Companies, businesses, or organizations around the globe face stiff competition. Market segments change. The preferences and tastes are equally dynamic. The effect of globalization is real. There is an economic shift from the developed and stable economies to developing. Therefore, it is ideal that companies should tirelessly focus on what makes them relevant in meeting customer requirements. This paper is a mirror reflection of how the Google Company has thrived and lived to its vision as well as mission. It seeks to address the significance of human interactions and correlations in the workplace. The work also gives clear views on the Company’s development and implementation of business strategy. It looks further on the leadership and motivational approaches being used by Google Company. It reviews the communication styles and techniques used by the company, exploring on their components and effectiveness.
The offices of Google Company and its campuses are spread in the world, which gives a mirror reflection of the firm’s overarching philosophy. The company strives to make the happiest and most productive work environment in the world. The HRD (Human Resources Director), Todd Carlisle, confirms that the company has successfully utilized and greatly integrated technology (Annika, 2014). The company has further re-humanized in their work environment. Interaction is through texting or use of email. They hardly meet with employees in person. The company allows its employees to design and model their desks (Ricky, 2011). The firm models its workstations. This is meant to improve workers’ morale and service delivery. Some have modeled standing desks while others have designed and attached treadmills to enable them to walk as well as work at the same time. Workers express themselves and interact by scribbling or writing on walls. It is the desire and satisfaction of the employees.
Causes of Work Attitudes
Employees can be contented with their jobs and show great commitment when certain aspects are put in place. The employees’ satisfaction concentrates on the work environment, which entails how workers are treated, their relationships with colleagues or the managers, as well as the exact duty being performed. Work attitudes can be either positive or negative. Personality increases workers’ commitment at Google Company because job satisfaction is not only pegged on the environment but also on the individual personality. Some people have unique nature of being happy regardless of the confounding and prevailing environmental factors. This disposition enables them to perform exceedingly well, develop a positive attitude to their job, and the company (Ricky, 2011).
The other cause of work attitude is the fit that exists between what a person brings to work environment and the underlying environmental demands. Hence, individual-job fit and individual-company fit are correlated to be positive job contentment and company commitment. At Google Inc., workers' abilities are directly proportional to their job demands, and their values are matching firm’s values, which makes them satisfied with their jobs, more determined, and committed to the firm (Ricky, 2011). Besides, it is phenomenal that certain job specifications trigger employees to show much satisfaction and commitment to their jobs. Google Company has characterized and specified every job within its scope. Google Inc. ensures that it utilizes a wide range of skills, possesses work autonomy, and gives feedbacks. It further ensures that the employees are doing a significant task. These job specifications are correlated to satisfaction and company commitment (Ricky, 2011). Nevertheless, at Google Inc., the existence of these factors is not significant for other staffs. Some would anticipate acquiring, developing new skills, and critically improving as a worker in their line of duty. These set of people certainly have job satisfaction when their jobs have such specifications.
At Google Inc., employees have a series of expectations or anticipations after resuming a new job. They understand their responsibilities and rights equally. This is described as psychological contract, existing between them and the Google Company (Don & John, 2009). It is a contract that is unwritten. It entails what the employee is likely to bring forth in the work environment, and what to expect from the firm in exchange. When employees fail to get what they anticipate or reward whenever they infringe a psychological contract. The Google Company has always lived to the expectations of its employees, which has made the firm remain successful since its inception.
A sturdy and significant proportion of satisfaction influence is determined by how fairly the company treats its staff. At Google Inc. employees pay great attention to the fairness of the firm policies and procedures. They also focus on the treatment from their supervisors, pay, and other perks or rewards they get from the firm (Don & John, 2009). This attention critically determines their attitudes. In Google Inc., there is a cordial relationship that exists among employees and their managers, this greatly predicts as well as dictates their happiness at the workplace and further their commitment to the firm (Don & John, 2009). The workers at Google Company perform their jobs with commitment and compassion. This is due to their sense of belonging and the level of social acceptance in their prospective work groups. A strong relationship; therefore, exists between the employees and the managers at Google Inc. Significantly, this has influenced their job satisfaction and positive attitude; hence, the success of the company (Don & John, 2009).
Personality Traits
Personality has a great and direct impact whether positively or negatively in an organization. The behavior patterns are classified in a model called Big 5 Personality Model. This model helps the companies and businesses understand the workplace behaviors. Traits such as consciousness, personal esteem, a locus of self-control, and further extraversion are important in the workplace. They determine the commitment and the positive attitudes towards work.
Openness to experience is a personality trait encompassing individuals who are distinctively creative, curious, and constantly cultured. Google Company enjoys a wide range of people with these traits. It hires brilliant and innovative engineers to span its growth or development. Conscientiousness is another component of a personality trait. It is very vital in the daily operations of the company like Google. It involves hardworking, being organized, and dependable. These traits guarantee motivation in an employee. Employees at the Google Company have a culture of performing at the top of their games (Eric, 2011). This has seen Google Inc. remain relevant to clients’ needs and address prevailing market trends.
Extraversion is a great segment of personality traits. It enables people to be passionate and have meaningful career progress. They are satisfied with their jobs and have a great commitment to their companies. This component entails gregariousness, assertiveness, and being sociable. It is a trait found in distinct and talented managers. Google Company prides on its composition of its workers. It hires highly assertive, gregarious, and perfect sociable employees (Eric, 2011). This has assisted the firm to live to its dream. Agreeableness is a personality trait, which is vital for the Google Company. The workers are self-driven. Agreeableness involves being cooperative, warm, and friendly. Google Company hires highly competent employees. Their warmth and distinct cooperativeness are felt when they are responding to clients' email. Self-Esteem is a significant component of personality traits. It entails being composed, self-worth, and optimism. The employees are self-driven and have positivity response to their jobs. The Google Company has always poached the best (Eric, 2011). The company has a composition of people with great self-esteem and outstanding personalities.
The Personal Values
The Google Company has creative values and culture. These entails focus on the client. For the Google Company, the user comes first. They provide the worth experience to the user. It is appropriate to do one thing at a time perfectly. The employees of Google Inc. have a unique trait of perfecting on a particular issue before tackling another (Eric, 2011). They handle exclusively research problems. Fast comes better rather than slow. They address the urgency of quest of information from the clients. These personal values are what have fostered the growth and quick expansion of the Google Company.
Development and Implementation of the Organization’s Strategy
The business operations (OB) and corporate development units (CDU) of Google Company work tirelessly. They formulate projects that cut across the entire globe. The teams further give insights and critical information to the company’s management. For that reason, they help in decision-making, implementation, as well as investments (Bernard, 2008). They do a critical analysis before implementing any strategy and initiatives. Therefore, Google Company has a devoted, sophisticated, problem-solvers, and self-driven team members that aid in development as well as the implementation of the organization strategy on its output.
The business operations (BO) and strategy unit at Google Company play a fundamental role especially in defining as well as driving the company’s strategic, operational or organizational agenda. They work critically to ensure improvement in the entire company. It has a team, which was constituted in 2003 and named BizOps (Annika, 2014). It is a high-profile and great impacting unit that works with Google’s initiatives as well as businesses around the globe. It works on a wide range of products and critical projects targeting growth strategies as well as engineering prioritization. Its projects are YouTube, Chrome, and other Mobile products (Annika, 2014). The team also works on modalities of collaborating and launching strategic initiatives to newly emerging markets; for instance, India and Africa. The BizOps members are at the epicenter of assisting the Google Company to clarify and categorize fast-moving, trending strategic priorities. Additionally, the team handles operational challenges, which enables innovation.
Process Followed
The Google Company employs the P-O-L-C framework in its strategic management. It has a clear mission and vision, which literary constitutes planning. The BizOps team helps in strategizing and setting up of goals and company objectives. The company has organizational designs, culture, and well-stipulated social networks (Annika, 2014). The Google Company has a leadership structure, decision-making organ, communications centers, groups, and teams (Virginia, 2008). The company has well-laid systems, processes, as well as well-distinct human resources management unit (Virginia, 2008). However, this process of management has shortcomings.
This type of leadership is not productive. Managers spend much time in instructing and leading employees. It is conventional that such management techniques are redundant because managers do not produce goods or services as they act as leaders (Aquina, 2008). Clash of personality is inevitable in such arrangement of leadership. Moreover, it is evident that such management is associated with misplaced priorities and poor policies as it uses an upper-to-bottom approach. However, these anomalies have not been experienced in Google Inc., but they can potentially occur. The company, on the other hand, should be able to use a different strategy development model. The company should deploy the S.W.O.T analysis model. Such a technique is prudent for conducting a market survey on strengths and opportunities for growth. Besides, the approach can identify the weaknesses and threats to come up with their control measures. It gives a competitive advantage and first-hand information in the decision-making process. Policies can be adopted on issue-based methodology unlike in P-O-L-C model.
Google Company Organizational Structure
Google Company’s corporate structure is not exceptional. It is overseen by a conglomeration of directors that constitute the board that gives instructions and directives down the organogram through the executive management team (Aquina, 2008). The team oversees various departments; for instance, engineering, products, company’s legal department, finance, and Sales. Every department has further smaller divisions, such as sales department has units linked to regions; for example, Americas, Asia Pacific. Apart from these traditional structures, Google has other peculiar leadership positions; for instance, Chief Culture Officer and Chief Internet Evangelist (Aquina, 2008).
In spite of the usage of standard corporate firm structure, Google Company has designed a corporate culture founded on giving workers substantial direct leeway to model and design new ideas with virtually no excessive oversight (Harve, Xavier, & Marwyn, 2012). Google Company has a unique organizational culture, which is designed and founded on two fundamental principles; creativity and loyalty (Eric, 2011). The company has created various products. This has been achieved by its emphasis on innovation. The products include the Google Search Engine, its Google Maps, as well as Chrome Web browser.
Communication Styles, Techniques, and Decision-Making
The Google Company uses its internet base and innovation to communicate. It undertakes a broad range of communication tools; for example, email instant messaging apps, video, and other social networking sites (Harve, Xavier, & Marwyn, 2012). The company communicates by texting or at times e-mailing. They sometimes resort to scribbling on boards. These communication techniques have both merits and demerits in equal measure. They are quick and efficient. The techniques are convenient and timely. However, the techniques are redundant in that it lacks person-to-person meeting. This results in low engagement scores and poor socialization or bonding. Messages that require personal delivery face an inevitable backfire. Information such as vision sharing is ideally worth being issued in person-to-person meetings.
Leadership and Motivational Approaches Demonstrated in the Company
The firm leads in motivating employees. This is unquestionable. The firm is distinct in its pursuit to have well-motivated employees. The company has hired and retained a colossal and brilliant workforce (Ramesh, 2013). Nearly 50,000 people spread across the globe to offer services to clients. It fascinates how the company scores heavily despite pampering its employees. It gains very outstanding ideas and unique products from its workforce.
Motivational Approaches
The firm uses uncommon though affordable, amazing perks, as well as other benefits. Google Company provides the normal extrinsic benefits; for instance, flex expenditure accounts, non-cost health, dental benefits, as well as regular insurance covers (Don & John, 2009). They are given other benefits such as the 401K plans, vacation packages, as well as tuition reimbursements. Nevertheless, the company stands out due to the unique strides it makes in continually making its workers happy. The company offers compensation of approximately $5000 to workers for any legal costs, full maternity package of maximal 18 weeks, and nearly 100% pay. The parents of the newly born are awarded expenses of $500 to cater for take-out meals (Eric, 2011). The company also has a kitty for supporting adopted children.
Voice and value of employees are respected. At the company, democracy is the order of the day. Employees are awarded significant freedom. It has activities such as hosting worker’s forum weekly on Fridays. Employees can use varied channels such as Google+ conversations, Fixits, and TGIF. Workers are encouraged to send direct emails to any supervisor to air views and communicate thoughts. Transparency is another component used for motivation by the Google Company. The company views its human resource as the first and valuable asset. The management shares everything worth sharing. This conveys pure trust as well as confidentiality in judgment by the employees (Eric, 2011).
Freedom over how as well as when a task is finished. Google Company believes that amazing output can only be achieved by employees when they are given freedom. The company; therefore, strives to give its workers the rare freedom of determining how or when to complete a task (Eric, 2011). Flexibility in the leadership hierarchy is promoted; engineers have an abundance of flexibility in selection of projects to execute. The firm similarly encourages staff to venture in company-linked interests. The Google Company employs a unique leadership technique aimed at motivating it employees. It applies a leadership that empowers (Annika, 2014). It aims at empowering its employees so that they achieve their full potential. In this company, ideas usually compete based on their merits. The best is achieved through determined and innovative employees.
The leadership practices and traits being portrayed by Google Inc. are exemplary. The company uses precepts of knowing its employees. The company has created many unique ways of rewarding, motivation, and promoting its employees. The Google Company has allowed the workers to function in the outskirts of the realm and hierarchy of the company. The company has consistently allowed workers’ performance be reviewed by people they much respect so that there are little objectivity and impartiality. The style of leadership deployed by the company has proven to be the best. However, few insights on its shortcomings include failing in authenticating search content. It is likely to be confused with or equally influenced by the materials being advertised (Eric, 2011).
Motivational Model
The company has categorically used the model of the hierarchy of needs developed by Maslow. It focuses mostly on helping employees to achieve and realize intrinsic rewards; for instance, a sense of belonging, self-actualization, as well as self-power. This model has proven to be more efficient for the company.
Leadership in Google Company
The company leadership is composed of individual teams who are proactive and self-managed. The company follows a better normal functional organizational structure (Virginia, 2008). It has management slots with specific value chain activities. Being a worldwide company, these slots are further divided and classified into regions of its operations and interest. Every top-level task, there is an underlying multi-divisional structure, as well as units divided depending on the geographical, market segment, or product. It is worth noting that this hybrid and amalgamated structure works for the Google Company (Virginia, 2008).
Barriers
There are some issues, which affect the operation and expansion of the Google Company. They include but not limited to infrastructure. Developing countries do not have a modern infrastructure that supports internet connections. The other issue is illiteracy, the services of Google Company require well-read fellows to utilize fully them. Abuse of technology is another adverse outcome because technology has led to social disintegration, a decay of social values, loss of job opportunities, and loose family units.
In conclusion, the success of any company lies in its human resource. The Google Inc. is not exceptional. It has capitalized in its human resource; thus, achieving substantial gains. It has the best rating on the motivation of employees. The company has worked and is continuing to develop modalities of addressing management principles. It hires the best brains and has a team of innovative and self-driven people. Google Company prides on well-established leadership and visionary personnel. It has perfect strategies, as well as new unique products or services. Therefore, it is prudent that Google Company address the interpersonal dynamics that greatly influences the success. The firm should also develop strategies, culture, and organizational structure that match the changing business environment. Such strategies can significantly help the institution in detecting, controlling, and managing risks. The resultant effect is the promotion of good-working relations; thus, profit gains.
References
Annika, S. (2014).The Google Model: Managing Continuous Innovation in A Rapidly Changing World. Cham: Springer.
Aquina, G. (2008). Organization Structure and Design: Applications and Challenges. New Delhi: Excel Books.
Bernard, G. (2008). The Google way: 12 Management Strategies to Revolutionize your Business. San Francisco, Calif.: No Starch; Farnham: O'Reilly [distributor].
Don, H., & John, S. (2009). Organizational Behavior. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Eric, F. (2011). Corporate Culture: the Ultimate Strategic Asset. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press.
Harve, M., Xavier, P., & Marwyn O. (2012). Valuing People to Create Value: an Innovative Approach to Leveraging Motivation at Work. Singapore; Hackensack, N.J.: World Scientific.
Ramesh, B. (2013).Principles of Management. New Delhi: McGraw-Hill Education.
Ricky, G. (2011). Management. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
