Cultural Differences between Zappos and Amazon
For this Case Assignment, write an essay in which you discuss the cultural differences of two respected companies that are successful in their industry, Zappos and Amazon.
After you discuss the cultures of Zappos and Amazon, your ultimate final question is whether the purchase of Zappos by Amazon in 2009 was the right strategy based on the findings. You must support your response to that question with at least one high-quality reference.
Prepare a 4- to 5-page (not including title page and references) critique per the following format:
Title Page. Be sure to include 5 components of relevant information (e.g., Name, Class, Professor, Assignment, Date) on the title page.
Introduction. Discuss the topic of the paper and how you will approach it. It is best to write this section after you have written the rest of the paper. The title of this first section is NOT the word Introduction; it is the company names for this assignment, that is, Zappos vs. Amazon. (The heading for each of the other sections of the paper are in bold in the following four subtopics.
The History and Culture of Zappos. Describe the history and key elements of the culture of Zappos and explain why these cultural elements are essential to its success. Be sure to apply the background material by supporting your writing with high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles.
The History and Culture of Amazon. Describe the history and key elements of the culture of Amazon and explain why these cultural elements are essential to its success. Be sure to apply the background material by supporting your writing with at least one high-quality peer-reviewed journal article.
It was or was not a good decision for Amazon to Purchase Zappos. Make an argument that Amazon made the right or wrong choice to purchase Zappos. Discuss the specific differences between the cultures of Amazon and Zappos in support of your position. Be sure to use the background material by supporting your writing with at least one high-quality peer-reviewed journal article.
Conclusion. Discuss the key points in your analysis that demonstrate the importance of understanding that organizational cultures are not easily changed and why culture should be a primary consideration when organizations contemplate an acquisition or merger.
Reference List. List all references that you cited in the paper using APA or other standard formatting. References include materials from the required background readings as well as any outside high-quality, peer-reviewed library sources you used in researching and writing your paper. Their purpose is to take the reader directly to the page on which you learned some information.
Note: A URL (website address) is NOT a reference. A reference always contains four parts: author, publication date, article title, and the source of the article. Sometimes there is no author, but the APA manual tells you what you can put in that spot instead, such as the first few words of the article title. The source for a high-quality peer-reviewed journal article is the journal.
Organizational Culture and Diversity
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course number and course name
Instructor’s name
Date
Zappos vs. Amazon
Competition is at an all-time high at the moment as companies continue coming up with ways in which they can get ahead of the rest. There is a serious need to have all their business process align to the ever-changing trends in the business environment for them to continue remaining relevant. In today’s business environments, entities are compelled to solicit better ways of attaining competitive advantage. Technology has taken center stage when it comes to giving these companies a competitive edge. Efforts like increasing innovations on products and operations have no long-term benefits as rivals can easily emulate them in the market. However, organizational culture is essential in making it possible for a business to improve efficiency in the long run. A significant concern emanates during mergers and acquisitions where blending two cultures becomes challenging and can hinder successful integration. The focus is to discuss organizational diversity issues and examine the cultures of Amazon and Zappos to address the effectiveness of the acquisition agreement between the two companies.
The History and Culture of Zappos
Zappos was established as an online shop to sell shoes in the early period of eCommerce. The entity was launched in 1999 in response to the customers’ difficulties locating specific shoes in physical stores (Singh et al., 2021). Just like most companies formed in the late part of the last century, Zappos was formed before the technology thrived. This however did not deter it from being a successful organization and proved to be a successful company despite the encountered challenges. Zappos’ founder, Tony Hsieh, invested about half a million dollars from his savings to launch the online project, but there were no interested investors initially (Singh et al., 2021). By 2002, the company was running low on capital, and without external funding, the context became hostile that the dot-com business was about to collapse. The business therefore hang precariously between complete collapse and reinvention.
Despite the downfalls in the business function, Zappos retained key cultural aspects that have helped to thrive. The firm was not a profitable business, but it managed considerable turnover volume that convinced the founder to persevere. From the start, the leader held the importance of valuing customer service. In years of work, Hsieh realized that his organization was not a tech-based company but a business-oriented to clients’ experiences. In emphasizing customer services, the foremost priority of Zappos is the culture that makes a business succeed (Singh et al., 2021). Cultural elements like diversity and people's individualities are highly acknowledged and celebrated with the mindset that getting the culture right is a natural byproduct. Through cultural diversity, a business is able to identify the specific needs of each customer and tailor suit its products or services to match with these needs. There is an underlying need of always having a certain degree of cultural consciousness for such businesses, to ensure that the products do not collide with their beliefs and practices.
The History and Culture of Amazon
Amazon.com is an online-based retail business offering shopping services to customers, sellers, consumers, and content creators. The entity was founded in 1994 under the leadership of Jeff Bezos. Initially, Bezos worked as a wall street firm’s vice president before moving to Seattle, where he started to work on a business project that became Amazon. The founder st...