Google is an American internet company founded in 1998 by two PhD students namely Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Although the company has other subsidiaries, it mainly specializes in internet related products and services. Some of the products and services offered by the company include cloud computing, online advertising, internet search, and software among others. The two founders own retained sixteen percent of the company’s totals shares after its initial public offer held in 2004 (Schawbel, 2013). From the onset, the company’s mission statement was to gather and make information universally accessible to all people around the globe. Over the years, Google has become very popular for its insistence on identifying the best technological minds in the market as well as valuing its employees.

Google culture The organizational culture at Google can represented in several ways including public transparency, management structure, and how it handles its employees. According to the Business Insider, Google offers free food to its employees, and uses a flat management structure. This type of management reduces middle level hierarchy in the company’s management, therefore ensuring that there is a direct contact between the top management and lower rank employees. This is evidenced by the fact that the founders still work in the company in various positions including serving other employees in the cafeteria. Although this type of organizational structure is considered exceptionally wide, it has brought Google many advantages. The company also keeps its core values open to the public for judgment based on the same. Since its inception, the company has adopted a policy of encouraging its employees to air their views using a tool known as Google-O-Meter. When there is an issue to be discussed in the company, all employees are given a chance to air their views. The Google-O-Meter tool is used to gauge the popularity of views given. Additionally, the company has ‘culture clubs’, which consist of groups of employees that come together to talk about cultural issues within the company and how they can be tackled. Goggle is a unique place to work because of the design of its offices and its organizational culture. How I determined that Google showed the signs of the culture that I have identified. As noted earlier, a flat organizational structure reduces bureaucracy, and this can be attributed to two main reasons (DuBrin, 2011). To start with, few managers review the decisions made by other employees. Additionally, a flat organizational structure has a short chain of command. This means that employees and managers can make independent decisions. Google embraces a culture of progression and openness while making sure that employees are at the hub of its progress. It is extremely essential to show employees that they are vital to a company as this raises their performance and morale. At Google, employees are given a chance to air their opinion in every decision affecting the company. This consequently, boosts their morale. This explains why Google has continued to grow over the years from a small company to a leading internet player. Factors that caused Google to embody this particular culture According to the above description of Google’s organizational culture, it is clear that the company’s main goal is to achieve growth through satisfying its employees. In an organization where the founders still find time to ensure that things are running smoothly in the cafeteria, and seek feedback from low ranking employees, there is visible effort to show that it values its employees. When this is combined with a flat organizational structure that gives even the lowest employees the power to make decisions, it further qualifies Google’s organizational culture. There is no doubt that the company has been made what it is today by the efforts of its employees. From its inception, the founders wanted to start a company whose success would be based on the employees. This explains why it opted to adopt an organizational culture that is employee friendly. Sergey Brin and Larry Page also knew that they had to get the best people to work with in order to achieve their dream company. In recruiting its staff, Google strives to get the best minds in the market. It also establishes networks to identify talents early before they are noticed by other organizations. According to a blogger for KISSmetrics, “these interview questions may seem unnecessary to some, but they are one method Google uses to filter and find the smartest, most thoughtful candidates. If you want to run an extraordinary company, you need to hire extraordinary people.” (Bulygo, 2013).
Type of leader who would be best suited for Google A noted earlier, Google has one of the most fascinating and unique organizational cultures. This explains why it is not only the fastest search engines but also why it is ranked by fortune magazine (2007) as one of top 100 organizations to work for. Other than recruiting the best talent in the market, the company also rewards the efforts of its employees through the provision of a relaxed workplace. To promote creativity, the company provides and encourages its employees to take part in activities like roller hockey among others. Unlike other large companies, Google allows casual dress code among the employees and encourages them to take care of their bodies by allowing them to work out in the company’s gym. All these factors support the idea that Google places its employees at the center of everything it does. Consequently, such a company requires a leader who is capable of inspiring people. As noted earlier, its organizational structure has a small number of vertical positions. Consequently, the few people who occupy those few positions should be able to inspire the majority who will be making crucial decisions in the course of carrying out their duties. The company strives to keep on improving on everything it does. An appropriate leader for such a company should be able to see the larger picture and see into the future for new ways of ensuring that the company retains its competitive advantage. Imagine that there is a decline in the demand of product(s) or services supplied by the selected organization.

Determine what the change in culture would need to be in response to this situation. In case there is a decline in demand for web searching, Google would respond by coming up with new ways of dealing with this new challenge. This is the main reason why it hires the people it does. The company strives to hire the smartest and brightest thinkers in the market. With such a workforce, it has all the necessary resources and means to adapt to a decline in the demand for its sole services of web search (Bulygo, 2013). In other words, changes in the demand for web search services would not necessitate a change in Google’s organizational culture.

References Bulygo, Z. (2013, Feb 11). Inside Google’s culture of success and employee happiness. Retrieved from http://blog.kissmetrics.com/googles-culture-of-success/ DuBrin, A. J. (2011). Essentials of management. Stamford, Florence: Cengage Learning. Google Company. (n.d.). Company Overview. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/intl/en/about/company/ Google Company. (n.d.). Our Culture. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/about/company/facts/culture/ Schawbel, D. (2013, May 8). It is becoming increasingly difficult to fake a great corporate culture. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/its-difficult-to-fake-corporate-culture-2013-5