The Core Values of the Google Company - Research Paper Example

?First and Teacher’s Full 11 Dec. Organizational Architecture of Google Google is known as the world’s greatest search engine on the Internet. But while may be seems to only focus on search engines, the company actually works with many related products to help improve its brand image. The key to all of this is employing an organizational architecture that allows Google to achieve all of its business objectives. The five key areas of its organizational architecture are people, controls, culture, incentives, and structure. In terms of people, Google has reached the place where it is today by treating its employees well and making them feel part of the vision of the company. Part of this is by making sure that Google feels like a small-business, no matter how large and successful the organization may be (“Jobs,” 2011). Google makes its employees number one by being open to anything that they may have to say. As employees can be a large part of any company’s success, it is important to take their views onboard tailor the workplace to suit their needs. Unlike other organizations, Google is a forward-thinking organization in that diversity is at the forefront of its employee recruitment policies. Google doesn’t just accept difference—they celebrate, support, and thrive on it so that their employees, products, and community can feel the feel effects of it (“Jobs,” 2011). Diversity in the workplace is becoming increasingly important in today’s modern business environment. Because Google is a well-recognized international organization that has business operations in a wide variety of companies, Google has to take a stand and be at the forefront of diversity in the workplace. Google is not just an equal opportunity workplace, but is rather an affirmative action employer (“Jobs” 2011). Google is one of the most open and transparent companies out there. Because of this, there is very little control in everyday business operations. Douglas Merrill, senior director of information technology at Google, commented: “We release a lot of products in beta because that’s the way we understand to interact with our clients” (Farber, 2005). This means that many Google products, when released, do not function as they should. One benefit of this is that Google users themselves can inform the company of any defects in any of their products. This way, Google does not have to employ anyone to check products before they are released to the market. One control that Google does use is their Project Database. This is not really a project tracking system, but rather a reporting system that allows Google employees to check what work they themselves and other employees are currently doing (Farber, 2005). This system is run via an email posting that displays a list of bullet points (Farber, 2005). The good thing about this system is that other workers can check an employee’s output and detect any flaws that may be involved. However, this system is not fully perfect because much of the data that the system displays can be completely meaningless. According to the chief culture officer, Google’s culture focuses upon innovation and teamwork to produce the quality products. Stacy Savides Sullivan is one of the very few people who work at an organization with her position (Mills, 2007). Her main role is to make sure that the company’s distinctive culture is maintained while every employee feels satisfied. Google’s culture is based upon being a flat organization, very little hierarchy, and a collaborative environment (Mills, 2007). Google promotes individuality among its employees and expects them to think quickly on their feet. Back in 2006, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin decided that Google’s culture was slipping away from its traditional values. This was when they came up with the idea of a chief culture officer to manage all of the conflicts that occur in the workplace. Culture is a very important part of the success of Google, so it is vital that this culture carries on in the long term. Because of its cultural values, Google prefers to only hire employees who fit the classic Google-y employee (Mills, 2007). Flexibility, adaptability, and productivity are some of the key values that Google associates with its employees. Because Google does not prefer hierarchies, the ideal employee is someone who can come into the workplace and work straight away without wasting time by going through training courses. In Google’s hiring processes, the focus is more about how a prospective employee would fit into the team culture rather than any academic achievements they may have earned. Because Google is a highly-skilled organization, experience and talent are also an important component of any potential employee’s CV. Google is well-known for the incentives that it offers its valued employees. Because so much of Google’s focus is on the individual, Google offers customized compensation packages that offer competitive salaries, bonuses, and potential extra rewards (“Jobs,” 2011). It does not really matter where an employee is located (whether that is in India or Switzerland), so long as an employee is committed to Google and are passionate about technology. Although Google is proud of its employees who pour their hearts and souls into the company, Google strives to maintain the correct work-life balance among its employees (Mills, 2007). In line with its technology focus, Google allows its employees to work from home occasionally whenever someone crops up. Further to this, Google allows its employees time off on paternity or maternity leave whenever their partner has a child (Mills, 2007). Another policy that the company employs is paying for their employees meals for the first few weeks after their babies have been born (Mills, 2007). Google also has a focus on green technology by compensating employees to the tune of $5,000 if they happen to purchase an electric car. Finally, Google contributes to reducing pollution in the environment by providing a shuttle service for its employees who live in the vicinity of its offices (Mills, 2007). Because of all of these benefits, Google is a place that many people love to work at because the company makes their working lives so comfortable. Google’s culture is to have employees who are passionate about what they are doing, so it makes sense to provide services to them to make them feel like they are at home. Google does not place much reliance upon structure because one of the core values of the company is to have as little structure as possible. Because Google is an innovative company, it did not have a blueprint to follow when it came to organizing its structure and company culture. As Douglas Merrill says, “We view ourselves as a living experiment, and every quarter we discover what was wrong and try to fix it” (Farber, 2005). While this may seem inefficient to some managers, Google’s principles are based upon empowering its employees to discover new products and test them in the market as soon as possible. In the long term, Google may have to implement some form of structure so that the company does not stall in its growth. However, for the moment, Google chooses to keep its “small company feel” by not requiring too much reporting back to management. There can be problems with this strategy, but Google may just prove to be the exception. Whenever anything becomes negative, Google immediately pulls the plug and attempts to discover what went wrong. Google’s structure could be termed as proactive rather than reactive because the onus is on its employees to discover and fix any problems. Works Cited Farber, Dan. ZDNet, 25 Oct. 2005. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. “Jobs” Google, 2011. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. Mills, Elinor. CNET. 27 Apr. 2007. Web. 11 Dec. 2011 Read More