Question

Were there likely competing commitments with the company Zappos? Please explain and give a couple of examples. The article below will help answer the question but feel free to use any information you know about the company Zappos or any outside resources.

Zappos (www.zappos.com) is a Las Vegas-based online retailer that has been cited in fortune's list of the Best Companies to Work for and Fast Company's list of the world's most innovative company.

The company's first core value is "deliver through service," which is obvious if you've ever ordered from Zappos. It provides free shipping in both directions on all purchases. It often gives customers surprise upgrades for faster shipping. And it has a 365-day return policy.

Zappos uses a sophisticated computer system known as Genghis to manage its operations. This includes an order entry, purchasing, warehouse, management, inventory, shipping, and e-commerce system. For employees, it automatically sends daily e-mail reminders to call a customer back, coordinates the warehouse robot system, and produces reports that can specifically assess the impact on margins of putting a particular item on sale.

Free shipping has become a customer expectation. Other online retailers have copied the free-shipping policies of Zappos.

Answer 1

Competing commitments refers to a stronger outcome than what the organization actually committed to. In the article provided, there are competing commitments for the company Zappos. Initially, Zappos was committed to delivering through service. This commitment led them to provide free shipping and gave customers upgrades for faster shipping. They also had a 365 day return policy. These services led Zappos to gain competitive advantage in the industry.

Zappos’ competing commitments reflects in their operations part of the Genghis computer system. Though the computer system is used for many operations such as order entry, purchasing, management, inventory, it ultimately results in employees assessing the impact on margins of putting a particular item on sale. Though this is part of the operations is deviating from Zappos mission to deliver through service and also this action is actually a stronger outcome than that of Zappos’ mission.

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