The Zappo Case
Zappos has been ranked as Fortune “Top 100 Best Companies to Work For” for more than 5 times, with its latest ranking at No. 31 in 2013 (Fortune, 2013). What makes this company such a wonderful place to work is its unique culture, where 10 core values (Exhibit 1) constantly remind its managers and employees what they are representing and standing for.
Employees are called “team members” in Zappos (Frei, Ely and Winig, 2011). This paper will examine how “team members” are identified and trained to maintain the 10 core values. Selected values will be discussed in detail to further elaborate how Zappos lives its values through surface symbols and unspoken rules. Finally, we will look at its subcultures in two very distinctive departments: Call Center and Order Fulfillment Department.
Becoming a Zappos “Team Member”
Being an organization with such a unique culture, Zappos has a more challenging task in maintaining it, especially not to dilute it with new recruits. In order to make sure that the values got passed on from generations to generations, Zappos only search for those who understand the values and are willing to adopt them (Zappos family, 2013). “We are willing to hire and fire based on whether people are living up to those core values, independent of whether they’re doing their specific job function well enough.” said its CEO, Tony Hsieh (Frei, Ely and Winig, 2011).
Socialization is a crucial process in cultural adoption, where members learn, understand and embrace the values and norms of an organization’s culture (Jones, 2013). Zappos sends its prospective employees and new hires various signals to help them socialize into the unique culture. A number of socialization tactics are also used in the process:
Prospective Employees:
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Zappos’ Career Website itself sends a clear signal to its potential employees. There are questions like “does the shoe fit” asked to remind prospect employees that the company is only looking for those
Employees are called “team members” in Zappos (Frei, Ely and Winig, 2011). This paper will examine how “team members” are identified and trained to maintain the 10 core values. Selected values will be discussed in detail to further elaborate how Zappos lives its values through surface symbols and unspoken rules. Finally, we will look at its subcultures in two very distinctive departments: Call Center and Order Fulfillment Department.
Becoming a Zappos “Team Member”
Being an organization with such a unique culture, Zappos has a more challenging task in maintaining it, especially not to dilute it with new recruits. In order to make sure that the values got passed on from generations to generations, Zappos only search for those who understand the values and are willing to adopt them (Zappos family, 2013). “We are willing to hire and fire based on whether people are living up to those core values, independent of whether they’re doing their specific job function well enough.” said its CEO, Tony Hsieh (Frei, Ely and Winig, 2011).
Socialization is a crucial process in cultural adoption, where members learn, understand and embrace the values and norms of an organization’s culture (Jones, 2013). Zappos sends its prospective employees and new hires various signals to help them socialize into the unique culture. A number of socialization tactics are also used in the process:
Prospective Employees:
-
Zappos’ Career Website itself sends a clear signal to its potential employees. There are questions like “does the shoe fit” asked to remind prospect employees that the company is only looking for those
References: Fortune. “100 Best Companies to Work For”. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved on 10/19/2013. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/list/?iid=bc_sp_full. Frei, Ely and Winig. “Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture”. Harvard Business School. 6/27/2011. Jones, Gareth R. “Organizational Theory, Design, and Change”. 7th edition. Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-13-272994-9. Zappos family. “Introducing: Core Values Frog!”. Jobs Zappos.com. Retrieved on 10/18/2013. http://about.zappos.com/jobs/why-work-zappos/core-values. Zappos job. “What’s it like to work at Zappos?”. Jobs Zappos.com. Retrieved on 10/18/2013. http://about.zappos.com/jobs.