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)
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
They may chat for hours with customers, write thank-you notes, and send flowers and even direct shoppers to rival Web sites if an item is out of stock. In a tough year for retail, sales are up by double digits," (Palmeri 2009)
Zappos can adapt to this new trend and open up an entirely new wing of its premier customer service capabilities through the increased use of social networking and social media to extend their dedication to customer service. Larger investments into social media clearly show greater returns (Smiciklas 2011)
Recruitment and selection processes are evaluated against criteria intended to ensure that they are generalizable, legal, practical, reliable, and valid. Zappos selection processes are not all unique, as other companies utilize components of the Zappos processes to one degree or another (Cutts, 2001)
now, tomorrow or sometime down the road. It's like a special membership for people who want to stay in touch with us, learn more about our fun, zany culture, know what's happening at our company, get special insider perspectives and receive team-specific updates about the group you'd like to join" (McIlvaine, 2014)
Candidates from the online insider pool are interviewed by phone. Candidates who move on to second interviews are sent to behavioral interviews intended to learn what the candidates know about Zappos culture, how they might handle difficult situations, and what evidence can be observed that they are humble people who would be effective collaborators (Nisen, 2014)
If the candidate was driven to the Zappos facility by a shuttle, a human resources representative will contact the shuttle driver to learn if the candidate was polite and considerate when being transported by the driver (Nisen, 2014). Candidates are invited for lunch to observe how they interact with other people (Patterson, 2000)
"Peer evaluations, for example, run the risk of devolving into an assessment of whether a given candidate is a good drinking buddy or a worthy World of Warcraft adversary, not to mention doing an end run around the antidiscriminatory safeguards that traditional human resources procedures have evolved to support" (Solomon, 2014). Zappos does require all new hires to put in a four-week period as a customer service representative, following the initial job orientation and onboarding processes that all customer service employees receive (Richards, 2010)
22). Notwithstanding these protections, the organization's reliance on a Web hub for its central core business means that everyone must be committed to IT security in order for these protections to be effective (Foster, 2001)
com are all protected by Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and secure firewalls that are specifically designed to maintain the security of all digital information and to ensure its access only by authorized Internet users (Protecting your personal information, 2015). The SSL protocol is used to manage the security of data transmission on the Internet (Kanabar & Kanabar, 2009)
Moreover, online consumers are far less forgiving of IT security failures than they were just a few years ago based on their positive online experiences with other secure sites (Streeter, 2009). Lapses in IT security can also cause a loss of business and a diminution of any consumer goodwill that has been accumulated over the years, resulting in a loss of competitive advantage (Mishra, 2009)
¶ … solution to the IT issue selected for this project. The implication of IT security for online retailers is fundamental to ensuring consumer confidence and trust (Streeter, 2009)
Most of the common ideas of the company have resulted from the direct informal interactions outside the work environment. For instance, it can be identified that the idea of the culture book came about from a casual discussion outside the office (Lidow, 2014)
Zappos can implement this dimension in order to ensure that the company's leader is self-effective. The leader will be effective and hence meet the company's goals as expected (Levenson, 2014)
Idea diversification and varied points-of-view are highly encouraged at the company. According to the management, the best leaders lead by example, and they act as both the team followers as well as team leaders (Nevarez, Wood, & Penrose, 2013)
In some cases, people possessing the traditional leadership roles must drop their authority. Evidently, the step has marked a great change because people shift from directing work and telling people what to do to inspiring them (Groth, 2013)
Therefore, they serve those that they lead. All the team members in the company take the initiative whenever they notice issues so that the group and the company can succeed (Reisinger, 2013)
A summary of the research and important findings concerning these information security issues are provided in the conclusion. Review and Analysis Statement of the problem Companies that use a Web site for their central business hub for integrated marketing must provide a comprehensive approach to customer service (Cusick, 2009)
Indeed, the company proudly notes that it holds the record for a 10-hour-plus customer call (Zappos media kit, 2014). The critical success factors for the company's IT security systems include the extent to which (a) information provides a vehicle for expressing, sharing and using knowledge, and (b) the tools of information systems and technology are the enablers of business processes and networks among employees as well as with customers, suppliers and partners (Marchand, 2000, p