Looking for a case study on Google? The essay below focuses on SWOT analysis of Google’s strategic management. Get inspired to make your own case study of Google company with us!
Google Case Study: Defining the Issue
Larry Page and Sergey Brin created Google in 1998 during their college days at Stanford University. Over the last one decade, Google has grown into a globally acknowledged market force for its service provision, business model, efforts in development of technology, and human life influence.
Since inception of internet and development of information technology, Google’s record is impressive in the way it has charmed people regardless of their ethnic, religious, and political affiliations.
The company has also reached out to different social and economic classes across the world through its numerous products.
Google identifies among the leading search engines available in the world market. Its reliability in terms of matching results and simple design of their website has attracted a respectable fraction of global population, which is increasingly warming up to the contemporary world of internet.
Some of the main competitors of Google are Yahoo, Amazon, MSN and Bing. Google has managed to fight off competition from these companies to command close to 85% of internet searches.
In 2005, Google’s search engine was the best performing product from the company ahead of email services. Other products by Google include Google profiles, Google maps, Google talk, Google gadgets and Google trends.
This essay will analyze Google’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It will also identify and discuss Google’s business strategy and organizational culture.
Google Business Strategy Analysis
Google has demonstrated how fast a business can grow if it develops an effective operational strategy, and an inclusive corporate culture. In 2000, a company that started with two individuals grew fast to include a workforce of 60 workers.
Google has a business strategy that aims to help penetrate major global economies by providing products and services that meet primary needs of their customers. Google provides its services in America, Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world through ten other languages apart from English.
Google’s corporate values and business strategy help to promote innovation within its workforce, thus the company’s rapid growth.
Through innovations such as Google toolbar browser, keyword-targeted advertising, and expansion of search capabilities to include 28 languages, the company earned a annual revenue of $86 million for the 2001 fiscal year.
This figure was very high compared to their annual revenue of $220,000 two years earlier.
The company’s Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, Eric Schmidt was definitely doing his job effectively. He managed to build a corporate culture for Google, which has made it a striking, favorable, fitting, and exquisite place to work.
It promotes cultural and talent diversity in its workforce. It also nurtures a spirit of togetherness among workers.
The inclusive nature of the work environment at Google motivates employees towards achieving organizational goals, as they develop a certain level of attachment to activities and processes within the company.
Google has developed its business model along this culture, thus the reason it stands out from its competitors. The focus of their business model is to improve access to information by providing quality, reliable and effective means of doing so.
SWOT Analysis of Google Company
This is a management tool used by organizations to make decisions through assessment of organizational structure and corporate culture. It entails identifying internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization, as well as external opportunities and threats.
The cardinal focus of applying SWOT analysis in an organization is to build on strengths, do away with weaknesses, take hold of available opportunities, and respond to possible threats.
Google has several internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats from the external environment.
Strengths
A strength that has enhanced Google’s fast growth is an effective market strategy. The market strategy applied by Google entails innovation, a large portfolio of products, broad market coverage, and effective marketing.
Google has created a global customer base covering various types of customers of varied age, social and economic class, as well as political and religious affiliations.
The second strength is good human resource planning and management strategies. Google has demonstrated strong ability to create a cohesive and inclusive work environment that helps maintain high employee morale.
They have effective employee motivation and retention strategies that include good remuneration packages and workplace benefits.
The third strength is effective change management strategies. Innovation creates need for regular change implementation at Google, and it has effectively managed to introduce without compromising its corporate culture.
Other notable strengths of Google include effective leadership and management strategies, financial stability, customer goodwill, and a strong corporate culture.
Weaknesses
The first weakness is poor recruitment strategies. The human resource department at Google receives numerous applications from potential employees from various parts of the world.
Google ignores these applications because its owners prefer to hire graduates from Stanford University, their alma mater.
This strategy locks out very qualified and competent individuals who could bring a new dimension into Google’s way of conducting business.
The second weakness is poor implementation of employee retention strategies. Although the company has developed strategies for reducing employee turnover, poor implementation has forced some top managers to leave and join their competitors.
When employees leave and join a competitor, the competitor most likely counters their efforts in the market.
The third weakness is unreliable partnerships. Google formed numerous partnerships with many companies in a bid to increase its market share. Some of these partnerships failed to fulfill their desired potential, leading to poor management of some portfolios.
Opportunities
The outside environment offers Google numerous opportunities that can be exploited to improve stability in the market.
The first opportunity is to integrate its services with computer software in order to attract more users. This means that Google can form partnerships with computer software developers like Microsoft to have their products integrated during production.
Google plans to launch an operating system called chrome that will enable it compete effectively with companies such as Microsoft.
Although it will be challenging to convince people to try out a new operating system for their personal computers, Google can look up to its operating system for smart phones that has been a huge success. This will motivate them to go ahead with the launch.
The operating system is cost effective, reliable and its usability suits needs of many internet users. This is an opportunity Google can exploit and stamp its control of the internet service market.
Other opportunities include expansion of global market presence, integration of research and development skill in its activities, as well as development of new business partnerships for growth of its brand.
Threats
The first threat is Google’s inability to provide enough motivation to part time employees who work on various projects. Many of these employees do not receive allowances and this might derail their human resource development strategies.
The second threat is court battles instigated by its major competitors. Yahoo, Amazon, and Microsoft among other companies have filed a case to stop Google from digitizing and getting exclusive rights for the concept of online advertising.
The third threat faced by Google is the dynamic nature of competition in the industry. There is need for increased innovation to ensure that the company does not lose its market leadership to emerging competitors.
Google Case Study: Solution & Recommendations
Google needs to apply certain approaches to ensure that it makes the best out of its strengths, do away with weaknesses, seize available opportunities, and eliminate all threats from the external environment.
The first recommendation is need for Google to further reflect on its mission statement and develop it. It is important for Google to know that all their competitors are seeking to provide the best services on the market. Thus, it needs to rethink how it can maintain its market leadership.
The second recommendation is that Google needs to reorient its organizational structure and culture to promote development of its brand. Google needs to develop effective strategies for change management, which is an effective tool for organizational success.
Thirdly, Google needs to revise its recruitment strategy to include graduates from other institutions who can provide an extra dimension to its organizational development.
Google currently applies a strategy that its founders started, of picking their employees from Stanford University, as they believe its graduates have the essential competencies.
Maintaining market leadership is a function of human resource management that involves applying effective recruitment strategies.
Employee recruitment entails developing an attractive remuneration and benefits package for all workers. This helps to reduce employee turnover because they will be satisfied and motivated to work.