TAKING RESPONSIBILITY: Customer-First Values Shape Hiring Decisions at Zappos

 

 

The original idea for online retailer Zappos was to offer the biggest selection of shoes. But it turned out that this strategy didn’t really make the company stand out from the competition. There are plenty of places, online and off, where consumers can find shoes. So chief executive officer Tony Hsieh switched the mission to one of offer-ing the best customer service of any shoe retailer. That got customers’ attention, but Hsieh saw that he still had not tapped the heart of what makes a company great. So he made one more switch: Zappos would maintain a dynamic, fulfilling company culture. The company would be a great place to work, and in that environ-ment, employees would delight customers, and loyal customers would provide the income needed to please shareholders. That mission affects every function at Zappos, including employee selection. The hiring process aims to find and keep employees who share the company’s values, such as “Deliver Wow through service” and “Create fun and a little weirdness.” To identify 30 new hires a month from tens of thousands of applicants, Zappos focuses on finding a good fit with the company culture, along with basic job skills. Candidates initially apply at the company’s website, where a prominent message urges them to read the company’s values first. Successful candidates undergo two interviews. In the first, which may be a phone interview, the interviewer talks to each candidate about his or her skills and expe-rience. About half the candidates are invited to a second interview, held in a room set up to look like the set of a television talk show. There, candidates answer questions about Zappos’ core values. For example, interviewers try to evaluate whether candidates value honesty, are committed to learning, and have a sense of fun.Learning candidates’ values through an interview can be tricky, since many candidates simply want to say the right thing to please the interviewer. Senior human resources manager Christa Foley says one of her favor-ite questions is “What’s the biggest misperception peo-ple typically have about you?” She uses the question to identify candidates who are sincere and honest.Besides traditional interview questions, Zappos has some unconventional ways to learn about candidates. One of the company’s values is “Be humble.” To gauge humility, HR directors talk to someone candidates didn’t know they were supposed to impress: the driv-ers of the shuttle buses that bring candidates to the company’s offices. The HR directors find out whether the candidates treated the driver with respect; if not, the candidate is eliminated from consideration. Another value is creativity and open-mindedness. To test for this, the interviewer gives candidates a mockup of a newspaper and asks how many photos it contains. On one page of the newspaper, a headline states the answer. The assumption is that people who are open-minded will be paying attention and notice the headline. The recruiting team also goes to lunch with the candidates and observes how they interact with other people. The Zappos environment is loud, lively, and sociable, so candidates who are a good cul-tural fit are likely to be engaged with others during  the meal.

 

After this process is over, about one-tenth of the candidates receive a job offer from Zappos. As one final check of cultural fit, these new employees are offered $3,000 to leave at the end of the initial training if they conclude they won’t actually fit in.Creating a lively, affirmative culture has given Zappos a positive reputation that attracts superior job candidates. They are excited to work for a company that shares their values, empowers them to please customers, and encour-ages them to have fun. Despite modest pay, employees are loyal and highly engaged in their work.

 

 

Questions

 

1. What are the steps in the selection process at Zappos? Does this seem like a complete selection process? If not, what steps would you add?

 

2. Review the criteria for a successful selection method: reliable, valid, generalizable, practical, and legal. How well does Zappos meet those criteria? How can it measure the success of its selection methods?

 

3. Would you recommend that decision makers at Zappos use highly structured job interviews? Why or why not?

 

Due in 9 hours 

Atoms form compounds when the compound is more what than the separate atoms?

Assignment 1: Discussion—Using Social Media for Marketing

Social media are having a huge impact on product marketing. Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others are forcing companies to change their marketing strategies.

Research the application of social media in marketing using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet.

Respond to the following:

• Identify a product or service that is marketed via a social media site.
• Explain how all of the four Ps in the marketing mix are addressed in this particular social media site.
• Examine the influence of advertising in social media. Have you personally been influenced to make a purchase based on the social media site? What are the factors that persuaded you to make the purchase?
• Explain how you think social media sites will affect marketing in the next five years.

Write your initial response in 200–250 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources.

By Saturday, July 18, 2015, post your response to the appropriate Discussion Area. Through Wednesday, July 22, 2015, review and comment on at least two peers’ responses in a minimum of 100 words. Consider the following in your analysis of peer responses:

• What insight did you gain from reading your fellow students’ initial postings?
• What other marketing efforts could be used for the selected product or service to make the advertising more effective?

Assignment 2: Externalities

Due Week 6 and worth 140 points

 

Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:

1. Identify and discuss three (3) externalities, which can either be positive or negative.
2. Conclude why an externality might exist in the situation that you described, and determine the solutions to mitigate these particular externalities. 
3. Analyze the different stakeholders (i.e., government, three (3) affected parties) that are involved in the externality, and identify what their roles are with regard to the externality.

 

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

 

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Use economic analysis to describe the social costs and benefits of government and public policy choices.
• Analyze the relationship between economic activity and the resources available in a society.
• Use technology and information resources to research economic problems and issues.
• Write clearly and concisely about economic problems and issues using proper writing mechanics.

Assignment 2: Required Assignment 1—Ethical and Legal Issues

HR ethics are important to organizations as they can have legal and moral implications. In this assignment, you will develop a plan to resolve some of the ethical and legal issues involved in a merger. Use the Argosy University online library and textbooks to read about ethical and legal issues.

Consider the following scenario:

As part of the employment contracts, employees have certain rights. For example, employees have the right to not be coerced into situations against their will. They expect to be able to access the information, which affects their job, company, and career. Such work situations can increase stress, lower self-esteem and productivity, cause loss of trust, and decrease efficiency.

Good employees who are looking for a more secure work environment may resign and take valuable tacit knowledge and talent with them. It is the responsibility of HR management to create an ethical work environment before, during, and after the merger.

Instructions:

As a strategic HR Director, you have been asked to identify ethical and legal issues involved in a merger and develop a plan to resolve these issues. Your plan should address the following:

• Identify specific legal and ethical issues that should be considered before, during, and after the merger.
• Develop an implementation plan for managing the potential legal and ethical concerns for the merger.
• Explain how the proposed plan would help managers establish an ethical work environment.
• Develop a plan for how to resolve ethical and legal issues.

Write a five-to-six-page plan in Word format. Apply APA standards to citation of sources. Use the following file naming convention: LastnameFirstInitial_M3_A2.doc.