About Google Corporate Social Responsibility & Strategy
The globally renowned Google brings innovation not only in the IT world but also in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs. The company develops CSR programs throughout the world, striving to make the world a better place by improving the livelihood, education and sustainability in small and global communities.
Google’s involvement in the community implies active education for developing the conservation and sustainability of local resources through the use of technology. Through Google Impact program, various contests addressed to nonprofit organizations encourage them to come with innovative solutions for helping their communities, by awarding with money the most creative and feasible solutions. Such Google Impact projects include:
- Awarding local nonprofit organizations from bay Area, UK, Brazil or India for the innovative solutions for making communities better places for living;
- Encouraging nonprofit organizations and communities to preserve natural environments and natural resources (“Giving through Glass”, “Protecting Threatened Wildlife”);
- Empowering Women and Girls by investing in their education ($40 million invested in this program since 2005);
- Investing $21 million in fighting human trafficking and child abuse (Google.org)
- Donating $11.5 million to organizations for fighting slavery of around 27 million people throughout the world (“Google Donates $11.5 million”).
Google’s CSR strategy implies involving financial, human and technological resources, but also educating and encouraging others (nonprofit organizations, people and communities) to put their effort in bettering their communities through sustainable actions.
Initiative for Stakeholders: Employees, Clients, Government, Suppliers and Communities
Campbell (2007) suggests that organizations are socially responsible if they respond to their stakeholders’ needs. This implies providing good salaries and working conditions for their employees, treating customers with respect and providing qualitative services and realistic prices, treating the suppliers with honor and commitment, respecting the laws of the government or making charitable contributions for the community (Campbell, 2007).
The first stakeholder category that Campbell (2007) identifies is represented by the employees. Looking at Google’s activity, its employees receive tremendous benefits and they enjoy a motivating and rewarding working environment. As such, Google was ranked no. 1 in top “25 Best Companies for Pay and Benefits” developed by Glassdoor and based on the employees’ feedback (Baise, 2014). Excellent pay and career development trainings and learning courses, work-life balance, employee diversity, games, innovative teamwork, free legal advices, health assistance and the “Google” experience are the benefits that Google delivers to its employees, its internal stakeholder (“Benefits”).
Regarding the clients, Google offer valuable real-time information, providing the possibility for its users to update information and facts, to connect and network with each other, but also the possibility to advertise according to each client’s defined budget. Its diversified products and services (including Google search, Gmail, G+, Google Books and Scholarly, Google Play, Google Translate, Google AdWords, Google Chrome, Google Alerts, News, Groups, Docs, YouTube, etc.) provide its clients a complex utility. The company pioneered many of its products and services, delivering innovation in the entire world and it developed additional programs to the existent ones, which to facilitate their users’ interaction with various products.
As for the government, the company aims to comply with the regulations imposed in the countries in which it operates. Nevertheless, in European Union the company was sued for antitrust violation, accusing Google that it used its dominant position for ranking the paid search results higher than the organic search (“Antitrust: Commission Probes Allegation”). Considering the different legal systems enforced in different regions of the world, Google faces challenges in adjusting to various legal aspects while maintaining a global vision.
Google’s suppliers are mostly its users. It is difficult to indicate whether the relationship with all or the majority of its suppliers is one based on constant commitment and honor since there is no information available about its suppliers.
Finally, regarding the communities, Google invests financial and human efforts, but also innovation in supporting communities. Its official page “Corporate Social Responsibility” indicates the company’s efforts in CSR projects that focus on climate change, education and the eradication of poverty. Many of its charitable efforts are supported through financial and human resources but also through innovative technology (“Corporate Social Responsibility”). Google offered Grants in the countries where it has offices, Grants that can be valorized as free AdWords advertising, Google Earth or Google Maps for supporting the activities of nongovernmental agencies (Google.org).
Google CSR Philosophy – Giving Back to Communities
The philanthropic activity is seen in the corporate world as “giving back to the society” (Carroll, 1998, p. 5). However, critics observe that the corporate social responsibility is connected to organizations’ corporate financial performances, as CSR practices and policies improve the firms’ “financial performance and not the other way around” (Campbell, 2007, p. 946). Wilson (2003) sees the involvement of corporations in communities’ sustainability as a mix of sustainable development, CSR, stakeholder theory and accountability.
Google gives back to the community yearly, as its employees actively participate in bettering their communities, through physical work in building or cleaning communities, which counts for around 50.000 hours and $50 million during one year (Google.org). Therefore, sustainable development, CSR practices, stakeholder focus and accountability all shape Google’s active involvement in bettering communities.
In the current economy, which is influenced by the prevalent rhetoric of global warming and the encouragement of green practices, CSR has become a mandatory organizational practice for assuring that an organization remains competitive (Campbell, 2007). However, more than a competitive instrument, Google has the social philanthropy entrenched in its business philosophy.
Conclusion
The company promotes its corporate social responsibility programs as a philanthropic and educational organizational instrument, through which it proposes to encourage society and individuals to participate in strengthening the social responsibility (“Corporate Social Responsibility”). All in one, based on the gathered facts, it can be concluded that the company develops complex CSR programs meant to reduce poverty, global warming, to protect the natural resources and wildlife, to increase the global education level and to eradicate human trafficking and slavery. Through its focus on educating others to support its causes, Google has a stated policy on corporate social responsibility.
References
Antitrust: Commission probes allegation of antitrust violations by Google. N.d. Hexus. Retrieved from http://hexus.net/business/items/legal/27753-antitrust-commission-probes-allegations-antitrust-violations-google/.
Balise, J. 2014. 25 companies for pay and benefits. Retrieved from http://www.google.ro/about/careers/lifeatgoogle/benefits/.
Benefits. N.d. Google. Retrieved from http://www.google.ro/about/careers/lifeatgoogle/benefits/.
Campbell, J. L. (2007). Why would corporations behave in socially responsible ways? an institutional theory of corporate social responsibility. Academy of Management Review, 32(3).
Carroll, A. B. (1998). The four faces of corporate citizenship. Business & Society Review (00453609), (100/101), 1.
Corporate Social Responsibility. N.d. Google. Retrieved from http://www.google.cn/intl/en/about/company/responsibility/.
Google.org. n.d. A better world faster. Retrieved from http://www.google.org/index.html.
Google donates $11.5 million to fight slavery of 27 million people. Indiacsr. Retrieved from http://www.indiacsr.in/en/?p=4012.
Wilson, M. (2003). Corporate sustainability: What is it and where does it come from?. Ivey Business Journal, 67(4), 1.
