Google's Employee Voice: Case Study and Literature Review Analysis

This essay critically examines Google's management of employee voice, drawing on case study materials and relevant literature. It assesses the claim that Google's management has failed to adequately address employee concerns, particularly in light of the company's stated commitment to employee well-being and open communication. The essay explores various aspects of Google's internal voice mechanisms, including internal boards and grievance systems, evaluating their effectiveness in representing employee interests. It analyzes the arguments presented in the provided articles by Wilkinson & Fay (2011) and Wilkinson & Barry (2016), considering the limitations of the 'pro-social' perspective on employee voice. The analysis highlights the potential disconnect between Google's public image and the lived experiences of its employees, considering factors such as employee silence, the influence of management, and the impact of globalization. Ultimately, the essay concludes by providing a balanced assessment of Google's performance in managing employee voice, considering both its strengths and weaknesses in fostering a culture of open dialogue and addressing employee concerns effectively. This includes an evaluation of how Google's approach to employee voice aligns with broader trends in organizational behavior and human resource management.

Running head: EMPLOYEE VOICE AT GOOGLE
Executive summary
The main aim of the report is to assess the fact that Google is not able to meet the
various needs of the employees. The employee voice is not being adequately
addressed by the company. A detailed introduction has been placed in the report
regarding employee voice. Literature review focussing on employee voice has been
presented in the report. Detailed analysis and argument regarding the employee voice
have been addressed in the report, and finally, a conclusion and summary of the report
have been presented in the report.

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Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................4
Literature review.....................................................................................................4
Analysis and argument with citations.....................................................................6
Conclusion..............................................................................................................8
Reference List.........................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Although Google has stated that it has actively participated in listening to the
various concerns of the employees, yet it has been seen from the employees of the
company are not entirely happy with the company. The employees of the organization
have formulated certain rallies against the company regarding the various functioning of
the company. Employee voice is a very important aspect which needs to address by
companies around the world to ensure that employee communication is maintained in a
proper manner (Wang, Gan, Wu and Wang 2015). Addressing employee voice must be
done to ensure that a better maintenance of the workplace is done by the company. By
assessing the employee voice a company is able to address the various issues which
are faced by a company. If a company addresses the employee voice in a proper
manner in the organization, then they ensure that the employees in the workplace are
happy that their voice is being heard by the company (Wilkinson and Fay 2011). The
views of the employees must be given importance by the company since employees are
one of the significant aspects of a company. Google has failed to address appropriately
to employee voice (Duan, Li, Xu and Wu 2017).
Literature review
Google does not have any kind of multi mechanism by the aid of which it listens
to the employee voice. (Ng, Feldman and Butts 2014). The implementation of employee
voice is crucial since it increases the performance of a company.

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According to Wilkinson and Barry (2016), to understand organizational
behaviour, it is imperative to comprehend employee voice. Google works with a deaf
ear voice system and does not take into account the various employee inputs and
concerns. In its govern, it has been stated by Google that it actively participates in
listening to its employees. Employees of the organization are the second most important
stakeholders for the company. The CSR efforts of the company are pointed at the
betterment of the employees (Qi and Ming-Xia 2014). Although it has been seen that
the company states that the managers of the company actively listen to the employees
of the company, but in reality, the various needs of the employees are not met.
Free speech of the employees of the organization is provided by the company,
but the concerns which are put forward by the employees of the company are not
addressed by the company in a proper manner (Venkataramani et al. 2016). The human
dignity of the employees in the company has been maintained in a better way.
The employees of Google are looking forward to the various matter concerning
the world, and the company have been seen to neglect the multiple needs and concerns
of the employees.
Majority of the employees of the organization are silent, and they are not ready to
raise their voice over the various concerns which have been put by a small portion of
the employees of the company (Chan 2014). Majority of the employees in the
organization are silent over the various mishaps which have been caused by the
company (Wang, Gan and Wu 2016).

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The voice of the employees is the self-interest of the employees which are
targeted towards the betterment of themselves or the organization (Wilkinson and Barry
2016). The board of directors of the company do not have any say in the various voices
which have been raised by the employees.
The company have been seen to make use of specific surveys by the help of
which it can read the various concern of the employees (Kaufman 2015). The review
helps the company in assessing the multiple needs of the company.
The justice climate of the company might not be so good since a small portion of
the employees in the company has raised a voice against the employees of the
company. The company needs to address a pleasant justice climate in its system
(Wilkinson Donaghey, Dundon and Freeman 2014).
There is an absence of any kind of compelling voice since the employees in the
company are not entirely happy in the workplace (Li and Sun 2015). The various
operations of the company are not supported by the company.
Analysis and argument with citations
According to Wilkinson, Dundon, Donaghey and Freeman (2014), many
companies around the world have implemented the use of LEAN and continuous kinds
of improvement in their management style to meet the various needs of the employees.
By listening to the employee voice, a company will be able to take the necessary steps
to address the multiple issues of the employees (Mowbray, Wilkinson and Tse 2015).
According to Miles and Mangold (2014), with the growing changes in customer needs
and globalization, the voice of the employees are often neglected. The various

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requirements of the employees of an organization are overlooked by an organization
since it is busy in adapting to the growing changes of the conduction of business. To
improve customer service and the various experiences of the customers, a company
needs to look forward to the wellbeing band the interest of the employees of the
organization (Ruck, Welch and Menara 2017). Valuing the contributions of employees
might help in improving the loyalty of the employees and also make them more
cooperative with the decisions of the company (Wilkinson and Fay 2011). The
employees of Google have been seen to be unhappy with the various functioning of the
company and the company is not taking care of the concerns of the company.
According to Maynes and Podsakoff (2014), a regular face to face meeting with the
employees might make Google aware of the various concerns of its employees. People
want to work at Google because of its optimum culture, but if the employees in the
company are not happy with the multiple actions of the company, then they will be
acting against the company. It is an essential aspect for companies around the world to
meet the various needs of the employees of an organization as they are the voice of the
company. The reputation and the stand of a company are primarily dependent on the
various reviews from the employees working in the workplace of the company
(Wilkinson and Barry 2016).
Google needs to actively participate in listening to the needs of the employees
and the various concerns which have been put forward by the employees. The
employees of the company are not happy with the different business which is conducted
by the company that is against human nature and rights. In the present scenario of the
world, people are more concerned about the various implications of business in the

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world (Fast, Burris and Bartel 2014). These are the reason the employees of the
company are against the different business of the company. The company must
understand that if the employees of the company are not comfortable in the workplace,
then the productivity of the company will be coming down. There are a lot of competitors
of the company who will be taking up this chance to put the company behind (Zhang,
Huai and Xie 2015). The employees of the company are the major stakeholders of the
company, and they must be listened to by the company as it has been proved that the
company is not addressing the various needs of the employees in the workplace of the
company (Morrison 2014).
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that the employees of any company are the
significant assets of the company, and the voices of the employees must be adequately
addressed by the employees. With the implementation of proper management, Google
will be able to address to the employee voice. Google needs to listen actively to its
employees and their different views. Listening to employee voice is one of the
significant aspects which needs to be addressed by the company to ensure that it can
maintain its employee retention and the employees working in the company are
motivated to work for the betterment of the company The various process which is taken
by the company are focused towards the improvement of the company in the future, but
the company is failing to address the multiple needs of the employees of the
organization. Since the company states that the employees of the company are the
second most important stakeholders of the organization. The managers and the leaders
of Google must ensure that the various needs of the employee are met by the company,

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and the multiple problems that are faced by the employees are properly looked at. The
diverse needs of the employees of an organization must be met by every company
around the world. With the implementation of better management practises by the
company, the employees of the company will be satisfied in the workplace.

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Reference List
Wilkinson, M. and Barry, A., 2016. Pro‐social or pro‐management? A critique of the
conception of employee voice as a pro‐social behaviour within organizational behaviour.
British Journal of Industrial Relations, 54(2), pp.261-284.
Chan, S.C., 2014. Paternalistic leadership and employee voice: Does information
sharing matter?. Human Relations, 67(6), pp.667-693.
Duan, J., Li, C., Xu, Y. and Wu, C.H., 2017. Transformational leadership and employee
voice behavior: A Pygmalion mechanism. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(5),
pp.650-670.
Fast, N.J., Burris, E.R. and Bartel, C.A., 2014. Managing to stay in the dark: Managerial
self-efficacy, ego defensiveness, and the aversion to employee voice. Academy of
Management Journal, 57(4), pp.1013-1034.
Kaufman, B.E., 2015. Theorizing determinants of employee voice: An integrative model
across disciplines and levels of analysis. Human Resource Management Journal, 25(1),
pp.19-40.
Li, Y. and Sun, J.M., 2015. Traditional Chinese leadership and employee voice
behavior: A cross-level examination. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(2), pp.172-189.
Maynes, T.D. and Podsakoff, P.M., 2014. Speaking more broadly: An examination of
the nature, antecedents, and consequences of an expanded set of employee voice
behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(1), p.87.

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Miles, S.J. and Mangold, W.G., 2014. Employee voice: Untapped resource or social
media time bomb?. Business Horizons, 57(3), pp.401-411.
Morrison, E.W., 2014. Employee voice and silence. Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ.
Behav., 1(1), pp.173-197.
Mowbray, P.K., Wilkinson, A. and Tse, H.H., 2015. An integrative review of employee
voice: Identifying a common conceptualization and research agenda. International
Journal of Management Reviews, 17(3), pp.382-400.
Ng, T.W., Feldman, D.C. and Butts, M.M., 2014. Psychological contract breaches and
employee voice behaviour: The moderating effects of changes in social relationships.
European journal of work and organizational psychology, 23(4), pp.537-553.
Qi, Y. and Ming-Xia, L., 2014. Ethical leadership, organizational identification and
employee voice: Examining moderated mediation process in the Chinese insurance
industry. Asia Pacific Business Review, 20(2), pp.231-248.
Ruck, K., Welch, M. and Menara, B., 2017. Employee voice: an antecedent to
organizational engagement?. Public Relations Review, 43(5), pp.904-914.
Steiber A. Google’s Model for Innovation. InThe Google Model 2014 (pp. 37-82).
Springer, Cham.
Venkataramani, V., Zhou, L., Wang, M., Liao, H. and Shi, J., 2016. Social networks and
employee voice: The influence of team members’ and team leaders’ social network
positions on employee voice. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes,
132, pp.37-48.

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Wang, D., Gan, C. and Wu, C., 2016. LMX and employee voice. Personnel Review.
Wang, D., Gan, C., Wu, C. and Wang, D., 2015. Ethical leadership and employee voice:
Employee self-efficacy and self-impact as mediators. Psychological reports, 116(3),
pp.751-767.
Wilkinson, A. and Fay, C., 2011. New times for employee voice?. Human Resource
Management, 50(1), pp.65-74.
Wilkinson, A., Donaghey, J., Dundon, T. and Freeman, R.B. eds., 2014. Handbook of
research on employee voice: Elgar original reference. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Wilkinson, A., Dundon, T., Donaghey, J. and Freeman, R., 2014. Employee voice:
Charting new terrain. The handbook of research on employee voice: Participation and
involvement in the workplace, pp.1-16.
Zhang, Y., Huai, M.Y. and Xie, Y.H., 2015. Paternalistic leadership and employee voice
in China: A dual process model. The Leadership Quarterly, 26(1), pp.25-36.