Michael V.

Baylosis DBM 303 October 12, 2019

“We designed Google to be the kind of place where the kind of people we wanted to

work here would work for free. - Urs Hölzle”

Leadership at Google

It seems like the leadership of the trio have been

immensely effective thus far. It is evident in Google’s

strong financial performance, highly relevant reputation,

and superior operations. The great lengths that these

three have brought Google just shows how their

leadership is not only strategic but also synergistic. I

believe that to be able to do what they have done, they

didn’t only have business compatibility. They must have

had also harbored deep respect towards each other and

high regard for their human resources. “Strategic” by

principle is almost synonymous to “coordinated” and I must say that Schmidt, Page and Brin

have coordinated their leadership very well. It is a refreshing contrast against news of business

partners colliding and employees being affected because of their issues.

To be a leader of such a large entity as Google, however also means large stakeholders.

And while Page, Brin and Schmidt may not be criticised for their business leadership, they face

considerable opposition for socio-cultural and political leadership as we will later discuss. As I

read more about these leaders, I realised that as your influence grows, so does leadership of

stakeholders become more delicate. These includes those who are just indirectly affected by

their leadership. This is no ordinary task to do.

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“The meeting was just ending when Doerr asked a final question: “How big do you think

this can be?” “Ten billion,” said Larry Page.”

― Steven Levy, In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

Google’s business environment

Google is operating in a very competitive business environment. Overall, Google is able

to stand on its own and is able to do competitively so. However, this comes in with challenges

and limitations. Google is abreast with its strengths and weaknesses and maybe more so with

its opportunities and threats. This does not guarantee immunity from failure, however.

In the political aspect, Google is deemed an influence in the political landscapes of many

governments. It faces nominal barriers on this regard although Google is facing criticism for its

privacy policies. It is no surprise that Google has faced various legal actions taken against it not

only for privacy violations but for copyright violations as well. The protection of intellectual

properties is a controversy to be dealt by Google continuously over the years.

Economically, Google is fortunate because it is perhaps one of the few business entities

whose product offerings anticipate an increase in demand for future years. It is without a doubt

that Google foresees healthy growth rates in the years to come and it responds productively in

the form of acquisitions. Its biggest acquisitions to date have been YouTube (2006), Motoral

Mobility (2011), and Waze (2013). In terms of technology, Google face tougher competition in

the hardware market as it is unable to beat competitors Apple and Samsung. Google has

attempted to introduce its own tablet and mobile phones but with not much success as its

services product segment.

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I am amazed by how Google transfixes itself in a formidable and ever-changing

environment. In the face of both praises and criticisms, and both successes and failures, Google

is a stalwart for this reason: it knows itself very well.

“[Google is] an omnivorous collector of information, a hyperencyclopedic vault of human

knowledge, an unerring auctioneer, an eerily skilful student of languages, behaviour, and

desires.” ― Steven Levy, In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives

Google: Its mission and stakeholders

Google’s mission statement

is simple and straightforward:

“to organize the world's

information and make it

universally accessible and

useful.”

Personally, I like Google’s mission statement for its simplicity and ambition. I like how it

has a universal appeal and that it really orients itself towards a global mindset. The mission also

highlights Google’s objective to utility and accessibility. As a mission statement, it captures what

Google aims to do and, surprisingly, reveals to us what it has already achieved throughout its

prolific career.

My further readings, however, have revealed criticisms of this mission statement

particularly with the methods of how the information is gathered, how they are accessed, and

who may access the information. Critics raise concern over how Google will accomplish this

mission and cite cyber law violations of such methods. Some cite the danger of storing data

from users in a single warehouse and that Google can turn over these information to the

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Michael V. Baylosis DBM 303 October 12, 2019

government should the government ask for them. CEO Eric Schmidt said, “If you have

something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first

place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines—including Google

—do retain this information for some time and it's important, for example, that we are all subject

in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made

available to the authorities.” Investigative journalists from ProPublica countered, “It also means

that Google could now, if it wished to, build a complete portrait of a user by name, based on

everything they write in email, every website they visit and the searches they conduct.”

That leaves plenty of us, its stakeholders, wary of our use of Google and how much of

our information is harvested and how far these information about us will go.

Google’s strategy

Google’s strategy is in its product diversity. Today, it seems like all our internet needs

can be serviced by Google. Google search is still its primary product offering. Gmail for e-mail,

Google Drive and Docs for file storage, Google ads for online advertising, YouTube for videos,

among others. Google is also relentless in its acquisitions of technological products. It also

monetises search results, YouTube videos, and advertising. As a result, Google is ubiquitous in

our modern internet experience and it uses revenue to expand its reach. Google’s strength is

definitely in its diversification and innovation. Its success is leveraged on the fact that its

innovation is done without losing focus on its core values as a business organization. It has

remained true to its origins, something which other Internet giants like Facebook may not even

rival.

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