Zappos Essay Example

Zappos Paper Zappos, an online retailer, is proving that an unfamiliar approach to business can also help grow revenue. Zappos revenue grew from $1. 6 million in 2000 to $1. 64 billion in 2010. How can a company focused on happiness be successful? Zappos corporate culture and focus on customer satisfaction has made it both successful and a model for other companies. Zappos focus on stakeholder happiness contributed to its success. Tony Hseih in his book Delivering Happiness says, â€Å"It’s a brand about happiness, whether to customers or employees or even vendors† (Delivering Happiness) In 2000, entrepreneur Tony Hsieh became the company’s CEO. Hsieh was 26 at the time and surprisingly was not sold on the idea of an Internet shoe store. He told Inc. magazine, â€Å"It sounded like the poster child of bad internet ideas†¦ but I got sucked in. † (Delivering Happiness) After becoming CEO, Hsieh made an unconventional decision to keep Zappos going, proving his commitment by selling his own home to pay for a new warehouse. While the company was also struggling at first, his salary was set at $24. After the dot-com crash in 2002, Zappos was able to recover with sales of $32 million, but was still not profitable. In 2003, the company decided that in order to offer the best customer service, it had to control the whole value chain, from order fulfillment to delivery. In 2004 Zappos made the move to Vegas, in an effort to use the larger pool of experienced call center employees to its advantage. In 2007 the company generated its first profit after reaching $840 million in annual sales. Zappos also started to be recognized for its unique work environment and approach to customer service. Today because of social media everyone quickly gets to see the values and drivers behind a company. We will write a custom essay sample on Zappos specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Zappos specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Zappos specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Marketers, managers, and all people in leadership positions need to change and adapt to this new world. When a company is able to deliver customers a certain â€Å"WOW† factor service, the company has reached an accomplishment and has gone above and beyond a customer’s expectations. As a consumer of many goods, it is more than fair to say that most would return to business when previous business has been fantastic. Zappos is an extremely successful company that has built its business on 10 core values. The â€Å"10 commandments† influence everything from hiring to merit raises and firing. The company hires to these core values and 50% of every employee’s annual review is based on them. These values may come across as simple, such as â€Å"delivering wow service† but when executed in the right way build a strong company with a phenomenal reputation. Zappos does not consider itself to be an average company, and therefore strives to deliver their customers service that is anything but average. In conjunction with these beliefs, Zappo’s first core value is to â€Å"deliver wow through service†. The extraordinary service is not just provided to the customers, but to their co-workers, vendors, and partners. This philosophy is strictly based on service, and does not correspond with anything through monetary value. The goal is to aim directly on the receiver’s emotions and build a strong relationship. Hsieh writes that â€Å" It’s important to act with integrity in your relationships, to be compassionate, friendly, loyal, and to make sure that you do the right thing and treat your relationships well (P. 176). Although Zappos may not offer their customer’s promotional codes, great service is always being promoted with anyone in contact with the company to ensure a positive experience. In this era of business, it is extremely crucial that companies are willing to adapt as the business world continues to change. Zappo’s second core value not only accepts that there is change but is to â€Å"embrace and drive change† but understands that â€Å"part of being in a growing company is that change is constant†. Not only does Zappo welcome the change, it does something more significant; it drives it. The CEO of Zappo has stated that â€Å"If changing our business model is what’s going to save us, then we need to embrace and drive change† (P. 100). As the world and business tends to evolve, now more rapidly then ever, the company is able to stay ahead by driving the change and evolving faster then the competition. Changing and service are not the only keys to success as the third core value is to â€Å"create fun and a little weirdness†. This is another driving force that Zappo possesses that differentiates itself from other companies. The company culture embraces fun and humor. Zappos strives to have a unique and memorable personality. There company culture is what makes it successful, and they believe that embracing their diversity and each person’s individuality will help with creativity. Through this culture a positive result has been the support of people to â€Å"think outside the box†. When you are combining weirdness and having a little fun at work, it is a win- win for everyone. Employees are more engaged in the work that they do, and the company as a whole becomes more innovative. Zappos is a risk taking organization where making mistakes is encouraged. You do not hear that too often, as we discussed in class mistakes are frown upon, at Apple the employees are sometimes beaten! At Zappos, call center workers are prompted to try new things to delight customers. Managers are asked to take their team members out of the office as a way to get them to think about their jobs differently and create stronger bonds. There main goal is to be adventurous, creative and open minded. To encourage learning, the Zappos lobby has several bookshelves fully stocked with top business and management book ranging from â€Å"Peak† to â€Å"Made to Stick† and â€Å"Good to Great†. These are made free to employees, and they are also encouraged to enroll in the classes the company offers to learn new skills. If an employee does not want to follow the 5th value of â€Å"Pursue Growth and Leaning† they will not be at Zappos very long. In order to build strong relationships with their employees the company stresses communication. Zappos is big on transparency and having employees say what they think. If a confidential talk is needed, they supply a full- time life coach who will listen to any complaints, career advice, family advice, or anything else that might be bothering an employee. Employees work together, play together, and have come to think of each other as members of an extended family. Zappos 7th value is to â€Å"build a positive team and family spirit†. Since most of our adult lives are spent working, they want a close group of people who can enjoy each other. After a lay off of 124 workers to cut expenses, Zappos began to look for other ways to watch expenses. It posted a â€Å"do more with less† attitude. After training sessions the company would have a â€Å"happy hour† to help new employees bond with existing employees. This would cost around $3,000. Today, the happy hour has become a $110 in house ice cream social, and has actually gotten more positive reviews from employees than the open bar. Zappos’ 9th value is to be passionate and determined, but not only about your job. Employees are encouraged to bring all outside passions into the workplace. For example, if someone was running a charity event and wanted to get the company involved, the company stresses to bring the idea forward. In order for a company to stay on top, they have to realize there is always room for improvement. The 10th value â€Å"be humble† is key to what keeps Zappos at the top of the game. â€Å"Even though a ton of companies come to us to learn about how we do things, we always say, these are some things that we’re doing that are working, but what you guys doing? We always recognize there’s more to do† (Zappos Website) The key to having a positive work environment depends on hiring the right people. Zappos is looking for people with a sense of humor who can work hard and play hard. They take a different approach to interviewing, asking cartoon questions and other different questions to find out a persons true personality. Potential employees also go through both cultural and technical interviews to make sure they will fit with the company. When hired, they attend a five week training program. After the training program, all employees are offered $2,000 to $3,000 payment to leave the company and quit! Paying new hires to leave may seem like a waste of money, but to Zappos it makes simple sense. This is a way to them to weed out the people who are only there for a paycheck. For them, building culture is more about the money. Without question, Hsieh’s number one message in his book is that top notch customer service is a core competency and a big part of Zappos business model and success. Many companies still believe that customer service is more of a cost than a gain. The cost of acquiring a new customer is often so high that concentrating on your current customer is far more rewarding. Zappos does not outsource its call center operations, and they employee representatives with a high Emotional Intelligence. Employees have free reign in their decision making and are expected to spend as much time as they need on any customers. They help customers shop, (even on competitor’s websites) and will do anything it takes to make the shopping experience memorable. Zappos believes that great customer experiences encourage customers to use the online store again. Word of mouth marketing is the best way to reach new customers. The company has over 75 percent of purchases made by repeat customers. This shows that the mission to â€Å"provide the best customer service possible† is working well for the company. Each year a culture book is published. Inside the pages of this book, all stakeholders within the Zappos circle of influence are invited to give candid feedback on their experience. Hsieh insists that associates contribute honestly to this new process. In his email to stakeholders to write in this book, he requests their responses in this way: â€Å"Remember there are no wrong answers. We want to know what the Zappos culture means to you specifically at this point in time, and we expect different responses from different people. † The responses from every genre of stakeholder are a verification of the core values alive and well in the foundation of this company. Whether it’s selling shoes online or managing the next mission to Mars, having a clear understanding of your stakeholders is probably the biggest differentiator project leaders can bring to the table. Zappos is an excellent example that demonstrates that providing superior value to stakeholders above and beyond what is expected can make the difference between a great and a mediocre outcome. The strength of Zappos beliefs were put test on May 21, 2010. A computer glitch caused a flaw in the website, putting the price of every product on the site to be reset to $49. 50. Within six hours of discovering the error, Zappos employees had fixed the glitch. When the glitch was fixed, Zappos surprisingly announced that they would honor every transaction. This decision cost Zappos over $1. 6 million. To me, this served as another example of how Zappos stayed true to its culture and core values and deliver a â€Å"WOW through customer service. Delivering Happiness is further proof that the workplace doesn’t have to be hostile and ruthless in order for companies to succeed. Zappos has been able to build a successful brand because it created and developed a culture that was focused on treating customers and coworkers well. Tony Hsieh realized early on that in the competitive market of shoe retailing, he must make his employees happy in order to thrive. A happy employee is better equipped to provide great service to customers.

Everyday Use essays

Everyday Use essays Existentialism is about having the freedom to determine what is right for you in your lifestyle. Todays society seemed to have forgotten that the right to choose is a privilege. Past leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. Martin Luther Kings sermon Give us the Ballot relates to race in the 21st century because minorities are still being treated unfairly in the job market. Minorities hold less than half of all top positions in businesses today. It has been proven in many studies that white males manage most all of corporate America. This is why America had to put things such as affirmative action in place, which requires companies to hire a certain amount of minorities each year by law. This is why when you fill out a job application today they ask for your ethnicity. There are open-minded white and black people that know this type of treatment is going on in their place of business, but they fail to say anything because they fear that they may lose their job. I feel that Dr. King would be embarrassed to stand next to most of our leaders today. I feel this way because Dr. King preached about the community needing strong, reliable, and honest leaders; today we find that most of our leaders are very far from these values. For example, people in government lie all of the time during elections. Basically they tell you what you want to hear so that they can get your vote, and once they get in office the do the total opposite of what they promise they would. Also for example, former President Bill Clinton, he got on national television and stated that he did not have sex with Monica Lewinski. About a week later she had her suit DNA tested to prove that his semen was on it and all of a sudden he rememb ...

The Kingdoms of Organisms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Kingdoms of Organisms - Essay Example In this classification viruses, the connecting link between the living and the non-living world are not included. The Linnaean system includes- This kingdom includes prokaryotes, organisms with primitive form of nucleus as the nucleus does not possess any defined nuclear membrane. The organisms are single-celled and absorb nutrition through their cell wall. E.g. Bacteria, Cyanobacteria or blue-green algae (popularly called as BGA, are prokaryotes and are connecting link between chlorophyll containing algae and bacteria) and spirochetes, the spiral single cellular organisms. Lately, the kingdom is further divided into two categories, Eubacteria or true bacteria and Archebacteria or bacteria like organisms capable of surviving in extreme environmental conditions like hot springs and volcanic expels. This kingdom includes eukaryotes (Organisms with well defined nucleus, nuclear membrane and membrane bound cellular organelles are present). The organisms belonging to this category are single celled and are neither plants nor animals as they are diverse forms and need a separate group in the classification. Some of the organisms belonging to this category possess chlorophyll and therefore like plants, they can produce their own nutrition, while others procure nutrition by means of absorption and ingestion processes. This group includes organisms that possess many cells and are called multicellular organisms. They are non-motile and their structure encompass hyphae and mycelium. These organisms do not possess chlorophyll and are dissimilar to plants. This group includes organisms of diverse size from microscopic yeast cells to large mushrooms. Fungi derive their nutrition by means of absorption. They proliferate on the dead as well as decaying organic matter and procure nutrition. This kingdom includes multicellular organisms, with well defined nucleus, enclosed by nuclear membrane and

Economics of Organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words - 2

Economics of Organisation - Essay Example It MUST NOT exceed 4,000 words excluding references. Assignments: Students should submit at least one practice essay and problem solution based on the class topics, the mock exam paper or previous exam papers in addition to the coursework assessment. This should be handed to Dr Martin Hoskins for assessment before the end of the Christmas vacation. Assessments submitted after this date will not be marked. The assessment, which contributes 30% of the module mark, should be submitted to the ‘Reception’ before the end of the week after the Christmas vacation. It MUST NOT exceed 4,000 words excluding references. Remember to include your name or student number, degree group and the module name and number. Make clear reference to material, including websites, which you use. You will be required to sign a ‘No plagiarism’ declaration. †¢ What are the problems that face the owners of firms in designing incentive pay schemes when work effort cannot be directly monitored? What evidence is there that these schemes are successful? How can incentive schemes provide the ‘wrong’ incentives? †¢ By referring to examples of corporate failure assess the importance of the principal-agent problem in explaining failures of corporate governance? How can regulatory reform such as the ‘Sarbanes – Oxley’ legislation and recent changes in bank regulations mitigate the ‘principal- agent’ problem? This section will discuss the problems posed by the separation of ownership from control. It will consider the problems of managing and controlling complex organisations where information is imperfect, contracts incomplete and there are opportunities, and incentives, to engage in ‘opportunistic behaviour’. This section will consider the theory of the firm as it is presented in standard economic analysis. The simplest kinds of neoclassical firm maximise

Consider the Importance of the Method of Narration Employed in Wuthering Heights Essay Example for Free

Consider the Importance of the Method of Narration Employed in Wuthering Heights Essay Wuthering Heights is written by Emily Jane Brontà « and narrated by Ellen Dean (Nelly), a servant of both Catherine Earnshaw and her daughter, Catherine Linton. Emily Brontà « must have thought she was the most convenient of characters to narrate this novel as Nelly was alive through each generation of both the Earnshaw and Linton families. Had someone like Catherine Earnshaw narrated the novel, it might have finished at her death or would have switched narration. Also, this could have made the narration more bias, whereas Nelly, who still plays a reasonably large role as she mixes with all the characters, witnesses and observes the goings on as an onlooker first hand. However, Nelly often interferes with the lives of the characters which could have altered the forth coming events. In my opinion, one of the key times of her meddlesome attitude in the novel is reflected when she carries a letter between Heathcliff and Cathy Earnshaw who also receives permission to visit Cathy when she is ill-against Edgars wishes. She is often seen to be carrying letters between different characters which are considered to be forbidden. On the other hand, she sometimes decides to hold onto information rather than pass it on, such as when Edgar’s wife Catherine becomes increasingly ill Nelly fails to inform him. A possible downfall to having Nelly as the narrator could be that her personal opinions are shown too much in the novel, creating a biased view. Her actions are also influenced by her opinions which again produce a bias outcome as she helps those characters she favours, such as the Earnshaw siblings she grew up with over Edgar. This concept is shown in her actions as she keeps some secrets to herself instead of revealing them to Edgar, like when his daughter and Hareton’s relationship grows and Nelly ignores it.

Computer Impact on My Chosen Profession :: Technology Technological Society Essays

Computer Impact on My Chosen Profession My chosen profession that I am going to college for is Computer Information Systems. I am not quite sure of the exact job title I would like to get from this. I do know that I would like to be in charge of a business’s technology, be in charge of keeping the systems working, training employees how to use the programs and deciding which new programs would be best for the business. Computers have had a very positive effect on this. For inventory businesses, computers allow the business to immediately know when new products are available by looking on the internet. They are provided many valuable pieces of information about the product, such as quality, price, and so on. The business can quickly and easily buy inventory over the internet and track it as it is being shipped. Once the business receives their inventory they then sell it individually to their customers. Many businesses have websites which allow the consumer to go to the business’s website and do similar to what the business did to get the inventory. They can view product information, see the newest products, and quickly order online. The customer is given an order confirmation number that allows them to check the status of their purchase as it is being shipped and see if there are any delays due to backorders or other problems. IBM is soon going to be marketing middleware that will help enhance these aspects of the business . The middleware will allow a business to manage their product information that exists over a variety of systems. The software will allow for product attributes and locations to be more accurately shared. Many companies still give out inaccurate information about their products because of insufficient technology. This middleware will help solve this business problem allowing businesses to enhance their performance and customer service. This will very positively affect businesses (Beth Bacheldor-InformationWeek.com). Many businesses such as health insurers pay for outsourcing services that run their servers and help with any problems and questions about the systems. Now businesses are demanding much more from their outsourcers.

Pollution in Vellore

CASE STUDY ON POLLUTION IN VELLORE: SOURCES AND MEASURES TO CHECK IT. SOURCES AND METHODS TO REDUCE POLLUTION IN VELLORE Shraddha Sahu and Akshay Ahuja B. tech- Electronics and communication Engg. , SENSE, VIT UNIVERSITY, Vellore, Tamil Nadu – 632014 Email id- shraddha. [email  protected] ac. in ABSTRACT: Vellore, also known as ‘fort city’ and a historical destination in southernmost India , is one of the fastest growing cities. This city is a hub for leather industries, chemical industries as well as automobile and mechanical industries.It ranks 8 in the most polluted cities on the survey conducted by The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in conjunction with IIT-Delhi. The observation of pollution in this city was conducted with an aim to study the sources of pollution in the city and measures to control it. The observation of pollution was done by roaming around in the city between chittoor bus stand to new bus stand. The rapid industrial growth is respon sible for the pollution. KEYWORDS: Historical destination, conjuction, pollution. INTRODUCTION: Since the industrial revolution the world has witnessed the rapid expansion of its cities.For years humans have been flocking to these urban centres in search of jobs, commodities, entertainment and other phenomenathat can commonly be found in cities. [1] Pollution of Environment or environmental pollution means making the environment foul. Our environment means the surrounding of our house where we live, the surrounding of our village where we live or the surrounding of our town or city where we live. If our surrounding gets polluted we suffer from many kinds of disease and sickness. If our surrounding gets highly polluted, our life gets endangered. [2] Modern evelopment processes, especially industrialization, have come in for a great deal of criticism for their utter disregard for the environment. Trash and garbage is a common sight in urban and rural areas of India. It is a major sour ce of pollution. [3] Street corners are piled with trash. Public places and sidewalks are despoiled with filth and litter, rivers and canals act as garbage dumps. [4] Air pollution  is a serious issue with the major sources being fuelwood and biomass burning, fuel adulteration, vehicle emission and traffic congestion. [5] In urban areas, vehicle emissions are another source of air pollution.Vehicle emissions are worsened by fuel adulteration and poor fuel combustion effi    ciencies from traffic congestion and low density of quality, high speed  road network  per 1000 people.. [6] Rapid urbanization during the recent decades has given rise to a number of environmental problems such as water supply, waste water generation and its collection, treatment and disposal. Vellore city which came up on the bank of palar river have not given a proper thought to the problems of wastewater, sewerage etc. In urban areas, the wastewater is let out untreated and causes large scale water po llution. [7] METHODOLOGY:To find out the source of the pollution and think over the measures to control it the region between chittoor bus stand and new bus stand of vellore city was selected as the locale for this study. The observation of the pollution was carried out by roaming around the streets. Photographs were taken out and normal discussion of source of pollution was done with local people. The local people were asked about the difficulties they face due to the pollution and how can we overcome this from their point of view. Use of internet and e-books were taken to study more about this problem and to check it. RESULT:From the above study we came to know that the pollution in vellore city is no more different from other cities. The common sites seen were roadside garbage dumping, unhygienic area around water sources, air pollution due to emission of gases by vehicles, accumulation of solid waste and poor sanitation. This problem is common to almost every city in India. The common traditional known sources of air pollution are power plants, industries, road dust, construction work, garbage burning, vehicle exhaust and domestic fuels. The sources of land pollution are garbage dumping and improper disposal of solid waste.The sources of water pollution are sewage discharge from industries, poor sanitation, disposal of waste in water sources and religious sources. DISCUSSIONS AND FINDINGS: The important landmarks that come between old chittoor bus stand of vellore to new bus stand of vellore are Pillayar koil, thiru nagar, silk mill, gandhinagar, doordarshan, virthumpet and new bridge road over the palar river. Problems related to city: Use of tetrapacks, plastic plates, cups and bags, tin cans and similar throw-away items has increased in the last decade.Lack of proper waste collection, segregation and management systems and poor sanitary conditions are aggravating health problems. The reason for the contamination of the ground water in Vellore is because the tanneries are dumping their effluents into city’s lifeline—the Palar River. All the tanneries here from Vaniampadi to Ranipet dump their effluents into the river. [8] Problem related to palar river bed: The Palar River bed is dry most of the year because it is a seasonal river. It stirs to life every year during the monsoon. When the river is devoid of water the riverbed is quarried for its 15 feet of sand.Palar is the primary source of drinking water for the residents of Vellore. But those who live in this city made famous by the super speciality hospital, Christian Medical College, say that the clear water of Palar has turned into blood red. A local environment group, Pasumai Thayagam, affirms that the red toxic water has destroyed sources of potable drinking water in various localities of Vellore like Ambur, Vaniampadi and Ranipet. Measures taken by government to check pollution in vellore: Exnora Green Cross, supported by UNICEF, initiated a pilot project on s olid waste management in a ward of Vellore municipality in 2000.ZWM [Zero Waste Management] is a system of managing solid wastes that strives for maximum waste recovery through recycling and reuse, aiming at zero waste generation. †¢ It minimizes pollution of ground water and air by doing away with disposal of wastes at dumpsites and land? lls. †¢ Zero waste management integrates the informal recycling sector (ragpickers and waste collectors) into the solid waste management system providing opportunities for income generation. Possible measures that can be taken: 1. Conversion of waste paper into pepwood: Conversion of waste paper into pulp articles is an old art.We can reduce garbage by recycling the waste paper in a decentralized manner. It will help in prevention of burning of waste paper & ? lthy sights. Women/SHG members/unemployed youths/after receiving thorough training can undertake this activity. 2. Liquid Waste Management through Root Zone Treatment: Under the li quid waste management practices at community level, the waste water from toilets is being treated naturally through â€Å"Root Zone Treatment Method (Natural plant based system)†. The treated water (5500 liter per day for 50 person’s occupancy) is recycled for toilet flushing and landscaping purposes. . Eco Friendly plastic fuel [Conversion of waste plastic into liquid hydrocarbons/ energy]: Prof. Mrs. Alka Umesh Zadgaonkar, Head of Department of Applied Chemistry at the Nagpur based G. H. Raisoni College of Engineering, invented an Environment friendly catalyticadditive process for disposal of waste plastic. The invented process involves degradation of waste plastic using `catalytic-additive’ and is different from the generally existing pyrolytic processes. The products obtained in the process are Liquid hydrocarbons, Gas and residual Coke.It is a major breakthrough in the arena of non-conventional sources of energy! 4. Black water management from community toi let: EXNORA International Chennai, through its unit in Tiruchi District, has taken up construction of Decentralized Waste Water Treatment System (DEWATS), which is ideally suited for small colonies, apartments, slum areas etc. Salient features: †¢ Decentralized treatment of black water. †¢ Reuse of treated water for raising trees, vegetables. †¢ Use of biogas for cooking and lighting. †¢ No Electricity or chemical is used for treatment. Very easy for operation and maintenance since it does not have hazardous or complicated machinery. CONCLUSION: Urbanisation brings prosperity but at the same time creates environmental problems like pollution, accumulation of solid waste and poor sanitation. . In this context, solid waste management is an area of challenge and of innovation for urban planners and city corporations. A zero waste management (ZWM) project by NGO Exnora Green Cross, initially piloted with UNICEF, in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district is an example o f a successful solid waste management programme and its bene? s. REFERENCES: 1. â€Å"The little green data book†. The world bank. 2010. 2. â€Å"Environment assessment, Country data: India† , The world bank. 2011. 3. Radhakanta Swain, Essay. 4. â€Å"Drowning in a sea of garbage†, New York times. April 2010. 5. Atmanand et al. (2009). â€Å"Energy and Sustainable Development-An Indian Perspective†. World Academy of Science. 6. â€Å"Urban air pollution, catching gasoline and diesel adulteration†. World bank 2002. 7. Krishnakumar Asha, 1995. Streams of poison. 8. V. K. Shashikumar, Tehelka magazine, 16 july 2005