The Google Company - Case Study Example

?Business Case Study-Google Most corporations today are striving to create mechanisms that will promote the culture of self -empowerment and innovation among employees, hence their motivation. However many big companies still embrace the legacy way of management where employees are stuck in cubicles, crowded offices, riddled in old school micromanagement techniques and hence low production. This amounts to employees hating their jobs hence low productivity. This case study explores how best performing companies and for this case Google motivate their employees to work to the extent of making these companies the top-producing organizations in the world. Top companies like Google have restructured their management model to provide leadership and an enabling environment that would motivate their employees to work hard and produce the highest output. Google didn’t become a household name just by chance, it is because it has a culture that values their employees and motivates them. It’s quite clear that any company that wants to proceed to the next level and become a household name has to find new ways of rewarding and motivating their employees for their good work. They therefore need to embrace a culture that promote free thinking, motivating employees to work together and provide a working environment that is comfortable, promotes humanity, individualism and personal freedom. Having a chance to work for Google is a dream for many and it’s not just because of what the company has achieved since its inception, it is because of its good working environment. One may wonder how such a company with over 37,000 employees spread in 40 countries worldwide manages to their staff. The solution is simple; a good working environment and motivation. Google provides its employees perks that other companies can’t provide. These perks include bowling alleys, paid gym memberships, free haircuts, laundry rooms, massage rooms, carwashes, dry cleaning services and shuttles to transport employees to and from work. This ensures that employees are happy and will not waste their time looking for this service elsewhere sine they are readily available at the workplace. This ensures that the employees concentrate on their jobs and hence leading to innovation. (Think leader 2013) About a decade ago when the company was just a start up, the co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin had this dream of making Google where the worlds’ best talent will work. And they had an idea on how to achieve this i.e. by creating a working environment and culture that will keep every employee happy and also keep them motivated. This will ensure that they do their best and be loyal to the company. (Brain Mass 2012) Google also motivates its employees by ensuring that the managers assign tasks that are inspiring and challenging to the junior employees. This makes these employees feel the aspect of career progression and learning something new every day. It is a tradition that each employee is given an opportunity to dedicate 20 percent of their time on a project they choose. Employees will be actually be paid by indulging in these projects so long as they are within companies’ legal and business scope. This is how products like AdSense and Google Suggest came about. This makes them motivated as they feel that aspect of being managers. It also promotes innovation and this is no doubt why Google is one of the most innovative companies in the word. This kind of freedom to concentrates on a project they love make them move away for their routine jobs hence drawing an inspiration about their job. Therefore employees just don’t join Google because of the outward perks and rewards, they do it for freedom! (Gary 2007). Besides the compensation and other benefits alike free health and dental check-ups, insurance, tuition reimbursement and paid vacations, Google employees also enjoy other unique benefits. This includes a 100% paid maternity benefit of up to 18 weeks. Also new mothers and fathers enjoy help to make things easier for them by being provided with expense up to $500 for cater for take-out meals during the first three months. Additionally, the company provides for a paid a backup child care and also helps employees who want to adopt a child by a reimbursement of up to $5000 to cater for the legal expenses. (Payscale 2011) Employees also enjoy free lunch and dinner prepared by experienced chefs. They are also spoilt for choice from the wide variety of healthy and delicious meals. Snacks are also served. Besides that, employees at the Google headquarters in Mountain View, California have the convenience of a doctor on site. They are also provided with a reimbursement of $5000 to buy a car. Lastly another way in which Google motivates its employees is by giving each employee a chance to feel that they are all equally important in the company. All employees regardless of their position are a give a chance to contribute to the company growth. Google management operates on the principle that if you value employees and care about them as a whole, the best thing to give them is a voice and listens to them. This is done by hosting employee forums every Friday where all the employees go through the 20 most asked questions. In this case all employees are trusted and have access to information as well as their leaders and they work together to solve problems. (Schein1990). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs assumes that needs are arranged in a system that contain low level needs and highest level needs. The low level need constitute the psychological needs while the high level needs include the self-actualization needs. (Matteson 1996). The Maslow’s theory assumes that individuals are motivated on the bass of the hierarchy they are in. For instance, a homeless person will only be motivated by the ability to find food and shelter but his or her social status. Therefore this clearly indicates that individual have different level of need and it is this levels that drives their behavior. (Matteson 1996). From this theory therefore, it is very clear that employees will not be motivated by any other benefits before the basic need are met. Google Inc. has exactly considered this aspect by providing reward and benefits ranging from basic needs to luxuries i.e. maternity support, free lunch and dinner, transport to and from work, haircuts, gym membership, tuition reimbursement and the also car reimbursement. They ensure that employees are also provided with enough time to spend with their families through paid vocational trips hence ensuring that they are not demoralized because of their social security not being met. All this conforms to the Maslow’s theory where the basic needs are met and then other benefits follow, hence the success of Google’s employee motivation program. In conclusion, Google Inc. believes that organization can only thrive if they provide their employees with resources and freedom to implement their ideas. Employees need to be motivated to work as teams and collaborate on their ideas and projects. Employees need to feel, relaxed and have fun at the workplace since it provided them with a psychological reward that encourage them to be more committed to their duties hence increase in their productivity. Startup companies can learn from Google on how to implement changes that can create the mechanisms that will attract the best talent, retain it and have them motivated in a correct way to ensure they perform to the maximum. As with Google, employing the Maslow’s theory in the motivation mechanism is the best way. References Brain Mass (2012). How does Google motivate their employees? Retrieved from http://brainmass.com/psy Gary, H. (2007). The future of management. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Ivancevich, M & Matteson, J (1996.) Organizational behavior and management (8th ed). Chicago: Irwin. Payscale (2011). How Google Continues to Keep Employees Happy. Retrieved from Schein, H. (1990). Organizational culture (pp. 109-119). New York, NY: American Psychologist Think leader (2013). How Google Motivates their Employees with Rewards and Perks. Retrieved from Read More