The Organizational Culture that Exists Within Google Google has one of the most interesting organizational cultures. They are not only one of the fastest and most useful web search engines around; they are also one of the top 100 companies to work for according to Fortune (2007). Google strives to have the fastest, most reliable search engine on the web and in order to accomplish this; Google has to hire employees that are the best in their technological field. Google rewards their employee’s hard work with an extremely relaxed workplace that encourages creativity through fun activities such as roller hockey and through a casual dress code.Google also encourages their employees to take care of their minds and their bodies by offering them the ability to work out in the gym and get a massage inside the company building. “There is an emphasis on team achievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to the company’s overall success” (Google Corporate Information).
I really like that Google understands that their employee’s have active lives outside of the workplace and they encourage their employees to bring those parts of their lives into the Google employee community.I also really like the fact that they build such loyalty from their employees that many of the employees see each other and the Google management as a family. Google values a commitment to their users in that they strive to give a higher level of service.
I personally believe in giving the best service available. It does not matter where you work, if you are dealing with people, you should give them the best experience possible. I want any person that I encounter, either in a work situation or on a personal level, to feel like they are important. I hate when I encounter the random rude person whose job is to help me as a customer.
I went to a Wal-Mart a while back with my mother who has a visual impairment. I was teaching her how to use the self-check out when the woman who monitored those lines got frustrated with my mother and made her feel stupid. This annoyed me to no extent. I ended up reporting this woman to her manager. I believe that when you are service oriented, you must make sure that you relate to the people you encounter. I don’t like going into a store in a good mood, encountering a rude worker, and leave in a bad mood.
If anything it should be the other way around.Even though Google works with their users virtually, they still value the customer relationship. I believe that Google embodies the team orientation primary characteristic of organizational culture. As stated earlier, Google encourages its employees to work and play together so that a family bond is formed.
According to Google (2007), “Meetings that would take hours elsewhere are frequently little more than a conversation in line for lunch and few walls separate those who write code from those who write checks. ” This really does reinforce a team environment. Everyone is pretty much on the same level and everyone works together.The limited walls in the building help the employees to feel like a group rather than an outsider in another department. Google’s organizational culture is very strong. Google hires people that embody their company’s values and feel the same intense desire for unlimited amounts of information.
This desire allows the company’s employees to work towards the same goals and intensifies the bond that they share. Google tends to have a low turn over rate and receives over 1,300 applications a day (Fortune, 2007). Google’s culture is a combination of things. It is ethical, customer-responsive, and spiritual.
Google encourages its employees to be creative in problem solving which sometimes calls for risk taking. These employees are allowed just enough freedom in their jobs that they do not take it for granted and this keeps them on ethical ground. The Google employees also have a sense of team instead of self so this encourages them to work together to achieve goals rather than compete against one another. This also prevents unethical behavior. Google’s low formalization and service-oriented employees work to be customer-responsive. They are allowed the freedom to make decisions that benefit Google users.The employees strive to provide the best service available and to do this they must be able to relate to their users. They understand that “thinking outside of the box” is what they are known for so they go above and beyond what others would do to satisfy a customer need while maintaining company values.
This “outside of the box” type of business also puts the company into a spiritual type of organization. Employees are rewarded for individual successes and for team accomplishments. They are also encouraged to have fun with their job. Google’s ability to allow their employees to have fun while at work is motivating in itself.
This motivation shows itself in the work as well. It is a give and take relationship; both sides get something out of it. Google has a unique way of conducting business that appeals too many. It is this sort of culture that creates individuals that have the desire and the motivation to stay with a company. References: Fortune.
(2007). 100 Best Companies To Work For 2007. Retrieved on July 11, 2007 from http://www. money.
cnn. com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/snapshots/1. html Google. (2007). Corporate Information. Retrieved on July 11, 2007 from http://www. google.
com/corporate/culture. html
