Google LLC History, organizational facts, and ethics and diversity

History

Google Limited Liability Company is an American based global technology corporation that majors in internet-associated service and products such as cloud computing, software, hardware, and search engines. Its headquarters are at Googleplex located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway in Mountain View California. The corporate is referred to as one of the big four multinational organizations globally alongside Apple, Amazon, and Facebook. Though Google was officially inaugurated in 1998, its roots date back in 1995 when two Ph.D. Stanford University students, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin embarked on a project that later yielded Google search engine (McPherson 2010). The Google project, initially called BackRub drew the attention of the university research body, but it did not get any proposition from the leading portal vendors. The co-founders sought funding from various donors and eventually began the company’s operations from a based garage office in Menlo Park, California in September 1998. The company name ‘Google’ was selected since it looked similar to the word ‘googol,’ meaning a mathematical phrase constituted of the numeral one followed by a hundred zeros as a representation of the vast amount of data in the world (Jarvis 2011). In the initial years of its operations, Google search engine competed closely with Yahoo, Lycos, and AltaVista. However, within a few years, Google established itself as an outstanding corporation that the name became a synonym for conducting Web search.

Employees

Google has severally appeared among the best organizations to work for on Fortune magazine. It emerged top in 2007, 2008 and 2012. It was also nominated as the leading global most appealing employer to new graduates. Its 2017 diversity report showed that the company’s 31 percent of its employees were women and 69 percent men with the ethnicity of the labor force comprising of 56% whites and 35% Asians (Merriman 2013). According to CNN business news in April 2019, Google’s parent company now has employed more than a hundred thousand employees. The number had risen from approximately eighty-five thousand employees at the same time in 2018. The addition of more than twenty thousand workers within one year has resulted from the company’s expansion ambitions and to live up to its self-stated mission, “to organize all information around the globe and make it generally obtainable and of utility.” ("I'm feeling lucky: the confessions of Google employee number 59", 2012). Alphabet, for instance, has expanded to cloud computing leading to an increase in the number of employees as the company seeks to widen its investments into the rapidly growing cloud marketplace and compete with Amazon and Microsoft.

Current news and financial situation

As the company’s stature in the hardware continues to expand, Google seems set to expand its prominence further in 2019. A report from a familiar source with the company has it that the tech giant has plans to launch a number of new hardware this year including the Google’s first Smartwatch that has been rumored for a while (Durl, Griffith & Dietrich, 2018). With the company having recently purchased tech worth $40 million from Fossil, Smartwatch manufacturer, there are high chances that the company is ready for the release of the wearable device. Although the company mostly focuses on the release of the Smartwatch, it is also mentioned that Google intends to launch another home product, smart speaker and web camera which could probably be manufactured by Nest, the Smartphone security company purchased five years ago (Soules, 2013). With these significant inventions on the way, the most recent financial report in the first quarter of 2019 showed that Google’s revenue stood at $36.12 billion, a decrease from $39.2 billion in the previous quarter. The company’s major source of income is through advertising. The company’s value stands at $739 billion.

Diversity and ethics

Google’s mission to organize information for access and utility is the one that defines the company’s operations. Diversity, inclusion, and equity are operational all-important on Google. Diversity improves employees’ outcomes, product, and their users. The company has opted to build on 2018 enhanced strategy which provides clear guidelines for accountability on the organization’s leaders. According to the 2019 annual diversity report, the company says that it is committed to adhering to the set goal of increased workforce representation and creating a more inclusive culture within its environ. Since the publishing of the first diversity report in 2014, the company has shown commitment towards more representative labor and sharing of ideas while working to achieve the set objectives. For the first time, the company in 2019 report published information with respect to self-identity of the disabled workers and members of the LGBT group. The company from the report is reaching out to former military members of the armed forces for their unique needs and skills. Google’s code of conduct goes by the slogan “Don’t be evil.” The catchphrase does not only enhance providing no-partisan access of information to users but also guides the workers to do the right thing by abiding by the law, respectful interactions with each other and acting honorably ("Defteros v Google LLC," 2017). The company’ ethics are built around the realization that everything it does is weighed in opposition to the highest set standards of business ethics. Google’s commitment to the highest order has enabled the company to attract best talents as employees who have been able to build outstanding products that attract users around the world. The company’s policy emphasizes on trust and mutual respect among the workers and users as the foundation of their success. Each employee has been accorded the responsibility to incorporate the principle of ethics in their work.

Personality, attitude, motivation and human capital

Personality

Company’s success is not only determined by its policies but also the character of employees. When managers understand the role of personality in their companies, they utilize it to grow and steer the company’s goal. At Google, the managers take the personality of employees as a critical aspect when hiring new labor. A study has shown that one important personality trait that the hiring team at the company looks for is curiosity. Curiosity defines the urge of an employee to take risks to know more. The tech giant had the reputation of asking candidates brainteasers during the interviews. The company holds that for an employee to have the ability to solve complex business challenges, he/she must not be the smartest person, but it often starts with curiosity. According to a behavioral scientist, Francesca Gino, when interest is triggered, a person can think deeper and rationally about choices and come up with more creative solutions. Gino also attests that curiosity among employees fosters better workplace, innovativeness, and creativity (Beus, Dhanani, & McCord 2015). Thus, natural curiosity is closely related to high job performance. Google always looks for super smart personalities and those who can thrive in ambiguity. The power of leadership and problem-solving characters also attracts the Google hiring team.

Attitude

Workplace attitude usually has effects on people in every organization. From the top management to the client, attitudes help to establish a current workplace environment that predicts workers productivity, team building ability, and morale. A negative attitude in organizations creates an atmosphere of distrust among workers which makes them attempt to succeed in their work at the expense of others. Positive attitude, however, inspires employees to perform at their best to achieve an organizational goal, encourage teamwork and creativity. Any company that is performance oriented works best to promote a positive attitude among its employees. Google is famous for its establishment of employees’ value and performance. The company had implemented some workers targeted plans to promote the growth of employees’ skills and performance (Froman 2010). In the program known as “Googlers-to-Googlers,” the company’s intentions were to learn more about its employees and increase their job satisfaction. The company creates a positive attitude in employees by encouraging risk-taking. The company helps its managers to spend 20% of the working hours developing their ideas and using the organizational resources. The attitude of the company towards risk-taking explains why the company performs better ahead of its competitors. For instance, when a vice president in control of Google’s advertisement made a mistake which fetch the organization millions of dollars, Larry Page complemented her for making a mistake while risking into a new venture.

Motivation

Motivation is an intense energy that steers and excites workers, leading to their maximum contribution towards achieving organizational goals. A company that sets and achieves goals has clears expectation, recognize, encourage and give feedback to employees, plays a major role to increase workplace motivation among its employees. Many successful companies flourish in a positive work environment. Google puts the motivation of its employees at the forefront in promoting its output. The company takes heart in keeping the employees happy. The company has a distinctive work condition that captivates, motivate and retain the best talents in the company. It is not surprising why the company is ranked at the top when one takes a close look at how Google treats its employees. At Googleplex, the employees are given free gourmet, and free meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The company also offers open gyms video games and on-site childcare. The company also offers four months of parental leave where the beneficiaries are given75% of their gross income, and also the company gives $500 for meals for the families with a newborn (Morrel-Samuels 2009). These perks make the employee feel valued and become confident with their working condition and personal goals. Moreover, perks create an environment where employees can exercise their full potential.

Human capital and competitive advantage

The value of human capital has become vital in promoting competitiveness among organizations. Companies in the recent past have to experience revolutionary changes in the human workforce. The roles of strategic leaders have also evolved accordingly, and organizations have now become warriors in trying to outdo each other at all business sphere. What makes Google an outstanding company when it comes to competitive advantage is through investment in human capital. The company management provides workers with more information about its operation than any other multinational companies in the world. The company makes employees active decision makers in determining how it is run. There is also the freedom allocated to employees to try new things at their own time using the company’s resources. During the meetings that are held on a weekly basis, there is an open question and answer forum where anyone in the company has the freedom to ask any question with no restrictions (Noe et al. 2017). Beyond sharing critical information, the management gives employees the opportunity to run the company. This strategy has helped to unwind the hidden talents among employees since they are treated as owners rather than workers. The company has a believe that junior employees have greater insight into the company’s operations than the top management. Therefore, during performance assessment, the managers ensure they get all-round feedback from the employees.

Leadership, decision making, and teamwork

Leadership

Leadership in business is the ability of an organization’s management to set and achieve challenging objectives, make a critical and fast decision when needed and inspire the employees at their optimum level. Leadership gives direction for an organization and its workers since employees need to understand which direction their company is headed and what to do in order to achieve company and personal objectives. Therefore, leadership involves directing workers on how to perform their duties and regularly monitoring their tasks effectively. The educational ancestry of Larry Page and Sergey Brin and their tendencies for independent research and thinking is assumed to have made an impact on the leadership style at Google (Brandt 2011). This is specifically in encouraging employees and empowering them to create new ideas and implement them. The company has a unique policy of hiring only class-A employees and allowing them to exercise their innovativeness. For instance, many of Google’s great products and strategies have come up through employee empowerment, as revealed through the creation of Gmail by Paul Buchheit, or the company’s information motto, “Don’t be evil.” Creating and communicating the company’s vision and empowering workers to implement it is one aspect of Google’s people-management system. The other policy is to provide workers with a harmless environment so that they can maximize their time and effort on work. The company also has a standard collection of goodies in terms of benefits and perks (Crowley 2013). The employees have been given the freedom to dress code through the corporate vision that has the principle, ‘one can be serious without a suit.’ This leadership strategy of empowering and accelerating employees’ work has resulted in multiple innovations, and consequently the massive growth of the company.

Decision making

For any effective leadership, decision making is a critical skill in the workplace. Irrespective of the motivating factor such as what person to hire or strategy to follow, the power to make suitable decision with the available resources is critical in any organization. Successful organizations use a set of principles with a systematic approach in making the right decisions under any surrounding circumstance. In Google, a case involving a former chief executive officer (CEO), Eric Schmidt set out what came to be the decision making strategy in the company. Schmidt, though he got the company already thriving in success, he knew his job would be challenging, and the then 61year old understood the risks that the founders took to hire an outsider as the CEO. Schmidt came up with a decision-making system that curbs problems from getting out of control. First, he let the company’s founders do what they did best while he concentrated on oversight of the sales force and general management duties. In case of disagreements, the trio met and agreed based on the best interest of the company and its workers. Most importantly, Schmidt ensured that he lowered his ego and gave a chance to Page and Brin have the final word in making a decision. His strategy came to be Google’s culture in decision making (Preis, Moat, & Stanley 2013). Decision making at the company is made in teams. This is not a situation where choices are made by single individuals at management and implemented to the junior workers. Several small groups are formed to handle each problem encountered and come up with the best solution. In this way, employees influence each other and using logical, persuasive information.

Teamwork

There is the adage that says, “Two heads are better than one.” Its purpose is to encourage teamwork. One can argue that a salesperson succeeds off healthy competition; however, winning sales is better defined through teamwork. The aspect of teamwork has seen Google expand from a garage-based company to among the most successful companies globally within twenty years. The main reason for effectiveness is how members interact with a team. A research conducted by ‘Google’s re Worksite’ within the company revealed what aspects of teamwork that has enabled the company creates productivity within the company. Some of the contributing factors of teamwork success involved psychological safety, meaning, dependability, structure, and impact. Psychological safety according to Google is based on the basic question of whether it is worth taking a risk without fear of embarrassment. This is the essential factor that contributes to the success of teamwork at Google. Every employee has the desire to protect himself from wrong judgment by others. If employees feel their ideas or queries can damage their reputations within a team, they tend to hold back and become less innovative. Google has created a platform to ensure every employee is heard and any decision from the teams are considered significant ("‘Nothing happens unless you make it happen,’" 2017). The company encourages risk-taking, collaboration and taking new roles, therefore enabling teams to work in a judgment-free environment which empowers teams to benefit from diverse ideas and creative thinking, thus increasing their overall effectiveness. Psychological support among teams in the company has played a significant role in providing the foundation upon which the other factors stated are realized.

The structure, culture, and politics

Structure

Google LLC’s success is usually associated with the power of its corporate structure, politics and organizational culture. A company’s organizational structure refers to the arrangement of constituents and resources according to the general design of the organization. Google organizational structure is not regular because of its emphasis on flatness. The company’s formation creates a platform to maximize innovation which in turn contributes to building the brand image, an important strength identified in SWOT analysis of Google LLC. In relation, the company’s structure boost product establishment to enhance considerable performance and aggressiveness in the internet service industry. Product development one of the major perspectives to grow the business as identified in the company’s competitive strategy. The organization has a cross-functional structure with a substantial aspect of flatness. This flatness is a defining feature that enables the company to thrive in a highly competitive market. The major features of Google’s company structure include functional-based definition, product-based definition, and flatness. This structure emphasizes on function as the foundation of grouping employees (Cowgill, Wolfers & Zitzewitz 2009). For instance, the company consists of the Engineering and Design group, Sales Operation among others. The company also utilizes products while teaming up workers, in a case like the group of employees entitled to develop Pixel devices. Also, Google’s structure has a significant flatness, meaning that the teams within the company can bypass middle management and present their concerns to higher management. Based on this flatness, employees can meet and information beyond their respective groups.

Culture

A company’s culture is the set of beliefs, tendencies, values, and expectations among the organization’s various stakeholders. Google’s corporate culture is termed as non-typical since it stresses on transformation and direct social relation within its environs. Theory has it that a robust orientation between organizational culture and its structure can lead to high possibility of success. These are some of the benefits that accrue to Google’s information technology and internet service transaction which is growing rapidly in the global market. Google’s corporate culture lack of typicality has been argued to be due to its organizational structure. This perspective, the culture, and structure interact to boost the capability and cultural features of the company. Google’s cultural features include openness, innovativeness, smart with stress on greatness, hands-on and support small-company family interaction. Openness includes sharing of ideas to support the company’s business process. Employees within the Google culture have the freedom to give their views such as during meetings with the management. Creativity and innovation are at the basis of the company’s culture. Workers are empowered to participate in innovative programs actively (Chen, 2011). Additionally, the culture stresses on smartness among the employees. This is aimed at making everyone within the company strive to achieve the best based on their performance. Moreover, Google encourages employees participation in projects implemented to test new ideas.

Politics

Managing political atmosphere in an organization involves a willingness to recognize the practice and a strategy for avoiding the gamesmanship. Business politics refers to the strategies used by different personnel to get into a particular position of power through relationship manipulation. Government stability is the primary consideration factor in Google’s working strategy. When the government market is stable, it helps to stabilize the businesses thus increasing their adverts on Google. Most governments no restricted laws for online information sharing which gives Google to operate on its rules. However, China has created a restriction for the company by adding laws to bar Google from running its operations freely. Moreover, Google’ recent interaction with outside politics has raised eyebrows within and outside the company. For instance, in 2018, the company’s CEO Sundar Pichai addressed the criticism which revolved around the company’s biases. In a memo dated September 2018, Pichai urged all company’s employees to keep their political opinions outside the company’s structure. From the memo, it is argued that the company offers its products and services universally. The company management emphasizes on protecting the customer's interests without biases (González-Ricoy, 2014). Before the unsolicited report, Google has always encouraged its employees to come as a whole to work. Following the firing of one of the company’s engineers in 2017, Google was also accused of inhibiting democracy and freedom of expression among the employees.

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