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 * Below follows a sampling of how various aspects may be approached. Please note that these are not "perfect" examples and that you should make original contributions to this course project. You are encouraged to look to the suggestions page as well. **




 * Student #1** - eBay/Amazon

__eBay__
Pierre Omidyar founded eBay in 1995 and hired Margeret Whitman as CEO of the conpany in 1998. Picture 1 - Pierre Omidyar (founder of eBay) and Margeret Whitman (CEO of eBay)

It is rumored that Pierre Omidyar created eBay for his wife who was passionate about collecting Pez dispensors. Omidyar claims that the story has some truth to it. In fact eBay was created to allow people to trade items with the same passion as Omidyar's wife had for Pez dispensers. Picture 2 - Pez dispensers

Below is a link for a video interview with Pierre Omidyar. [|Interview with Pierre Omidyar]

Pierre Omidyar created a hybrid organization. This organization consists of centralized and decentralized structures.

The following are examples of eBay's centralization: 1. Structure - It has a CEO which is the highest-ranked postion and the CEO decides which direction the company will go. 2. Control - It has a controlled method of payment between buyer and seller. This service is called PayPal. 3. Potential of Profit - It only charges a fee for job postings.

The following are examples of eBay's decentralization: 1. Freedom - It allows users to sell what they choose wthout a fee. 2. Community policing - It has a user rating system which allows users to flag dishonesty.

__Amazon__
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 and launched it online in 1995.
 * [[image:http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/06/new_tech_leaders/image/jeffbezos.jpg caption="Jeff Bezos, Chairman, President, CEO, Amazon.com Inc. speaks to reporters and investors after the annual shareholders meeting in Seattle, Washington on Wednesday May 28, 2003. Photographer: John Froschauer/ Bloomberg News."]] ||
 * Jeff Bezos, Chairman, President, CEO, Amazon.com Inc. speaks to reporters and investors after the annual shareholders meeting in Seattle, Washington on Wednesday May 28, 2003. Photographer: John Froschauer/ Bloomberg News. ||


 * Student #2**
 * __Hybrid Organization/ Oprah and Book Club__

Of course, with Oprah’s help the book sold and made it to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. The idea of the book club was decentralized. To have a certain individual to go to if there are any questions or concerns, as well as the ability to buy and sell the book was a centralized idea. Hence, the “Hybrid Organization.”
 * Jacquelyn Mitchard, a mother of three and speechwriter at of Wisconsin at Madison had a dream about a woman whose son was kidnapped.
 * Friend told her to write a book about it and she did, naming it The Deep End of the Ocean.
 * Oprah came to Jacquelyn who was launching a book club and wanted to include The Deep End of the Ocean.
 * Idea was to get individuals together who read the same novels. Discuss and share ideas and thoughts about the book without paying for it.

 - eClass229  The idea behind eBay is that there is a spider like corporation acting as a middleman while the users behave like starfish creating a community of buying and selling new and used items. The users are allowed to rate sellers which helps buyers feel safe in the online community. This system was so important to the seller eClass229 that almost all of their sales now are based on their near flawless seller rating. eClass229 sells high quality original suits and guarentees their product. In an online community being able to guarentee your product is very difficult as the users cannot actually meet the seller. This is where the rating system really shines.(Brafman and Beckstrom, 2006 pg. 161-162)
 * Student #3**