This document provides a case study analysis of Google. It discusses: 1) Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible. It summarizes Google's business model, partnerships, and financial success. 2) Google's culture of innovation, emphasizing creativity, flexibility, and empowering knowledge workers. It allows engineers time to work on their own projects. 3) Challenges facing Google like ensuring ethical search results, addressing privacy concerns, and adapting to a changing information environment while maintaining growth.

1. Patrick Hagmann
BSAD 130
Professor Fisher
15 November 2013
Case Study Analysis: Google
“Google‟s mission is to organize the world‟s information and make it universally
accessible and useful.” (Harvard 1) Google sense 1999 has focused their business goal in
primarily dealing with the distribution of knowledge and information on the World Wide Web.
Google headquarters, which is located in Mountain View, California, had produced gross
revenues of $6.1 billion in 2005 can run business operations of just $2.0 billion. Google used
some business ideas like Partnerships, dual-class equity structure for stock options, and policy of
ranking paid listings to financially get ahead of the corporate world . However Google can
contribute much of their success based on the post-capitalistic ideals stressed by Ducker,
Gitmann, and the Harvard Case study itself. Google achieved innovation and creativity into the
organization based through the principles of “don‟t be evil; (2) technology matters; and (3) and
we make our own rules” Being specialized and putting employees first (Harvard 6). Since
Google has a lot of power in what is shown on the Internet, its reasonable to suspect that Google
can tailor the search results to the company‟s needs rather than the consumer.The ethics of
privacy makes them seem untrustworthy and that they are focused too much on revenue from
search engines. Another big problem of Google is that it needs to have a wide range of flexibility
of profits, otherwise the firm wont be able to adapt to this constantly changing post-capitalistic
society. “ Since its IPO, Google had launched a flurry of products that had expanded its domain
beyond web search. These included Gmail, a free e-mail service; Google Desktop, … Google

2. Maps; Google Book Search; Google Talk….and Google Base, a free online database for all kinds
of user-provided content, ranging from help-wanted ads toproduct reviews.”(Harvard 1) Google
also needs be able to adapt to the constantly changing knowledge environment in order to invest
in the firm‟s long term needs
Google‟s founders were Brin and Page. They created the company based on the notion of
the World Wide Web. To make early profits, Google has signed Partnerships with multiple
companies. “Partnership was important to Google, which had signed a five year deal to continue
providing web search results and search-based advertising to AOL, as it had… Google promoted
Time Warner products.” Sense Google unstop that knowledge was power, they were able to
force some popular companies to use their search engine. The society‟s popularity of Google‟s
search engine, Google.com, was evident sense it “held a commanding 68% share of all search
traffic in Q3 2005.… Yahoo.com, its closest rival”(Harvard 2). Drucker would back Google‟s
success here because in a post-capitalistic society, “knowledge is power” (Drucker 13) In the
early ways of capitalism, Land, Labor, Capital, and entrepreneurship greatly increased success.
However, these times are changing and as a result the four values mentioned become irrelevant
to success when knowledge proves to be very useful and powerful.
Google claimed to popularity because search engines lacked a strong sense of
Organizations in search results. “Due to World Wide Web, large demand for search engines
searches increasingly returned—”spam”—that frustrated users. In 1998, Sergey Brin and Larry
Page tackled this problem”(Harvard 2). Brin and Page announced their funding for Google, from
twoelite venture capital firms: Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins. Until December 1999, Google
earned revenue strictly by licensing its search technology to Yahoo! And other third-party
sites.Monetarily, Google became wealthy due to the fact that business in society was

3. transitioning from the physical world to the technical world. “In fact, 70% of all e-commerce
transactions originated through web search and 40% of all web searches had a commercial
motivation” (Harvard 3). Again, the concept of knowledge is power strongly applies here
because Google has a very strong influence because it can control what commercial items their
many users see. This has made them extremely controversial and untrustworthy. Google defends
their monopoly like control of knowledge because their company strongly values the ethical
concept of “don‟t be evil”(Harvard 5). This coincides with Ducker‟s concept of social and ethical
responsibility. “Social responsibility is the concern of businesses for the welfare of society as a
whole. Consist of obligations of just making a profit”(Gitman 53). Google backs that they are
socially responsible by saying “We never manipulate rankings to put our [advertising or content]
partners higher in our search results. No one can buy better PageRank. Our users trust Google‟s
objectivity and no short-term gain could ever justify breaching that trust…We don‟t try to put
our sense of ethics into the search results, but we do when it comes to advertising (Harvard 7).”
The huge ethical conflict though is the this statement highlights that Google is playing God
responsibly when it comes to projecting what products and information are seen by society.
Many believe good “doesn‟t do evil” but there‟s no way for sure if they are unethical about
distributing information. As a result, people are forced to speculate and doubt Google‟s values,
which can hurt business in the future.
Early on Google ran into trouble displaying searches due to users being lazy and picking
the first link provided in search engine. “cost-per-click” (CPC) auctions yielded results that met
users‟ needs. Users tended to click only on the top-most paid listings, ignoring ads that appeared
lower on the search results page.”

4. To try and make search engine ”democratic”(Harvard 20) and more fair, Google uses a paid-
listings system when it comes to search engines.“PageRank evaluates all of the sites linking to a
web page and assigns them a value, based in part on the sites linking to them. By analyzing the
full structure of the web, Google is able to determine which sites have been “voted” the best
sources of information by those most interested in the information they offer” (Harvard 21).
Paid-listing depends on four factors; its coverage rate, click-through rate, average cost per click,
and revenue split. All this allows the users to indirectly clarify which cites are more trustworthy
and useful for consumer needs.
Google recognized that internal connections in management and authority needed to be
controlled by those who had the companies best interests. The Stock system of dual-class equity
structure gave a good in maintain inside authority. dual-class equity structure, giving ten votes
per share to holders of Class B stock, versus one vote per Class A share(Harvard 5). Google
clarities that “to become an important and significant institution. [it] takes time, stability and
independence. We bridge the media and technology industries, both of which have experienced
considerable consolidation and attempted hostile takeovers… dual-class ownership has allowed
these companies to concentrate on their core, long-term interest in serious news coverage,
despite fluctuations in quarterly results”(11 Harvard). In the dual-class equity, clearly Class B
shares provide more power within the company and assigning those shares to important top
management people and highly valued knowledge workers, the company can focus on long term
goals despite short term problems. Drucker would agree that the knowledge worker needs to
have power in the business. Before “ Corporations were now to be managed exclusively to
maximize shareholder‟s value…this alienates the very people on whose motivation and
dedication the modern business depends: the knowledge workers”(Drucker 80). Drucker clarifies
that in order to be successful in a post-capitalistic society, the idea of a dual-class equity
structure helps by “making management accountable” (Drucker 81).
Google encouraged innovation and creativity by using a “bottom-up [process]
from the employee ranks” (Harvard 9). Google also believes that to maximize effinciy, teams of
3 to 5 generly created a good innovative work enviorment. Google also believed that middle
management gets in the way of creativity. Both Drucker and Gitman strongly agree that

5. Managing Innovation
Engineers were encouraged to spend 20% of
their time working on projects of their own choosing
Brin maintained that all Google‟s new product ideas emerged
(6)
teams of 3-5 people…. We try to have as l.
Personalized Search, which ordered search results based on analysis
of the types of results a user had clicked on in past searches. (7)
Observers cited two reasons for Google‟s superior performance. First, Google bettered
Overture‟s policy of ranking paid listings based solely on CPC bids by also considering listing
relevancy. Second, by late 2005, Google‟s paid-listings network had attracted two to three times
as many
advertisers as Overture‟s. Advertisers were drawn to Google because its network offered
more search traffic and allowed lower minimum CPC bids than Overture‟s(8)
banner ads and
video ads.
“Longer-term opportunity for Google was targeting ads based on users‟ demographics,
psychographics, and/or online behavior, in addition to keywords” (8)
Gmail and Personalized
Home Page
Some say Google is God. Others say Google is Satan. But if they think Google is too powerful,
remember that with search engines, unlike other companies, all it takes is a single click to go to
another search engine. People come to Google because they choose to. We don‟t trick them. (9)
—Sergey Brin
Industry pundits issued warnings about the company‟s everexpanding scope and its
enormous influence. Even foreign governments voiced their concerns. In

6. August 2005, French President Jacques Chirac announced a loan program for the development of
a Franco-German multimedia search engine on the grounds that Google was “a tool of U.S.
cultural imperialism. (9)
Yahoo! management resolved to end the
company‟s dependence on third parties for algorithmic search and paid listings(10)
Google‟s prowess in developing ad-supported virtual software
applications challenged Microsoft‟s traditional model of charging users a license fee for
software.(11)
Customers shopping for a product could visit eBay‟s marketplace to find a qualified
seller, or they could search for a vendor through Google. In fact, many of Google‟s advertisers
were also eBay sellers; these small companies carefully compared eBay‟s transaction fees to the
costs of generating leads through paid listings. (11)
In early 2006, managers in technology and media companies around the world observed Google
with awe, envy, and fear. The company‟s opportunities seemed boundless (12)
One option was to stay focused on the company‟s distinctive competence: developing superior
search solutions and monetizing those solutions through targeted advertising. (12)
build Google into a portal like Yahoo! or MSN
Schmidt- „Are the things that we‟re doing
consistent with the mission of the company?‟ We‟re not in the portal business, we‟re in the
business of making all the world‟s information accessible and useful.”
To that end, Google has persistently pursued innovation and pushed the limits of existing
technology to provide a fast, accurate and easy-to-use search service that can be accessed from
anywhere.…..Larry Page, “would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what
you want.” Given the state of search technology today, that‟s a far-reaching vision requiring
research, development and innovation to realize.(20)
Ten things Google has found to be true
1 Google has steadfastly refused to make any change that does not offer a benefit to the users
who come to the site:
• The interface is clear and simple.
• Pages load instantly.
• Placement in search results is never sold to anyone.

7. • Advertising on the site must offer relevant content and not be a distraction.
2 It‟s best to do one thing really, really well.
3 Fast is better than slow.-
Google may be the only company in the world whose stated goal is to have users leave its
website as quickly as possible
4 Democracy on the web works.
PageRank evaluates all of the sites linking to a web page and assigns them a value, based in part
on the sites linking to them. By analyzing the full structure of the web, Google is able to
determine which sites have been “voted” the best sources of information by those most interested
in the information they offer. (20)
6. You can make money without doing evil
So, only certain searches produce sponsored links above or to the right of the results. Google
firmly believes that ads can provide useful information if, and only if, they are relevant to what
you wish to find.
Getting the most out of knowledge workers will be the key to business success for the next
quarter century. Here‟s how we do it at Google.
At Google, we think business guru Peter Drucker well understood how to manage the new breed
of “knowledge workers.” After all, Drucker invented the term in 1959. He says knowledge
workers believe they are paid to be effective, not to work 9 to 5, and that smart businesses will
“strip away everything that gets in their knowledge
workers‟ way.” Those that succeed will attract the best performers, securing “the single
biggest factor for competitive advantage in the next 25 years.”
Hire by commite, Cater to their every need. Pack them in, Make coordination easy, (gmail) Eat
your own dog food, Encourage creativity(23)
Strive to reach consensus, Don‟t be evil, Data drive decision, Communicate effectively
Problems:
Microsoft responded by proposing a joint venture with AOL to develop search-related
advertising. Some observers perceived Google‟s success in deflecting this challenge as evidence
that Google‟s management team was mastering the art of strategic deal-making. Battelle noted:
“This is Google‟s first test as a chess player in a major corporate battle. They are saying, „We
will take some of our pawns and block the move to our queen by Microsoft.‟” But this raised
the question: What
moves should Google make next?(Harvard 2)

8. “techno arrogance.” Engineers are competitive by nature and they have low tolerance for
those who aren‟t as driven or as knowledgeable as they are… t inflexible person on a team can
be deadly. (24)
A related problem is the not-invented-here syndrome. A good engineer is always convinced that
he can build a better system than the existing ones, leading to the refrain “Don‟t buy it, build it.”
Well, they may be right, but
we have to focus on those projects with the biggest payoff. Sometimes this means going outside
the company for
products and services.
Gitman
2 Making ethical decilsions and managing a socially responsible business
6 Management and Leadership in Today‟s Organization
7 Deesigning organizational Structures
9 Motivating employees