Alphabet is a publicly traded company, and as such the corporation has a legal obligation to maximize shareholder value. Due to this in these types of situations or scenarios, the company must prioritize the interests of its shareholders above other parties and factors. Despite this the company does make an effort to ensure business is conducted in a legal and ethical manner. While Alphabet did remove the "don't be evil" mantra from their code of conduct in 2015 after Google was restructured and became a subsidiary of Alphabet; the replacement of "employees and subsidiaries should do the right thing" is not far off. If anything it feels like a further elaboration providing more explanation. 

One of the key strategic variables set by Alphabet is the code of conduct and its new opening mantra as was stated in the question. This newer mantra helps to more clearly articulate directives for the company and set expectations for both employees and consumers. This code of conduct serves as a guiding principle for employees, emphasizing the importance of compliance with legal and ethical standards. This also helps to set more clear guidelines and goals for consumers to understand in contrast to the simpler yet comparatively ambiguous mantra of "don't be evil". In accordance with this shift, Alphabet has also taken careful consideration into planning and organizing out and clearly defining the types of projects the company will and will not get involved in. While this may run somewhat contrary to Google's earlier pushes towards aggressive innovation in many directions, it helps to provide the company with more firm footing as it pursues new projects.

One of the key strategic variables set by Alphabet is the code of conduct and its new opening mantra as was stated in the question. This newer mantra helps to more clearly articulate directives for the company and set expectations for both employees and consumers. This code of conduct serves as a guiding principle for employees, emphasizing the importance of compliance with legal and ethical standards. This also helps to set more clear guidelines and goals for consumers to understand in contrast to the simpler yet comparatively ambiguous mantra of "don't be evil". In accordance with this shift, Alphabet has also taken careful consideration into planning and organizing out and clearly defining the types of projects the company will and will not get involved in. While this may run somewhat contrary to Google's earlier pushes towards aggressive innovation in many directions, it helps to provide the company with more firm footing as it pursues new projects. - Kevin S.

 To spur innovative ideas, Google created a culture that encouraged employees to set unattainable, "shoot-to-the-moon" goals. Page, the CEO, incorporated what he called the 10x test. This suggested that unless an idea or project was expected to be 10 times better than the current product or practice, there was no point in pursuing it. The thought process behind this is that even if an idea fails, the result can still be something remarkable and ultimately profitable or beneficial for end users. Google also created what they referred to as "20% time." During this time, employees were asked to work on outside projects that would hopefully improve the company. Ideas such as Gmail were created during this allotted time for employees. The company was also structured to offer transparency within their organization and a horizontal management structure that allowed for lower level employees to provide a similar level of input as employees in senior positions. Google also pays employees with stock options which are issued based off of an individual employee's contribution to the company. This is meant to encourage a higher level of performance from employees as they are aware that their pay is highly determined by what they can offer to Google.

 With a horizontal management structure, there is strong communication between employees at Google. Google specifically has a department dedicated to people analytics. This department is responsible for determining the best ways to encourage communication and encourage collaboration across departments. By working with others, employees can bounce ideas off one another and develop the next big idea for Google. The company also issues regular performance reviews which also include peer reviews. The article mentions a testimony from an employee who claims that to get a positive performance review, you must also get positive reviews from your coworkers. This shows that Google prioritizes collaboration among employees and encourages positive coworker interactions.

What strategic uncertainties might keep the executive team awake at night?  

Is the "10 Things" manifesto applicable as Alphabet becomes a different type of organization?  Is the historical mantra of "Don't be evil" believable and relevant today?  Why and why not?

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1 Strategic Uncertainties Alphabets executive team might face several strategic uncertainties that c... View the full answer