Reference no: EM133306534
Assignment: Organizational identity defines who the organization is, what their mission is, their culture, and who they are striving to be (UC Davis Social Sciences, 2015). Depending upon the person, the identity of an organization can be perceived differently. It is important for companies to have a positive organizational identity to captivate current and new customers and employees (UC Davis Social Sciences, 2015). The two organizations that are being reviewed are Amazon and our team, Group 1.
Amazon Identity
After 5 years as an online retailer of books, Amazon expanded by launching Amazon Marketplace which sells all types of products. With the development of the company came development of its identity. "Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking" (Amazon, 2022). They strive to be the "earth's best employer" (Amazon, 2022).
Amazon demonstrates intra-organizational activities in the way in which employees and departments within the organization collaborate with each other (Priego-Roche et al., 2009). Collaboration between teams, executives, and departments allow for internal stability, planning, and goal attainment. The right framework which encourages such intra-organizational engagements including communications and planning allows for altruistic growth. Amazon provides their employees an employee relationship program to allow strategic communications and involvement in employee development which drives Amazon's overall success (Amazon, 2022a, c).
An organization's inter-organizational identity refers to its relationships with other organizations (Priego-Roche et al., 2009), such as its suppliers and customers. Amazon states, "We collaborate with credible, knowledgeable, and innovative industry partners around the world who share our vision" (Amazon, 2022a). Amazon embraces their relationships with their suppliers, supply chain, and overall responsibility to ensure human rights, employee wellbeing, and safe workplaces around the world (Amazon, 2022d).
Amazon's extra-organizational identity is the way in which the organization wishes to be perceived by those outside of the organization, such as its competitors, customers, and society. (Priego-Roche et al., 2009). Amazon has become associated with customer service, lending to the power platform status it has achieved, ultimately impacting popular interests and politics (Baldwin, 2020; Culpepper & Thelen, 2020). "It [Amazon] wants to be known as the most customer-friendly company on the entire planet" (Baldwin, 2020, para. 33). Amazon strives to position itself within the market as an irreplaceable customer and community service.
Amazon's intra, inter, and extra organizational values are in alignment. Amazon has gained notoriety through their desire to service consumers. By supplying consumers with their desired items quickly, cost effectively, and concisely, utilizing data and supply chain strategies, Amazon now sits as a power platform. Such positioning allows Amazon the unique stance of enjoying consumer's opinions of convenience and innovation, while having political power due to those consumer values and views. This position does not negate regulatory compliance, but does provide political interests, demonstrating a part of the power of consumer consumption, values, and expectations (Culpepper & Thelen, 2020).
Amazon's identities, while currently in alignment, can always improve. Amazon's mission includes spreading their desire to serve the communities, the Earth and future generations (Amazon, 2022b). The organization could improve upon their identity by incorporating that part of their mission into policies with their inter- and extra- organizational relationships, set more examples, and provide statistical data to cement such actions and desires moving forward. Amazon has always maintained an environmental awareness with employee training and public relations, and could benefit more by increasing such knowledge through ongoing communications to all levels within their businesses, including external alliances (Amazon, 2022b). Refining the identities capabilities in product cycles, improving to change the fact that many products and packaging are created in a way that is unrecyclable, can greatly assist Amazon in furthering their mission realization (Nandy, et al., 2022).
Team Identity
Similar to Amazon, our team is guided by four ideals: hard work, good communication, teamwork and working towards a common goal. On an intra-organizational level, our team desires success and enlightenment. In terms of inter-organizational identity, our team would like to collaborate with other teams who share similar mindsets. We have found that as individuals we too want to work with people who share the same vision and have similar work ethics. Finally, on an extra-organizational level, our team wants to be perceived as hardworking and thoughtful by our peers and professor.
Group 1 has the desire to succeed, both individually and as a group, providing direction. Drive is maintained with communications and the overarching goal of passing/graduating. Collaborating to fill in the gaps and provide feedback, ideas, and new concepts, aligns with ongoing growth and improved comprehension.
Comparison to Amazon
Our team shares some of the same identity traits as Amazon. Our intra- identities are similar in that both organizations are driven and committed to success as a whole as well as on personal levels. We both also strive for personal and team excellence rather than focusing on competing with others. The company and our team attempt to maintain strong relationships within our groups for continuous collaboration with common goals.
Both organizations believe in collaboration to achieve success. Working with other groups or organizations is an important step towards achieving shared goals. Our extra-organizational goals vary slightly. Amazon focuses on being perceived as a company who provides high customer satisfaction. Our team aims to be perceived in a positive way by professors and peers. Both organizations wish to be seen in a positive light by the group they are attempting to gratify.
Learned Concepts
Amazon poses the adhocracy concepts with external focus, while Group 1 leans towards the clan culture with an internal focus. Although our team has some similarities with the identities of Amazon, there are points to learn from such a successful and strong company. One learning point is to never stop experimenting. Working in groups allows the ability to bounce ideas off one another and experiment more with our thoughts. With each participants' unique view we can create better diversified and delineated projects.
A second accompanying concept to be learned from Amazon is to never be afraid of failure or risk. Failures provide significant data to grow from, while risks can define new processes not considered before. If the team is well built, open to learning, emotionally intelligent, and openly communicative, there is less possibility of failure. Amazon has notoriously taken great risks to make demand and desire a reality, noting years of development from the two-day delivery concept to the Prime Air reality of drone delivery (Amazon, 2022).
Conclusion
Organizational identities can be hard to narrow down, but incorporate desired outcomes and perceptions. Leadership styles, overall values, and goal setting pave the way to determined identities. Continuing to change and grow allows organizational identities to take shape, find direction, and endure ongoing improvements to meet desired goals. Lastly, a successful collaboration requires a desired shared goal and emotional intelligence by participants.
Questions: Describe what your group learns new from their group, and something new your group could teach them? Provide at least four new sources that can add new insights to the discussion.