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
Google is one of the most excellent and well-known organizations that provide internet search engine globally. Its head offices are located in Mountain View, California. Since its establishment on September 4th, 1998 by its founders L. Page and S. Brin, it has progressed and thrived speedily into a universal corporation offering excellent products and services. The success of Google, as a technological company is attributable to scientific research carried out by determined scientists. The great efforts of the scientists resulted in major a programming theory, whose application through a complicated mathematical procedure paved the way to the current acceptable search engine technology.
Google as unique innovation has portrayed considerable efforts to enhance knowledge among the human race (Steiber, 2014). The initiators of this corporation had a high aspiration of changing the world by making information available to all at a click of a button. Their relentless efforts have demonstrated that their principal objective was not to engulf wealth. Therefore, the corporation’s mission is to ensure that the entire world’s information is organized and made valuable and universally available.
Though internet users get free services from Google, the company generates its revenues from various advertisers whose aim is to connect with their online customers. They are provided with Google Adwords (an advertising program), which allows advertisers to post their Ads on the internet for online users to see their products and services. Additionally, Google has invented a great mobile software platform named Android, which is being used by phone manufacturers to install on their gadgets as well as create applications for handset devices. Some of these Google Apps include Google Sites and Gmail among others. By selling these products and services, Google has recorded a great fortune in the recent past.
Explain the principal theories and the various approaches to management that have evolved and their application to current management situations
The employees working for Google are happy, contented, and always determined. The reason behind their happiness and motivation to work is that their employer provides them with a great diet. They are given free meals from breakfast to dinner. At the headquarter campus, several cafeterias have been set up to serve healthy foodstuff and drinks such as juice and coffee to the employees. Hence, the company has incorporated the habit of a healthy diet for its workers as its organizational culture and identity through supporting the production of organic products as well as chemical-free meats from local farmers.
Besides, these workers can be described as anxious free. Google is universally accepted, it has ensured its workers with job security. Also, it has provided them with great bonuses to keep them motivated and determined all the time (Cutroni, 2010).
Google’s success can be accredited to the excellent leadership provided by its management personnel. These are; the two co-founders: S. Brin and L. Page and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who are recruited by these initiators. They can be described as corporative, in that, they form an important power-sharing Directorate, whose decisions are significant to the growth and development of the organization. This leadership structure has also played a vital role in ensuring unity is maintained as part of the company’s culture which provides a high drive to a better future in the corporation. Moreover, it encourages the employees to work as a team for the overall good of the company.
The typical Google employee has to be self-driven and hard working. Since the beginning of its operation, Google has only attracted more users yearly and thus the need to have employees that are willing to function without the need for supervision. However, only the best workers are maintained for the betterment of the corporation.
Explain the decision-making process management uses to develop viable courses of action for a variety of management situations
It has been discovered that Google offers a lot of beneficial bonuses to its employees. One of those valuable perks is healthy food. According to a survey done on the workers, provision of better nutrition to employees has been the major bonus they have and continue receiving from their employer. While working for Google, one is guaranteed to have free breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This treatment is not available in many organizations and is therefore considered sacred by the beneficiaries. Besides, Google has set up various cafeterias in several locations to avail different types of food to its employees.
The provision of daycare facilities by Google has significantly been considered an important amenity by the workers. When the service was set up in 2004, it only worked as a babysitting program. However, with the rising need for better knowledge of child development, the company joined its program with Children’s Creative Learning Centers group. This project improved the child care offered to the kids. As it is play-based it improves the child’s physical and mental development. The company provides these services to its employees at an affordable cost which is an advantage to the workers.
Availability of favorable working conditions, services, and amenities has made the workers more active. Working in such a comfortable environment has allowed them to develop the feeling of being part of the corporation’s future. Therefore, having employed some of the best IT experts, they have come up with various innovative ideas to help improve the technology applied in the company. These innovations have become part of the organizational culture as a tool for getting things done in a more elaborate and faster manner. The management has also ensured that the culture of creativity is upheld through the recruitment and training of the most capable and talented persons.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in management concepts
Google’s organizational culture of working together has been established through the formation of the three-headed management structure (Zhang & Zhu, 2012). In reality, this leadership has improved the decision-making and problem-solving process in the organization. The presence of many decision-makers ensures that wise and sensible judgments are made for the benefit of the corporation. Moreover, it is easier to correct any wrong choices made in the process, thus, preventing further mistakes that would cost the company.
The management has also created a culture of employing only intelligent and self-driven individuals. These employees use their intellectual capabilities to improve innovation and creative ideas in the organization. They have indeed built a high- end technology which makes information search much faster and easier for internet users. Additionally, the works of other employees have been enhanced due to the improvement of technology.
I would prefer to work in a Google environment because I am assured of the best knowledge that I would obtain from capable and smart employees. Having been surrounded by the best colleagues who are self-driven, would indeed improve my motivation to work harder to achieve my goals.
Certainly, Google’s culture would help me perform my tasks with a greater degree of creativity and innovation. Their High-end and up to date technology would enhance my IT skills and brilliance in the job. I would also learn a lot from the brilliant minds of ways of improving my innovative and creative ideas.
References
Cutroni, J. (2010). Google Analytics. Beijing, China: O’Reilly.
Steiber, A. (2014). Google’s Model for Innovation. Management for Professionals The Google Model, 37-82. Web.
Zhang, Z., & Zhu, X. (2012). Empirical Analysis of the Relationship between Or-ganizational Culture and Organizational Performance. Proceedings of 2012 National Conference on Information Technology and Computer Science. Web.