Google's case study - Essay Example

Culture and Leadership Google Inc. is among the largest corporations in the global information technology industry. The company is responsible for some notable innovations like Gmail, Android, and Google Nexus among other services and products. Based on the case study, Google started from a humble and grew rapidly because of its innovative structure. The following three statements can summarize the culture in Google. Teamwork fosters creativity and a sense of belonging that allows employees to thrive.

Innovation and creativity are essential to growth and development.Everything worth doing should be done in the best possible way. The needs of the consumer are the most important. The three statements listed above summarize Google culture because they touch on the most important factors in Google. First, Google values creativity and innovation, which is evidenced by their strict hiring procedure. The company gives permission to employees to spend 20% of their time to work on personal projects, which can lead to new ideas (Edelman & Eisenmann, 2011).

The importance of given to innovation is partly due to the role it played in the birth and growth of Google. Second, teamwork and communication are also very important. According to the case study, employees are divided into small teams. Team members sit close to each other, which makes information sharing very easy. Finally, the philosophy of perfection is grounded in the company. A product has to be tested for a long time before being introduced to the market. Google’s culture has helped in fostering teamwork, inspiring creativity and facilitating quality products and services.

The culture of teamwork has made it possible for employees to share information and discuss various issues. Effective communication and teamwork have contributed to the innovative nature of the Google workforce (Ogbor, 2009). The culture has created a workforce that believes in innovation. Google engineers are always working on something new. The culture explains the high number of products and services that are still being tested in the company before being released. Great compensation and benefits motivate programmers and other employees to work hard to achieve company goals and objectives.

The potential drawbacks of Google’s culture is an increased competition among employees to the point it interferes with the quality of work. The other limitation of Google’s culture is the heavy costs incurred to maintain it. The hiring process can be too long, which can make talented individuals leave. The long hiring process can put the company at a disadvantage with its competitors (Yanadori & Marler, 2006). The founders of Google and CEO have played a significant role in the formulation of the company culture.

The culture is based on the dreams of the two Google founders. The founders believe in a number of values, which are in the company policy. Eric Schmidt explains that the company founders used an IPO system that protected the founders because Google should remain grounded on its founding principles. The company began with passionate individuals who were as a team. The speed of innovation of Google has been always spurred by teamwork. The CEO influences the culture by using management techniques that push for teamwork and ensuring everybody follows the rules.

ReferencesEdelman, B., & Eisenmann, T. R. (2011). Google Inc. Harvard Business School.Ogbor, J. O. (2009). Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa: A strategic management perspective. Bloomington (Indiana, US): AuthorHouse, cop.Yanadori, Y., & Marler, J. H. (2006). Strategic Compensation: Does Business Strategy Influences Compensation in High Technology Firms? Strategic Management Journal, 27(6), 559-570.