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Essay on Managing Conflict in Google's Corporate Culture

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Google has evolved significantly since its debut in 1998. It has gone from an oddity (“Hey, have you heard about that new search site, Google?”) to a household name (“Why don't you check and see what Google has on that subject?”) to a verb synonymous with Internet search (“Google me. I'm a pretty big deal.”). A behind the scenes look at the corporate culture driving this company will reveal how Google has managed to gain such coveted permanence in daily life, how it will manage to stay in its place as the top search engine, and how it will maintain its relevance in the technology market. One definition of culture from Merriam-Webster Online (2010) is “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an …show more content…

For a business, being what one claims to be is important for attracting and keeping talented employees and satisfying customers. In a business, the mission statement is usually the company's beacon, informing all the decisions that company makes. Google's mission statement is, “To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful” (McCraken, 2005). This tenet directs all that Google does whether it is developing an operating system for mobile devices (Android), building a new browser from the ground up (Google Chrome), or making entire libraries of information available for search (Google Books). To underscore this mission, Google summarizes its philosophy in “Ten things we know to be true.” These 10 points illustrate Google's commitment to its users above all. The number one truth that Google believes and operates from is, “Focus on the user and all else will follow” (Google, 2010, p. 17). It has thus far been successful with offering products that meet the needs of today's business and social markets, even creating viable competition for Microsoft (Vance, 2010). Of the three types of conflict, the one with the most chance for growth within an organization is simple conflict. This type of conflict “occurs when two people's goals or ideas are mutually exclusive or incompatible” (Beebe & Masterson, 2006, p. 172 ). In this type of interaction, people can be encouraged to communicate effectively and find a suitable

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