Hrmg 6200 - Larger Organizations: Zappos

Week 4 Assignment: The Larger Organization

HRMG 6200

Muhammad Darwish

September 20, 2015

        The organization at Zappos, focused on maintaining a people-oriented culture at the business level, exemplified how to effectively run an organization with an emphasis on serving people with dignity and respect.  Even though it may simply seem like the right thing to do, it is clear from Tony Hsieh’s background that he is experienced at making key strategic decisions that permeate from his leadership into the companies that he’s been part of.  Hsieh’s success at LinkExchange and then Zappos, demonstrate this successful application of his ideas.  

In reviewing how Zappos culture helps the company’s performance, there are several aspects which are extremely beneficial.  The first is that creating a people-oriented culture focused on the happiness of its employees and customers is extremely smart in a service industry where retailers always seek an edge over the competition.  It is even more significant with the knowledge that customers have a considerate amount of power in this market.  Unhappy customers will not return to buy more products which can eventually lead to the company’s downfall.  By putting their needs at the forefront of the company’s mantra, and also focusing on the conduits between the business and the customers, in this case the employees at Zappos, Hsieh has created a systematic approach solving this conundrum.  Another key element is in the fact that Zappos found a niche by empowering often-forgotten employees, such as the warehouse and call centers individuals noted in the video.  When other companies are outsourcing these types of resources, Zappos is putting effort into developing these areas which eventually may be the difference in creating a good customer experience.  

        Some areas of development that may hinder the company’s performance were touched upon in the video.  There are times when an emphasis on happiness in a people-oriented culture may play a role in de-emphasizing any negative aspects that naturally occur when running a business.  Conflict and disagreement will surface in every organization, and the downside in a culture like Zappos is that it will be swept under the rug in the name of maintaining positivity.  Overall this must be identified so that conflict can be brought to light and conscientiously resolved even if it temporarily clashes with the overall cultural approach. Another hindering aspect touched on in the video was the fact that the company may come off as trying too hard in their cultural approach.  I’ve heard this qualm before with other organizations that go the extra mile to instill their respective cultures.  I think organizations often find a hard time balancing how to express their culture so that it impacts each individual employee but does not become overbearing.  At the same time I would say that more emphasis is better than less, it is important to get your point across without any ambivalence.  Overall, it seems like there are more positives than negative cultural aspects in Zappos approach.