Zappos Company

Introduction

This paper is aimed to describe the human resource frame of the Zappos.com. The company is an online shop selling shoes to millions of people all over the world. It has excellent customer service which differs from other shops. This company is willing to deliver happiness to its customers. Moreover, thousands of people are willing to work at Zappos. The company has a wide range of its own concepts and principles of management. A combination of skills and knowledge became a perfect basement for companys rapid development. Human resources have always been a vital part in Zappos existence. Company pays a lot of attention not only to its customers, but to its employees. Zappos is a perfect system developed by two skilled men willing to bring pleasure from the process of buying shoes. The concept of the business is simple, but the profit is very impressive. This paper is aimed to analyze the mechanism of management within the human resources framework.

Human Resource Frame

Thousands of people all over the world consider Zappos.com the greatest online shop in history which was founded in 1999. Its owners are Nick Swinmurn and Tony Hsieh. The main concept of Zappos lies in delivering happiness as its employees. The company is aimed to satisfy the needs of everyone willing to find a desired pair of shoes. Most of the shops offer shoes in a limited amount of colors, sizes or brands. Zappos offers its customers to select a pair of shoes out of a rich variety of brands. Shopping with Zappos is a full of pleasure experience and without any stress. Company struggled many years to become a leading company among shoe stores. However, the great secret of the company will never be revealed. Nevertheless, the company successfully uses the concepts and principles of management to keep growing and expanding its boundaries. Moreover, the company is constantly developing. Chafkin states Hsieh is widely regarded as one of the most innovative Internet marketers of all time. Every year companys owners introduce some innovations to keep a global network of Zappos growing. Tony Hsieh successfully launched an outsourcing program to manage selling, customer service and shipping for other companies. Hsieh also launched a web site aimed to teach small companies to develop their business.

This paper is aimed to analyze Zappos from the point of human resource framework. It is a basement of the successfully operated company. Research done by Bolman and Deal has stated that Manager’s assumptions about people may become self-fulfilling prophecies. If you have low expectations you will get low productivity. At Zappos all employees are equal and are working for one aim. The personnel of the company is a big team working on making every customer satisfied with his purchase. Happiness is the basement for both employees and customers. That is the reason why everyone in the company is treated equally. Tony Hsieh has dedicated much time to exploring the science of happiness. According to Chafkin. It involves establishing balance among four basic human needs: perceived progress, perceived control, relatedness, and a connection to a larger vision. He successfully uses his concepts in managing people. While companies are working on implementing new technologies, Hsieh is thinking about complex things. He prefers working with people, and his innovations are built on the concept of human resources. The management of Zappos is a perfect mix of interpersonal communication between people who are relevant to the company, including customers, personnel and owners of Zappos. Employees of the company are strongly motivated by the main concept of the company. Besides, there is a variety of contrasting opportunities. People working at the company are usually paid salaries lower than market rates, but they have their health care costs completely covered. People can get free food, but have no perks or bonuses. Zappos also pays severance payment to its employees. Hsieh recruit people who are willing to work. He never wastes time trying to make a person work the way he does not want. According to Chafkin Paying them to quit saves the company money by weeding out people who would jump ship anyway and allows those who remain to make a public statement of commitment to their new employer.

Without doubt, Zappos is one of the best companies to work at. The personnel of the company perfectly know its history and work on its perspective. There is no cynicism among employees, and the concept of corporate culture is to create the perfect atmosphere for communication between all involved people. Hsieh often takes his employees to chill out to make them a well-organized team. He designed Zappos in the way he wished people behaved with him.

Every employee in the company is a part of a big team striving to deliver happiness to all customers all over the world. Everyone can suggest a way to improve the company. Hsieh never refuses to talk to his subordinates. Any idea can become useful in the development of the company. Management of Zappos values new ideas and pays a lot of attention to companys improvement. The company has always struggled to differ from other companies. From the point of human resource frame, Zappos is a perfect example that companies can be motivating, rewarding and productive. Hsiehs main goal on the level of employees is to build a strong team. During interviews Hsieh pays a lot of attention to psychological qualities, character traits and emotional commitment. An important aspect of interpersonal dynamics is to understand the reason of peoples actions. The way Hsieh conducts interviews helps to get rid of a wide range of conflicts between employees. Another aspect in team building is human needs. According to Maslow, human needs include physiological well-being, safety, belongingness and love, esteem, self-actualization. Zappos is the company, which provides its employees with everything they need at all levels.

Before people are recruited they have to go through an interview. New employees at Zappos are interviewed personally by Hsieh and get the final result of the interview from him. Hsieh is aimed to put an applicant into a social situation to see in what way he will act and if there is any emotional connection to the situation. The whole concept of the company is to impress its customers and to make them purchase another pair of shoes. Emotional connection and communicative skills are very important if you want to work at Zappos. When new employees come to the company, they have to go through training period first. The first two weeks are usually spent at the classroom. During other two weeks, employees learn how to answer phone calls and how to work with customers. It is a center of developing skills of employees. It is also a perfect place to prepare newbies to the work they will be obliged to do daily tasks. At the end of the program, every new employee learns about the salary and opportunities he will get while working at Zappos. There is also a training center for those people who have been working for Zappos for more than two years. These people are required to read about nine business books to understand the concept of the company more deeply. Employees who worked more than two years should attend advanced training, including financial planning and public speaking. Zappos have many developmental programs for its employees. The programs are aimed at providing employees with career development. Every employee has an opportunity to become a senior leader within the company during five to seven years. The company provides its employees with everything they need to develop their skills.

Another main concept of the company is that it is not only about business. It is the way of life. Company is constantly working on implementing innovations and creating new opportunities for its customers. Moreover, Zappos is constantly developing. The company is aimed to satisfy human needs and make shopping online pleasant without any stresses. The approach of Hsieh towards business is different and it causes a lot of doubts in society. The differences between Zappos and other companies are obvious. First of all, it has ten main concepts forming the way people work at the company. The main ones are building a positive team and family spirit, and building open and honest relationships with enough communication. There are other eight rules, but none of them says that the company should make more money. Zappos is dedicated to a business of customer service. Everything is done to make customers happy. Secondly, Hsieh uses no patterns in management of the company. His way of thinking differs from the accustomed methods and concept of managing people. He succeeded to build a team of people willing to work in his own vision. Every step taken by his subordinates towards companys improvement is encouraged. Motivation and opportunity to have a rapid career development play its role. Every employee is valuable for the company as long as he wants to be a part of it. Hsieh is a gifted person who has always struggled to develop his business. There is no doubt that without Hsiehs approach towards managing people Zappos would never become an outstanding company. Zappos will always be a perfect company working for people and with people.

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