Google's Innovation and Organisation Structure

Google Inc. is an American public corporation, earning revenue from advertising related to its Internet search, e-mail, online mapping, office productivity, social networking, and video sharing services as well as selling advertising-free versions of the same technologies. It was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Bring while they were students at Stanford University. A series of new product developments, acquisitions, and partnerships has always sustained the continual growth of Google. Positive employee relations, environmentalism, philanthropy have been important traits during the growth of Google. It has been identified multiple times as Fortune Magazine’s No1 Best Place to Work, and as the most powerful brand in the world

Google’s utility and ease of use have made it one of the world’s best known brands almost entirely through word of mouth from satisfied users. As a business, Google generates revenue by providing advertisers with the opportunity to deliver measurable, cost-effective online advertising that is relevant to the information displayed on any given page. This makes the advertising useful to you as well as to the advertiser placing it.The Google headquarters, the googolplex is located in Mountain View, California(2009 -03-31), the company has 20,164 full-time employees as of March 31, 2009.

Products Of Google:

Google is mainly known by their search engine. Apart from this Google provides a huge suit of internet related products like Google earth, Google mail, Google news, Google phone, Google calendar Google groups, Google translate, Google images, Google books and other internet related services.

Organizational structure and Organizational culture:

"Specific chronicles are the unfolding convergence of thinking and practice behind knowledge management, organizational learning and complexity theory. Of particular interest are the roles that knowledge management and complexity theory play in this impending consilience of ideas in any organization. One way knowledge management is processing itself of its overly technology-centric reputation in favor of promoting the role it can play in furthering organizational learning. On the other hand, a confident solution in search of unorthodox problems is evolving by complexity theory which has discovered its own true place in the world, an explanation for the means by which living systems engage in adaptive learning and the seminal source of social cognition in living systems". (Mark W. McElroy, 2000) .

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Goggles remarkable progress shows its organizational behavior. First Google has created a strategic Vision. Creating and expanding knowledge is the key word for Google's success and they believe fundamentally improving the knowledge and share with others, it shows their knowledge management skill. Google is one of the very few companies shows that how technology can be blended with the organizational culture. Organizations are structured depending on their objectives and their culture. Organization is structured as different departments with employees for different functions and responsibilities. Google is keeping minimum hierarchy and redefines management with small teams, innovation and decentralization. Products are developing by small teams and each team is seeking the next break through. Organizational studies and management is dealt with organizational culture which includes attitudes, beliefs and values, experiences of an organization. It has been defined as “the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization." (Charles W. L. Hill, and Gareth R. Jones, 2001).

Google is the organization which is not serious about anything but search. Generating the idea that work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun. To that end, "Google's culture is unlike any in corporate world, and it's not because of the whimsical lava lamps and large rubber balls, or the fact that one of the chefs used to cook for the Grateful Dead but in simple way Google puts users first when it comes to online services and employees first when it comes to daily life in its offices"(Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google). Google is very innovative in its products and services providing to its customers as well as to employees. Google realizes that their employees have diverse needs and that diversity requires flexibility and individual directed support. so they given priority to offer customizable program that can be tailored to the specific needs of each individual.

Innovation

Innovation can be defined "as a breakthrough approach or idea that can be completely new or an enhancement to something that already exists; it is a refreshing perspective that will challenge many who just cannot see beyond what their own experience is telling them to think or do."

Google keeps innovation as its priority. Google understand that everyone is searching for something different because of the diversity in culture, traditions and standards. So understanding the needs of 597 million customers Google is delivering the best possible products. The company’s VP for search, Marissa Mayer, reported that Google had launched "33 different search innovations in 67 days". Google has been known as No 1 in the world on its innovation in search technology. But Google didn't make any money until they started auctioning in advertisements which is appearing alongside of the search results. Now 99% of the company revenue is generating through the web-ads which made the capital now tops $ 100 million. In order to make the employees empowering on new areas of their choice Google is giving 20 % of the employees time unleashes enormous intellectual power to solve the existing problems through innovative solutions. All products released after 2005 and the 50% of the Google's products are produced at this 20% independent project time. Products like Google mail, googlecalendar, google calendar…etc all are the output of the employee's creativity.

Developed countries have the location based services like GPS system to locate a place or a building. But in developing countries doesn't have even a documented map to create a GPS system. Here Google India comes with a new innovative form "map maker platform" .It is developed like a wiki like architecture to leverage the knowledge of the local citizens to create a entire digital road map of their respective countries. The system is like a clean sheet map of a city is loaded on the web, and wiki-like architecture will allow each citizen to draw their streets and roads including the curves on the streets with land marks and the specific changes will be governed by an expertise teams based on their expertise and contribution on specific local areas of the city. City like Islamabad is a very good example of community built digital map with details of street names and addresses in around 90 days. The main advantage of wiki map is always it is current. All this kind of innovations are because Google is based on certain values and principles which is committed to the society or to the world.

And recent innovation of Google is the Operating system. Google chrome Operating System is light weight and open source OS which will initially operates in note books but eventually will work on PC . And this open source operating system will be available in markets by the 2^nd half of 2010.The main features of Google Chrome is speed, simplicity and security. This Operating system is designed as a fast and lightweight and will start and get into the web in few seconds. The main advantage of Google chrome Operating system is user doesn't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. “Google is coming at this fresh and, because it is based on a set of services that reside on the web, it is the first really post-web operating system, designed from the ground up, and reconceived for a web world,” Mr. Enderle told the BBC.

Advantages Of Google Chrome Operating System:

1. Google Chrome OS is a web based application form.
2. It provides quick access to applications and will repair itself.
3. It will run on any just PC no hard drive.
4. It will design documents.

Another innovation of Google is Google phone which is not yet released on the market. Google is planning to release in the beginning of next year. The phone is called Nexus One based on open software platform called 'Android'. It allows the users to use it as an easy programming interface with other cell phone features. The software is developing by Google and the hardware is by htc Inc.The new Google phone will be having a touch screen and Google has been tempted to do this because of the shift of internet usage to mobile phones. So for the developer it is easier to customize phone applications that can access cell phones hardware functions.

Bibliography :

http://www.newnatureofinnovation.org/google_india.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8139711.stm

http://www.think-differently.org/2007/08/google-on-innovation.html

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9142119/Google_Microsoft_s_war_of_innovation_changing_face_of_search

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/jul/08/google-chrome-operating-system

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703757404574592530591075444.html

References:

Mark W. McElroy, "Integrating complexity theory, knowledge management and organizational learning" journal on knowledge management (2000) pp 195-203

Charles W. L. Hill, and Gareth R. Jones, (2001)Strategic Management.Houghton Mifflin, pp 123-127

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html

http://www.ovum.com/news/euronews.asp?id=8313

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8139711.stm

http://a2zindianews.com/2009/11/20/function-and-advantages-of-google-chrome-google-chrome-launched-in-india-about-google-chrome/