Amazon vs. Zappos
An organization’s success lies in its ability to create a culture that incorporates ethical values and beliefs that guide employees in making the right decisions. For instance, Amazon and Zappos are such organizations that have achieved milestones in success by developing an organizational culture that aims to achieve the organization’s success. This means that the behavior of the employees in an organization is developed by creating cultures that recognizes the values, visions, missions and code of conducts of the organization. It is also important to understand that any organization seeking success should create a culture that incorporates employees’ empowerment, customer concern, show of decisiveness in every action among other aspects. Therefore, this study analyzes the organizational history and culture of both Amazon and Zappos and how they have proved to be the reason for their big achievements.
Zappos Historical View and the Evolution of its Culture
Zappos initially was born in 1999 from a group of entrepreneurs who suggested that they would sell shoes online though at first, they feared that internet and computers would fail them. (Christofferson, 2019). The most significant aspect about its founders was the fact that they were optimistic and focused about the idea even after potential investors decided not to finance them. they had the belief that they would realize their dreams no matter the hardships they were facing. From this perspective, they believed in the vision of the organization and also some of the employees joined in the struggle by accepting cuts in their salaries until the company become stable. Therefore, there was a culture that had already developed that made every individual in the organizational take an initiative in ensuring the success of the organization.
According to Christofferson, (2019) the idea was developed come from one of his owner’s nick who was unable to find shoes in his local shopping area and thought that it would be a wonderful idea to sell a range of shoes and other types of footwear online. Through sharing his idea with others, and they were convinced that the idea would work. Therefore, Zappos come into being the struggle to grow such a recognized entity began.
Zappos developed several strategies and diverse cultures that proved to work effectively in achieving its vision. According to Christofferson, (2019) the first initiative that Zappos undertook is to creating a viable relationship with the shipping company. This become successful by ensuring that the warehouse was near the shipping company for easy access.
Christofferson (2019) indicates that this was most important aspect in the business because the organization was well aware about customer concerns. By creating a center that could quickly deliver according to the customer expectations the company was set to grow and achieve more. A customer is an important asset to every organization, and retaining the old customer is a struggle every organization faces.
Christofferson (2019) also suggests that Zappos organization was customer oriented and they formulated a policy that allowed their customers to return shoes within a period of 60 days. The organization culture was anchored around customer satisfaction and this policy guaranteed customer retainment. With this policy customers felt that their money was secure when they bought merchandise from Zappos, which developed a culture of trust between the company and the customers. Finally, the organization decided to put in place a 365days policy on returns as long as the shoes looked new but also in their original carton. The organization also proved to be innovative due to the fact that it had formulated a way of ensuring customer satisfaction by delivering shoes at their comfort and also formulating policies to build trust on their brand. According to University of Minnesota, (2017) an organization that adopts an innovative culture is set to grow since they put ideas into place with aim of learning their impacts towards the success of the organization.
Zappos growth was also influenced by the need to have an efficient and effective customer service. According to Bergeron (2020) the organization decided to develop a good culture in the workplace which would afterwards enhance good customer services. It means that the culture of the work place determines the behavior of the employees in offering better services to the customers. The most important thing is to ensure that employees are guided by the organizations policies, values and morals which will automatically translate their behavior when offering their services. (University of Minnesota, 2017). The organization was able to develop a culture that encourages togetherness and commitment in the work place and later they started a customer program that operated on a 24/7 basis. This idea gave the opportunity to talk to clients and also listen to their needs which was a very essential factor in ensuring client satisfaction.
The other significant aspect was the fact that Zappos decided that during recruitment the organization culture would be a key element (Bergeron, 2020). The founders had the idea that an organization growth depends on the ability of all the employees in the workplace to be able to get along together. According to Bergeron (2020) Zappos organization has realized that bringing the right individuals is crucial in creating a unique work place. The company will accept employees who are determined to protect the organization’s culture. University of Minnesota (2017) argues that having the right individuals with skills for the job is not enough unless they value the culture of the organization.
The company also formulated its core values that guided all individuals when making decisions.
The management of the organization when developing the values involved their subordinates by asking them to be a part of creating the values. (Bergeron, 2020). These core values have been a major driver in ensuring provision better services to their customers and they also act as a guideline for new employees joining Zappos. When they joined forces with Amazon, Zappos management was clear that its core values and the company culture would still be maintained at all cost. Therefore, it is evident that its success has been as a result of creating a culture that accommodates every individual to make the workplace more exciting and fun.
Amazon Historical View and the Evolution of its Organizational Culture
Amazon was incorporated by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and its main aim was to sell books online by ensuring the delivery of any book to any reader wherever they are. (Hall. 2020). The company was criticized but Jeff was eager to create a company that ensured customer satisfaction. According to hall, (2020) Jeff Bezos maintained the slogan “get big fast” which suggested that any organization seeking success in online retailing i had to grow fast. Amazon proved the critics wrong in 1999 by being recognized as the entrepreneur of the year. The company’s ability to diversify into different products apart from books was also another key element that facilitated its growth rate.
The company’s major contributor for its growth was the creation of an innovative culture that highly valued technology. Bezos ideologies regarded technology as the main idea of forming the company and for this reason the company diversified its services more by creating a website that offered data computing services, website promotions among other services. (Hall, 2020). The company’s vision and mission were centered mostly on innovation and this is because every organization had witnessed the power of transformation through technology.
Amazon has been identified to possess an aggressive culture