BEX 2000 Semester 2, 2023
Assessment Task 1- Amazon.com, 2021 Case
Background information
This individual assignment builds on the case of Amazon.com, 2021, which is also discussed
in the context of Topic 2. For the assignment, you are required to review and analyse the
case. More specifically, in the Week 3 tutorial, you will discuss the factors that drove
Amazon's early success and the advantages and disadvantages of platform organisations.
Platform organisations like Amazon disrupt industries and pose a significant threat to their
competitors. This threat requires competitors to strategically adapt.
Assessment task
Assume that you work for a regional retail chain, Bendigo Coop Store (BCS)1 which operates
over 50 stores across Australia and has been in business for over 100 years. It offers a
variety of goods, ranging from household goods and clothing to decorative and board games
for different age groups to satisfy the daily needs of their customer with good quality
products. While the retail chain has a strong customer base, in particular, in the regional
areas, the company has noticed a decline in sales due to Amazon’s market entry in 2017 and
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and cost-of-living pressures on in-store shopping. The
retail chain’s business model relies on brick-and-mortar stores and in-person sales, whereby
BCS prides itself on its friendly service. Customers come to the stores to browse and
purchase products.
Your task is to provide a critical and creative response to the following question: How
should BCS as a traditional retailer enhance its customer experience to respond to the
threat posed by Amazon?
Identify, at a minimum, three key issues related to customer experience that BCS faces and
propose how these issues could be managed. Be creative in your ideas and ensure that your
suggestions offer a coherent solution that relates specifically to BCS. Importantly, justify
your suggestions and support your argumentation with academic literature. You are
required to use at least 3 academic journal references.
This assessment task requires you to investigate and be creative to critically write up a brief
essay response to the key question related to the case – “How should BCS as a traditional
retailer enhance its customer experience to respond to the threat posed by Amazon? This
assessment is an ‘authentic assessment task’ which examines your understanding of
important digital technology issues facing the case organisation. The task will enable you to
develop research, analytical and written communication skills.
1 Fictional retailer
2 | P a g e
WEIGHTING: 15%
DUE DATE: Week 4, Sunday 20 August, 11.55pm AEST
WORD COUNT:
• Strictly 900 (+-10%) words
• Everything except your cover sheet, table of contents and your bibliography counts
towards the word count.
• Any report outside of this word limit will be penalised.
• Your document should include a word count on the title page.
CONDITIONS FOR USING GENERATIVE AI:
Generative AI tools cannot be used in this assessment task
In this assessment, you must not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) to generate any
materials or content in relation to the assessment task.
FORMAT/LAYOUT:
• Students are encouraged to access and use the support information and materials on the
Monash LearnHQ pages (https://www.monash.edu/learnhq)
• Specifically, use this link to access information and guidance on how to write an essay:
https://www.monash.edu/student-academic-success/excel-at-writing/annotated-
assessment-samples/business-and-economics/buseco-essay
• Use the APA 7 citation style to reference any source material that you draw on (academic
articles, white papers, reports, webpages etc.)
SUBMISSION DETAILS:
• Individuals are to submit ONE report (WORD format, i.e. doc or.docx) via Moodle using the
“Assignment 1 – Amazon.com, 2021 Case” link.
• The assignment will be processed via Turnitin.
• You will be required to agree to the submission statement.
3 | P a g e
• Your file should be named X_Y_Z.docx where X is up to 8 characters of your SURNAME, Y is
up to 7 characters of your FIRSTNAME, and Z is your STUDENT ID –
e.g.:Thambar_Paul_0101010
LATE SUBMISSIONS:
• Late submissions will be penalised 10% for every day late (penalty will be applied
proportionately for part days – e.g.: 3 hours late will attract a proportionate penalty and not
the full 10% per day).
• Extensions will only be provided to students who receive approval from the Chief
Examiner before the due date