Google Culture and Success

Google, Inc. is a corporation that is known for innovation and amazing leadership practices. Google’s greatest innovation may actually be its managerial practice. Google is not led by a single CEO, but by a team that gives it immense strategic and management strength. (Nussbaum, n.d.) Engineers at Google are able to work on their ongoing projects 4 days out of the 5 day work week, and one day a week is designated for potential ideas of their own choice. (Sawyer, 2009) Google has innovation reviews, where each executive presents the most promising ideas from within his own division. The CEO is at these innovation reviews to listen to these innovative ideas. Another way to ensure that some of these ideas have the opportunity to be developed is to allow the engineers to work on these ideas for more than one day a week and in some cases full time. Allowing time to be creative and develop ideas is embracing the art of innovation and

The term "culture" has been used more and more recently but what exactly does it mean? Some have even regarded culture as "the most central problem of all social science" (Malinowski, 1939). According to Merriam Webster (2016), culture is defined as the arts and other manifestations of human achievements. If culture was as simple as Merriam-Webster defines it then the lives of anthropologists, sociologists, and psychologists would be much easier. As we know, culture varies greatly across religion, countries, and some cases in just states; the difference between the north and the south. We can conclude that culture is a set of shared thoughts, values, and cognitions (Geertz, 1973). With culture in itself varying tremendously based on values and location, then surely organizational culture is no simple concept either. The term "organizational culture" has just recently become to be used more (Barley, 1988). Though there may be disagreements on defining culture universally, researchers tend to agree that culture is of vital importance in an organizational context, whether that organization is a company or a government (Kilmann, Saxton, & Serpa, 1986).

Google’s work culture was inspired by the history of his grandfather during the early labor movement (Sanford, 2014). In the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Page’s paternal grandfather worked as a pipe fitter at a Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan (Sanford, 2014). Serious injury on the General Motors assembly line was a normal part of a daily life for workers. Workers could be beaten by their bosses and workers could be fired for exhibiting a “questioning attitude” (Sanford, 2014). Mr. Page’s grandfather became an early organizer for the United Automobile Workers union, and risked his life to change conditions for American workers (Sanford, 2014). Battles were lost and won, resulting in their efforts to help shape a new ethic in America.

Google’s organizational structure, like Zappos, is flat with low levels of management. Google encourages employees to take initiative without needing approval from multiple levels of managers. To inspire the spirit of innovation in its employees, Google came up with the 70-20-10 rule. Frenz (2013) states, “They have the freedom to spend 70 percent of their time on current assignments, 20 percent on related projects of their choosing, and 10 percent on new projects in any area they desire.” Employees have the freedom to set their own goals and change

Google is one of the most popular, and most used web search engines in the world. Google also has many services that helps you send mail, generate website pages, and create blogs. With all of these great tools come many great, user-friendly features specifically tied to Google. Google has vastly become one of the best search engines in the world, if not the best. Google averages about 12 billion searches per month, which is the most by any search engine in the world. Users can also search for photos, newsletters, and even geographic locations. The best part is, that all of these services are basically free. Google has also set to build more then just a search engine. Google is working on Google glass, self-driving cars, and even have a cell phone called the Android. Google also owns the rights to YouTube, where many users go to upload and watch countless videos. Another great thing the company is doing is spending money on alternative energy sources; last year Google spent 1 billion dollars trying to increase the use of wind and solar energy. Google is also fighting in D.C. to keep the Internet free for Americans. Lastly, Google has one of the best working environments in the world. Google has been the number 1 best company to work for 5 times in a row, including this year. They have been reported to the best human resources department in the world, taking their employee’s happiness over profit. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Google is not the best company to work

The belief in something out of the universe is what helps most people continue on with their day. It may be hard for some to believe that they are only on this planet, living, just to die one day. Therefore, many turn to religion to seek a hope in an afterlife in which they can exist after death. However, believing in most religions means believing in something in charge of the universe. Something, or someone, that is practically supernatural, and supremely powerful. Thomas Nagel, in his text What Does It All Mean?, questions “Can there really be something which gives point to everything else by encompassing it, but which couldn’t have, or need, any point itself?” (page 100). Nagel is referring to a creator, God, probing whether this all-powerful creator can be an “ultimate explanation,” but an “incomprehensible answer” (100). Two Greek philosophers, Descartes and Anselm, try to individually prove the existence of God as the most omnipotent being in the universe, but they differ in explaining their thoughts of reasoning. In understanding their logic, we must also question whether God’s existence is a valid explanation outside of their thoughts.

The strategy of focusing on getting information to millions of people internationally is the foundation of Google. Another strategy in which Google is unique is their culture. Google creates an atmosphere of creativity, teamwork and brainstorming which has helped win them a spot in the top 10 of Fortune magazine’s best companies in which to work.

Culture at Google – Has there not enough been spoken about the culture at Google?

Edgar Schein, a famous theorists dealing with organizational culture, provides the following definition for the term: "A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems that has worked well enough to be considered valid and is passed on to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems." (organizationalculture101) However, organizational culture is more than sharing assumptions used by a group to solve problems; it is the combination of the points of view, ineffectual processes, education, backgrounds of all the staff which are part of an organization way of doing things. Corporation culture should uncover from the board of the directors to the rest of

The organization culture as a leadership concept has been identified as one of the many components that leaders can use to grow a dynamic organization. Leadership in organizations starts the culture formation process by imposing their assumptions and expectations on their followers. Once culture is established and accepted, they become a strong leadership tool to communicate the leader 's beliefs and values to organizational members, and especially new comers. When leaders promote ethical culture, they become successful in maintaining organizational growth, the good services demanded by the society, the ability to address problems before they become disasters and consequently are competitive against rivals. The leader 's success will depend to a large extent, on his knowledge and understanding of the organizational culture. The leader who understands his organizational culture and takes it seriously is capable of predicting the outcome of his decisions in preventing any anticipated consequences. What then is organizational culture? The concept of organizational culture has been defined from many perspectives in the literature. There is no one single definition for organizational culture. The topic of organizational culture has been studied from many perspectives and disciplines, such as anthropology, sociology, organizational behavior, and organizational leadership to name a few. Deal defines organizational culture as values,

Organizational Culture is based upon a system of shared meaning, held by a group of members that distinguishes one organization from the other. Therefore Google’s culture was and still is based upon its foundation, in

Google is famous for offering up an indulgent working environment, which is a trade-off for what the company expects with be hard work. Google provides at its main facility in California a bowling alley, bocce courts, and free cafes. The company strives to foster an environment where creative people can work intensively, by providing them with the means to blow off steam at various points. In addition, Google sees its perks as being a way to attract the best talent in the industry as well. In the knowledge-based industry in which Google operates, the company believes that it must be the most attractive proposition for such talent, and it competes against many companies that have the same philosophy. The company even allows employees to design their own workspaces, to encourage maximum creativity on the job.

Google’s organizational structure is less about control and meeting goals set by the company. The company is more focused on employees meeting the objectives that they have set for themselves. Google takes some aspects of the Laissez Faire style of leadership as all employees are given freedom to create and determine their own deadlines and ideas for projects. The managers act

Chaos and challenging environments can contribute to bad behavior in adults and adolescence. In the workplace, the majority of employees go to work every day wanting to do their job to best of their ability. Most take pride in their work, look for a way to advance up the corporate ladder, or just want to feel accomplished. A chaotic workplace mixed with bad management create abusive behavior. In the article, “ Power, Status and Abuse at Work” by Steven H. Lopez et al. the key to harassment in the workplace is that it is caused by chaos and working in an environment without organizational structure and procedures. “...two such organizational features that can create motivations for potential perpetrators [of harassment]: chaotic organizational

Language is a beautiful and mysterious thing that is essential to living a satisfying life. The number of languages spoken throughout the world is astounding, let alone each individual dialect within those languages. There are differing opinions as to how language is acquired; whether it is inborn, learned, or a mixture of both. No matter what stance an individual may take, it cannot be denied that language is the pure essence of human life. The ability to communicate is essential for not only everyday life, but for an individual’s future success. My desire to pursue this profession was sparked when I was 17, and has not once faltered. The ability to communicate is often taken for granted by many, and when someone loses that ability or has trouble with communicating, that person’s quality of life decreases greatly. As humans, we have the innate desire to communicate with each other. I want to enrich the lives of others by enabling them to communicate with those around them, therefore connecting them with the rest of the world. Communication is the basis of human life, and I want to help all individuals have the ability to express themselves.