Structural Frame of Zappos
Organizational Structure Case Study: Zappos
Structure is "a blueprint for formal expectations and exchanges among internal players," (Bolman & Deal 2003 p 46). An organization's structure can determine how it will succeed and change within an ever-evolving business environment. It is absolutely necessary to understand the complexities of organizational structures and how successful ones, like that of Zappos, is organized and executed within today's business matrix.
Zappos is an incredibly successful online retailer dealing with the sales of consumer goods, most notably shoes and other personal accessories. The company has seen great success within the context of its life span, and has grown to a massive organization. Zappos now boasts over 1,300 employees (Carpenter et al. 2010). It is essentially comprised within a flat organizational structure. Thus, it rests on "Amorphous roles, lateral coordination, and a flat hierarchy encouraged participation, creativity, and productive conflict," (Bolman & Deal 2003 p 94). Creativity and innovation clearly drive the company into new directions, and thus this flat structure keeps them alive within the internal environment.
This flat structure has also allowed for the creation of unique and outstanding Standard Operating Procedures. Zappos presents its core values based on caring, especially within the context of the customer relationship built within the business transaction. Thus, the company strives to provide the best customer service available, and does so primarily based on the flat organizational structure allowing individual customer care representatives to handle each situation autonomously. There is no limit on time spent on customer service calls. The research here states that "They are encouraged to make personal connections with the individuals on the other end, rather than trying to get rid of them," (Carpenter et al. 2010). This allows for greater, and more tailored customer attention. The flat structure of the company allows for each customer service representative to handle individual situations without the limitations of going to a higher source of power or being constrained by heavy operating procedures. Rather, they are allowed to work creatively and individually, thus ensuring the most amount of customer attention. Therefore, "Customer service reps are given plenty of freedom. They may chat for hours with customers, write thank-you notes, and send flowers and even direct...
Zappos History (Zappos, N.d.) Zappos Core Values (Zappos, N.d.) The Secretes to Zappos' Success (Palmer, 2010) Here's Why Amazon Bought Zappos (Parr, 2009) The first two sources are from the company's website and talk describe the founding and culture while the second two sources give independent accounts of the culture and why it is effective. Since this paper will focus on the strengths of the culture and why this might be an issue for
Zappos.com Teams and Employee Empowerment and Organizational adaptability and response to change, innovation Zappos: Team Empowerment The online shoe company Zappos is famous for its low prices -- and also for its commitment to hiring the best employees and creating an atmosphere in which they can thrive. Fast Company's case study of Zappos says that the organization promotes a 'happiness culture.' Zappos is committed to promoting the happiness of customers by promoting
Zappos is maybe not the best fit for me professional, just in terms of what I expect they need in terms of skills (engineering/technological, customer service, warehouse) but the company does have a good culture. It is important that you enjoy your work in life, and Zappos has recognized the value of this in employee retention. For example, they emphasize fun and close social bonds among their workers, and both
Zappos Manktelow (2014) defines the vision statement as stating the organization's purpose, from the context of human values, as opposed to things like bottom line measures. The vision statement should include the values that the company holds as integral to its operations. An exception would be if there is a separate values statement, but even with that the company's vision of the world should naturally incorporate its values. Vision statements combine with
Zappo's Case Zappo's founder and CEO Tony Hsieh is a visionary in online retailing and business models, as he sees the creativity, intuitive, intelligence and passion of his employees as being crucial to delivering exceptional customer experiences. While many other online retailers have come and gone out of business. Zappo's has been able to develop one of the most loyal and profitable customer bases online. Even during one of the most
However, the company needs to be cautious of putting too much power in the customers' hands. 5. Competitive Rivalry between Existing Players Direct competitors are currently not able to match Zappos capabilities, especially in terms of customer service. But this does not mean they should be dismissed as viable competitors. In fact all direct competitors should be watched very closely. SWOT Analysis Strengths Outstanding customer service Free overnight shipping Wide variety of products Happy, dedicated employees Weaknesses Cannot afford
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