Google Case Study: Google is a very successful information technology/web search company with more than 21,000 employees working in 77 offices located in 43 countries. It was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Google was incorporated as a privately held company and is a textbook eample of modern ermployee-centric policies and benefits. Google has a wide variety of products and services like web search, image search, and product searches to blogs. online translations, document sharing and remains on the cutting edge of information technologies and services Google is a high-energy. fast paced work environment. Google employees (called Googlers, in Google's jargon) work hard. yet have fun at the same time. The Mountain View. California headquarter has a college campus like environment where the qualities of creativity and innovation are decorated. In Google workspaces are full of individuality, and the atmosphere is relaxed. There is neither dress code nor formal daily meetings. Googlers can play beach volleyball foosball, videogames, pool tables table tennis or even roller hockey on the campus. which makes this young population feel like they are still at a college campus rather than being in an office. Google instills in its employees the belief that it is not about the money it is their lifestyle that creates innovative advantage over the competition. They describe themselves as a company that works towards changing the world through teamwork and creative involvement. Employees feel proud to be part of such a venture and they take great pleasure in being a part of the company. Google has many international communities that help them communicate across the organization Google provides its employees a wide range of benefits to make sure that employees are satisfied and are loyal to the company These benefits include free food onsite childcare facilities. 100% heaith care coverage. free transportation services free laundry and dry cleaning senrvices, and sport facilities To maintain the company's unique cuiture, Google has designated a Chief Culture Officer in 2006. who also serves as the Director of Human Resources The purpose of the Chief Cuiture Officer is to develop and maintain the culture and work on ways to keep true to the core values that the company was founded on in the beginning-a flat startup organization witha collaborative environment. After all the effort and expense, there is no guarantee that Googlers will remain with the company. Some drawbacks of Google, from the point of view of ex-employees are long work hours, highly competitive environment, poor management, and unfair reward structures. In addition, because of recession and challenging financial times. Google has tried to cut down on some of its benefits to better manage costs. In 2008 they announced a price increase of their in-house day care to charge employees 75% more. When Google began cutting employee bonuses in 2008, its employees productivity and stock prices both fell. in early 2009 Google reduced its number of employees by dismissed 140 employees. This strategy, along with significantly decreasing new hires is obviously an unexpected shock to the Googlers and may affect productivity negatively.

Question 23 0.5 Points To improve communication between employees in Google, the encoding-decoding process is generally more effective when both parties A) have a diverse set of skills and capabilities. B) differ in their level of expertise and knowledge. are skilled in using the selected communication channel. come from different cultures. E have formed perceptions and varying beliefs about interpersonal communication. Question 24 0.5 Points A recent article in Fast Company stated that Google is interested in employing people with high level of emotional intelligence. Which of the following is representing the ability of highest level of emotional intelligence? (A) perceiving emotions of other people B) understanding the meaning of one's own emotions being more sensitive to subtle emotional responses managing dysfunctional emotions among staff E experiencing another person's emotions Question 25 0.5 Points Assume that you are working in Google and you have been selected to work in one of the teams. Which of the following generally occurs during the storming stage of team development? Members try to establish norms of appropriate behavior and performance standards. Members learn about each other and evaluate the benefits and costs of continued membership. Members shift their attention away from task orientation to a socio-emotional focus as they realize their relationship is coming to an end. Members learn to coordinate their actions and become more task oriented. Members develop their first real sense of cohesion and, through disclosure and feedback, try to understand and accept each other