Silicon Valleys Spell on the Workplace - Essay Example

Commercial Interiors Silicon Valley’s Spell on the Workplace Table of Contents Commercial Interiors Introduction Literature review 2 Workplace Evolution 2 Social Media 4 Wireless Worlds 5 Plug and Play 6 Tech Workspaces 7 Methodology 8 Study participants 9 Participants selection 10 Data analysis 10 Importance of the research 11 Bibliography 12 Commercial Interiors Silicon Valley’s Spell on the Workplace Introduction Silicon Valley is a nickname for the South Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California, United States. It is a home of the worlds largest high technology corporations, as well as thousands of small startups. The term originally referred to the regions large number of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers, but eventually came to refer to all high-tech businesses in the area (Wikipedia 1). Silicon Valley has conceptualized global markets in the commercial workplace planning; to what extent do these radical reorganized workplaces determine tomorrow’s workplace design? The research will assess how designers of employee workplaces use the global concepts of marketing and high tech products and services in the design of commercial workplaces (Viswanath 28 and Gacenga et al. 93). This will be done by conducting a research that is based on primary data collection method (Venable 120). Such will entail the use of a focus group, face-to-face interviews, observation and surveys (Shouhong and Wang 548). Interview questions will be formulated so that they will elicit response from the respondents (Venable and Richard 142). The questions will also include Likert Scale for trend and relationship identifications (Orfield 138). The population of interest will be Silicon Valley. However, representatives from Brighton University will also be included in the study. This population will assist in identification of key metrics that include color and design of workplaces (McMahon 570). The research will assist in gathering essential data, which will be used in the process of testing the hypothesis that workplace could assist in improving productivity and enhancing attainment of creativity in the workplace (Mangalaraj et al. 250). This is because in marketing, value addition is vital in the presentation of products and services. Such facilitates in increasing the quality level, which is a key focus for most of the customers who like quality products and services. Increment of quality level also ensures that an organization is able to compete with others favourably in the market (Gregor and Alan 338). The research will also yield insightful information on how creativity and productivity can be enhanced in organizations (Landwehr et al. 93). Literature review Workplace Evolution The social network companies have reinvented Silicon Valley from its origins as a place of manufacturers measuring instruments, such as oscilloscopes. The first company to adopt the beginning of the open plan workspace was Hewlett-Packard in the 1970’s. This working style and interior planning opened up new ways of communication in the office and was at the heart of Hewlett-Packard strategy to encourage interaction between engineers and the rest of the team. The workplace of the 1970’s was starting to relax and it was in this period that the high technology and innovation companies started to think differently on how the workplace should function. The function of the office was no longer to provide an employee with a desk and computer, but with ergonomic chairs and cubicles. Workers were for the first time teamed together so that engineers and designers could interact and collaborate. Flexible work schedules and casual dress codes were wholeheartedly embraced. Sophisticated mobile phone technology along with the round-the-clock working culture went mainstream. The communal lounge areas transformed the workspace into rest areas and fun and games were introduced. It was the first time the office had been re-invented from an austere and ordered place with a clear hierarchy of power and status. This style had been inherited from the previous decades where the workplace atmosphere was oppressive and impersonal place where social interaction was frowned upon. But with the invention of the home computer and Internet, people began to work from home and relax at work. The 1990’s workspace was one of excess from gourmet meals to all night deadlines. The architectural interior exploded with this excess and would often include flamboyant features to the office for the team to throw themselves into. Personal space became significantly smaller to make room for collaboration spaces. Wireless technology and smart phones made working anywhere possible. The space was much more about social settings and also collaborative spaces, writable surfaces and moveable chairs. New attitudes towards teamwork enabled staff to contribute to a collective common space where once upon a time that was for management only. The start-up companies brought their university style as graduates from Harvard and Stanford into the workplace and relaxed the culture of working. Social Media The past decade has seen the rapid development of social media enterprises to the rise of the app for smart phones creating new start-up high tech companies in Silicon Valley. In 2004, the social media start-up Facebook emerged in Silicon Valley with a workplace concept taken literally from the neighborhood bringing the food districts and vibe from Main Street inside to define the workplace and reflect its young culture. The young people designing social networking start-up companies created ideas from their bedrooms and garages in spaces that they had available to them. So the natural progression for these entrepreneurs was to reinvent the old workplace into the future workspace designing a space filled with new trends and youth culture. “Silicon Valley is not a place but a state of mind,” KPCB General Partner John Doerr. Silicon Valley remains a vanguard of innovation in the tech industry today. With this enviable position companies outside of this technological paradise look to them for trends and innovations that they can apply to their brand. The whimsical chutes and pool tables that typified the last dot.com boom have vanished to be replaced with sustainable materials, handcrafted wood furnishings and art. Chalkboards have replaced whiteboards as start-ups seek to create a visually inspiring space. “A beautiful office is a recruiting tool, says Jason Freedman, co-founder of commercial real estate website 42Floors, and a well-designed work space encourages the kind of face-to-face collaboration that’s impossible to replicate virtually” Bloomberg Business Week (2). The workplace today is more employee-focused now and encourages spontaneous encounters to prompt greater innovation and productivity. There is an emphasis on creating a relaxed open and friendly atmosphere. The start-up workplace attracts the talent with its transparent and flexible space with beauty and efficiency. The Silicon Valley model has radically changed the way architects and designers think about workplace design. In the past, each employee would have 250 square feet of space. The employee today has150 square feet of space thanks to mobile technology and wireless connections the area is more efficient with less space. Social media is a majority tech industry in Silicon Valley from Facebook to Twitter. “Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.”Albert Einstein Wireless Worlds Cloud computing and telecoms data storage have redesigned the workplace, as the space is not needed for large infrastructures. Wireless technology, smart phones, app stores and web-based services have dramatically expanded the way in which we live and work. Wireless provides a virtual workplace where people can communicate on smart phones or tablets and get online fast working whilst on the move. The Wireless World of the new workplace allows for social, local and global streams of information to be shared through online digital platforms. These constant streams of ideas are exchanged through online social media sites. Google is the No. 1 search engine in the World for seeking data. But now a start up called “Retrievo” is set to challenge that position with an electronics shopping and review marketplace. We are all communicating in wireless framework now and will be smarter in the future. US companies dominate global Internet activity here are a few from the top 20 Google, Apple, Facebook, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, EBay, Twitter, Intel and Adobe Systems. But also the next generation of start-ups, such as Cloudera and Violin Memory who deal with big data to Dropbox, Jawbone, The Giant Pixel, Pinterest, Airbnb and Quid. In fact, there are hundreds of start-ups in the Valley who come to the area for the creative ecosystem, investment and community. The difference between the giant and start-ups is that the start-up have the fortunate advantage of attracting the eccentric innovator whilst the giant hunts for them. “Designers as founders are very interesting and make up critical DNA of new companies,” said Dayna Grayson, a partner at NEA, which started what it calls NEA Studio, a workshop for designers who want to start companies (New York Times 3). This ecosystem in Silicon Valley is built on the tech talent of brilliant engineers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalist investments. But recent developments in app products have created a demand for the ‘designer’ who is responsible for the look and feel of the interface to the user from color, font and intuitive functionality. The new start-ups instinctively realize the importance of the cognitive appeal and are more focused on appearance than the giants such as Facebook and Amazon. This is in accordance with the argument from Charles Eames that “Design is a plan for arranging elements in such a way as best to accomplish a particular purpose.” Plug and Play Plug and Play is a platform for start-ups to get connected to the community providing them with the exposure they need to get up and running. The cool workspaces of Palo Alto are part of this vision of the future and innovation of the brand and product or services. Plug and Play describe themselves as a bridge between Silicon Valley and the rest of the World to provide incubator and accelerator programs from the knowledge of the community. They act as global accelerator that specializes in growing tech startups. Headquartered in Sunnyvale California, Plug and Play’s network includes over 300 tech startups, 180 investors and a community of leading Universities and Corporate partners ( Plug and Play Tech Centre, Silicon Valley in a Box 4). How do you bring the intelligent people with technology innovations to Silicon Valley? Incredibly smart people already work in Silicon Valley and this attracts even smarter graduates and future entrepreneurs who get the money to run with wild ideas. There are over 2,000 innovative start-ups in the World so it is a great opportunity to come into the Valley as they get exposure to VC’s (Venture Capital) companies willing to invest. The energy in Silicon Valley comes from knowledge built through exchange partly through events and the community. Meetings are set up with VC’s through casual encounters and exposure from Plug and Play and other community events. Tech Workspaces Perhaps the ethos that began in Silicon Valley’s high tech startup companies is that work should be fun. The logic to the entrepreneur of Silicon Valley in the 1970’s was that if work is fun then people will put more in and get more out of working life. Creative things are more likely to happen with the right company culture. Work is now seamlessly integrated into daily life through technology products and services. “Remember, the sixties happened in the early seventies, and thats when I came of age; and to me, the spark of that was that there was something beyond what you see every day. Its the same thing that causes people to be poets instead of bankers. And I think thats a wonderful thing. I think that same spirit can be put in to products, and those products can be manufactured, and given to people, and they can sense that spirit” (Wikipedia Steve Jobs, Pirates of Silicon Valley 5) The Tech workspaces are now built for start-ups who work in ‘Big Data’, which is an emerging million-dollar business in Silicon Valley. Until recently companies large and small around the world have asked themselves what they can do with this data. Engineers gather, analyze and visualize the information that is generated through all media outlets and devices. “If you really believe that the talent of your employees is the best thing the company has, youll do everything possible to make them happy." Robert Noyce, co-founder of Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel. Start-up companies emerging today have learned the lessons of the giants by investing in good workplace design for their team to build up their business. AirBnb and Quid know that design means business starting with cool Headquarters. Recent news has emerged that five of the valley’s most significant companies have announced large, expensive new campuses. Facebook are preparing for a major new expansion of its headquarters in Menlo Park, California designed by Frank Gehry. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants the space to be one big open building. But a long, rectangular space would feel oppressive. So Gehry proposed angling the walls to create a more human sense of scale. With rows of desks and meeting rooms clustered throughout the building. Youll be able to walk from one end to the other without passing through a door. Note the looping ramp in the upper left—that gets you from the basement to the first floor to the roof ( Jay Yarow, Business Insider 6). Methodology The methodology to be used in this research is the qualitative data collection strategy. This entails the use of primary data collection method as the guidance for conducting research. Based on this, the study will gather field data using a focus group, face-to-face interviews, observations and surveys. This will act as an effective means of collecting data from the field, which will assist in the attainment of the desired results. Furthermore, the study will have an opportunity of gathering first-hand information, which is the most reliable source of data since it has not been documented and altered by another party. However, since surveys and interviews are to be used in this research, questions for the same will have to be developed. These will be developed such that they have the ability of eliciting response from the study participants. This is based on the fact that study participants may not provide credible information if the interview questions are not designed effectively. Therefore, the questions will be formulated such that they are able to extract information from the participants. Such questions will include opinion based questions, factual questions and attitude based questions. Likert Scale will also be used in the development of the interview questions so that relationships and trends of the data can be identified effectively. Study participants The research is based on Silicon Valley, which is the population of interest. Therefore, study participants will be obtained from individuals within this area. This implies that selection of research participants has to take place. Based on this, study participants will be selected through the use of a random selection technique. Hence, study population will be sampled randomly to obtain a representative sample of the entire population. This will facilitate in ensuring that data bias does not occur and a representative sample of the entire population is obtained as the study participants. Participants selection Selected participants are expected to be individuals over the age of 18 years. This population will be characterized of 50% males and 50% females. In this case, all of the participants should have been in Silicon Valley for at least 3 years. This is to ensure that they are conversant with credible information regarding business activities in this area, as well as workplace designs. A total population of 100 participants is expected, which implies that 50 participants will be males and 50 females. Brighton University will also be a source of the study participants for the research. The selected population will assist in key metrics identification, which includes workplaces design and color. Moreover, recruitment of the selected population will occur in order to ensure that individuals are self-willing to participate in the study. This recruitment will entail provision of information to the study participants on why they are to engage in the research process. This will also involve provision of letters of consent to the participants, which guarantee their willingness to engage in the research process. In addition, effective interactions and relationships will be established with the study participants. Such will ensure that participants engage in the research process without developing feelings of being intimidated. Data analysis Research data will be analyzed by first summarizing and classifying it based on the inherent relationships. Thematic analysis will also occur to identify key themes from the study data. This will be followed by the application of the various statistical and mathematical tools, such as SPSS software, which will facilitate in further analysis of the data. As such, the raw data will be transformed to a finished data in visual forms that include charts and graphs. Hence, it will be easy for one to identify the inherent relationships and linkages among the various data sets. On the same note, conclusions, inferences and recommendations will be made effectively by considering the nature of the data relationships. This will contribute towards attainment of the desired success level for the research project. Importance of the research Conducting this research, using this methodology, will contribute towards generation of new insights and information regarding the impact of global markets on the workplace designs and planning. This is because the study will contribute towards gathering of essential data, which will aid in the process of testing the hypothesis that has been developed for this research. Such includes how to improve productivity and enhance attainment of workplace creativity. The research also aims at developing an argument on what should be the nature and characteristics of the workplace designs and planning in Silicon Valley. This is because each and every community setting has its own strategy of attaining its desired success level in the global market place. In marketing, value addition is the main focus of the majority of organizations. This is based on the fact that these organizations seek to ensure that they present their services and products in an effective manner, which facilitates in the attainment of the desired goals and objectives of marketing. Value addition is also associated with improvement in the quality level of products, which is the main focus of most of the customers. However, each and every business organization has its unique way of value addition. This differs depending on the nature and structure of the market environment, as well as the desire to compete favorably. Silicon Valley has not been left behind in the process of appreciating the impact of global marketplace. This is because the region has incorporated several workplace planning strategies, which are anticipated to contribute towards the attainment of a better workplace design in future. Hence, the study will provide insights on creativity and innovation structure of this society in terms of using technology to improve on the quality of workplace design and planning. This includes the perception of the business owners, as well as the employees on the activities, which are employed in creating an effective working environment for the employees. Bibliography (1) Brown-Tatton, Max. “BIBLIOGRAPHY Trust in Big Data, Technology” Wired Magazine, 2012. (2) Freedman, Jason. Founder of 42 Floors. Design Shines at Start-up Offices, Written by Douglas Macmillan, Bloomberg Business Week.2012 (3) Fast Company Staff. Quid named one of the Worlds most innovative companies,Fast Company, Quoted on the Quid Website, 2013. (4) Gacenga, Francis, et al. 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