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Module 4 – Case
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE AND DIVERSITY
Case Assignment
For this Case Assignment, write an essay in which you discuss the
cultural differences of two respected companies that are successful
in their industry, Zappos and Amazon.
After you discuss the cultures of Zappos and Amazon, your ultimate
final question is whether the purchase of Zappos by Amazon in
2009 was the right strategy based on the findings of your own
online library research and the articles provided. You must support
your response to that question with at least one high-quality
reference which must come from the Trident Online Library.
Prepare a 4- to 5-page (not including title page and references)
critique per the following format:
Title Page. Be sure to include 5 components of relevant information
(e.g., Name, Class, Professor, Assignment, Date) on the title page.
Introduction. Discuss the topic of the paper and how you will
approach it. It is best to write this section after you have written the
rest of the paper. The title of this first section is NOT the word
Introduction; it is the company names for this assignment, that is,
Zappos vs. Amazon. (The heading for each of the other sections of
the paper are in bold in the following four subtopics.)
The History and Culture of Zappos. Describe the history and key
elements of the culture of Zappos and explain why these cultural
elements are essential to its success. Be sure to apply the
Listen
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background material by supporting your writing with high-quality
peer-reviewed journal articles found in the Trident Online Library.
The History and Culture of Amazon. Describe the history and key
elements of the culture of Amazon and explain why these cultural
elements are essential to its success. Be sure to apply the
background material by supporting your writing with at least one
high-quality peer-reviewed journal article found in the Trident Online
Library.
It was or was not a good decision for Amazon to Purchase
Zappos. Make an argument that Amazon made the right or wrong
choice to purchase Zappos. Discuss the specific differences
between the cultures of Amazon and Zappos in support of your
position. Be sure to use the background material by supporting your
writing with at least one high-quality peer-reviewed journal article
found in the Trident Online Library.
Conclusion. Discuss the key points in your analysis that
demonstrate the importance of understanding that organizational
cultures are not easily changed and why culture should be a
primary consideration when organizations contemplate an
acquisition or merger.
Reference List. List all references that you cited in the paper using
APA or other standard formatting. References include materials
from the required background readings as well as any outside high-
quality, peer-reviewed library sources you used in researching and
writing your paper. Their purpose is to take the reader directly to the
page on which you learned some information. When you find an
article in the Library, you can click on the quote (”) icon, select the
APA format from the drop-down list, and copy/paste the reference
onto your reference list. You may have to clean it up because they
are not always input into the database correctly.
Note: A URL (website address) is NOT a reference. A reference
always contains four parts: author, publication date, article title, and
the source of the article. Sometimes there is no author, but the APA
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manual tells you what you can put in that spot instead, such as the
first few words of the article title. The source for a high-quality peer-
reviewed journal article is the journal.
Upload your assignment to the Case 4 Dropbox. Be sure to review
your Turnitin Originality report. If the score is over 15%, you may
not be writing in your own words and you will need to contact your
professor and arrange to revise and resubmit your assignment.
Changes cannot be made to the submission, however, if it has
already been graded by your professor. Always check your
originality score after submitting your papers. If your score is above
15%, take a look at the originality report to see where you forgot to
cite your sources. Always use quotation marks to indicate that
material has been copied directly from the source. Also, the citation
for all quotes must include the page number where you found the
quote. These are two areas where most students get dinged on
their score.
Citation and reference style instructions are available at
and Trident
University’s Introduction to APA Style, 7th edition .
You will find the following useful as you critique sources:
Herring, J. E. (2011). Chapter 3: Evaluating websites, Figure 3.1, p.
38. In Improving students’ web use and information literacy: a guide
for teachers and teacher librarians. Facet Publishing. Available in
the Trident Online Library, EBSCO eBook Collection.
Lack, C. W., & Rousseau, J. (2016). Chapter 4: What is critical
thinking? In Critical thinking, science, and pseudoscience: Why we
can’t trust our brains. Springer Publishing Company. Available in
the Trident Online Library, EBSCO eBook Collection.
Assignment Expectations
1. Include a cover page and References page in your essay of 4 to
5 pages, not including the cover and reference pages.
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2. Study the Written Communications Rubric. Review it before,
during, and after preparing your submission.
3. Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the materials
cited on the Background page. Supplement these with at least
two relevant high-quality peer-reviewed sources that you locate in
the Trident Online Library.
Your submission will be assessed on the criteria found in the written
communications grading rubric for this assignment:
Context and purpose for writing
Content
Adherence to conventions in specific disciplines
Sources of evidence
Syntax control
Timeliness
Check your memory of material you read or listened to in this
Module.