The Alibaba Group is China’s largest e-commerce company. Itsmain platforms—Taobao, Tmall,

and Alipay—offer the largest online market place for Chinesebusinesses and consumers to

connect.76 Alibaba has evolved into a business giant withcompany acquisitions reaching into an

array of industries such as entertainment, real estate, mobiletechnology, and finance. Its recent

IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) reflects its dominancein the area. Wall Street

history was made when the company raised $25 billion as capital.No longer confined to the

emerging online markets of China, Alibaba now plays on aninternational level with plans to

compete for customers from around the world. Jack Ma, Alibaba’sfounder and executive

chairman, fuels the motivation and inspiration for the company’scompetitive spirit. Alibaba’s

bedrocks rest in his desires for making dreams come true and forcreating a lively atmosphere

where employees strive for success as a family. These ideals canbe traced back to the company’s

roots. Ma, along with 17 co-founders, launched the Alibaba Website from his humble six-room

apartment. In his living room, the determined group set out tonot only become one of the world’s

top Internet companies, but to also be one that will survive for102 years. Ma and his team’s

‘innovative spirit’ believed that together they could achievethe extraordinary by valuing the

customer and focusing on the future. The company now has over34,000 employees and continues

to grow; and Ma’s motto of ‘customer first, employee second, andshareholder third’ holds true

even today. Alibaba’s leaders try hard to maintain the culturethat was established during those

first days in Ma’s apartment. Despite having offices worldwideand a 17.2 acre campus for its

headquarters, the company seeks to retain a transparentenvironment where employees are

encouraged to challenge ideas at all levels. Each employeeadopts a nickname to help reduce a

sense of hierarchy in hopes of spurring innovative dialogue.Annual events, such as Alifest,

celebrate employees and customer unity. During these jovialcelebrations, Ma has been known to

wear dazzling costumes and sing. Employees are taken care ofbeyond their paychecks with access

to benefits like iHome, Alibaba’s own mortgage fund used to fundinterest-free loans for

employees. Despite such motivators, the company faces variouschallenges related to retention.

Losing employees who possess critical knowledge threaten itslong- term vision despite attracting

new talent. With over a quarter of its employees owning companyshares, the temptation to cash

out and walk away is common as the company rides the waves ofthe Wall Street. In response, Ma

has penned letters to employees not to forget the company’sideal of keeping the customer first

and to consider the longer journey. Ma cautions employees to becareful of wealth’s seductive side and to keep the greater good atheart. Such talk is reflected in Ma’s actions and statements.Now

one of the world’s leading billionaires, Ma keeps his focus onmotivations beyond just money. He has set up numerous charitiesfocusing on education, the environment, and health. In a recentpresentation to the Economic Club of New York, he reflected on howhappiness does not always come with money indicating that some ofhis happiest times occurred when he was making $12 a month as anEnglish school teacher. The question that remains is whether theseideals keep Alibaba on its path towards 102 years.

Q2 How would you retain employees who are sitting on lucrativestock options and could walk

out the door tomorrow knowing that they would never have to workanother day in their life?

use various motivation theories to support your answer.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Retaining employees can be done by All workers are focused on future advancement If the business has ... View the full answer