After reading Constance Ang’s blog post about Abercrombie and Fitch firing an employee becasuse she refused to take off her headscarf, as well as CEO Mike Jeffries comments about soley marketing to customers that fit to A&F’s look, I was struck by the statement these events made not only about A&F management and marketing, but about their company culture in general.
During our class devoted to People, Culture and Teams, it was mentioned that company culture begins with the founder, the individuals who create and run the company. What does it say about A&F when the CEO makes a statement essentially stating that the company did not want “unattractive individuals” to wear their products? I believe that this sets a precedent for discriminating not only to customers, but also employees, as the case Candace mentioned about the young woman who was fired over religous head dress. When I compare A&F to, for example, Zappos, the difference is clear. I would rather purchase from/work for a company whose CEO values their customers and employees no matter their religion or physical apperance. While I agree that A&F’s actions were unethical, I also think that it exposes the companies culture as very negative.