Research Innovation from Google's Free Food Strategy
Assignment 1: Innovation from Google’s Free Food Strategy
Due Week 4 and worth 300 points
Google is widely known for its workplace creativity and innovation within the technology field. Its search engine is the most extensively used search tool in the world, its data analytics are revolutionary, and it continues to raise the bar for innovation and design with Google Glass, smart watches, and mobile phones. Google has been featured in dozens of technology and business magazines.
Additionally, Fortune Magazine’s list of the “Best Companies to Work For 2014” has ranked Google number one (#1). This ranking is largely due to employee benefits such as free meals, dry cleaning services, video games, massage therapy, in-door gyms, shuttle services, and affordable daycare services for employees.
In addition to your textbook, review the following articles and videos about Google’s work culture in preparation for this assignment:
“How the Googleplex Works” by Jonathan Strickland, located at http://computer(dot)howstuffworks(dot)com/googleplex2.htm
“Google Employees Reveal Their Favorite Perks Working For The Company” by Kevin Smith, located at http://www(dot)businessinsider(dot)com/google-employee-favorite-perks-2013-3?op=1
“At Google, Hours Are Long, But the Consomme Is Free” by Sara Kehaulani Goo, located at http://www(dot)washingtonpost(dot)com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012300334.html
“Google interns' first week” (5 min 50 s). Video Source: Google. (2013, June 4). Google interns' first week [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=9No-FiEInLA
“Google Great Place to Work Entry” (2 min 46 s). Video Source: IABAustralia. (2008, April 30). Google Great Place to Work Entry [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=n2nfZPsd794
Write a four to six (4-6) page paper in which you:
Briefly describe Google, its mission, and its business model.
Analyze the types of people that work at Google, with respect to the business culture of the organization. Indicate one to two (1-2) qualities that define a leader at Google, and determine the typical background of a Google employee.
Identify two (2) examples of services or amenities that Google provides to its employees, interns, partners, and visitors. Next, examine two to three (2-3) ways in which such free services and amenities create an organizational culture that fosters creativity and innovation. Note: In the context of business, “creativity” means having the ability to conceive something new and original, including ideas, imagination, and things that are outside of the box. “Innovation” is the implementation and execution of something new, including products, technology, services, and business models.
Discuss Google’s organizational culture, and determine whether or not you would prefer to work in this type of environment. Indicate whether or not Google’s company culture would help you to perform your tasks with a greater degree of creativity and innovation. Provide a rationale for your response.
Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and similar Websites do not qualify as academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Describe the primary functions of management (planning, organizing, leading, controlling) and the associated skills, tools, and theoretical approaches that can be used to accomplish these functions.
Explain the principal theories and the various approaches to management that have evolved over time and their application to current management situations.
Explain the decision-making process management uses to develop viable courses of action to a variety of management situations.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in management concepts.
Write clearly and concisely about management concepts using proper writing mechanics.
Innovation from Google’s Free Food Strategy
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Innovation from Google’s Free Food Strategy
Google is a publicly traded corporation that is built around the company’s hugely popular search engine. The company is a multinational corporation that has facilities and other assets in more than one country other than its home country. to remain competitive in the highly competitive internet market, Google utilizes successful strategies to foster the appropriate organization culture that is responsible for the company’s continuous success. For instance, Google’s Free Food Strategy, where the staffs benefit from free meals have instilled a sense of sharing, cooperation, and team work, promoting a strong working culture within the organization. To create an understanding of how Google operates, this paper seeks to discuss the firm’s culture and how it impacts the company’s operations.
Google’s enterprises concerns cloud computing, internet analytics, advertising technologies, browser, operating system development, and web app. Its key mission is to organize the world’s information and make it useful and universally accessible by anyone at any time. Google’s business model is built around users who use free searches, free emails, and free browsers. These users pay for premium services, cloud services, and Google Earth features. Besides, other companies use the firm’s online sites such as the YouTube for advertisements, becoming a big business for Google (Tsai, Lin, & Su 2011).
Organizational culture has a strong impact on the organization and management. Organization culture is the system of assumptions, attitude, values, and norms, which are manifested by the members of an organization (Bin, Tan, & Siti, 2014). These values, assumptions, and norms shape the interpretive schemes of the members. The types of people who work at Google are emphasized to be the smartest people other than big egos who may be difficult to work with. Google takes the hiring of people very seriously because the company realizes that its potential comes from the values, which emphasize the agility, risk-taking, and cooperation (Colin, 2012). Some of the qualities that define a leader at Google include being a good coach, empowering one’s team, being productive, and helping one’s employees with career development. Google hires people based on role related knowledge, unlike applying to a college institution.
People hired by Google will share the company’s values and perform at high levels so as to be liked by other people within the company. The typical backgrounds of an employee that are taken into consideration by Google are the people with grit in computer science than any other subject. Google also wants people with analytical skills, innovative, diversity, cognitive ability, emergent leadership, and people who can take difficult projects. In order to strive, Google is really focused to keep its employees happy which is a value they take it at heart. Google provides free services to its employees, interns, partners, and visitors by creating a unique environment that attracts visitors, motivates employees, and retaining the best players in the field. The company treats employees with free food options, gyms, shower facilities, and doctors. Providing such amenities makes employees feel that they are treated well, and one’s needs are well taken care of, thus improving employee satisfaction.
As mentioned earlier, organizational culture has a huge impact on the organization and management, which is a system of assumptions, attitude, and values (Bin, Tan, & Siti, 2014). In order to create a unique organizational culture that fosters creativity and innovations, Google provides free services and amenities to its employees. By hiring smart people, there is cross collaboration, which encourages ideation through brainstorming, which fosters creativity. Google ensures employees remain stress free by offering free meals, gyms, coffee bars, babysitting services, and more. Such services and amenities create an organizational culture, which fosters creativity, and innovation in any organization (Kathryn & Courtney, 2015). Google also purchases public buses that ...