Ethical Dilemma for Google in China: Detailed Case Study Analysis

This case study analyzes the conflict of interest faced by Google as it negotiates its values against Chinese government restrictions. Group A argues that compromising these principles would harm Google's reputation, given their commitment to openness and consumer satisfaction. On the other hand, Group B suggests adapting to external environments is essential for multinational companies like Google, emphasizing potential long-term benefits from entering the Chinese market despite short-term compromises. The study draws on literature to explore how businesses balance ethical values with strategic expansion opportunities.

Running head: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Case Study Analysis: Google
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s note

1CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
Assessment 2
Group A: Yes, it is a conflict
Google is a company that has an image of openness that aims in development of the
organization through innovations and creativity the company has built a new and contemporary
work culture that has gain popularity for being informal and worker friendly. Google identifies
itself as a company that is consumer oriented, all the policies and decisions made by the
organization are for the betterment of the service to ensure that the consumers have easy and
hassle free access to information. Over the years Google has developed its goodwill and
reputation so much so that the name of the company is now associated as a generic term for
searching for information using internet. Hence, it is a conflict of interest if the company agrees
to all the restrictions of the country (Barnard, 2015). China has a very regulated and guided form
of government and the usage of internet facility is also very limited hence this juxtaposes with
the objective of the company and it reflects poorly in the image of the company if the claims that
are made are not met. If Google agrees with the censorship of the Chinese government then the
information that will be available to the people will be restricted and may be limited as well
which means that the customers will not be fully satisfied with the services provided with the
website. This would also mean that they will lose out on customers to the other local websites. A
company should not compromise with the ideologies and values that they follow in order to gain
business (Bird et al., 2016).
Group B: No, it is not a conflict
Any company is impacted by the internal and external business environments the internal
factors are directly under the control of the company, while the external attributes are the ones
which are not under the control of the company these include: political, economic, societal
attributes etc. A multinational company has to deal with the external business environment of
every country of operation and in order to keep the expansion and growth of the company. A
company has to grow to survive in the market and also a company that is widely popular like
Google can easily lose market share if a new company eats up the market share from the
domestic market (Barnard, 2015). For any multinational organization the main threat is from the
organizations that are operating in the domestic market and this case study also suggests the
same. China is regarded as a large consumer of internet based services after united states and this
is the main reason why the Chinese market is Important for a company like Google. It is a big
opportunity for expansion and entering the Asian market. The company should think of a long
term development of the company instead of short term looses from the deal with the Chinese
Government. By accepting the terms and conditions of the government the company can gain
confidence and start operations in the country. Slowly with time the company can build its
reputation among the Chinese people and Chinese government and a new negotiation can be
drawn in order to comply with the values of the company (Trevino & Nelson 2016).

2CASE STUDY ANALYSIS
References:
Bird, F., Twiss, S. B., Pedersen, K. P., Miller, C. A., & Grelle, B. (2016). The Practices of
Global Ethics: Historical backgrounds, current issues, and future prospects. Edinburgh
University Press.
Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do
it right. John Wiley & Sons.
Barnard, A. (2015). Values and Ethics in Social Work Practice.