This was an interesting case this week. This is the first time that I have read a case in which a sales team was on commission and the company was actually growing. I think that it was do to the fact that the CEO Zimmer had created a culture from the beginning that fostered a teamwork mentality. decease of this culture they were able to prosper in an industry that was seeing many short-comings.
I also think that there might be some bad with the good, as with any and most companies. I do think that because of the commission system that it did lead to some “sharking” among the sales team. Which could lead to some animosity among the “team”. However, with high sales numbers also came an inquisition into those sales to make sure that it was based on their skills and not because of “sharking”. There were also consequence if they were found behaving in such a manner.
In general, i think that their success was based on the fact that they treated their employees with respect and fairness. They offered good benefits such as 401k’s, stock options, and much more. They also did most of their hiring and promotions from within, further deepening the family culture that had been engrained in the beginning.
