Organization Culture as Business Tool

Identify companies that use organizational culture as a business tool. Identify examples of how

the company you have selected uses its organizational culture as a business tool.

Defining organizational culture, one source states: “It’s a very complex set of values,

beliefs, missions and goals that guide the way an organization acts, being shared by all of its

employees… Basically, organizational culture is how a business perceives, thinks, feels, and acts

through its team and representatives, which is known and practiced by all.” (Hotmart, 2019). As

such, organizational culture is described by that source as essential to a business organization’s

performance and productivity, which means that culture can be used as a business tool. There are

many examples of companies that are using organizational culture as a business tool. The source

Patel (2015) lists ten (10) such organizations and Reiners (2019) lists twenty-seven (27).

My first example is the company Zappos. This business uses culture as a tool in the form

of a cultural fit interview whose scoring accounts for 50% of the marks a candidate needs to

obtain to be hired to work at Zappos (Patel, 2015). Ten cultural core values are instilled in every

team member which enable them contribute to the business’ goals. These values are (Zappos,

2022):

1. Deliver WOW Through Service

2. Embrace and Drive Change

3. Create Fun and a Little Weirdness

4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded

5. Pursue Growth and Learning

6. Build Open and Honest Relationships with Communication

 7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit

8. Do More with Less

9. Be Passionate and Determined

10. Be Humble

As one can easily note from reviewing the cultural core values above, each one enables

the employee to make Zappos a great, customer-focused business. That is how culture can be

used as a business tool. Zappos, in fact, lists “Company Culture” on its website as one of the

Four C’s that help the company “deliver happiness to customers, as well as employees, vendors,

shareholders and the community, in a long-term, sustainable way” (Zappos, 2022). Offering

proof that Zappos goes even further, one source stated: “New employees are offered $2,000 to

quit after the first week of training if they decide the job isn't for them. Employee raises come

from workers who pass skills tests and exhibit increased capability, not from office politics.

Portions of the budget are dedicated to employee team building and culture promotion” (Patel,

2015).

Another example is the company Twitter. It has been reported that “Employees of Twitter

can't stop raving about the company's culture. Rooftop meetings, friendly coworkers and a team-

oriented environment in which each person is motivated by the company's goals have inspired

that praise. Employees of Twitter can also expect free meals at the San Francisco headquarters,

along with yoga classes and unlimited vacations for some. These and many other perks are not

unheard of in the startup world. But what sets Twitter apart? Employees can't stop talking about

how they love working with other smart people. Workers rave about being part of a company

that is doing something that matters in the world, and there is a sense that no one leaves until the
work gets done” (Patel, 2015). Based on this comment, one can obviously see that Twitter is

using culture as a business tool to achieve its goals through its employees.

My last example is Zoom, a company all of us came to know of during the COVID-19

pandemic. In terms of how this company uses culture as a business tool, one source stated: ““The

happiness crew maintains the company culture at each location through events, celebrations,

community involvement and volunteering,” says Steve Snyder, Account Executive at

Zoom. That’s right, they created a happiness crew whose primary focus is to maintain a close-

knit culture as the company grows.”” (Reiners, 2019). The source adds: “New hires from across

the globe attend a training session in San Jose to build relationships and learn about the company

and its culture before their first day. Once they start, new hires are paired with a mentor to learn

more about company culture and company outreach. During their weekly company-wide office

meeting, employees recognize a colleague who supported them and share updates to keep

everyone in the loop and show appreciation for individual successes” (Reiners, 2019). Such a

culture enabled Zoom to reliably meet the needs of millions around the world during the

pandemic, making the company rich from its use of culture as a business tool.

References

Hotmart (2019). What is Organizational Culture and How Can I Identify It? Online:

https://hotmart.com/en/blog/organizational-culture

Patel, S. (2015). 10 Examples of Companies with Fantastic Cultures. Online:

https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/10-examples-of-companies-with-

fantastic-cultures/249174
Reiners, B. (2019). 27 Company Culture Examples to Get You Inspired. Online:

https://builtin.com/company-culture/company-culture-examples

Zappos (2022). What We Live By. Online: https://www.zappos.com/about/what-we-live-by