Free Essay On Google Inc.

According to Google.com (2015c), Google Inc. was founded in 1988 in California by Sergey Brin and Larry Page. In 2004, the company issued its Initial Public Offer (IPO). The company’s revenue was US$ 59,825 million by the end of 2013. It is primarily renowned for its leading search engine which provides global access to information. This firm purposes to organize global information into useful and accessible units. It specializes in web searches and online advertising, android operating system, commerce, hardware and enterprise products.
Catalan (2014) asserts that by the end of December 31st 2013, Google had 47,756 permanent employees. The research and development had 18,593 workers; the sales and marketing arm had 15,348; general and administrative section had 6,563 workers, while those in operations were 7,252.
I gathered this information from the internet, especially the company’s website and pertinent documents. This being a company that revolves around the internet, a lot of its data is found online.

Google Inc. Organizational Chart

Source: Google Inc.
Workforce Diversity
Google Inc. workforce is not as diverse as one would expect of an international brand (Jacobson, 2014). It has stark gender as well as racial disparities in its US workforce. In a report that focused on its 46,170 global workforce, the US alone had 70% male employees. On the racial front, 62% of workers are White in a country where many cities are multiracial. The rest of the workforce consists of Asians (30%), mixed race (4%), Latino (3%), Black (2%) and other races (1%). Moreover, of the top tech jobs, 83% are occupied by men while the same gender takes up 79% of leadership positions. Women only appear to compete with men in non-tech jobs where they occupy 48% of the slots. Gender differences also emerge in the distribution of jobs. White people occupy 72% of all leadership positions. On management, Whites take up 60% with the rest going to Asians (23%-34%) while Black, Latinos and mixed races remain in the single digit zone.
Macrae (2015) opines that Google has a global customer base. It is the premier search engine and arguably the leading internet marketer. The fact that Google services are available in 110 languages attests to the diversity of its customer base. These customers are students, individuals, researchers, institutions, businesses, bloggers, online enterprises, technology companies and so on. According to Google.com (2015b), the firm admits has not attained its desired position in terms of diversity and herein lies an opportunity because the right workforce can be recruited easily. The firm intends to use this data to attract a more diverse workforce, especially people who are highly-talented from all over the globe. Such people exist and Google Inc. needs to use its global reach to identify, recruit, train and deploy them. However, for now it faces the challenge of dealing with a global clientele while maintain a workforce that is not diverse in many fronts. To maintain its position as a global market leader, it must attract and maintain the most qualified staff from every place where it has a presence.

Employee Motivation

Motivating employees is not just about paying them well. According to Marc (2014), the firm has put in place an attractive package of benefits to motivate workers. Google Inc. employees enjoy benefits such as retirement pacakges, health insurance and so on. The firm also discusses pertinent benefits with workers on a regular basis and offers respective feedback. This is done regularly to take care of changes in the economy and general living conditions. There are also special benefit perks to cater for the families of workers.
In particular, Google Inc. has health experts in many of its workplaces to offer all-inclusive and timely medical services to ensure employees are healthy and fit all the time. In addition, workers enjoy emergency assistance and travel insurance even when they are on vacation. For parents with newborn babies, there is a financial package and time off work to celebrate. In addition, workers who enroll in pertinent educational courses are reimbursed the money they spend. Moreover, employees who belong to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) category have tailor-made benefits (Google.com, 2015a).
According to Blackstone (2013), Google Inc. uses modern technological equipment and computer programs considering it operates in the technological world. The workers the firm employs are of the highest caliber in terms of skills end education. Employees have personal and team goals as set by respective departments and the firm. In addition, Google workers are subjected to flexible working hours, job sharing and telecommuting. All permanent employees of the firm are equity holders, which makes them loyal and committed as owners. Remuneration is based on skill since the company only employs people based on their technical expertise and academic achievements. Moreover, pay is also based on merit because employees are promoted based on their level of expertise and the value they bring to the company, especially in product development and boosting of profits.

Teamwork at Google

In the business world, teams are very important because of the synergy they create especially in the world of innovations. He (2013) asserts that this firm has succeeded largely because of using teamwork and communication among employees and with top management. Apart from Google cafes which encourage synergetic interaction between employees and teams, the company organizes meetings every week between employees and top executives, where the former ask pertinent questions. There are also internal innovation reviews where innovative ideas are presented by top leaders through respective divisions. Google encourages teamwork with different employees working on specific projects and submitting them for approval and review by top management. The firm encourages employees to communicate directly to one another, within teams and with top management. This eliminates misunderstandings. Moreover, its workers also communicate using other means like email, Google Plus innovations and regular surveys among others.

Google’s Organizational Culture

The organizational culture of an organization is a determinant of organizational success as well as the firm’s ability to attract and maintain the best quality employees. According to the company’s website (Google.com, 2015d), Google Inc. employs the best talent from every part of the globe as a reflection of the diverse people the company serves. The firm creates a workplace in which employees interact freely with one another and pose questions to senior managers and the CEO. It operates like a start-up in which workers are free to contribute ideas and every contribution is valuable. The workplace is designed like a café thus fostering interpersonal communication and sharing across teams. Some of the core values of the firm include hiring the best talent, technological innovation, active involvement, sustainability and customer-focus. This culture is strong because it enables workers to come up with creative ideas and innovations.

References

Catalan, J. (2014, May 30). Google admits lack of diversity in newly released report.
Diversity Inc. Retrieved from
http://www.diversityinc.com/news/google-admits-lack-diversity-newly-released-report/
Blackstone, J. (2013, Jan 22). Inside Google Workplaces: From perks to nap pods. Cbsnews.com.
Retrieved from
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-google-workplaces-from-perks-to-nap-pods/
Google.com. (2015a). Benefits. Retrieved from
http://www.google.com/about/careers/lifeatgoogle/benefits
Google.com. (2015b). Making Google a workplace for everyone. Retrieved from
http://www.google.com/diversity/at-google.html
Google.com. (2015c). Management team. Retrieved from
http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/management/
Google.com. (2015d). Our culture. Retrieved from
http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/culture/
He, L. (2013, March 29). Google’s secret of innovation: empowering its employees. Forbes.
Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurahe/2013/03/29/googles-secrets-of-innovation-empowering-its-employees/
Jacobson, M. (2014, May 28). Google finally discloses its diversity record, and it’s not good.
PHB Newshour. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/google-discloses-workforce-diversity-data-good/
Macrae, P. (2014, Nov 5). Google going where no search engine has gone before: Amit Singhal.
Phys.org. Retrieved from
http://phys.org/news/2014-11-google-amit-singhal.html#jCp
Marc (2014, Sep 25). People management: The Google way of motivating employees.
Entrepreneurship Insights. Retrieved from
http://www.entrepreneurial-insights.com/google-way-motivating-employees/