Page 172 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

152 Building a High Morale Workplace

eBay Builds Success on a Culture of Trust

More than 42 million registered users from all corners of the
world participate in online buying, selling, and trading on eBay,
the world’s most successful Internet company and largest online
marketplace. This new form of commerce is built on two pillars:

cyberspace capitalism and trust in the basic goodness of peo-
ple. Intentional or not, eBay has become a testing ground for
the debate on the kindness of strangers and trust among one
another in our global communities.
So is this organization incredibly naïve and out of touch

with reality in today’s world or smart to trust that people will do
the right thing when given the opportunity? All signs point to
the latter.
At eBay, managers have successfully built a worldwide cul-

ture of trust. With millions of customers who hardly know one
another, the eBay community transacts more than $5 billion in
annualized gross merchandise sales (value of goods traded on
their site), trusting that every customer will send the money or
ship the items as promised.
eBay is banking on the belief that people are basically

good—and that trust has been richly rewarded. In the majority
of transactions, customers treat each other properly and some-
times even develop friendships. The overwhelmingly positive

Community Values at eBay
There are five basic principles by which eBay operates,
principles that inspire trust among employees as well as
among customers around the world:
We believe people are basically good.
• We believe everyone has something to contribute.
• We believe that an honest, open environment can bring out the best
in people.
• We recognize and respect everyone as a unique individual.
• We encourage you to treat others the way you want to be treated.
If you posted these five principles around your workplace, how
would people react?