Google Most people know the name Google and know that it is a worldwide search engine. Larry Page and Sergey Brian founded Google in 1998. Their mission statement is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. ” (McCracken, 2005, p. 1)Google is always trying to expand their databases and make as many resources available to as many people as they can without restrictions. Google lives by its motto “Don’t be evil” and expects employees in and out of work to follow their code of conduct; which places a heavy emphasis on Ethical business practices.
Google also expects consultants, contractors, and other companies that they do business with to follow their code of conduct. Failure to do so would result in disciplinary actions or termination of services. (Google Investor Relations: Code of Conduct, 2009) Google prides its self on being a large conglomerate that still maintains the feel of a small business. They do this by working in small teams on various projects. When a project is over, the team disbands and the members move onto another team project. The corporate environment consists of meeting rooms with couches and a relaxing atmosphere. Robbins & Jude, 2007) For team projects or corporate meetings, Google encourages innovative thinking and originality. There is no hierarchy in meetings so everyone feels that they can participate and their input is valued. Google puts more emphasis on employee ideas than bureaucracy and, as a result, the turnaround time to implement new ideas is much faster. (Sullivan, 2007) Google also values change in order to keep up with the ever changing market. They are very selective in their hiring process, hiring people who can learn quickly, adapt to change and, most importantly, can work well with others in a group setting.
Google puts more emphasis on ability over background. (Robbins & Jude, 2007) The companies’ culture has everything to do with communication within the organization. Google places a lot of trust in their employees, relying on their hiring process to employ motivated and goal driven individuals. As a result, there are fewer managers per employee than in most companies. During company meetings everyone has an equal say and is encouraged to speak their mind. Google instills a lot of trust in its employees by sharing as much information as possible with them. (Hardy, 2005) Conflict is an important factor in group communication.
It encourages discussion and brainstorming. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt recalled a meeting early in Google’s carrier. It was a ten person debate that lasted two hours. Everyone was armed with a lot of data, and in the end, the decision was unanimous. (Hardy, 2005) Google’s values were recently tested against China’s government. When Google decided to market in China, they ran into a dilemma: either abide by China’s laws and filter any search results that the government does not agree with, or not operate in China at all. Google chose to design web search engines that accommodated these restrictions.
This decision created uproar with Human Rights Watch. Google was accused of violating human rights and their own code of conduct. (Brenkert, 2009) In December 2009 there was a large scale attack on Google’s databases, along with several other companies, to gain access to email accounts belonging to people who were members of the Human Rights movements. As a result, Google decided to stop censoring their search results. (Meserve & Ahlers, 2010) They then announced their intentions to withdraw from China unless the Chinese government lessened their censor restrictions. (Google Vs.
China, 2010) Google has a strong reputation for upholding its values and code of conduct. References Brenkert, G. G. (2009). Google, Human Rights, and Moral Compromise. Journal of Business Ethics , 453-478. Gaddam, A. (2008). AskStudent. Retrieved from askstudent. com: http://www. askstudent. com/google/list-of-google-core-values/ Google corporate Information. (2010). Retrieved from Google. com: http://www. google. com/corporate/culture. html Google Investor Relations: Code of Conduct. (2009, April 8). Retrieved February 22, 2010, from Google Investor Relations: http://investor. oogle. com/conduct. html Google Vs. China. (2010, January 14). Retrieved from The Washington Poat: http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/13/AR2010011302908. html Hardy, Q. (2005, 11 14). Google Thinks Small. (cover story) , pp. 198-202. McCracken, H. (2005, August). A Google, Google, Google, Google World. Up Front , p. 17. Meserve, J. , & Ahlers, M. M. (2010). Google Reports China-based Attack, Says Pullout Possible. Washington: CNN. Piper, P. S. (2004). Google Spawn: The Culture Surrounding Google. Searcher ,
