For many people, California-based Google is the most prominent example of a twenty-fi rst-century company. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergei Brin, it grew very rapidly to become the world’s best-known search engine, accompanied by a proliferation of other ventures. The company’s name has achieved the rare distinction of becoming a verb in its own right – these days, we google, rather than search (and probably more often than we hoover). The company’s 2014 revenue was $66 billion and, in 2015, the two founders were listed by Fortune magazine as nineteenth and twentieth in its list of the world’s billionaires. This spectacular growth has been achieved by a company whose informal motto is ‘Don’t Be Evil’. How do the two ideas – commercial success and avoiding evil – work together in practice, and how well will the company be able to respond to the challenges that lie ahead in this turbulent market?

Tasks 

1. Examine the organisational development of Google using two of the four main analytical models in Figure 2.1. Which do you think offers the best explanation of the company’s development, and why? 

Figure 2.1

2. What are the main challenges that Google faced in attempting not to ‘be evil’ as it expanded into new and unfamiliar territories and markets? How might local managers throughout the world create a corporate culture based on this motto? 

3. Is Google a ‘postmodern’ organisation or, in essence, no more than a globalised bureaucracy? Present the arguments on each side of the case. 

4. If you were to research the degree to which growth and change has affected the organisational behaviour of Google employees, which theoretical approach would you choose as the basis for your enquiry? Explain and justify your choice. 

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CLASSICAL Emphasis on purpose, formal structure, hierarchy of management, technical requirements and common principles of organisation. HUMAN RELATIONS Attention to social factors at work, groups, leadership, the informal organisation and behaviour of people. SYSTEMS The integration of the classical and human relations approaches. Importance of the socio-technical system. The organisation within its external environment. CONTINGENCY No one best design of organisation. Form of structure, management and 'success' of the organisation dependent upon a range of situational variables.