Zappos Case Study

When talking about sustainability numerous people associate it with just protecting the environment. Sustainability is far more than going green, but it is a principle that many companies have adopted and have worked persistently to improve over the last several years. Sustainability is defined as the ability to continue a behavior indeterminately, but it also includes improving human life overall. Sustainable development is broken down into three pillars: economic, social, and environmental (Harich & Bangerter, 2014). Economics is the study of how people use resources, which correlates to the goal of sustainable development by using resources to their full potential (Laszlo, C., & Zhexembayeva, N., 2011, p. 60). Economic sustainable development allows companies to give their customers what they want without overusing mutual resources. Social development combines the social world with the physical realm to provide a good quality of life (Benoit, 2010, p. 7). Social sustainability focuses on the well-being of people and their communities. Environmental development, the most recognizable, includes protecting the environment by reducing pollution, recycling, switching of electronic devices when not in use, etc. All three of these pillars make up what is known as sustainable development. In this paper, I researched a company and their involvement in sustainability and how it applies to the

Although there is no formal definition for the term, individuals have tried to define sustainability according to their function or area of study. The term “sustainability,” once an obscure ecological concept, has now been adopted by many in the business world to connote the principles of social and environmental responsibility (Joseph Fiksel, Jonathan Low and Jim Thomas). Further, sustainability can be seen through the eyes of business as a way to create value. More likely than not, the term sustainability can be linked to the ability of decreasing costs, wastes and inefficiencies. According to the vice president of General Electric,

The primary objective of this paper is to address three key problem areas within JCPenney: age diversity, sexual harassment, and lack of organizational commitment. These specific problems have led to many challenges for not only management, but also for employees. Without motivated and satisfied employees, the JCPenney business has been trickling down. The dissatisfaction of employees has been represented through the decrease of productivity, morale, and enthusiasm towards the retailer. Due to the growing generational gap, there has been a notable increase in workplace deviance behavior. In addition to that, with all of the recent changes within the company, employees have felt neglected due to the lack of communication

The analysis will focus on some key aspects such as; the overall plan, products/services sustainability, human resource relations, customer’s relations, environmental concerns, and the company social responsibility to the company. Descriptive analysis will help appraise of the company’s sustainability strategy. The critical analysis of the company’s sustainability will help in coming up with conclusions about sustainability of the strategy, and give insights on how the company can improve its sustainability strategy. There are also various recommendations based on these conclusions (Heslin and Ochoa 2008).

Many firms are learning that being environmentally friendly and sustainable has numerous benefits. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). This could enable them to increase goodwill from various stakeholders and also save money in the long term. This will mean that they are being more efficient and less wasteful of resources, which will enable them to be more competitive by satisfying stakeholders. The CEO of

More so than ever in an age of rapidly evolving technologies and global expansion, sustainable competitive advantage depends foremost on a clear sense of organizational purpose (mission) and a compelling vision for success (Campbell & Alexander, 1997). Together, these two key elements define the guiding framework for the insightful creation of value (Campbell & Alexander, 1997) that differentiates an organization from its competitors (Porter, 1996). Thus, knowledge of the critical elements that comprise meaningful mission and vision statements (Aguinis, 2009) becomes essential for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. As testimony, this paper assesses the strategic guidance provided by the mission and vision statements of the

Zappos is an online shoes retailer that started its business in the year 1999. Later on the company had expanded its business to include the beauty products, clothing and even the housewares within its leading e-commerce website. This case emphasizes on the customer service department of Zappos Company and initially the business focused only on the drop ship method. Later on the company also increased the variety of the products. The company had also created a bricks and mortar storefront to expand the business and increase the sales of the business.

Bertrand Piccard quotes, “In the 21st century, the heroes will be the people who will improve the quality of life, fight poverty and introduce more sustainability. This is a powerful message, it sums up the concepts discussed throughout the course. Additionally, the case studies such as the New Belgium Brewery, SC Johnson and The Kimberly Clarke organization have been proven to practice this philosophy. As society progresses in its efforts to provide a more sustainable future, there is a fundamental foundation of principles that must be followed to ensure success. Sustainable business development takes into account the application of business operations as it relates to the three pillars of sustainability, which is a dynamic yet integrative place to begin this journey. DesJardins, (2006) calls for a re-imagination of the future to create a vibrant sustainable model; which forms similar beliefs to Piccard. In addition, organizations are more inclined to create sustainable practices based on consumer demand and the willingness of leadership to participate in sustainability programs.

JCPenny was founded in April 1902 by James Cash Penny. The objective of JC Pennys is simple, to provide products to meet each and everyone’s’ needs. The stores have switch to promoting their house brands more than promoting brands that a shopper can get elsewhere. By promoting their house brands, JCPennys feels like they can increase sales because a shopper would have to go to Pennys to get those brands. The company is endorsing what they refer to as the omnichannel. This is the cohesiveness between stores and online to increase the ease of shopping for the consumer. Now the financial objectives are as follows,” the company provided financial performance estimates for the 2017-2019 period, as follows: Compounded annual comparable sales growth anticipated to be 3.0 %; Gross margin is expected to improve 75-100 basis points; Additional SG&A expense leverage of 215-240 basis points; Net income is expected to be between $450-500M by 2019; Earnings per share of $1.40-1.55 by 2019.” (JCPenny, 2016) I know that the company has tried many times to create a new image because they are struggling to meet the demand of the modern shopper. These latest objectives I

Zappos business sustainability is being managed well socially and environmental. Zappos approach could work harder to fully capture financial risk; however, it is fair to say that Zappos is robust in their business sustainability due to their resilience and healthy company culture. Zappos has created economic value and contribute to a healthy ecosystem and developed a strong

The threat of new entrants into the online shoe/apparel market is relatively small due to the fact that Zappos is such an established brand and has specialized their business model. It would be far too expensive for a new company to copy the characteristics of Zappos including their next day delivery and large overhead. The fact that Zappos was losing money initially illustrates this difficulty. Another issue that would create a high barrier to entry is Zappos commitment to the consumer through overnight shipping. Zappos stated that the overnight shipping caused them to leave their warehouses open for the entire day. Any other company would

Sustainability has become a great topic of interest in many arenas. Particularly, leading organizations are recognizing sustainability needs to be an essential aspect of their long term strategies. With this recognition, better business practices are being sought by investors as well as sustainability is becoming a driving force for better efficiencies and innovation. Two organizations, Wal-Mart and Starbucks, have both took on sustainability as long term initiatives to address their customer needs and affect how their suppliers operate.

Zappos started out by selling shoes online to become the world’s largest online retailer of shoes. Subsequently, in their quest to boost sales, they moved beyond footwear to become an E-tailer that sells ‘anything and everything’.

A. The Wal-Mart China work in co-operation with the government and employees in advancing sustainability. The best practices known by Wal-Mart should be shared with government and employees to reduce carbon footprints. Also Wal-Mart should abide by the regulations of the government pertaining to sustainability and also Wal-Mart should voluntarily adopt best practices which lead to greater sustainability. The employees should be trained for reducing carbon footprints resulting from their actions and should be rewarded to encourage them to continue addressing sustainability issues.

We would like to show our gratitude to Resp. Prof. Mr. Sham Sharma, for providing us with the golden opportunity to prepare an intellectual report, on Distribution & Logistics Management of “wal-mart”.