The culture of an organization either makes the firm to succeed or fail. It is the culture in a firm that makes the employees to be satisfied with their jobs, serve customers well, be loyal employees and reduce the turnover rate. In this paper I will look on the culture of Zippos and Amazon and whether Amazon took a good move of acquiring Zappos.
Zappos is an American online retailer that was started in 1999 with a sole aim of selling shoes. But, the company now also sells handbags, clothing, accessories among other products. The firm is well known for its culture that values diversity and inclusivity. The firm aim is to make not only the customers happy, but also employees, shareholders, community and vendors (Zappos.com, n.d.). To achieve this the firm prioritizes its organizational culture as it helps the firm not only in delivering a wow customer experience but also making the employees to be satisfied with their jobs. As a result, the firm has low rate of turnover as employees remain committed to the firm success.
At Zappos diversity is not just bringing employees from different cultures or orientation like gender, race, age, education, religion, sexual orientation among other characteristics together. It also involves empowering them to make decisions. It is putting their diverse skills, expertise, perspective and ideas to work. Employees are given an opportunity to perform duties of bosses (Useem, 2015). This makes the employees to trust the employer and see their ideas work.
The recruitment process at Zappos is not aimed at hiring an employee because of a job opening but bringing an individual who fits in the firm’s culture. The process is very lengthy and it looks on skills needed and cultural fit. The new hires go through a four-week onboarding training which also serves as a test (Gillespie, 2012). The new hires who display traits that are not in line with Zappos culture are fired even during onboarding training. The firm takes time in hiring but fires on spot except on performance related issues.
A thriving organization culture is valued at Zappos. Employees are empowered to innovate, make changes and air their ideas without fear of the management. This helps the firm to attract the best minds and as well retain the best talents. Employees are trained to practice what they preach. The core values that adores teamwork, diversity and inclusivity is what guides the employees (Zappos.com, 2019).
At Zappos culture is not something that can be modelled by one person as it is in many organizations. Culture is dynamic and what may work with one leader may not work with another leader. For example, a White male performer can model a culture of high performance, but the same organization can have a Black female performer who can reinforce that culture. If a firm fail to understand that concept and accommodate new ideas and people it suffers from groupthink. Zappos encourages what they call “wackiness” (Bersin, 2014). This is simply a concept of respecting uniqueness in individuals.
The History and Culture of Amazon
Amazon is a firm that strives to be customer centric. To be able to serve clients and leave them with a lasting experience the firm employs employees of varying backgrounds, point of view and ideas. The firm growth is pegged on diversity and inclusion (Amazon, n.d.). The firm partners with historical Black and Hispanic institutions of learning, women institutions and other institutions that help it recruit diverse candidates. Amazon has played a big part of empowering women to join tech roles by offering them tech oriented jobs.
Amazon hires and recruits with diversity as a priority. The firm hires from tribal colleges, hosts career fairs, partners with institutions like Lesbians Who Tech and creates opportunities for individuals with disabilities (Amazon, n.d.). All this is done to reach the minority and people protected by the law. The firm does not discriminate in its hiring process. The hiring process is guided by leadership principles that are ownership, earning trust, customer obsession, being innovative and curious among others.
Amazon strives to be the best employer on the earth. To achieve this, it ensures the working conditions are good and safe. But, the role diversity, equity and inclusion has played has enabled the firm to be the best employer on the earth. For instance, in 2020 the firm doubled the number of Black directors in its management, removed all racial materials on its documents and launched inclusion training in the firm. The firm also strives to give women opportunities in its management and tech duties (Milanesi, 2021).
It was a good decision for Amazon to Purchase Zappos
Amazon aims to be a customer centric global online firm. This cannot be achieved without a culture that values diversity and inclusivity. Buy buying Zappos, Amazon concluded a worthy deal. This is because Zappos has gained customer acceptance due to its rich inclusive culture. The firm helps Amazon earn from clients who do not know they are buying from Amazon. For example, most Americans buy shoes and clothes online and they do not consider Amazon as the best firm to buy from. They choose a firm like Zappos. Zappos has helped Amazon curve a niche in this market (SIMON, 2018).
In conclusion, an organization that values diversity, equity and inclusivity is able to enjoy benefits form its organizational culture. Diversity brings innovative ideas, enhances teamwork, builds a lasting customer experience, among other benefits.
