Google faced a strategic dilemma when entering the Chinese market - they could only operate by agreeing to censor search results, which contradicted their mission of providing universally accessible information. In 2006, Google entered China while continuing to object to censorship. They were hacked in 2009, with evidence the Chinese government was responsible, compromising user data. On January 12, 2010, Google announced it would no longer censor search results in China and closed its Beijing office.

1. Tutorial 3
Strategic Management
QSB2413 Management Science

2. Questions
1. Define strategic planning. Why is it
important?
2. What are the major components of a
strategic analysis?
3. What is mission statement? A vision
statement? Why is it important to develop or
assess each?
4. List down the characteristics / criteria of a
good mission statement.

3. Google
What is Google’s mission statement?

4. Answers
• Google’s mission is to organize the world’s
information and make it universally accessible
and useful.
• Question:- Differentiate between data,
information and knowledge.

5. Case Study
Google: A tool for information or oppression?
Google, the Internet search engine giant, wanted to
enter China, the largest single market in the world.
Their competitors, Microsoft and Yahoo, were
already there. But going to China presented a
strategic and an ethical dilemma for Google – they
could go into the market only if they agreed to
censor search results. Such actions did not align
with their mission of making the world’s
information “universally accessible and useful”.

6. Case Study
In 2006, Google followed Microsoft and Yahoo into China, agreeing to
adhere to the Chinese government’s censorship demands. They
reasoned that reaching the global market was more important than
following the ideals indicated on their own mission statement. Quietly,
however, Google’s executives continued to morally object many of the
Chinese government’s stipulations and began a passive-aggressive
campaign to defy the government’s desire.
On many occasions, Google would strip certain websites from their
search results only to re-add them a few days later. At the same time,
Google was facing opposition from various human rights groups, angry
that the company would agree to censor their results at all. Google
had two foes: the government of China, and Google users who were
advocates for free information exchange. It was a challenging situation.

7. Case Study
Late in 2009, Google realized that they had been hacked. As they
investigated over the subsequent days and weeks, if became clear that
the Chinese government itself was the likely perpetrator. The hacking
compromised not only proprietary engineering code but also personal
information from activists who held Google accounts. E-mails,
schedules, contacts and other data were now likely in the hands of the
Chinese government. In this moment, Google had become a tool for
oppression.
On January 10, 2010, Google announced to their U.S. and Chinese
offices that they were no longer adhering to censorship laws in China.
Their Beijing office closed, and their search engine was quickly taken
down by the government. The Google China experiment had ended.
Google has since moved to Hong Kong, a region not subject to the
same censorship laws as the mainland, but continues to be a target of
government hacking and mainland censorship.