Ebay Culture Essay Example

values and principles that are established by the founders and upper management. This culture becomes ingrained in the company's DNA from its creation. It is believed that companies form their culture early on, and this culture is imprinted with a sense of right and wrong, starting from the top with executives such as the CFO, President, and CEO. At eBay, there was an innate sense that a code of behavior and ethics needed to be established early on, according to Whitman. eBay's internal company culture was dominant and strong, encouraging commitment from its members. The culture promoted openness and honesty, respect for one another, and speaking up if one believed they were not being treated well. eBay functioned as a non-hierarchical, democratic organization that welcomed ideas and feedback from all employees. The culture was characterized as open and low risk, where employees were encouraged to express their opinions despite differing views. Mistakes were acceptable, but employees were encouraged to learn from them.According to Whitman, the culture at EBay is different from other companies where senior management disregards different views and opinions. At EBay, they do not have a "punishes" attitude, meaning there is no penalty for changing one's mind in the face of better information or having differing opinions from colleagues. The culture encourages appreciation of all opinions and a willingness to move forward with mutual respect. Senior managers at EBay act as role models of professionalism and respect, discouraging loud and disruptive behaviors. The company maintains an even-keeled culture, which contributes to its strength. EBay hires individuals who fit with its unique culture as it grows. Meg Whitman, the CEO, emphasizes the importance of

the company's culture by describing its values and expectations for employees to support and contribute to it during meetings with new candidates.Pierre Omidyar, the founder of EBay, emphasized that they were not only looking for experience in potential applicants, but for individuals who understand the significance of both internal and external communities and show respect towards them. However, measuring the community and organization was a challenge to ensure that EBay's values and culture were being correctly communicated. Therefore, it was essential to hire quality employees who fit with the culture to maintain it. Although most well-established cultures resist change, EBay accepted changes within its upper management and work methods. For instance, when Whitman joined EBay, she tried to make changes in the company's functioning, such as setting up meetings when nobody had a calendar. Whitman laid out a calendar and asked employees to sign up for appointments, but the employees did not appreciate the changes. According to Whitman, in EBay's culture, appointments were not necessary because of the small size of the company with only 35 people.The outcome was that employees from large corporations signed up for multiple meetings, while those from start-ups did not participate. EBay's culture was created to reflect its external community, with a key aspect being the respect for its community. This goes beyond the idea of "the customer is always right" as eBay's existence hinges on its community. Through meetings, Whitman saw the unique chemistry between eBay's internal and external communities. Tangibly, eBay's internal culture mirrored its external community by empowering employees to develop recommendations and employing a nonhierarchical, team-based approach to problem-solving. According to Omidyar, this alignment was critical

as eBay's values indirectly influence the community in everything they do. All aspects of EBay's operations eventually trickle down to the community via its website content, press releases, utterances to the press, corporate actions, deals, and partnerships. The communication of eBay's culture relies on its executives and managers at every level of the organization.EBay aims to ensure that its mission and values permeate the entire staff, empowering each individual to serve as a cultural steward and encouraging them to contact higher-ups if any actions deviate from established standards. This inclusive approach is applied to all personnel.