Lower Division Capstone: Google Company - Assignment Example

Lower Division Capstone: Google Company Abstract Since the growth of information technology as a result of the internet, Google Company has impacted people's lives. All ages, races and nations, have been impacted by Google. Google Company is an international corporation that provides internet related products and services to its customers. Some of the internet services provided by the company include cloud computing, advertising and software technologies and internet search. Google Company was incorporated as a company in 1998 and was first offered to the public in 2004. The company has continuously grown over the past few years triggering the development of chain of products, partnerships and acquisitions. In reference to Google (2012), Google Company runs approximately more than 900 thousand servers and develops more than 900 million search commands in a day. This paper provides an analysis of Google company’s legal social and economic environments. In addition, it evaluates the company’s managerial, operational and financial issues and the impact of potential change factors on the functions of management. According to Kew and Stredwick (2005), businesses are surrounded by factors that affect their daily business operations and activities. These factors could be internal or external. The external factors are the factors that are beyond the control of the business while the internal factors are the factors that the business has control over them (Kew & Stredwick, 2005).External factors include the economic, technological, legal and social environments. Like any other business entity, Google Company is affected by the external environments. Unlike many other large companies across states, demand for Google’s products and services has increased resulting to high profit levels. This has resulted from increased business advertising with Google in an effort to alleviate the effects of a slugging economy. The United States economy has been through a period of recession and there has in turn been a slow stocks trade. Schiffman (2008) notes that Google’s focus on measurable and targeted advertising makes it recession proof than most of the companies in United States. The essential need to stay well-versed and continuously linked has kept Google Company vibrant in spite of the parched environment. In the near future, Google’s profit levels are expected to increase despite the current state of the economy. This is because there is an increasing trend towards businesses advertising online. Formal institutions have had insignificant effect on Google Company though the company has encountered pressures from the Department of Justice to dispense stored search terms and from Chinese authorities to bowdlerize search results. In addition, Google Company has encountered worries on copyright issues since the company stores duplicates of third party images and web pages on their database. The company responded by releasing a patent information page which provides pertinent information on digital information and provides links to alert both the United States Copyright Office and Google Company (Google, 2012). As the online activities of Google continue to grow, the company is likely to encounter more legal contraventions. The use of mobile internet may expose the company to future legal disputes. Google is an international company that provides its services to many people around the world. The world is progressively becoming more linked due to the availability of the internet. As more internet activities increase, we will all be dependent on a search engine such as Google to navigate through. Google Company stands to profit from the increased demand for internet services (Google, 2012). Though internet usage in the developed countries seems to be pervasive, few individuals in the developing countries have access the internet. This is a result of unavailability of telecommunications infrastructure and low wages. This affects the demand for internet services in the developing countries and in turn leads to low profits. In the past few years, Google has instigated envy in many other managers across the world. Google’s management comprises of the most experienced and competent technology personnel in the world. The executive management comprises of the Chief Executive Officer, the Executive chairman, co-founders and senior vice presidents. The company has for long been led not only by the CEO but by the whole management team that gives it colossal premeditated and management vigor. This is contrary to many companies who hew to the conception of one CEO to lead a vast, international entity (Google, 2012). Google management integrates both Generation Y and X in decision making. This benefits the management by providing a deeper comprehension of the principles and ambitions of the youngest and biggest demographic legion in United States. In addition, the management encourages engineers to build up pet projects in their part time. Google’s management ensures that its teams self form around the most excellent innovation thoughts. The management employs market based principles which ensure that the most excellent thoughts receive funding. It embraces chaos management where it pays its employees to think, to experiment and to take risks (Google, 2012). Arguably, Google’s management systems ascertain that interesting thoughts and creativity receives some extent of attention. Needless to say, the management ensures there is good management of these projects through planning, securing, organizing and controlling the available resources allocated in order to attain the company objectives. In addition, the management ensures that the projects are completed within a given time line (Google, 2012). Google’s management analyzes the activities and tasks that will be carried out in any project and presents them in Gantt and PERT charts. The chart gives the timeline for completion of various tasks. The tables below represent operations of Google management Gantt and PERT charts. Task Start Length Type Department Selection of Software and hardware Week 1 2 days chronological Technology Installation of software and Hardware Week 1.2 1 week parallel Engineering Analysis of project requirements Week 2 1 week chronological Management Allocation of resources to the priject Week 3 One day chronological Finance Analysis of the progress of the project Week 3.2 Two days Parallel Management Project Testing Week 4 1 week Chronological Technology Google Company management has business operations and strategy team that plays a significant part in driving and defining operational, organizational and strategic improvements across the company. For a long period, the operations and strategy team has structured the strategic scaffold to guide Google’s future venture, identify opportunities for growth and has assisted the company become greener (Schiffman, 2008). Google Company was first funded with 100 thousand US dollars by Bechtolsheim long before it was incorporated. The initial public offer took place in 2004 where the company offered more than 19 million shares at a par value of 85 US dollars. The shares were auctioned online where Google sold shares worth 1.68 billion US dollars. The company continues to earn from the listing of shares and adverts. The management adequately allocates and accounts for finances issued to different projects. Schiffman (2008) asserts that Google’s management is careful. This is because the company pays the lowest foreign tax rate among the five biggest technology companies in United States. The management achieves this by permitting technology through supplementary companies in Netherlands, Bermuda and Ireland. Google Company is well known for its informal organizational culture. Google upholds an organizational culture that creates an attractive, favorable, and expedient environment for work. It has a pleasant and comfortable where all diverse people can work. Schiffman (2008) reports that there is a sense of unity among the Google employees, they all feel that they are a part of a team that is aimed at attaining Google’s goals. Google clinches multicultural service opportunities where most of the people come from different ethnic backgrounds. All Google employees believe that their dedication and inputs will add value to the company. Google Company motivates its employees by employing the innovation time off policy. Some of Google’s services such as Gmail and Google news came from these self-determining ventures. Google Company provides its employees access to a recreation center. In addition, the company headquarters lobby is embellished with a piano, server clusters and lava lamps. The company also provides free food to its employees (Google, 2012). Though chaos management seems to work for Google Company (Google, 2012), there are numerous denigrations in management. Google lacks clear management structure and work ethics. The “Googley” way of work may not be suitable. An organization should have a main management arrangement (Schiffman, 2008). An organizational arrangement is an essential composition of decision making and planning. The lack of organizational management structure can later result to conflicts among the employees. Change in an organization is associated to the recognition of a gap between an organization’s objectives and the ways of attaining the objectives. The potential change factors in Google that may result to this actualization are technological development, change in culture and regulatory constraints (Kew & Stredwick, 2005). References Google (2012, September). The people behind Google Company. Google Company. Retrieved September 19, 2012, from http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/ Kew, J., & Stredwick, J. (2005). Business environment: Managing in a strategic context. London: CIPD. Schiffman, S. (2008). Stephan Schiffman's Sales Essentials: All You Need to Know to Be a Successful Salesperson-from Cold Calling and Prospecting with E-Mail to Increasing the Buy and Closing. Fall River: Adams Media Corp. Read More