Discussion 1

The moment that any user clicks enter on their keyboard button to launch to the Zappos

website, they realize that the comfort of the user is paramount for this company. The company

has a user-friendly website that has excellent customer service and a wide range of items sold

("Zappos Company Culture - The Zappos Family on Nightline", 2009). The services that the

customers receive are genuine and from the video, one can visualize that the workers are happy

to deliver. It is the case because they are motivated by the way their CEO looks like one of them

and treats them with respect. To make customers even happier, the company offers them free

shipping services. Zappos’s job/service encounter design and technology are two OM activities

that impact the management of goods and services. In terms of job/service encounter design,

employees portray behavioral and service management skills. For instance, all employees in this

company receive the same training. In terms of technology, hardware and software deliver

information that is critical to service facilities such as inventory and shipping information.

Discussion 2

Small businesses contribute significantly to society because they provide opportunities

for the entrepreneurs and at the same time create job opportunities for the general population.

Additionally, small businesses lead to economic growth of the society because they provide taxes

that are used for development purposes. Ownership of small businesses is advantageous in that it

creates freedom and independence for the owner and at the same time provides them with

financial gains (Egbert, 2013). However, small business ownership creates significant risks

where the owner can even lose their personal assets due to debts. Also, stress levels are usually

high in the world of entrepreneurship (Egbert, 2013). The magnitude of benefits outweighs the

disadvantages and this is important to encourage people to pursue careers are small business
owners. Small businesses have a social responsibility for all important business stakeholders.

They can engage in philanthropic work such as charity, volunteerism such as cleaning towns and

conserving the environment.

Discussion 3

The stakeholder theory has a bigger impact on the business environment as compared to

the ownership theory. Usually, ownership theory is important because it relates to the

performance of the business as well as its capital basis. Stakeholder theory on its part is even

more important than ownership theory because stakeholders such as employees and customers

define the company’s success or failure and therefore these stakeholders bring money back into

the business. In 2018, SunTrust faced an incident where a former employee took data for over

1.5 million customers (Rexrode, 2018). The CEO, Bill Rogers was supposed to notify the

customers about the breach but he went a step further to offering the customers free credit

monitoring services. In this case, SunTrust showed concern to customers who were its important

stakeholders therefore keeping them satisfied and happy was paramount.

 References

Egbert, H. (2013). Entrepreneurial Advantages and Disadvantages of

Belonging. Geojournal, 46(2), 129-134. doi: 10.1023/a:1006953321747

Rexrode, A. (2018). SunTrust Employee May Have Stolen Information About 1.5 Million

Clients. Retrieved 11 July 2020, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/suntrust-employee-

may-have-stolen-information-about-1-5-million-clients-1524231553

Zappos Company Culture - The Zappos Family on Nightline. (2009). Retrieved 11 July 2020,

from