Environment A. List specific external environment factors that influence your company Global- Everyone around the world uses Google because it...
Environment
List specific external environment factors that influence your company
Global- Everyone around the world uses Google because it caters to more than 115 countries. Since computers are becoming cheaper more poor countries are able to get their hands on them and Google strives to make it easier by allowing them to use Gmail, Docs, and Sites (Morrow, Ben)
Demographics- Google is dominated with a younger demographic. Unlike other companies Google will not be effected as the Baby Boomers get older. The company is not gender specific so a change in male to female ratio would not hurt it (Morrow, Ben)
Economic- Even though the US is currently in a recession Google is not effect because it is a staple to society and the economy. It is well positioned in the economy because everyone wants to stay well informed and connected (Morrow, Ben)
List specific internal environment factors that influence your company
Their mission statement is to organize the world’s information and make it accessible. With this statement it is clear this organization is not all about money nut to help society. When Google discusses the type of company it is they say it’s the employees that make it that type of company. They desire employees who are smart and determined and would chose ability over experience. They hire people from different culture to connect to their users (“External and Internal Environments of Google”).
General Environmental Factors
Economic Factors:
Google has accumulated very large amounts of cash, which increase the risk of inflation by a lot.
Large amounts of money that Google keeps over seas makes it susceptible to exchange rates and the currency market. “If the dollar is strong, Google could lose a lot of money if it is forced to bring a lot of cash back into the United States.” (Frue, Kiesha)
Technological Factors:
There is a growing use of mobile devices to access the internet and Apple products (along with others) make their devices use search engines other than Google.
Because of the growing sophistication of apps it is easier than ever for designers to come up with alternatives to Google’s products. (Frue, Kiesha)
Sociocultural Factors:
There has been a decline in the use of desktop computers which in the past, have been the most common way of accessing Google’s search engine.
Things such as social media allow people to access videos, news, and more that they typically would’ve used Google for (Frue, Kiesha)
Political/Legal Factors:
Google is increasingly entering heavily regulated fields such as finance, insurance, telecommunications and automobiles which could place severe restrictions on its operations.
Google has not been able to enter some countries such as China because of political reasons which could strongly limit future growth (Frue, Kiesha).
Specific Environmental Factors
Potential New Entrants:
Barriers to entry in the internet search market are high. The current competitors have thousands of servers in locations all over the world. They have accumulated many years worth of data about user habits (Morrow, Ben)
Customer Factors:
No single buyer has a controlling interest in Google. This is the case because Google uses many different advertisement agencies as customers, as well as the individual customer (Morrow, Ben).
Industry Regulation Factors:
Google is regulated on what kind of content they are allowed to advertise.
Google’s Organizational Structure
Current Organizational Structure
Google has a cross-functional organizational structure, which is technically a matrix organizational structure with a lot of flatness. The company’s organizational structure has three main characteristics:
Function-based definition
Product-based definition
Flatness
Google uses function as basis for grouping employees. For example, Google has a Sales Operations team, an Engineering & Design Team, and a Product Management Team. Google also uses products as basis for grouping employees. For example, the company groups employees for developing Nexus devices and it’s Fiber business. In addition, Google’s organizational structure has a lot of flatness. Their flat organizational structure means that Google’s employees, teams and groups can disregard middle management and report directly to CEO Larry Page. They can also share information across teams.
Pros:
It is oriented toward end results Professional identification is maintained and pinpoints product-profit responsibility.
Most managers have some IC work to do in addition to managing employees and most employees are hired and taught to manage themselves.
Google tends to go for larger teams of people (20 to 30) under each manager with the manager being solely focused on people and information management. The reason for so many reports is to make it impossible for managers to micro-manage or try to force technical decisions.
Cons:
Conflict in organizational authority exists. This causes uncertainty in reporting relationships.
The possibility of disunity of command exists.
Requires the manager to be the most effective and efficient of all employees
Organizational Chart
Find an organizational chart that outlines at least five layers of management within the company. You may have to look at annual reports, search company databases at your school's library, or even contact a manager within the company. Include this chart in your outline.
Works Cited
"External and Internal Environment of Google." ALL ABOUT GOOGLE. N.p., 04 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Frue, Kiesha. "Why Business Analysts Should Take Advantage of Business Analysis Courses." PESTLE Analysis. N.p., 21 June 2016. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.
Morrow, Ben. "External Analysis of Google Inc." RSS. Ben Morrow, 15 Oct. 2008. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Smithson, Nathaniel. "Google's Organizational Structure & Organizational Culture
Panmore ." Panmore Institute. Panmore Institute, 20 Sept. 2015. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.
