This report discusses ethics and sustainability in business organizations, with a focus on Google. It explores the value management theory and analyzes the ethical issues in Google. Recommendations are provided for addressing these issues.
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Ethics and Sustainability in Google0 Title: Ethics and Sustainability Assignment Name: Student Name: Course Name and Number: Professor: Date:
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Ethics and Sustainability in Google1 Executive Summary The aim of the report is to discuss ethics and sustainability in business organizations. The focus is, particularly on Google. The value management theory is illustrated along with the analysis of the ethical issues in the company. Furthermore, the recommendations are provided with regard to the ethical issues observed in Google. The company has a code of conduct that is expected to be followed by each and every member associated with the same. It has an appreciation for employees and values ethical practices. The analysis of the company’s ethical culture gave an insight into the working and managing CSR.
Ethics and Sustainability in Google2 Table of Contents Introduction......................................................................................................................................2 Summary of Scenario......................................................................................................................3 Values Management Theory............................................................................................................4 Analysis...........................................................................................................................................6 Ethical Issues in Google..................................................................................................................8 Solutions and Recommendations.....................................................................................................8 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9 References........................................................................................................................................9
Ethics and Sustainability in Google3 Introduction In the present era, the focus of the organizations is more on sustainability instead of productivity or profit maximization. The business organizations that are more directed towards the profit maximization take decisions considering the short-term vision, however, the long-term thinkers are most focused on sustainability. Sustainable development is a concern for organizations that want benefits in the long run. This assignment discusses the importance of ethics and sustainability that is crucial for ethical decision making. The main issue faced by the organizations is that they have to behave ethically towards their stakeholders under the most uncertain conditions. The solution to this is sustainable development and that is focused on the success of the business as well as the welfare of the society. Summary of Scenario Ethics are vital in any business and organization. The success of the organization depends on how well the organization is following its ethics. The ethics generally mean the expected moral behavior from the employees and members of the organization. The ethics are not limited to the behavior of an individual (Kibert, Thiele, Peterson & Monroe, 2012). The concept of ethics in Google is comprised of processing and operations, transparency, the security of data and information, decision making, etc. It helps in building a reputation and achieving the organizational goals. The ethical organizations are preferred by the customers as well as the suppliers. Being unethical might give profits for a small while but in the long-run ethical organizations are the one that excels. It is also important to be aware of ethics. At Google, the decisions about products, costs, production, manufacturing, stakeholders, clients, business
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Ethics and Sustainability in Google4 partners, operations and processes, and services should be made as per the ethical guidelines(De George, 2014). Sustainability means dealing with future challenges so that future generations could enjoy the existing resources and lifestyle. To maintain a sustainable business environment the organizations should focus on taking long-term focus on keeping an equilibrium in economies and social influence of business. The organizations that are ethically committed towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Google is one of them. The awareness is better than it ever was and that is why organizations do not only focus on the profits rather they are concerned about the impact they have on people and the environment (Oppenheim & Stuchtey, 2015). According to Google, the best way to achieve the goals is to prioritize users. This can be done by providing quality service and satisfactory user experience. This will help in generating higher traffic growth and promotion. In addition, the organization strives to build sustainability in every operation (Lin & Selinger, 2014). Google holds the view that a clean, healthy and beautiful future begins with the small everyday decisions and that is why they believe in making effective utilization of resources and keeping the environment in view. Furthermore, the company also aims to inspire others to do the same. The company has more in mind to do for the welfare of society and operate in a way that is environmentally sustainable. Values Management Theory Lately, there have been many approaches to management in order to enhance organizational performance. Some of the most common approaches are total quality management, kaizen team building, empowerment, team building, and many more. The value
Ethics and Sustainability in Google5 best management is the most appreciated of these all. Under Value-based management, the value of a company is attributed to the discounted cash flows(Austin, 2010). The creation of value is done when the investment is done at the returns that are more than the cost of that capital. With the help of value management theory, Google is able to take long-term decisions as well as the decisions for routine operations. If the application of this approach is done well it will help align the organization’s goals, techniques, and management processes in order to keep in view the decisions of the management regarding key attributes of the value. The planning in the early decades was different and now the approaches are far better and ethically sustainable. The need to identify and replace the basic hierarchy system has been felt. Now, the value-based metrics have enabled the managers at Google to make sound decisions. With the help of it, the balance sheet, as well as the income statement, can be managed well with the value-based management. It is observed that the value-based management is beneficial for the organizations in ways more than one. The economic performance is enhanced and impact is also higher (Dale, 2016). Every coin has a flip-side and so does value-based management. It becomes an activity that is meant for staff and has no impact on the managers in the process of decision making. The focus of value-based management should be on the enhancement of corporate culture. The manager who focuses on value-based focuses on the metric of performance and uses it as a tool for making decisions(Sugumar, Balasekaran & Chandrachud, 2018). Google uses value management in the organizational structure and provides a1n opportunity to make better decisions. A good sign that value management is working correctly is that it provides appropriate information and incentives so that value-based decisions can be made. It will help compare and contrast the value of alternative strategies. The financial targets are fixed by top management by
Ethics and Sustainability in Google6 the system of evaluation and compensation that reinforce value creation and also the process of strategy review process between managers and seniors. Both long term and short term targets are kept in view(Yi, 2012). Furthermore, value-based management can be well clarified as a relationship between the value creation mindset and processes of management. Putting both these components together the impact can be great and sustainable(Jennings, 2012). The main purpose of the economic organization such as Google is to develop a value for the owner. Moreover, the management theory of value has developed as a philosophy rather than a method. In this century, value creation and value management are the determinants of the organization’s success. Analysis The past few decades have been focusing on business ethics and sustainability quite some more. This is because the unethical behavior in the organizations has prevailed a lot. The companies like Anderson, Arthur, Enron and more are known for their unethical behavior. The top managers at these firms exploited their position and persuaded some significant financial benefits for themselves and the company. Due to this unethical behavior, the company was ruined and so was the reputation. It has not only damaged the managers, but the careers of hundreds of employees, stakeholders, and society faced issues(Newton, Etzion, Rasche & Schuler, 2013). The Google users in China are in support of their country’s decision and believe that the company will not be able to cooperate with the laws and policies of Chinese government whereas the critics hold a totally contradicting view that Google wouldn’t launch the heavily
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Ethics and Sustainability in Google7 censorship program because in China there is a great market for Google. There are a large number of people that use the services provided by Google and hence they cannot jeopardize it. Google is more aware of their ethical responsibilities and fair corporate governance. The latest practice includes expressing corporate values and making sure that all employees receive and understand that. The organization, like Google, focuses on ethical behavior and sustainability(Weiss, 2014). A ‘Google code of conduct’ was published which is a public facing document. It enlists the set of behavior that is expected from the personnel, partners, managers and every person of the organization to know and follow. It is surprising to know that the ‘Google code of conduct’ actually includes a phrase like ‘don’t be evil’. The company believes in acting transparent and providing the best quality services and products. They also aim at doing ‘the right thing’ by abiding by the law and behaving like a responsible citizen. The corporate social responsibility (CSR) is followed by the four principles, namely, economic, legal, ethical, and social responsibility(Soules, 2013). Google is an undisputed leader in the marketplace and that has made the company economically viable. Also, it supports innovation of new technology, developing new products and services with the goal to grow for in the risky business environment. The legal responsibility is also fulfilled by the company in a way that it follows rules and regulations. They maintain fair prices and competition along with a smooth market that ensures the free flow of goods and services. There were several accusations regarding Google being unethical, but the company has made its best efforts to contradict the same and be legally responsible.
Ethics and Sustainability in Google8 The ethical responsibility is concerned with customers, stakeholders, employees, competitors, colleagues, etc. In this particular aspect, Google has been at the top. It values its employees and customers and treats everyone with respect and dignity. The code of conduct clearly states this point. The organization also measures its business standards, according to the highest level of ethics. Also, reputation is valued at Google and the company provides a safe and healthy working environment. The company also took some ‘green initiatives’ to make the best use of the resources in an efficient manner. The last level is corporate social responsibility. Google believes in charitable work and philanthropic activities. Moreover, it provides grants, supports technological products, and product support for non-profit organizations. The company further operates in a sustainable way to get most of the technology and utilizing the available resources efficiently. In any organization, the manager should have traits like behavioral integrity, emotional intelligence, and also should be a risk-taker (Webb, 2014). Ethical Issues in Google Google has planned to launch a heavy censorship search engine in China. However, it is against Chinese censorship laws. In fact, the company withdrew all the services from China due to the restrictions on freedom of speech. But they plan to launch the heavy censorship search engine. The major stakeholders in China are Chinese Google users and it is going to impact them severely. The analysis is that the people of China support their country and believe that Google should not launch the new plan because of the Chinese policies. Some others believe that Google will take no such step because it has a great number of users in China and would not affect the clientele(Tan & Tan, 2012).
Ethics and Sustainability in Google9 Solutions and Recommendations Google’s plan of the heavy censorship search engine is a bold move in China because the country has limited speech of freedom and due to this, the earlier projects were also pulled. If this project will be launched, it will affect the interest of the stakeholders of the country who are major stakeholders. In addition, the advertising agencies and Google search users will also be impacted. On the basis of the analysis, China should ease up a little on the freedom of speech and operating in the country, and this should also not affect the interests of the stakeholders. Google is one of the best service providers in the field and it should work on convincing the Chinese government of the benefits of its services and communicate the policies and strategies effectively. In addition, it should also provide a wide range of services for the people who seek information and other organizations by giving ads online. This step will be advantageous to both. The cheaper services from Google will be good for both parties. Conclusion In general, everyone, be it customers or suppliers or partners prefer the organizations that are ethical and values ethics in their business. Over the years, it has been observed that unethical businesses live a short life and do not flourish in the long term. This goes for the small scale organizations as well as for small-scale business. It ruins the reputation, image, brand, and everything that the organization must have achieved. The only difference in a big and small unethical business is that of financial backing. The big organizations might come back up because they have the means to do so, whereas the small organizations are ruined forever. So,
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Ethics and Sustainability in Google10 ethics are crucial for all businesses to establish themselves and achieve sustainability. Through business ethics, an organization understands how it is expected to behave and operate in the market. It is safe to say that they are necessary for survival.
Ethics and Sustainability in Google11 References Austin, J. (2010). From Organization to Organization: On Creating Value.Journal Of Business Ethics,94(S1), 13-15. Dale, O. (2016). Ethical issues and stakeholders matter.Addiction,111(4), 587-589. De George, R. (2014).Business ethics. Harlow, Essex: Pearson. Jennings, M. (2012).Business ethics. Mason, Ohio: Thomson/South-Western. Lin, P., & Selinger, E. (2014). Inside Google's Mysterious Ethics Board. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/privacynotice/2014/02/03/inside-googles-mysterious- ethics-board/ Kibert, C., Thiele, L., Peterson, A., & Monroe, M. (2012). The Ethics of Sustainability. Retrieved from https://www.cce.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Ethics%20of %20Sustainability%20Textbook.pdf Newton, L., Etzion, D., Rasche, A., & Schuler, D. (2013). Business Ethics Quarterly Special Issue Environmental Sustainability and Business: Crisis or Opportunity?.Business Ethics Quarterly,23(4), 644-646. Oppenheim, J., & Stuchtey, M. (2015). Like it or not, sustainability is now core to your business. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2015/09/24/sustainability-practices-in-business-intel- unilever-wal-mart-dupont/ Soules, A. (2013). I Google, You Google, We Google...Against The Grain,20(2).
Ethics and Sustainability in Google12 Sugumar, S., Balasekaran, S., & Chandrachud, S. (2018). Economics of sustainability-A theoretical perspective.Indian Journal Of Public Health Research & Development,9(12), 40. Tan, J., & Tan, A. (2012). Business Under Threat, Technology Under Attack, Ethics Under Fire: The Experience of Google in China.Journal Of Business Ethics,110(4), 469-479. Webb, T. (2014). The difference between Ethics and Sustainability | Sustainability = Smart Business. Retrieved from http://sustainablesmartbusiness.com/2014/06/the-difference- between-ethics-and/ Weiss, J. (2014).Business Ethics. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Yi, H. (2012). Business Ethics and Post-Modernity: A Sociological Analysis of the Business Ethics.Society And Theory,21, 191.