Patagonia Case Study
Mariya Serednya
DeVry University
1. According to Maslow's hierarchy, which basic needs does the Patagonia culture meet? What would it be like to work at Patagonia? (Hint: Go to Patagonia’s website and find the section on jobs.) What’s your assessment of the company’s work environment?
Patagonia starts its business of a small company that made tools for climbers. Now it sells clothes not only for climbing but for skiing, snowboarding, surfing, fly fishing, paddling and trail running. Company believes that in each sport reward is a hard work and connection between them and nature. Patagonia has a commitment to environmental issues and has a reputation of company that has a huge profit while minimizing ecological impact. Attracting people who like to spend time outdoors, Patagonia motivates its employees by giving them responsibility for their achievements at work and high levels of flexibility, so their work is meaningful because it makes contributes to the purpose of protecting environment. Patagonia creating a culture that encourages employees by promoting surfing by providing flextime to allow employees to take advantage of when the surf is up is just the tip of the iceberg at Patagonia. After surfing or another activity employees can take a shower in the restrooms to fresh up. No one has a private office, so if employee doesn’t want to be disturbed, they can wear headphones. Also, company is doing celebrations to boost employee morale. Company earned a reputation for loyal employees, something that many vendors struggle with. Patagonia’s CEO Casey Sheahan says the company’s culture, camaraderie, and way of doing business is very meaningful to employees and they know that “what they do each day is contributing toward a higher purpose—protecting and preserving the areas that most of them love spending time in.” The strongest passion of Patagonia is for the outdoors and the environment. It attracts employees who are passionate...