorsky, D. (2009). A business owner’s secret weapon: SWOT analysis. Web.