Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. Management Essay Research

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Jie Liu
MGT2220
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
History of the Company
Working as a wall street banker has been a major source of pride for the ambitious young graduates in the relevant disciplines. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., a giant in the banking and financial industry, is certainly a preferred destination for many prospective bankers. It is probably one of the oldest in the industry, having been founded in 1869, and has its presence in major financial cities around the globe, with its headquarters in New York (Goldman Sachs, n.d.). The company is named after Marcus Goldman and Samuel Sachs, who were closely related, and started operations as notes merchants. It was up until the 1930s that the company started to have the face of a full-service investment bank after the incorporation of Sidney Weinberg (Goldman Sachs, n.d.).
The 1950s became the major stepping stone for the company as it established its first business department. The company moved in the upward trajectory in almost every aspect, venturing into more diversified businesses including real estate, commodity and equity trading, asset management while also extending its global reach (Goldman Sachs, n.d.). The decision to take the company public in 1999 propelled it even further on the global and local scale. Just like many large corporations, the company did not usher in the 21st century on the right foot. The first decade of the century was marred by the financial crisis of 2008, corporate scandals, and the rapid technological transformation, causing the company to smell a potential collapse. The determination deeply rooted within the company enabled them to weather the storm by coming up with strategic initiatives while heavily investing in cutting-edge technologies. The forward-thinking mentality of the company and its management has helped the company realize continuous and sustainable growth up to date. Even as the world struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has a well-laid business continuity plan to help maneuver the challenges and opportunities that come along (Goldman Sachs, n.d.). Furthermore, the company's core values and the statement of purpose, concentrating on transparency and accountability, have played a pivotal role in the success of the company and its management.
The Partnership
Pulling some great moves for survival is a common phenomenon among most large corporations. Goldman Sachs has, over the past, deploying strategies that are capable of adapting rapidly to the changing market environment to acquire a competitive advantage. The management style of the 1990s that adopted the partnership structure played a critical role other than the individual legacies of the company leaders. The model worked quite well for the company for various reasons. The model spreads out responsibilities among multiple partners, and any partner can close a deal on behalf of the other partners (Ellis, 2008). This does not only increase the chances of growth but also, through the legally binding partnership agreement, minimizes conflicts within the company (Li, 2019). The model also cherished long-term financial incentives (Ellis, 2008), encouraging loyalty, humility, and hard work.
Current Management Style
The many shortcomings that faced the partnership model forced Goldman Sachs to transition into a publicly-traded company in 1999. Pressure from its peers who had already adopted the public model also played a role in fueling the transition. This model bestows a lot of power to the shareholders as opposed to the partnership model, where the partners had full control of the business. The system also values short-term incentives that become less reliable in the case of a crisis that requires long term incentives. Nonetheless, traits typical of the partnership model still reign within the company despite having transitioned, thanks to the individual leadership legacies that were already deeply rooted in the company.
The rewarding systems adopted by Goldman Sachs stands out from the rest of its peers. Most of the companies in the banking and finance industry base their compensations and rewards systems on profitability and production. Goldman Sach, on the other hand, focuses on employees' efforts towards teamwork, a strategy inspired by John Whitehead through his business principles that have defined the company's culture for years. Goldman Sachs exhibits a unique trait when it comes to hiring, as it utilizes AI-based algorithms (Gee, 2017). They prefer to hire young and ambitious bankers with exceptional personality traits that are then molded to perfectly fit their in-house culture. Diversity is also a significant factor in the hiring process.
Crisis Management
A successful corporation is one that is capable of withstanding disruptions due to several factors that may include workforce reduction, cybersecurity incidences, financial crises, among others (Folkers, 2017). There is no better firm well prepared for such disruptions in the banking and finance industry than Goldman Sachs. The company has ...