4-1 Discussion: Zappos: A Unique Company Culture

4-1 Discussion: Zappos: A Unique Company Culture
First, watch Igniting Creativity to Transform Corporate Culture
Video. This TED Talk by Catherine Courage examines how
creativity needs to be infused into the organizational culture to
foster innovation and to challenge the status quo. Next, watch
this Zappos Company Culture video. As you watch the videos,
think about the various elements of effective organizational
structure. In your initial post, answer the following questions:
 Do you think the unique culture of Zappos will help or hurt the
company in the long run? Explain and provide specific examples,
where applicable.
 Do you think more companies in the future will follow this
model? Why or why not?
 In your opinion, what company today could benefit from this
unique strategy? Explain your rationale.
In responding to your peers, comment on the impact that
organizational structure has on a company like Zappos. What
dynamics are involved? Think about places where you have
worked and how the culture impacted you.
Students to Respond to
1. Hannah
Let me just say first off, those two videos were very inspiring to
watch!
Now- do I think this culture will help or hurt the company? I
believe it will and already has helped the company. It is clear
that the employees working for Zappos are treated very well,
thus they are happy and it runs over into their work. They have
created not only a vision or mission that they see and read daily,
but one that they live by in and out of the workplace. I can say
that this will help the company because before this class, I had
no clue who Zappos even was but I am now looking to see if
there is a branch near me to go work for because the
environment seems so fun and inviting with such great qualities
and values. Especially in today’s society, it’s hard to find close knit family like businesses who truly care about the employee’s
as well as the customers and it seems like Zappos is right on
target with both and will continue to be successful as long as
that vision is in place.
I am not so sure that many if any companies will follow this
model. Only because we live in such a fast paced “fast fashion”
society, where companies are focused on making and selling a
product as quick as possible, with little to no focus on the
process getting there. It would be great if more companies
would follow these steps because it could lead to happier
employees and a better work environment overall, but I just
can’t see many companies changing to this method if they didn’t
adhere to it from the start.
In my opinion and knowledge from others, I believe Amazon is a
company that could benefit from this strategy. I have heard from
numerous people that Amazon is not the best place to work at.
They post many commercials of benefits and great things when
working there but most have told me that it is only
advertisement or you have to work there countless years to
receive those benefits. As well as long hours and strenuous,
continuous work. I think Amazon could benefit from allowing
their employees more creative freedom and the chance to get
outside the box. Also from experience of deliveries, the drivers
seem unhappy and have no morals for what happens to your
packages. Perhaps if treated better, some higher care would be
instilled in how employees handle customers items.
2. Sara