Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded the Google Company while doing their Ph. D at the Stanford University (Battelle 2005). The two founders launched and incorporated the company as a private enterprise in 1998, and thereafter, they obtained their first public offering in 2004. By 2006, Google was fully established and the founders repositioned Googles headquarters to Mountain View, California. Since then, Google has grown rapidly. Google has the largest market share of the search engines.
Googles search engine has gained fame, and is used globally. Google also offers a social networking site called Google+. Gmail is one of the best and most efficient productivity software offered by Google and its usage expands on a daily process globally. Google has the largest market share in internet usage, social networking and cloud computing. An approximate of 80% of businesses uses Google products and services globally (Battelle 2005).
The Google Corporation manipulates more than one million data centre servers globally. There is an increasing demand for the services of handling servers worldwide and Google anticipates managing over one billion data centre servers in the near future. As at 7 October, 4:00pm, Googles stock price dropped by 6.61 trading at $865.74 per share. This represented a 0.8% negative change from the previous sales. However, Googles stock price head towards trading at $1000 per share in the near future.
Core activities
Google is a technological company. Its key activities comprise of the search engine and online advertising. Google also deals with operating systems, hardware and software products. However, the main source of revenue for Google is the online advertising business. Google does an online business of selling and delivering products and services in more than 50 countries. Google has an enhanced mobile segment and home segment Motorola business.
Through the home segment, Google provides video entertainment services. The consumers ought to subscribe with Google to access digital television services. The mobile segment manufactures and sells electronics. Google has acquired and collaborated with many other technological companies to offer an infinite number of products and services.
Organizational structure
Google uses a functional structure, where the top management team focuses on employing value-chain activity measures (Gibbs 2013). To ease the management of the operations, Googles management team has subdivided the company into five departments as shown below.
Each of the departmental heads reports directly to the executive management team, and the team reports to the board of directors. The small business units obtain a chance to innovate and invent things within the larger company. The multidivisional structure with small business units facilitates centralized planning for a large company as Google.
Vision and values
Google operates under a very high vision of systemizing the worlds information and making it readily accessible and useful (Miguel 2009). To attain the set mission, Google has adopted a culture of value for its employees. Googles employees work very hard, under a very challenging environment, but they make fun out of the challenging environment.
Conclusion
Google is an amazing company that has overturned the lives of people. Gone are the days when researchers would spend hours in the library trying to fish out information from written books. Google has enhanced the entertainment industry, and shopping is just a click of a mouse. Google has changed peoples lives to the better as compared to the earlier days, and a world without Google is unimaginable.
It is no secret that Googles position as the number-one search engine globally is maintained by a team of motivated employees and managers who enjoy their jobs to the fullest due to a multiplicity of motivation strategies and initiatives that the company continues to use (Cummings 2002). Google has realized that motivating employees through intrinsic and extrinsic rewards helps in stimulating them to become more productive, satisfied, and happier at the same time (Damij et al. 2015). This paper looks into the theories and methods used by Google to motivate its employees and the issues that the company is able to solve due to this practice.
Theories and Methods used by Google for Motivational Techniques
Available literature demonstrates that Google continues to provide its employees with outstanding amenities, which include an in-house chef and masseuse, an onsite sauna, and 12-week maternity leave at 75 percent of pay, plus free meals delivered to the new mom during her first week off (Cummings 2002, p. 6). Additional extrinsic benefits used by Google (e.g., flex spending accounts, free food, no-cost health and dental benefits, financial support for child adoption, insurance, vacation packages, on-site car wash, and tuition reimbursements) make employees to feel recognized by the company and to work harder to show their appreciation (Motivation in Google Company n.d.).
Theories of motivation can provide useful insights into how organizations can motivate their employees to give their best in work-related contexts. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs theory proposes that people seek to satisfy five basic needs: physiological, safety, belongingness, self-esteem and self-actualization needs (Dennis 2010, p. 4). The theory places these needs in a pyramid, with the most basic on the bottom and self-actualization at the top (Dennis 2010, p. 4). The application of this theory is demonstrated by how Google assists its employees to attain intrinsic rewards such as the sense of belonging, self-actualization, independence, and power by providing resources, opportunities, recognition and a favorable work environment for employees to be successful (Motivation in Google Company n.d.). For example, the weekly meetings hosted by Googles co-founders help employees to achieve a sense of belonging by virtue of knowing that the company listens to their voices and concerns. Once employees achieve a sense of belonging, the need to attain self-actualization according to Maslows theory motivates their behavior to work harder to meet goals and surpass expectations.
Clayton Alderfers ERG theory condenses the Maslows five basic needs to three levels of needs (Existence, relatedness, and Growth) and argues that the order of pursuing these needs is not necessarily hierarchical, though existence needs usually have elevated precedence than relatedness and growth needs (Mullins & Christy 2013). Google fulfills existence needs by providing its employees with a free and fun-filled working environment where workers are allowed to use 20% of the work time weekly to engage in activities of personal interest (Motivation in Google n.d.). This working environment has been credited for ensuring a high level of creativity and innovativeness among employees.
The company fulfills relatedness needs by providing various levels of communication, valuing employee feedback, and ensuring that employees are facilitated to build satisfying interpersonal relationships with other employees and with senior management. Relatedness needs are also fulfilled by encouraging employees to take part in various activities and sports that are outside the scope of their work. Lastly, Google provides various opportunities for personal growth and development to enable its employees to accomplish the growth needs level. For example, the company practices high employee engagement practices and have an in-house reward mechanism aimed at acknowledging and appreciating the work of employees according to its organizational vision and values (Holton, Dent, & Rabbetts 2009).
Issues Solved due to Practice
Due to the effectiveness of the methods used by Google to develop motivational techniques, the company has been able to attract and retain the best employees in an extremely competitive business environment. These employees have helped the company to outperform its competitors and remain profitable even in challenging times (Dennis 2010). Here, it can be argued that embracing motivation as a key competitive strategy has helped Google to deal with issues of employee recruitment (many qualified and competent people want to work for Google), talent retention (employees want to stay, grow and contribute their knowledge, experience, and expertise), and employee performance (employees want to give their best due to the conducive work environment). The practice of employee motivation has also enabled Google to gain a good reputation and international standing, hence making it easier to recruit the best talent as demonstrated by a multiplicity of surveys showing that many employees would like to work for Google (Cummings 2002). Lastly, it is important to note that Googles capacity to retain its employees due to the practices discussed in this paper translates to minimal training and recruitment costs for the company.
Conclusion
This paper has used Maslows Hierarchy of Needs theory and Alderfers ERG theory to demonstrate the methods used by Google to develop motivational techniques. The paper has also outlined the many issues that are solved due to the practice. Overall, it can be concluded that Googles motivational methods and techniques have been instrumental in enabling the company to recruit and retain the best talent.
Reference List
Cummings, B 2002, Motivational masters, Potentials, vol. 35 no. 11, pp. 6-6.
Damij, J, Levnajic, Z, Skrt, VR & Sukian, J 2015, What motivates us for work? Intricate web of factors beyond money and prestige, PLoS ONE, vol. 10 no. 7, pp. 1-13.
Dennis, V 2010, Motivation in todays workplace: The link to performance, HR Magazine, vol. 55 no. 7, pp. 1-9.
Holton, V, Dent, F & Rabbetts, J 2009, Motivation and employee engagement in the 21st century: A survey of management views, Web.
This research paper is a review of Google Analytics. It is a widely recognized, freemium, self-service Web analytics or business intelligence (BI) and data visualization application offered by Google since 2005 after it acquired Urchin (Baker). The tool tracks and reports Web site traffics and offers useful insights, particularly for marketing and advertising agencies. It has been responsible for driving better business intelligence practices, integrating a wide range of top analytical functionalities for both Internet and mobile users. Based on quality- and functionality-driven applications, Google Analytics applies different visualization methods and data summarization on sophisticated dashboards to allow users to extract data and information that are easy to understand for decision-making.
Google Analytics is based on a tracking code technology (page tags) to support more JavaScript documents, to collect data automatically, to send cookies, and to analyze every users behavior on a site. Google Analytics runs on all major devices, including Windows, Linux, Android, Mac, and others. Additionally, it is developed to support various Web pages, such as Perl, JavaScript, ASP.NET, PHP, as well as to support businesses of different sizes, including freelancers and small, medium, and large businesses. It is free for small businesses and individuals, whereas other entities can acquire it on a flexible payment arrangement to exploit more than its 30 features, making Google Analytics the most affordable, readily available tool for all, irrespective of the size, industry, or financial position of users.
Noted Benefits
Insights and reports obtained from Google Analytics are considered instrumental for the commercial growth of any modern business. The tool assists commercial entities to analyze vast volumes of data from disparate sources for market optimization. Different end-users get diverse benefits of this tool. It is, however, imperative to focus on how the platform assists businesses to understand their Web site visitors, evaluate reasons behind the traffic, and more importantly, exactly discern why visitors did or did not convert. From cookies and browser cache files, the tool uses values like keywords, timestamps, titles, and referrers for analysis (DeGrazia).
Google Analytics supports data-driven decision-making and helps companies to save costs. It has different Advanced Reporting features sales, lead generation, visitors behavior, and specific pages visited or files downloaded. It shows the origin of visitors (referrers), visitor location, and time they spend on the site on a users computer (DeGrazia). For e-commerce sites, Google Analytics displays sales performance, transactions, revenue, and any other performance indicators of interest. With the real-time analytics feature, Web site owners can see current activities on their sites.
Once it has efficiently classified data on the dashboard, users can rely on Google Analytics to optimize their marketing activities, making it extremely useful for analysts and markets because of integration with AdWords. While savvy business owners can conduct in-depth content analyses to determine poor performances, other casual users may rely on dashboard-type information for insights. Specific insights help organizations to save costs on analysis and reports, which ultimately affect their bottom line and enhance cost-saving strategies.
Cost or Prizing Plans
For individuals and small businesses, Google Analytics is a free platform. The pricing is based on a quote basis under different sophisticated applications, such as Analytics 360, Tag Manager 360, Optimize 360 (beta), Attribution 360, Audience Center 360 (beta), and Data Studio 360 (beta) (FinancesOnline). These applications can be purchased collectively or individually.
Performance
According to FinancesOnline, Google Analytics has recorded a user satisfaction rate of 96 percent and a score of 8.7. These metrics indicate that Google Analytics is an important Business Intelligence tool based on reviews from disparate sources and users globally. Customers are actually satisfied with this tool. Such ratings also help other potential users to choose the most cost-effective and dependable tool.
Competition
Various popular Google Analytics alternatives are also available in the market. These tools include Microsoft Power BI, IBM Watson Analytics, and Tableau Desktop, as well as other lesser-known alternatives, such as a competitor, Style Intelligence, Lokad, and others. Their performances and prices vary considerably from one vendor to another.
Limitations
Although Google Analytics is a superior tool for Web site and mobile app data analysis, it nonetheless has some limitations. Google does not provide a higher level of customer support or training relative to other paid alternatives. Thus, users who deploy this tool are expected to handle their own end-user training needs, perhaps because it is considered a freemium product. With limited training, many end users may fail to grasp any useful information from the excessively automated customer support system. Users who only utilize advertising and marketing features may not explore the full functionality of the tool. Further, critics have also raised issues related to the loss of privacy due to tracking and some invalid searches.
Conclusion
Google Analytics is considered a powerful freemium tool for Web site and mobile app analysis, making it one of the most successful BI tools with superior return on investment. It analyzes site audience, referrals, visitor behaviors, and conversion or no conversion. Today, it is one of the most widely adopted Web site analytical tools and favored by marketers and e-commerce firms for optimization. With adequate end-user training, support, and privacy-advancing features, Google Analytics is poised to be the BI most preferred analytics tool.
Like any other modern multinational, Google is facing several issues. These problems are associated with certain difficulties in the world economy, the high degree of competitiveness, diversity and so on. Google also faces issues that are quite typical for a rapidly growing company as the organization risks losing its culture. Thus, Google has been famous for its entrepreneurial culture but employees feel that their autonomy is decreasing and top management of the organization also admits that there are issues associated with leadership (Bershidsky 2013). Torrington et al. (2014) state that such issues associated with motivation and performance management can worsen the performance of the entire company and its development.
These challenges have to be addressed immediately. This paper contains some recommendations as to solving the existing issues. First, it is important to note that these recommendations are developed in terms of the consequentialist approach, as the outcomes of the changes are central. The major message concerning participation in the plan will be based on the idea of benefits for the company as well as each employee. Employees will not be assigned but they will be encouraged to participate. This approach will make them more willing to take part in the plan and create actual changes. This will ensure the effectiveness of the measures that will be consistent with Googles entrepreneurial culture.
The vast majority of organizational changes and improvements require certain resources (human, financial and so on). Therefore, the first stage of the change will be addressing Googles top management. It is important to inform the top management about the issues existing and provide them with a plan to address the challenges. The plan should be presented to top management during a meeting devoted to the need for change. The top management will have to be ready to invest time and money to implement the plan on improving performance at Google. The employees will have to complete certain surveys (which will be developed by HR professionals of the company) and will participate in many meetings and trainings. Hence, employees should have enough time to invest.
It is important to add that the changes will start with the notes to employees concerning the need for change. HR professionals will develop several notes to inform employees about upcoming changes. This will make employees prepared and eager to participate effectively. They will see that the changes are needed and they will try to contribute to effective transformations within the organization (Snell, Morris & Bohlander 2015). The employees should know the agenda and they will be informed about the major challenges that will be addressed in the first place. They will also be encouraged to share their ideas on the matter. HR professionals will analyze the ideas provided and they can use some of these ideas if they are consistent with the overall plan.
The process of active changes will take up to six months. After that period, the methods used to implement the change will become a part of the standard procedures of the organization. Of course, these procedures will be evaluated and adjusted to the changing environment (when necessary).
Recommendation 1: addressing challenges associated with autonomy and leadership.
The theory of self-determination and core self-evaluation
The self-determination theory (SDT) can be applied to address the issues concerning inefficient leadership. Bershidsky (2013) notes that Googlers complain about the lack of autonomy and the use of autocratic types of leadership. Such types of leadership are inconsistent with the entrepreneurial nature of the company. It is also a fact that many people choose Google for its culture and these people need significant autonomy. At the same time, Deci and Ryan (2008) stress that all people need different degrees of autonomy. The researchers claim that some people feel frustrated when they are left alone with tasks and without any supervision. Importantly, many people may be mistaken when evaluating their own needs of autonomy. Joo, Jeung and Yoon (2010) stress that core self-evaluation theory can help identify the level of autonomy needed for each employee.
It is important to add that this strategy will help to address both issues. Thus, it will provide leaders with specific knowledge and skills that will enable them to give the necessary amount of autonomy to their employees. It will also lead to an increase in autonomy in the organization. Google will be able to retain its entrepreneurial culture and the turnover will decrease as employees satisfaction will grow.
People Responsible for Implementation of the Plan
Human resources professionals will be responsible for the implementation of the plan. The plan will consist of several stages. These stages are as follows: a survey, analysis, development of profiles and recommendations. The recommendations developed will be forwarded to top managers and leaders as well as employees (when necessary). These recommendations will enable leaders to choose the right leadership styles when dealing with employees. This can also help teams to choose the most effective leader to work effectively on particular projects.
A brief description of the plan
Survey and analysis
The survey in Google will be based on the survey developed by Hackman and Oldham (1974). The survey will evaluate the following job characteristics: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. Ali et al. (2014) note that this survey enables to effectively evaluate employees satisfaction. However, it also reveals the level of autonomy needed (Joo, Jeung and Yoon 2010).
Importantly, HR professionals will use the survey developed by Hackman and Oldham (1974) but they will also adjust it to the peculiarities of the company. The question can contain some degree of humor or can be less formal. All employees should complete the survey. This can become a part of the recruitment process. The survey contains around 40 questions. Sample questions, as well as the key to the survey, are provided in the report by Hackman and Oldham (1974).
Profiles and recommendations
After analysis of the surveys, the HR professionals will develop profiles for all employees. These profiles will focus on needs and especially on the degree of autonomy needed. The profiles can be developed in a form of a fact sheet about each employee, which will include information on qualifications, experience, achievements (including performance scores) and the degree of autonomy of a person. The latter section (concerning autonomy) will be filled in by the HR professionals while the rest of the information will be provided by each employee.
These profiles may be helpful when rewarding staff when distributing projects and identifying employees who need training. Notably, the surveys may be implemented regularly within particular periods (each 2 or 5 years). Thus, employees will self-develop and will be able to change (improve) their profiles. The profiles will be available to all employees of the company.
Recommendations
HR professionals will also develop recommendations based on the results of the survey. These recommendations will also focus on the autonomy needed by this or that employee. The recommendations will be available to top managers and supervisors.
HR professionals will develop the recommendations using ideas suggested by Hocine and Zhang (2014) and Deci and Ryan (2008). Leaders will take into account the degree of autonomy needed and will choose the necessary leadership style and methods. Employees can be put into three groups where specific methods will be applied. These methods will include close supervision, autonomy support, and significant freedom.
Close supervision will be suggested for working with employees who do not need a significant amount of autonomy. This approach will involve setting clear goals and timelines, discussing ways to complete tasks, guidance, control of performance. Autonomy support implies a greater deal of autonomy for employees. The leader also sets goals and timelines. However, there are no (or almost no) discussions concerning the ways to complete tasks. It is noteworthy that these discussions can take place if the employee does not meet the necessary deadlines or is stuck with some parts of the project. The third group of employees will have a significant amount of freedom. These employees will get tasks and timelines. Their work will not be supervised, as only the result of the project will be assessed.
Importantly, to avoid various issues, excellent work on projects should be included in employees profiles. Likewise, failures to meet deadlines, as well as other issues, will also be included in the profile. This will enable leaders to monitor the progress of employees. It will be clear whether an employee is ready to have a lot of autonomy or he/she still needs certain supervision.
To make sure that the plan is effective, it is important to have certain information on the work of leaders. They as well as their subordinates will be asked to complete brief reports on particular projects. Leaders and employees will evaluate the leadership styles used. The leaders effectiveness will be analyzed in terms of the following aspects: the success of the project, leadership style applied (whether it corresponds to the one suggested in the recommendations), employees satisfaction with the leader and the project. The form of the report will be developed by HR professionals. The questions will be quite straightforward. Of course, there will be the necessary degree of anonymity to ensure the reliability of the data obtained. They will be mainly multiple-choice and scale questions.
Timing
As has been mentioned above, the implementation of the plan will require six months (see table 1). The first stage will take up one month. This stage will include the development of the survey and report forms. During this month, employees will be informed about the coming survey and will be asked to share their ideas on the matter. The next stage is carrying out the survey and analysis of the data obtained. The survey will be held for two weeks. Since it will be held online (questionnaires will be sent via the corporate email), it will not take too much time to carry out.
Table 1: The Plan Timeline: Autonomy and Leadership
Profiles and recommendations can also be developed with the help of applications. Luckily, this cannot be a problem for Googlers. Recommendations may need specific attention and, hence, apart from being developed by certain applications, they will be assessed by HR professionals when forwarded to leaders and supervisors as per their request.A month and a half is necessary to analyze the data. The data can be analyzed with the help of an application that can be developed during the first stage. Of course, HR professionals will have to collaborate with IT specialists to develop proper analysis engines. The company employs many people, so there will be considerable workload for HR professionals if the survey is analyzed by people.
Recommendation 2: addressing challenges associated with leadership with the help of knowledge management.
Apart from issues concerning autonomy, it becomes clear that many leaders at Google are inefficient. Bershidsky (2013) claims that employees often complain about ineffective and too autocratic methods. One of the major reasons for ineffective leadership at Google is its rapid expansion. Leaders in numerous divisions and subsidiaries are unprepared to work in such an entrepreneurial environment while employees expect to work in an environment that is already seen as typical for Google. Barak (2013) states that the companys expansion often leads to issues associated with leadership as diversity issues are not always completely addressed.
To avoid such issues, it is crucial to make sure that leaders are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to be effective when working on particular projects and in particular environments. Foss et al. (2009) argue that knowledge sharing can address this issue effectively. Leaders will share their experiences and they will be able to develop and choose effective leadership strategies.
Responsibilities
The person responsible for the implementation of this plan will be an HR professional (or rather a team of HR professionals). These employees will supervise the process and will make sure that knowledge sharing takes place. Of course, leaders will be active participants in discussions and workshops.
The plan details
Stage one
Implementation of the plan will take up to six months and will be divided into three major stages: preparation, implementation, evaluation (see table 2). The preparation part will take up to 2 months. HR professionals will develop some leadership strategies that have been effectively applied in different divisions. Meantime, leaders will be notified about the start of the project and they will be encouraged to come up with ideas on leadership strategies that can be employed. These ideas will be sent to the HR professionals responsible for the implementation of the plan. They will include the brightest and most helpful ideas in their presentations of the most efficient leadership strategies.
Table 2: The Plan Timeline: Leadership
Stage twoClearly, it is essential to motivate employees to actively participate in the project. Thus, all employees will have a note (sent via email) concerning the plan and its expected outcomes. It will also be noted that the contribution of each employee will be mentioned in his/her profile, which can affect the performance score and financial awards (or other types of motivation strategies). HR professionals will send certain schedules so that leaders could be present.
The implementation of the project will include discussions, workshops, training sessions as well as temporal work in different teams or even divisions. First discussions will be developed and run by the HR professionals responsible for the project. These employees will deliver presentations on major strategies that have been successfully used at Google. These discussions can be held online or with partial use of technology. Thus, HR professionals can deliver their speech while leaders gather in meeting rooms of their divisions listen to the presentation and then a discussion starts. The second part of this section can include discussions involving leaders working at different divisions. It is also possible to hire outside trainers to run workshops and training sessions. Most effective leaders will also be sent to other divisions to see the way leadership strategies are employed there and to share their own experiences.
Stage three
It is also important to make sure that knowledge sharing is an efficient strategy. After three months of discussions, workshops and so on leaders will assess the effectiveness of the sessions. They will also evaluate their own performance identifying improvements if any. Employees will also assess the performance of leaders. This will be done through the completion of brief questionnaires sent via email. The questionnaires will include scale questions. Some questions developed by Hackman and Oldham (1974) can be used in this case as well. If there are significant improvements in leaders performance, the approach based on knowledge sharing will be utilized in the future. Thus, discussions, workshops and so on will be held regularly. It is noteworthy that outside trainers are unlikely to be necessary, as Googlers will be able to generate effective ideas on their own.
Conclusion
On balance, it is necessary to note that Google is now facing two major issues associated with performance management. The lack of autonomy and inefficient leadership have led to the rise of employees dissatisfaction and, as a result, to a significant degree of turnover. Implementation of the two plans suggested can help the organization solve these issues. The two plans are aimed at improving leadership and increasing the motivation of employees through the maintenance of Googles entrepreneurial culture. The projects can be held simultaneously as they involve quite different participants and people will not be overloaded, especially when it comes to the first plan.
The first plan is two-folded and it addresses both issues (lack of autonomy and inefficient leadership). Employees needs and the level of autonomy required will be evaluated. This will enable leaders to choose the right leadership style. Importantly, employees will better understand their own needs and abilities. This will also contribute to employees satisfaction, as they will know exactly what they want, need and can. Employees profiles will enable management to evaluate employees performance more effectively. Leaders will also have some recommendations as to choosing the best leadership strategies when working with certain types of employees. Of course, this will improve leadership in Google. The use of particular applications or software will make the plan more efficient in terms of time and human resources.
The other plan focuses on leadership and it is based on sharing knowledge. Leaders will be encouraged to share their experiences and effective leadership strategies will be utilized in the most appropriate settings. Importantly, it is necessary to remember about the motivation of the participants (financial awards, promotion and so on). Of course, the two projects will be evaluated and if they turn out to be effective, they should become standard procedures within the organization. For instance, identification of the necessary amount of autonomy can be used during the recruitment process or at the beginning of the employees career. There are some scores in Google but more detailed profiles can improve performance management. Workshops and discussions, as well as temporal work at other divisions, will also be employed if found effective.
It is necessary to add that HR professionals will be responsible for the implementation of the two projects. They have the necessary tools to supervise the process. These professionals also have the necessary knowledge and skills to improve leadership strategies used at Google. They can cover all the employees of the company.
Of course, it is important to make sure that top managers understand the benefits of the two projects, as without their consent and investment of certain resources (human resources, time, funds and so on) the projects implementation is impossible. At the same time, the extensive body of the research suggests that the two projects can help to improve employees performance significantly. The two projects are based on approaches that have been successfully utilized. Googlers will be committed to work harder if the entrepreneurial nature of the organization is maintained. Having the necessary amount of autonomy and efficient leadership will make employees more satisfied and motivated.
Reference List
Ali, SAM, Said, NA, Yunus, NM, Kader, SFA, Latif, DSA & Munap, R 2014, Hackman and Oldhams job characteristics model to job satisfaction, Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 129, pp. 46-52.
Barak, MEM 2013, Managing diversity: toward a globally inclusive workplace, SAGE Publications, Thousand Oaks.
Deci, EL & Ryan, RM 2008, Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across lifes domains, Canadian Psychology, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 14-23.
Foss, NJ, Minbaeva, DB, Pedersen, T & Reinholt, M 2009, Encouraging knowledge sharing among employees: how job design matters, Human Resource Management, vol. 48, no. 6, pp. 871-893.
Hocine, Z & Zhang, J 2014, Autonomy support: explaining the path from leadership to employee creative performance, Open Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 417-423.
Joo, BKB, Jeung, CW & Yoon, HJ 2010, Investigating the influences of core self-evaluations, job autonomy, and intrinsic motivation on in-role job performance, Human Resource Development Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 353-371.
Snell, S, Morris, S & Bohlander, G 2015, Managing human resources, Cengage Learning, Boston.
Torrington, D, Hall, L, Taylor, S & Atkinson, C 2014, Human resource management, Pearson Education Limited, Harlow.
Google Inc. (Google) is a relatively new company that started as a project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin to organize websites (Duthel 27). After the companys incorporation in 1998, Google set up its headquarters in Mountain View California.
Although Googles initial business strategy focused on the search engine business, its success has surpassed this business niche. The companys success stems from its business growth, which has been synonymous with the introduction of new products such as online productivity software, cloud computing services, online advertising technologies, social networking services and the likes.
The companys product and service offing also stretch across the provision of desktop services (such as web browsing, photo editing, and instant messaging) and the development of the popular Android operating system (Duthel 204). The provision of the browser-only Google chrome is also a key product that characterizes Googles success.
Recently, Google made a spirited attempt to venture into the production of communication hardware. This venture informs the companys partnership with hardware production companies that have developed some of its latest brands such as its high-end nexus devices. Similarly, its 2012 strategic move to acquire Motorola forms part of the companys strategy.
Googles scope in the technology market is massive. Duthel (20) estimates that the company runs thousands of data centers globally. Similarly, the companys search engine capability is impressive as it processes about one billion search engine requests daily (Katz 3).
From its expansive scope, observers are not shy to say Google is among the most visited websites globally (Katz 3). Similar Google websites that run in non-English languages also feature among the most highly visited websites. Lastly, other Google-owned websites, such as YouTube and blogger rank as the most visited websites in the world.
Choice of Company
It is a position all business leaders would love to find themselves ina massive IPO, dominance in the marketplace, and a blank slate from policy makers to do practically anything they please (Katz 1). This statement characterizes the market and company environment that informs Googles operation.
Indeed, the company enjoys a massive IPO with unlimited freedom on the types of operations it may pursue. These conditions also help to explain why Google has a firm control in the technology market. Googles success in the technology market informs the focus of this paper because even after its relatively recent entry into the market, Google has achieved tremendous success that has taken most companies decades to achieve.
Google surfaces as an interesting case study because despite its operational challenges, the company has been able to enjoy an unrivaled position in its market segment for nearly ten years.
Moreover, subject to the short time the company has operated, it has been able to control more than 80% of the global search engine market (Katz 3). Google also controls more than 90% of the global mobile search market (Katz 3). This dominant market share has elevated the Californian-based giant to be the most popular search engine company in the world.
Googles closest competitor, Microsofts Bling, does not have a strong market share, or revenue growth, that rivals Googles revenue. In fact, Katz says, Googles annual revenue is larger than the economies of the worlds 28 poorest countries combined (2). Blings failure to command a strong market share has given Google an unrivaled monopoly in the search engine market.
Through its market dominance, Google has found it easy to manipulate the existing rules of operation to advance its corporate agendas without much opposition. For example, the company has used sophisticated algorithms to draw more attention to the companys products, as opposed to the relevant items that are supposed to characterize its search results (Katz 3).
Albeit Google is a United States (US) company, the companys growing power and influence in the world has caused fears within the European Union (EU), which has threatened the company to change its powerful business practices, or else the EU would assume the company has contravened antitrust laws (Katz 3). This caution comes from the power that Google has to make or break brands since it wields immense advertising power that may build or destroy certain brands.
For example, through the manipulation of the algorithm system, Google can develop brands that pay for privileged searches, such that when people Google a certain product, the company with the privileged brand pops first. Relative to the above dynamics, Katz says Google has spent years trying to monopolize every avenue through which a company can reach users onlineif it is through search, advertising, email, mobile devices or browsers (7). This way, Google enjoys an unrivaled monopoly in the market.
From Googles simple mission statement that reads, To organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful (Duthel 393), this paper finds it of great interest to understand how Google has achieved its tremendous corporate success.
Indeed, as opposed to the expectation that Google may just achieve corporate success, as its mission states, this paper chooses this company because it has achieved tremendous commercial success by overshadowing its competitors and exercising an almost impervious monopoly in the search engine market.
Introduction of Strategy
Googles strategy is complex and perplexing. Moran (1) says that assuming Googles strategy is just one thing is a misinformed opinion. Relative to this assertion, some observers say that it is important for industry experts to understand where Googles corporate strategy heads because if the company fails to achieve its vision, its failure may affect the industry (Moran 1). Nonetheless, despite the complexity of Googles strategy, it is important to understand that the main component of the companys strategy is advertising.
Therefore, regardless of the companys actions, experts understand that Googles main aim is to increase its advertising revenue and dominance in the advertising market. The focus on advertising as Googles main corporate focus has manifested in the companys partnership with Adsense Contextual (an advertising firm) (Duthel 393). Such strategic partnerships have helped Google to increase its advertising revenue, even in internet platforms that they do not own.
Explanation of the Companys Strategy
As mentioned above, Googles corporate strategy mainly focuses on advertising as its business niche. To support its excellence in this niche, Google has tried to learn a lot of information about its customers so that it can customize its advertisements to meet the needs of its customers. Indeed, if the company acquires a lot of information regarding its customers, it is able to fine-tune its adverts to reach the right customers. Through this strategy, it may equally be easy for the company to charge more money for its adverts.
Part of the evidence of Googles commitment to this strategy manifests in its commitment to give its users free accounts, thereby giving it an opportunity to scan these accounts and identify keywords that it can use to customize its advertisement messages to reach its customers. Therefore, while it is important to acknowledge the complexity of Googles company strategy, it is also important to understand that Googles strategy stands out in a larger strategic framework of selling highly targeted advertisements.
What did it do?
Google has pursued many corporate strategies that have baffled many analysts (Mattera 2). Industry observers have seldom understood some of its actions.
For example, Google invested billions of dollars in developing the popular Android operating system only to sell it for a paltry sum of money (Mattera 2). This action has prompted some observers to say that Google has failed to match the success of other competitors in the mobile market because Android is the dominant global Smartphone platform and yet, the company gave away the product almost freely (Mattera 2).
A tech analyst, Roger McNamee (cited in Mattera 2) says Samsung has made a lot of money by developing Smartphones that use the Android platform. Consequently, Samsung is raking in billions of shillings by using a mobile platform (android) that Google Inc. spent a fortune to develop.
Nonetheless, beneficiary companies have not sidelined Google in the Android phenomenon. Its decision to give away the android platform is part of a larger strategy of maintaining and focusing on its advertising revenue model. Indeed, (Mattera 2) says, People who use Android phones, for example, are highly likely to use Gmail, Google Maps, Google Docs, the Chrome web browser, Googles search engine and maybe even Google+ (2). This way, Google still dominates the mobile market.
Through the dominance of Google apps in the Android platform, we can see how Google cleverly preserves its advertising model in the fast-growing mobile market. Some experts say that Google understands the bigger picture in the mobile phone market because the money lies in the web apps that characterize the mobile market and not the devices (mobile phones) (Mattera 2). Certainly, as the markets for smart phones continue to increase, the web services that characterize the devices will be worth more money than the devices.
Besides Googles advertising strategy, the company has strived to ensure that it remains a market leader in futuristic technological interventions.
In other words, the company has strived to remain innovative and a step ahead of its peers by providing creative products that are ahead of their time. For example, the introduction of the Google chrome operating system (OS) is one such strategy that has led industry experts to believe that Google aims to dominate the future desktop OS system market by edging out traditional companies such as Microsoft (Mattera 3).
Since the inception of the Google Chrome product, the company has made tremendous strides in creating market awareness regarding the product. However, Google chrome OS is still incredibly limited. Moreover, any PC that intends to operate a Google chrome OS needs to have a strong internet connection, otherwise, the service would be useless.
Many observers would therefore criticize the Google Chrome OS for its inability to run non-web apps. However, what many people do not realize is the ability of the chrome OS to be the greatest threat to the traditional market dominance of Microsoft OS. This threat exists from the increased dominance and spread of cloud computing services in the tech world.
Google designed Google chrome to work best in the cloud-computing world, as opposed to the traditional OS such as Microsoft that may work in an offline environment. Indeed, as cloud computing continues to gain credence in the tech world, the need for a local-based offline OS like Microsoft OS may slowly disappear, thereby giving room for the reincarnation of Google chrome. Relative to this threat, Mattera says,
Microsoft is making investments in web services (Bing, Sky Drive, Office Web Apps, and the likes) but Google still dominates the space. If Chrome can improve further, it could give Googles service a foothold in the desktop arena, just as Android gives it a foothold in the mobile space (4).
From the above dynamic, it is easy to see how Google has positioned itself in the tech world by introducing products that may exploit future market opportunities. This strategy supports the fact that Googles corporate strategy is also innovative and precise. The company is therefore undisturbed by its current challenge of rivaling existing brands like Microsoft because its strategy is fixed on exploiting future market opportunities.
Why is this Interesting?
Googles company strategy is interesting because the company always seems to adopt an indirect and sometime wacky approach to meet its strategic goals. In fact, most observers have criticized many of the companys strategies, but they have failed to see that the company focuses on the bigger picture, which is to sell targeted adverts.
Therefore, while many of Googles strategies seem ill-informed (like giving away ) its Android platform, after investing billions of dollars to develop it, the company ultimately emerges as the winner because it is able to lock its target market to use its web apps. Therefore, Google interestingly maintains its lead as the leading advertising company.
Personal Thoughts
While Googles strategy seems clever, the company exposes itself to several legal issues, especially regarding its scrutiny of personal information for the design of effective and targeted advertisements. The strategy of developing targeted adverts is an effective approach of increasing the efficiency of the companys marketing strategy, but it exposes the company to privacy infringement claims.
The company therefore stands a high risk of receiving potential backlash from individuals and rival companies that may want to exploit the legal issues that may exist from gathering private information from customers to develop effective advertisements. Therefore, while Google may seem to be a largely successful company, the mere fact that it knows a lot of personal information about its customers may expose it to several litigation claims from customers who may be disturbed by this fact.
The Results of the Strategic Move
Googles success never made headlines until the company started to receive a lot of money from its advertising revenues. From the wide array of products and services that Google offers, 99% of the companys revenue comes from advertisements (Coy 1).
The increased revenue has equally increased the companys market capitalization to more than $100 billion (Coy 1). The success of Google Inc., on the advertising front, has questioned the previous skepticism and criticism that shrouded the companys strategy. Many experts now believe they were wrong in dismissing Googles corporate strategy (Coy 2).
From Googles success, some companies have imitated its advertising strategy. For example, the decision to allocate the top advertisement preference to the highest bidder is a genius effort by Google, which other companies have replicated. For example, Yahoo recently emulated this strategy and allocated the top advertisement slots in its search engine to the highest bidder.
Relative to this assertion, Coy says, Googles Ad-Words became so successful after its debut four years ago that some of its key features were quickly adopted by Yahoo (1). Despite the attempt by competitors to replicate Googles strategy, the company remains unique because of its innovative strategies (Coy 1).
Conclusion
After weighing the findings of this paper, Googles strategy seems to center on increasing its advertisement revenue as the main pillar of the companys financial success. Most of its competitors have played the catch-up role, with some companies such as Yahoo imitating the companys effective corporate strategy.
Albeit the focus on advertisement is the companys main preoccupation, it is equally important to appreciate the companys zeal to be innovative and ahead of its time. Googles quest to launch Google chrome and employ only web-based applications on this platform is a reliable show of the companys commitment to stay ahead of its time.
This way, the company aims to exploit market opportunities that may arise from the increased adoption of cloud computing services. From this analysis, Google is not only set to be an industry-leader in the search engine market, but experts equally expect it to shake the dominance of other technological companies like Microsoft in the future (Coy 1).
The world is presently relying on the internet to pursue a number of missions and goals. One of the greatest roles of the internet is to share and transmit information in a timely manner. Business leaders, governments, and corporations are in need of evidence-based information than ever before (Belfo & Sousa, 2011). Google Incorporation has been availing the most desirable content in order to ensure the gears of different economies are running. An analysis of Google can present unique features and organizational attributes that make it one of the most reputable corporations today. The company is targeted for this exercise because it is one of the leading multinational companies with a global presence (Google, 2016). The company has been on the frontline to deliver internet-based products and services to many customers across the globe. Googles core products include online advertising technologies, hardware, software, cloud computing, and search engine (Belfo & Sousa, 2011, p. 3).
Mission Statement
Google Incorporations mission is to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful (Google, 2016, para. 2). This strategy has made it easier for the company to deliver eminent services to many people in different corners of the globe. This mission guides the corporation as it seeks to support the changing needs of many people and business partners across the globe.
Organizational Theories
Description of the theories
The human relations theory (HRT) is founded on the premise that people can be more productive when allowed to be part of a team (Jabeen, 2011). The newly-created team should facilitate growth, collaboration, and participation. Leaders use this notion to empower, mentor, and motivate their followers. The approach makes it easier for them to improve organizational performance. The second important theory is the political economy model. This theory argues that those who have a clear comprehension of wealth, labor, utility, and value will create the best strategies in order to realize their potentials. The theory goes further to indicate that labor is used to determine value (Wei & Yazdanifard, 2014). This is achieved by varying the level of utility of the commodity through a limitation (or increase) of the supply (Wei & Yazdanifard, 2014, p. 11).
Key concepts of the theories
These two organizational theories are governed by unique concepts. To begin with, the human relations theory argues that recognition and provision of attention are powerful attributes towards promoting organizational effectiveness (Jabeen, 2011). Motivation, according to the model, is critical towards supporting the performance of a team (Wei & Yazdanifard, 2014). Human relations, when developed positively, will eventually deliver desirable results. The model views human beings as powerful resources capable of achieving a wide range of goals. When motivated and empowered, human beings can play a positive role towards delivering positive results.
The second theory is guided by different economic concepts such as distribution of wealth, availability of labor, and government policies. Political economy therefore refers to the study of trade and production, and how the two relate to the distribution of income and the law (Dreher & Michaelowa, 2008, p. 332). The model asserts that labor is what causes value (Dreher & Michaelowa, 2008). According to the theory, utility can be varied by either reducing or minimizing supply (Dreher & Michaelowa, 2008).
Applying the theories to Google Incorporation
Many theorists support the role of motivation towards increasing the level of employee performance. At Google, employee motivation is treated as a powerful strategy in an attempt to realize every targeted objective. Human relations should be taken seriously by organizational leaders who want to empower their followers. The level of organizational hierarchy at Google has been significantly reduced. The approach makes it possible for the company to create new teams that can deliver the targeted business goals. The company used the human relations theory to ensure more workers are guided and equipped with the most desirable resources (Wei & Yazdanifard, 2014). The workers are encouraged to present their grievances and problems. The managers at the firm use the model to meet the diverse needs of every worker.
The major basic needs of the workers are taken seriously. Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs model is considered at the company. The human resource (HR) function avails the most desirable ideas and technologies to empower the workers (Sosik & Jung, 2010). Attention is availed to every worker in order to support the companys approach to research and development (R&D). The workers use their ideas to innovate and produce superior products that can compete successfully in the global market (Belfo & Sousa, 2011). The company has used the theory to create the most desirable organizational culture and behavior.
The political economy model is used by Google Incorporation to pursue its global business objectives. The managers focus on the best approaches to strike a balance between the issue of polity and that of economy. By so doing, the company focuses on specific political attributes that dictate business performance in different regions. As a multinational firm, Google embraces this theory in order to ensure its actions are ethical and sustainable. The company analyzes the global economy to identify new approaches that can deliver positive outcomes (Sosik & Jung, 2010). The company considers issues such as political power and international climate in an attempt to develop sustainable strategic models. The political and economic environments are used to enact laws that have the potential to support the companys business performance.
Company Analysis
Type of structure continuum
A detailed analysis of Google Incorporation shows clearly that it falls on the unstructured end of the continuum. The most outstanding fact is that the organizational structure is organic in nature. Although there are distinct roles and positions in the company, many employees are allowed to pursue their personal goals and eventually support the firms goals. At Google, an organic structure is embraced in order to minimize the level of formalization (Wei & Yazdanifard, 2014). The company lacks strict rules or procedures to govern the responsibilities of different workers. The role of different leaders is to present the best ideas, create functional teams, and address the diverse needs of the targeted employees. This end of the continuum makes it easier for the company to make the most desirable decisions. The level of supervision is low because most of the workers are self-motivated.
Human individuality and well-being
The organizational culture at the company makes it easier for the leaders to promote the most desirable behaviors. Workers are treated as autonomous individuals who have the potential to add value to the company. The organic approach embraced at Google Incorporation encourages the workers to focus on their potentials. Using different motivational approaches, Google focuses on the best actions and incentives to support the wellbeing of every employer. The HR department presents the most desirable resources and opportunities (Belfo & Sousa, 2011). The concept of work-life balance is encouraged in order to support the welfare of the workers.
On the other end of the continuum, the company uses a powerful organizational strategy to support different objectives and ensure activities are completely successfully. Google Incorporation uses its vision and mission statement to outline the most desirable procedures in order to ensure the workers understand every objective. Research and development (R&D) is supported in each and every organizational level in order to achieve the most desirable results. New employees (commonly known as Noogles) are mentored and guided by their team leaders (Google, 2016). Existing workers are encouraged to establish teams characterized by individuals from diverse backgrounds (Sosik & Jung, 2010). This approach makes it possible for the targeted goals to be realized within the stipulated period. Deadlines are used to ensure different tasks are completed within the specified time. The organizational structure embraced by Google is worth emulating because it has continued to deliver desirable results.
Diversity Issues
Different organizational theories present specific approaches towards promoting the concept of diversity. The human relations theory (HRT) has continued to support the companys diversity agenda. This is the case because Google uses powerful motivational approaches to ensure the workers are empowered to deliver positive results (Wei & Yazdanifard, 2014). The concept of diversity is addressed by different leaders at Google. The human relations model offers powerful approaches that can be used to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds. Google utilizes this model to attract employees from different backgrounds.
The theory has been observed to address the issue of human differences. This is the case because every organization employs individuals from different backgrounds. Such people tend to portray unique differences, opinions, and expectations. Google has successfully used the HRT model to empower its workers thus being able to achieve its business goals (Belfo & Sousa, 2011). The political economy model is used when recruiting individuals from diverse backgrounds. The differences of such employees are considered whenever assigning specific roles (Jabeen, 2011). The company hires competent workers from different continents in order to deliver quality services to its customers.
Using Theories to Understand the Organization
The use of the above theories has made it easier for me to understand this organization much better. The HRT model explains why Google Incorporation has remained successful. The theory supports the use of positive organizational practices and motivation in an attempt to achieve the most desirable results. The model has outlined the roles of different leaders and followers in the organization (Google, 2016). Such roles play a positive role towards supporting every organizational objective. This theory has a number of strengths. For instance, the HRT model identifies the unique factors capable of driving business performance. The theory can be replicated in different departments in order to produce positive results (Jabeen, 2011). However, the model fails to explain how the diverse needs of different workers can be met in order to improve performance.
On the other hand, the political economy model has informed me about the companys approach towards being a leading competitor in the global environment. The model is appropriate whenever trying to understand the political, social, and economic environments affecting a companys business model (Wei & Yazdanifard, 2014). The major weakness of the model is that it cannot be used to study the internal strategy of a firm.
Usefulness of Multiple Theories
The exercise required the use of two organizational theories. The selected models have the potential to describe the major approaches, and strategies used by different companies to achieve their potentials. The tools can make it easier for researchers to identify the major forces that support business performance. After using the two models, I have understood how they can be applied in different organizational settings. The theories can outline the major weaknesses and challenges that affect the level of performance (Sosik & Jung, 2010). Personally, I strongly believe that the two theories have made it easier for me to understand the organizational behaviors and strategic approaches embraced by Google. When applied appropriately, these models can identify the major issues that support or affect the performance of a business firm.
Core Value of Responsible Stewardship
Saint Leo University has outlined a number of core values that can have positive implications. One of these core values is that of responsible stewardship (Sosik & Jung, 2010). This core value is therefore applicable to this assignment. The core value focuses on the best approaches towards responsible management, planning, and utilization of resources. The concept of responsible stewardship can be used to examine Googles approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR). The first approach towards effective CSR is ensuring that the organization recruits individuals from diverse backgrounds while at the same time engaging in sustainable practices. This core value can be used to analyze the companys approach towards supporting the welfare of many societies. The core value should be used whenever analyzing the business model of an organization. Google has therefore been on the frontline to engage in sustainable practices.
References
Belfo, F., & Sousa, R. (2011). Workforce incentives at IT companies: The Googles case. International Conference ICT, Society and Human Beings, 1(1), 1-16.
Dreher, A., & Michaelowa, K. (2008). The political economy of international organizations. Review of International Organizations, 4(4), 331-334.
Google. (2016). Retrieved from www.google.com
Jabeen, M. (2011). Impact of performance appraisal on employee motivation. European Journal of Business Management, 2(4), 197-204.
Sosik, J., & Jung, I. (2010). Full range leadership development: pathways for people, profit, and planet. New York, NY: Routledge-Taylor & Francis Group.
Wei, L., & Yazdanifard, R. (2014). The impact of positive reinforcement on employees performance in organization. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 4(1), 9-12.
Google is one of the most progressive and well-known companies in the modern digital world. The company develops products that have greatly simplified and diversified the daily activities of the society. It is constantly expanding and improving in various fields, such as education, business, industrial activity, technological innovation, and social responsibility. Moreover, inventiveness in how it works, creating a unique organization to support its goals, plays an extraordinary value. However, on the way of its development, Google has some issues, the most critical of which are problems related to the decision-making process and the work of personnel. During the Google case study, challenges such as maintaining the googley culture when opening offices abroad and the complexity of getting employees involved between cross-functions as Google gets bigger was highlighted.
For a more in-depth study of the identified problems in the international company Google, theoretical approaches were identified within the framework of organizational behavior. Thus, the cultural perspective and the theory of organizational culture were taken as a basis. The choice was made in favor of these approaches as they consider the value of a human resource within the companys activities and the importance of establishing and encouraging its work. It is worth noting that Google has a number of core elements that keep the company in balance. Each of these elements supports the others, creating a system that reinforces itself (p. 13). Nevertheless, the challenges that have arisen for the organization require special attention. In this regard, in the second part of the work, recommendations will be provided that will help optimize and improve the efficiency of Google, limiting the issues that have arisen.
Before proceeding to the consideration of the highlighted organizational problems, it is necessary to gain an understanding of what Google is. Research stated that Google is committed to developing the perfect search engine that would understand exactly what the user means and give back exactly what the user wants in the form of a fast, accurate, easy-to-use service that could be accessed from anywhere (p. 4). Among the services offered by the organization are Google Chrome, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Play, Google Maps, Gmail, and YouTube, and its revenue for 2021 is 256.7 billion dollars ( Google LLC: Overview, n.d., para. 1). In addition, it is in cooperation with organizations such as AOL and Yahoo! and keyword-targeted advertising program AdWords (( Google LLC: Overview, n.d.). The company successfully operates on the global market and occupies a leading position among its competitors.
Organizational Issues
Thus, the first organizational problem that was highlighted during the Google case study is the maintenance of the googley culture when opening offices abroad. This problem is especially relevant for companies that decide to expand their activities. The importance of solving this issue is that the external divisions of the organization have a significant impact on its effectiveness. A research case study underlined that Google revenues in 2007 were $16.6 billion, with $4.2 billion of net income, and approximately half of the companys revenue was generated outside the United States (Groysberg et al., 2009, p. 2). Thus, the success of the company depends on the productivity and performance of employees not only within the country but also abroad.
Google has a unique culture, which is called googley. It was developed because one of Googles goals is to respect employees time, and companys perks often help people optimize their time while also encouraging them to meet new people across the company. (Groysberg et al., 2009, p. 8). This characteristic implies particular behavior and features that the companys personnel must have the ability to achieve the tasks assigned to them and maintain a friendly and productive environment in the workplace. Moreover, being googley implies the necessary degree of initiative, collaborative spirit, evidence of being well-rounded, and the ability and desire to learn constantly. All these criteria are taken into account in the process of hiring individuals to work in the company and are included in interviews conducted by managers.
Despite the sufficient effectiveness in building the googley concept, the problem lies in its extension to departments abroad. This is due to the complexity of compliance control within the recruitment process. Despite the fact that the company has developed a specialized system for hiring individuals, some managers may bypass this structure. The occurrence of such a deviation may occur due to the urgent need to find a specialist for a vacant position or a violation of the companys rules due to unwillingness to waste time and resources.
Further, the problem of preserving the googley features of the workplace in all divisions of the company. As mentioned in a case study by Groysberg et al. Google is a large organization, yet it continues to be very nimble without letting hierarchy, organizational structure, titles, and levels get in the way of creativity and execution (2009, p. 12). At the same time, excessive flexibility of the organization contributes to problems with maintaining the necessary environment in the workplace. Thus, it is critically important to find ways in which the company can limit this problem.
The second organizational issue that needs attention to improve the efficiency of the company is the complexity of getting everyone involved between cross-functions as Google gets bigger. This is due to the fact that employees with more severe and significant functions in the company play the most critical role in the decision-making process. In other words, the opinion of many employees rarely has a significant value or is taken into account when developing a strategy or innovation.
It is worth noting that the involvement of diverse opinions is one of the characteristics of the company, and it is impossible to say with certainty that decisions are made only taking into account the opinions of high-ranking employees. The case study indicates that Googles decision-making style was often described as consensus oriented, and decisions were typically discussed in meetings and via long e-mail strings that outlined the pros and cons of various options (Groysberg et al., 2009, p. 12). However, despite the emphasis on collaborative thinking, this aspect is still one of the most critical and immediate issues.
Hence, more often than not, important decisions are made by a small number of employees and then briefed to others at meetings. Moreover, not in all cases is it possible to refute the choice or make edits in accordance with the opinion of the staff and get everyone involved between cross-functions. Within the company, the importance of the employee function depends on the position held, where engineering, product management, product marketing, sales, operations, legal, and finance are the most significant. Company representatives are of the opinion that the functional organization prevented business unit fiefdoms from developing around the company (Groysberg et al., 2009, p. 11). At the same time, one of the consequences was the emergence of the problem of spreading the involvement of other employees in the decision-making process.
The issue of expanding a company and determining the importance of staff functions is quite difficult to control. Moreover, Google is of the opinion that keeping the team small would force it to innovate in how it manages the business (Groysberg et al., 2009, p. 10). Thus, it was proposed to delegate some functions to automated technology and executives who were responsible for managing the current business and developing growth areas (Groysberg et al., 2009). This introduction is aimed at the deployment of resources in more valuable ways. Despite this, there is a need to find ways to manage and facilitate the process of staff involvement within the cross-functional nature of Google.
Theories of Organizational Behavior
For the analysis of identified issues within the framework of this case study, theories of organizational behavior were identified. They represent a cultural perspective and an approach to the formation of organizational design. The necessity and value of this stage are that it can give significant insights into the selected problems. It is worth emphasizing that organizational behavior is a critically important aspect that predominantly affects how effectively a company functions and achieves its goals and objectives. Moreover, it essentially concerns human resources and focuses on the causes and motivations of human behavior within different types of professional groups. The study of this aspect helps to increase productivity and strengthen and improve relationships and interactions in the workplace.
The study of theoretical approaches is an important aspect of the activities of organizations. Without a solid knowledge base and constant study of various information sources, a company can significantly negatively affect its productivity and competitiveness. Despite the outdated nature of some scientific papers, especially valuable aspects can be extracted from them for practical application and providing an understanding of the origins of problems. Henceforth, within the framework of this case study and the problems highlighted in it, Google is experiencing significant issues in such areas as the culture and structure of the company. This is due to the international nature of the organizations activities and the involvement of diverse employees. These aspects directly relate not only to the companys activities and its results but also to the process of hiring employees, the distribution of functions between personnel, and their role in decision-making.
Further, the first approach that can be useful in researching problems and finding ways to solve them is the cultural perspective and the general meaning of the cultural component. Thus, this aspect implies learned patterns of beliefs, values, assumptions, and behavioral norms that manifest themselves at different levels of observability (Schein & Schein, 2016, p. 18). Moreover, research stated that It is a complex perspective that emphasizes the inherent limitations of managerial authority and influence and rejects claims that strictly structural, rational, or interest factors best describe or explain human behavior (Ancona et al., 2004, p. 57). The limitation of this approach in solving the problem under study becomes a significant time cost for studying and acquiring the necessary information and data. Thus, this theory can be applied to the case of Google since when expanding, the company also hires representatives of different cultures, nationalities, and worldviews.
The following theoretical approach is the theory of organizational design, which can have a positive dynamic in the distribution of functions and increase staff involvement as part of the expansion of Google. It is noted that the elements of structure should be selected to achieve an internal consistency or harmony, as well as a basic consistency with the organizations situation (Mintzberg, 1992, p. 3). Thus, this theory focuses on the correct structuring and construction of a cohesive hierarchy within the company. The organizational design provides an opportunity to establish a decision-making process that will be carried out taking into account the abilities of decision-making agents and the opinions of other employees of organizations.
It is essential to pay attention to the fact that any changes in the work of the organization can have both positive and negative consequences. However, with a detailed study and application of the concepts of organizational design theory, this process can occur most safely for the company. Mintzberg (1980) identified five main components of this approach: the operating core, strategic apex, middle line, technostructure, and support staff. At the same time, such vital aspects as mutual adjustment, direct supervision, job specialization, behavior formalization, training, and continuity factors were identified (Mintzberg, 1980). These components can become a guide for developing a plan to improve the organizational structure of the company.
Recommendations
Based on the analysis of the organization and the study of theoretical approaches and perspectives that contribute to gaining a deeper understanding of their essence, this work has come to several recommendations. Therefore, one of them is paying attention to such an aspect as organizational culture. In particular, this aspect is closely related to such an issue as the preservation of the Googley environment in the workplace. The need is to spread specific rules and requirements that will strengthen the relationship and increase the efficiency of employees, especially in offices abroad.
Despite the fact that Google already invests a relatively large amount of time and resources in creating and improving organizational culture, this part requires attention from managers. This is because with the constant development of the company, there is a further expansion of the staff, which has specific differences and unique characteristics. Thus, the organization faces the task of creating conditions in which every individual will feel comfortable. Moreover, it will contribute to an increase in the number of innovations, the formation of new solutions to problems, and attract more talent. Therefore, one of the recommendations may be to attract more attention to the company to the processes of collecting and analyzing information about employees. This will provide an understanding of how organizational behavior will be formed and which aspects affect the greater motivation of employees.
In addition, adhering to the googley culture implies continuous improvement of the abilities and skills of employees. The establishment and formation of a substantial organizational culture will motivate staff to improve in order to achieve the most outstanding efficiency of the company. To achieve this aspect, it is also necessary to conduct appropriate training for leaders who will be engaged in employee management. The productivity and efficiency of organizations and their divisions largely depend on these agents of activity. In addition, a positive contribution can be made by the introduction of knowledge management, which implies explicit strategies, tools and practices applied by management that seek to make knowledge a resource for the organization (Newell et al., 2009, p. 6). This process contributes to strengthening the companys position and productive use of knowledge (Hansen et al. al., 1999). Thus, these approaches contribute to solving the problem of adhering to the googley nature of organizations.
The second recommendation is necessary to solve the problem of the complexity of getting employees involved between cross-functions as Google gets bigger. The effectiveness of this measure consists of human-centered nature and focus on work and staff satisfaction. Thus, Google needs to revise some aspects that are responsible for the structural component of the companys work. This is especially true of the decision-making process, in which a more significant number of participants should be involved. Therefore, a possible decision that managers want to make should be presented to the entire staff, whose functions are directly related to the initiative being implemented.
The use of algorithms can be helpful in building an updated organizational culture. The research emphasized that algorithms enable new ways to organize work (Schildt, 2017, p. 22). Thus, they are necessary for analyzing a large amount of data and collecting personnel characteristics. Moreover, it can contribute to the study of management operations and finding ways to improve the efficiency of the organization. Based on the fact that Google has a large number of innovative technologies, this recommendation will not require unnecessary costs. Thus, these measures can be useful in solving the problem of the complexity of getting employees involved between cross-functions as Google gets bigger.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this case study was devoted to the study of organizational issues that arose during the work of the international company Google. To gain the best understanding, a small overview of the organization was provided. Further, the problems that were analyzed in this paper were culture when opening offices abroad and the complexity of getting employees involved between cross-functions as Google gets bigger. The importance of limiting them is that they can have an impact on the efficiency and productivity of the staff and the entire organization as a whole.
Moreover, two theoretical approaches were identified, which focused on culture and organizational design, which provide a better understanding of problems and ways to solve them. Focusing on these aspects of the companys activities does not mean that it completely conducts its activities incorrectly. It is important to note that Google is good at managing personnel and creating a work environment in accordance with the concept googley. Nevertheless developed by them, this approach needs to be extended and strengthened in all departments and offices of organizations and limited the possibility of undesirable consequences due to non-compliance with it.
In the end, the scientific paper provides recommendations for improving the functioning of Google. They drew attention to possible alterations within the framework of improving organizational culture and organizational design. These components focus on improving the working conditions of staff, expanding the participants in the decision-making process in the company, and reviewing the structural aspect of the distribution of employee functions. Moreover, a special role may be played by the involvement of technological advancements of the company, which can assist in the collection and analysis of a large amount of data on the work of the organization and its employees, their level of satisfaction and motivation.
References
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Auernhammer, J. M. K., & Leifer, L. (2019). Is organizational design a human-centered design practice?. In Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering Design. Cambridge University Press.
When conducting the Google Search engine, some results often appear before others. In fact, the search outcomes are generated based on several stages. First of all, Google receives information from web pages, content added by users, open databases on the Internet, books, newspapers, and magazines (Google Search Central, 2019). The search process is built on algorithms that scan pages on the Internet and index the content posted (Google Search Central, 2019). The last stage of information research is the output of final results and sorting sites from the pages corresponding to the request according to the relevance rule (Google Search Central, 2019). The top positions are occupied by the most relevant and authoritative sites and then in descending order. As a standard, the search engines site relevance analysis is carried out according to the main criteria, such as location, language, user device type, search history, and much more. Google system attaches great importance to the relevance of the desired material. Thus, the weight of each factor is formed depending on the nature of the users request.
Google AdWords is a commercial service that provides advertisers with contextual material on the Internet. Google shows users relevant ads based on the keywords used during queries. Advertisements can be displayed at the top, bottom, and side of the search results page. Announcements occupy different positions, depending on the size of the bid for keywords and the quality of the content, literacy, and attractiveness. The service allows its customers to track and analyze a variety of ad performance parameters. In addition, the system algorithms show ads in the exact location and the audience that is ready to buy. In Google Ads, a business person can quickly change settings, focus on maximum performance and responsiveness. It is also important that the fee is charged if someone is interested in the ad and clicks on it.
On the contrary, Google AdSense is an automated service, allowing publishers to manage their advertisements. With its help, one can earn money on almost any website, blog, and forum following Google policy and the fullness of helpful content. The system coordinates how site owners place ad blocks on the pages of their projects and receive money from advertisers for this. Advertising is often practiced in blogs and allows their creators to reach a relatively broad audience.
Undoubtedly, smart devices make life much better, help to find a balance between rest and physical activity. However, owners of such gadgets are increasingly concerned about the potential practice of eavesdropping by large companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon. In most cases, devices with Internet connection support contain several vulnerabilities and can threaten the security of confidential data (Wueest, 2017). In general, Google devices are safe to use, but the included microphone is often associated with negative consequences of information leakage and ethical problems. Before buying smart devices, consumers should learn as much as possible about the product, study reviews. It is firmly not recommended to buy cheap devices from manufacturers if it is impossible to check them thoroughly. In the future, such savings on the device may cause the loss of confidential data. After purchasing the device, it is always necessary to update the firmware to the latest version and follow the updates. Also, users should be careful with privacy and security features and the speaker settings to prevent eavesdropping and unauthorized interference by intruders.
Indeed, Google is a fast-growing and progressive company, a leader in the global information market. Google has no equal either in information technologies or the business organization; it manages everything, starting with experiments, improvisations, analytical solutions, collegiality, and other unusual forms of activity. Thus, the vastness of the companys wisdom, strength, and knowledge lie in its high competitiveness, wide distribution of its products and services, and decisive influence on countries economic and social aspects.
The use of applications is an inherent part of ones everyday smartphone experience. People play games, shop, and complete banking operations using apps, and their quality of speed determines the comfort of users and their desire to open the application again. Thus, it is beneficial for businesses to develop websites and apps that are fast, safe, and functional. The new standards prioritized by Google are the Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) technologies that reduce web page loading time.
PWAs main aim is to improve user experience, even if the Internet connection is poor. Moreover, it allows one to use the browser as a platform for increased functionality since PWA is a webpage that replicates the experience of mobile applications (Balog, 2019). It is useful for companies, especially in the field of e-commerce, because it is inexpensive and easy for the customer to understand. An AMP is a page that has faster loading speeds in comparison to regular HTML (Balog, 2019). In my opinion, it suitable for blogs and publishers that prioritize lightweight information (text and images). An AMP does not have the same range of content as HTML, which explains why it loads quickly.
According to Google, PWAs have several benefits for users, businesses, and developers. First of all, this technology is reliable since it loads in the majority of situations and does not display the down sour (a message that the internet connection was lost) ( Progressive Web Apps, n.d.). Therefore, clients of businesses that rely on online operations can be sure that their purchases, transactions, and other activities will be completed. Second, PWAs are fast, ensuring that user experiences are smooth. Finally, they are engaging, mimicking the full capabilities of applications. Google encourages businesses to build PWAs which means that this technology has to be implemented to rank higher in searches and attract more customers.
This study discusses the relationship between Google and other Social networks give a brief introduction to Google besides an illustration about social networking and how it differs from online social networking. The advantages of using online social networking are one of the main points discussed in the session. This study further looks into Googles Social networking services Orkut and Socialstream. Finally, it gives some brief explanations about Google and some other well-known social networks. If this is the case with Google in social networking, then it is time to think about the future of Google. Google as a social network will triumph over all other networks like Television, mobile technologies, etc. And Google is absolutely on its gear, that they have miraculously grown to leave all other networks far behind. Google gives more priority to user-friendly actions including more advanced technologies.
Google
Google is the largest search engine in the world, occupies a major part of searching utilities over the internet. A large number of organizations, as well as individuals, make use of this internet giant. In September 1998 Google was brought to life after 10-year long research and study carried out mainly by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who is now the president of Googles products and president of Googles technologies respectively. (Corporate Information: Google Management. 2009).
Online Social Networking
Social networking is the alignment of people into some particular factions. Now online social networking is turning out to be more popular than social networking groups in a workplace or other areas. The reason is, unlike the social networks in workplaces and so on, the internet can cover the whole world with millions of individuals who are in the same way in search of friends and business tie-ups with and actually having to make any physical movements or incur any expenditure. These social networking websites are able to function as a community for people of the same interests on the internet. Some users may be interested in hobbies, religion, and politics and they use such networks to interact with like-minded people. Friends, relationships, knowledge about new culture and language, and unity in diversity are a few of the benefits of the social network among many. However, despite the fact that social networking has some advantages there exist some dangers too, which are often identified as online scams, and fraudulent identities. If we sensibly access social networking websites, we will be able to hold off the threats broadening on the internet. (What is Social Networking).
Google and Social Networking
The Social Networking website ORKUT, generated by Google is well-known only in India and Brazil. ORKUT had to face a lot of safety issues in the past. This is the reason why a project was paid for by Google at Human-Computer Interaction Institute under Carnegie Mellon University to think on social networking again and if possible to create an advanced one. After initial brainstorming and research, we chose to focus on the effects of a new model for social networking: a unified social network that, as a service, provides social data to many other applications. (Improving Googles Social Network. 2007). After the project, they invented a higher competent social network named Socialstream, which is supported by a Unified Social Network (USN, a unique service provider of data to other websites). A service provider is a network letting the fast expansion of relationships among the people browsing the web. The main advantage of Socialstream is the facility to start accounts on more than one social network. (Improving Googles Social Network. 2007).
Google and Myspace
Myspace is the biggest Social Networking website in the world. It made some tie-ups with Google to start some social applications on the web. The agreement between the two intends to be straightforward and regulate the social networking applications. This is an open social proposal having most of the other social networking websites on its board. (Ostrow 2007).
Google and Flickr
Flickr, one of the best photo sharing and publication social networking websites, is based on a classification system that allows users to sort their photographs and images with ease. The fine advantage of this social networking website is that the users are able to view photographs posted by other users. The main relationship between Google and Flickr is that with Googles Gmail account, users can log on to this social networking website. (Gmail, Picasa and Flickr. 2005).
Google and Facebook
Facebook was begun on the 4th of February in 2004. It is a social networking website. (Definitions of Facebook on the Web). In a contract between Google and Facebook, Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, agreed to Mark Zuckerberg to obtain 98.4 % ownership of Facebook leaving only a 1.6 % to Microsoft. When the plan of Google to get hold of Facebook becomes real, the users of Facebook will have the advantage of open social networks on the net. Zuckerberg, who was the in-charge of Facebook, will be responsible for this new GoogleFace process. (Google Buys FaceBook: The Web Powerhouses Unite in $25 Billion Deal. 2008).
Google and Cyworld
Cyworld, a South Korea-based social network is turning out to be the major social networking website in South Korea. Cyworld is the supreme model for how money can be achieved through the internet because about 80% of people in South Korea are said to have shopped online. The most interesting thing is that Google has not achieved any noteworthy shares in the South Korean markets. But it is possible because the users in South Korea are interested to access wealthy and profound websites.
Google and YouTube
YouTube, a video-sharing Social Network, brought into being in February 2005, has become the well-liked website in the world for video and music. (Nations 2009). A large number of people using the internet access this fascinating world of original video sharing and updating social networks. Google has got hold of YouTube through a contract for $1.65 billion. The deal has got the approval of both companies. Since Google has acquired it now the users of YouTube will have a widened range of facilities to get access to an array range of social networks. (Arrington 2006).
To conclude, it can be stated that Google as an Internet search engine has tried a lot to improve its social networking streams. And many other Social Networking websites have emerged but subsequently, they formed advantageously some noteworthy relationships with Google, and at the same time some have no relationships, mainly Cyworld.
References
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