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Google China

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Submitted By abraham0511
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Key Facts

Google has become the most used search engine in the world, in 2010 it accounted for over 66% of the use of internet search engines.1

China, a developing nation2, has flourished as a global web user. Internet users grew from 23 million in 2000 to 103 million in 2005, an increase of 447% in just five years. See Exhibit 1.

Introduction

Tom MacLean, Google’s director of International Business, saw an opportunity to invest in the Chinese Market 3, and then subsequently moved forward with Google China. We believe that the major driver for the development of Google China was revenue and growth.

When conducting business abroad, managers must respect and embrace: local governments’ restrictions, culture and beliefs. We are dealing with ethics, business opportunity, and loyalty to a firm’s code in this brief.
Key Issues In an attempt of conquering a new market, Google cheated its “Do No Evil” motto4, which was ridiculed in North America. “When is different just different, and when is different wrong?”5 Company executives called into Congressional hearings and compared to Nazi collaborators, which lead – we believe – to the fall of company stock from $432.66 to $362.62 from January 2006 to February 2006. 6 Did Google’s decision to enter the Chinese Market through Google China was against Google’s stated mission7?

Our Position Google complied with the Chinese’s government restrictions on censoring certain information. We agree with the following:”Regardless of the parent’s firm size, each subsidiary is a local company that must comply with the laws in the country in which it is located.”8 This is exactly what Google’s executives did; we fully support their decision on censoring information even if this meant betraying their motto. Google’s decision in entering China was in the best interest of shareholders. Google was

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