Growth and Development of Entrepreneural Ventures - Essay Example

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURAL VENTURES Executive summary Every business is expected to have certain codes of ethics, which define the kind of interactions that its staff is to have in the course of its business practices. Business that have certain codes of ethics often perform outstandingly in their functions, they products high quality goods and most preferred by clients. In showing preference for the products and services made by these businesses. Customers understand that they follow the laid down procedures and standard in executing their functions (James, 2014). Adherence to codes of ethics makes business organizations carry out proper social responsibility programs through which they communicate and show their commitment to the welfare of its workers, other stakeholders and the outside community. Most businesses that do not have codes of ethics often find themselves in various breaches of the law, forcing them to engage in various legal suits. Creditors sometimes sue the business for failing to abide by the terms and conditions in sale agreements; additionally, workers sometimes have various issues concerning contractual agreements and remuneration (Battelle, 2005). Ethical issues have special legal provisions to ensure that business organizations that do not live by the law are punishable according to the laid down legal structures. This paper examines ethical practices and conduct of Google, one of the many successful companies that offer clients the ability to search and carry out various social and economic activities in the internet. It focuses on the various work practices that have elicited ethical concerns not only in the company but also from its clients worldwide. It also examines the effects of these ethical concerns and how they can impact on the company’ operations in the future, giving some possible alternatives the company can embrace in the process of restoring customer confidence in its products and services (David, 2011). Introduction The report delves in the discussion of Google Inc., a multinational American corporation that specializes in offering internet-related products and services. These products include search engines, cloud computing services, online advertisements and various types of software. Most of the products that the company specializes in originated from ad Words (James, 2014). Since the company was incorporated, it has enjoyed consistent growth, managing to become one of the greatest companies in the world that offers internet and related services. The persistent growth has seen the company manage to establish a chain of products and services to take advantage of the ever-increasing internet needs by people worldwide, which are now turning to the internet as the sources of economic livelihood. The company has also managed to created different partnerships and other acquisitions besides its main search engine (James, 2014). Google offers different kinds of productivity software that includes Gmail, which is storage device that is run on its cloud. It also has a special office suite that runs on Google docs as well as Google+, which is a social networking product that enables people to link and interact online. In all these services, Google has managed to host them effectively without inconveniencing its clients. However, the company has been blamed for failing to stick to certain codes of ethics in its functions (James, 2014). The operations of Google in the U.S and in many other countries across the world have raised many issues over its ethical conduct and ability to maintain the faith of its customers. Most of these ethical concerns have made the company to engage in various lawsuits over some clients that have complained that the company has infringed on their privacy in some many ways. If the company will correct on its approaches to its various products and services, it is bound to benefit immensely from the increasing demand for internet and online services worldwide because of globalization (Ananthan, & Appannaiah, 2010). Findings of the report Operations in China The activities of Google Inc in the Chinese republic have elicited many criticisms when the company accepted to work by the company’s terms and conditions. In this case, the company agreed to the wishes of the government so that it censored websites by companies that were advocating for a democratic form of government. These controversies made the company to change its Chinese base of operation, moving to Hong Kong, a location that was deemed effective in putting it beyond the country’s censorship regime (James, 2014). Most of the people that supported the decision explained that Google is not supposed to show its support to the repressive governance policies of the Chinese government. However, the critics of the move complained that the company’s withdrawal from trading in the Chinese republic denied millions of the people of china the ability to access and use the company’s products and services. In this case, the company lost a lot of revenue, which is believed would have been brought by one of the world’s most populous nations (Ananthan, & Appannaiah, 2010). In this case, it is evident that the ethical concern did not just inconvenience the people that had depended on its products and services for their online services, but reduced its revenue significantly. In order to regain its market position and competitive advantage, Google is supposed to engage the government actively, so that it can launch its products and services and benefit from the large population in china (James, 2014). Privacy In its operation, Google collects millions of information about people and organizations that uses its search engines. Many companies have created websites and blogs in Google’s online platform in the process of expanding their business, giving it a new online look and presence (Ananthan, & Appannaiah, 2010). Governments of the world can use the information on Google to track any information about people visiting certain websites that may have been prohibited in certain ways. In this case, Google plays an essential role in facilitating this tracking, something that has been blamed for infringing on the privacy of some people that have set their information. Additionally, the company service that facilitates the collection of earth photos has also been an issue of great controversy among many people that have used them. In 2008, the company was sued by a couple that complained on grounds that the company’s online photos at their home were violating their privacy rights. Later, the judge threw away that case on grounds that it lacked the legal basis to prosecute Google Inc (David, 2011). Infringement on Copyright laws One of the services that the company offers to millions of its clients worldwide is the ability to access and read different books in different fields. This service has made it possible for people to access and read its books from any place where they have internet connectivity. This service has raised a lot of controversy from author and publishers who have sued the company in the past for failing to adhere to the copyright rules of the holders (Battelle, 2005). The company has been blamed for helping many people to access the information from these books without the permission of the authors. In defense, the company has explained that it actually keeps the original books in its files and makes available some portions of the books for readers and buyers of the books to peruse and make their purchase decisions. The company has explained that this is acceptable under the laws of copyright, which in this case, allows for fair use of the books and other original works by authors and other people that write and publish books (Ananthan, & Appannaiah, 2010). The company has explained that by showing sections of the books customers can effectively decide on the books they can buy and use for their academic and other functions. Nevertheless has not been effective enough in stopping lawsuits that have been filed against the company for failing to protect the author’s books against unauthorized use. The company has settled some of these cases, but others are still in progress (David, 2011). Models of conduct The company has also faced a series of controversies over the right model of conduct that it has to use while delivering its products and services to clients. One of the broad questions that have been raised concerns the company’s stakeholders. Schwartz Howard, an author explains the kind of corporate conduct that needs to be supported by the company. According to the classic model in the case of the American business approach is that business managers are expected to have a fiduciary responsibility to develop and provide profits for its stakeholders (Battelle, 2005). This includes customers, employees and the wider community in which the company operates. However, one of the most recent approach that is advocated by corporate responsibility explain that a business is supposed to focus on the view provided by its stakeholder and not the owners of the business. This is because, the stakeholders are people who interact and make use of the company’s products and services. Therefore, they have a right to decide on how they want their needs to be felt. When these issues are considered, a company ends up having a huge corporate responsibility, which also means huge financial involvement (David, 2011). In this understanding, Google has often found itself in a dilemma over the means in which it can facilitate its models of conduct. On one hand, the company has a duty to fulfill the wishes and needs of its stakeholders who have a bigger say on the company’s activities and general profitability. On the other hand, the company has a right to follow the wishes of its owners who understand the market needs and dynamics and wants the company to have the best in its activities. Ethically, the company is supposed to strike a balance among all these competing needs and develop strategies that can give it competitive advantages without infringing on the rights and wishes of its employees and all other stakeholders and owners (David, 2011). Conclusion In conclusion, companies which have strong and stable ethical programs have discovered they can easily avoid inconveniences by having to fight court cases and pay hefty fines. This practice is important because it decreases their vulnerability, thus improving their ability to succeed and achieve the desired competitive advantaged (Battelle, 2005). Recommendation If Google does not reconsider its policies on ethical codes of conduct, then it has to be prepared to fight various court cases in order to improve its reputation as a company that respects and values the rights of its clients. This will be an important step towards the company’s efforts to increase its competitiveness and market position amidst the highly competitive market that is characterized by entry of various firms offering related services. In this case, Google has a duty to redefine its commitments and ability to ensure the privacy for the information by people and corporate bodies that store their information in the companies cloud services (Ananthan, & Appannaiah, 2010). References Ananthan, B., & Appannaiah, H. 2010. Business management (Rev Ed). Himalaya Pub. House, Mumbai India. Battelle, J. 2005. The search: How Google and its rivals rewrote the rules of business and transformed our culture. Portfolio, NewYork. David, C.,(2011), The Evolving Mission of Google Published: March 20, 2011, Retrieved New York Times 14th Dec 2014. James, K., (2014), European Antitrust Regulators Ask for More Information in Google Investigation, Retrieved from New York Times 13th December 2014. Read More