Case Study Analysis: Google Ethics, Leadership and Management

This case study examines the ethical and leadership challenges faced by Google, a prominent information technology company. It begins with an executive summary that defines business ethics and its importance in corporate governance. The introduction highlights the significance of ethics and leadership for organizations like Google, emphasizing the application of ethical principles and leadership theories. The discussion section delves into two primary ethical issues: controversies surrounding YouTube, including copyright infringement, and privacy concerns regarding user data. The case study analyzes Google's responses, such as the implementation of a "flag" button for copyright violations and the "Do Not Track" option for privacy. The conclusion reiterates the significance of ethics and leadership, providing recommendations for Google to improve its ethical practices and maintain its reputation. The paper references academic sources to support its analysis and recommendations.

Running head: GOOGLE ETHICS: CASE STUDY
GOOGLE ETHICS: CASE STUDY
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Executive Summary
The clinical and managerial definition of business ethics can be elaborated as a study of
desired and appropriate business policies, rules and regulations, laws and practices that
encompasses and considers controversial subjects, such as corporate governance, discriminatory
attitude within as well as outside the organization, inside trading and fiduciary responsibilities
(Crane & Matten, 2016). Leadership attitudes in an organization can clearly define, preach,
propagate and practice strict yet effective business ethics within the organization. The respective
case study that is presented in the assignment talks about the development of Google as a
company, the positive points as well as the drawbacks of the company, the main strategies and
approaches of the company in terms of management and ethics as well as certain significant
problems the company has been facing due to certain mismanagement and drawbacks. The main
issues which Google Inc has been facing are being illustrated and explained hereafter.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................1
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Discussion...................................................................................................................................................4
The first issue..........................................................................................................................................4
The second issue..........................................................................................................................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Ethics and leadership are important factors for any organization and Google Inc is also
not an exception. Google Inc is an America based largest company of information technology
which specializes in internet related products and services, especially, search engines and portals,
cloud computing services, hardware, software and online advertising technologies. The company
Google Inc is a multinational company which works with multidimensional diversity workforce
and is considered to be one of the most popular as well as important hub of information
technology throughout the world (Google.com., 2019). The definition of ethics in the managerial
terms can be said as business ethics are a kind of applied ethics that clearly introspects and
examines the ethical dynamics and principles and also examines the moral and ethical problems
that may arise in the entrepreneur environment and therefore, certain norms and decorum are put
by the business in order to maintain its integrity in the market and environment. Nevertheless, it
is the duty and responsibility of the management team to apply different leadership theories,
approaches and perspectives in order to maintain ethics and integrity within the organization
(Trevino & Nelson, 2016). The respective paper is an essay which clearly introspects, analyses
and interprets the case study related to Google provided and brings out the importance of ethics
and leadership in the respective organization and provides ways how such optimization can be
achieved.

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Discussion
The first issue
Google has been subject to controversy with the beginning of functioning of its services and
products in the global digital portals and platforms. One of the main issues which Google has
faced is the controversy related to its audio-visual and video services, namely YouTube.
YouTube is a popular America based video-sharing website which has been purchased by
Google that allows its users to upload, view, rate, share, record, play, comment and subscribe on
different videos and video channels. It is an immensely helpful website for people from all walks
of life, such as, students, homemakers, professionals and politicians as well. The headquarter of
YouTube is situated in San Bruno, California. Though YouTube brought the world with new and
innovative opportunities to showcase an individual’s talent, it has been a hub of controversy.
YouTube has been sued by an information technology organization named Viacom in the
accusation of copyright infringement after finding copyrighted contents on the website of
YouTube. The community guidelines and ethical policies of YouTube were specifically stated
that YouTube should upload those videos that are authentically made by the users and provided
that the users are authorized to that particular video which is to be uploaded. However, it has to
be understood that all the users of YouTube do not follow the rules and regulations and ethical
policies laid down by the company. Therefore, due to manhandling of the website, such issue has
occurred. The company is assumed to take certain responsibilities for such breach of law, rules
and regulations. The company and its operational management team has formulated a policy
where to detect, identify, remove and eliminate copyrighted materials from the website,
YouTube has enabled its users to a new technology which is known as “flag” button or icon that
flags or marks the videos that have copyright contents in them. Such initiative by the company

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has ensured a greater amount of clarity and precision in their functioning as well as transparency
in their work.
The second issue
The second important ethical issue which Google had been going through was the
privacy concerns. Google, which is a well-known, renowned and reputed company that provides
the customers with premium products and services based on information technology, has been
charged with a plethora of ethical issues and misconducts. For instance, Google has been accused
and charged of tracking the online and digital behavior of the users using their portals and
platforms in order to categorize and optimize them and provide that information to the marketers
and sellers. The businessmen, marketers and sellers use Google as a tool to understand the
market demand and consumer behavior in the global arena in order to modify their course of
business and earn huge profit out of the information. However, such acts are gruesome and
should be highly condemned on every ground. Certain stakeholders, consumers and users also
complain that Google’s use of their personal information is indeed a small price to pay in
exchange for access to the company’s superior services. Google is an information technology
industry that provides the common man with myriads of free information and content. However,
it also has to be remembered that the main source of Google for survival and thrive is the
advertisements it sponsors and platformizes on behalf of other businesses and enterprises.
According to the privacy policy of Google, it is given in details what information it collects and
how it uses that piece of information in their tasks and functioning. Google has made repeated
attempts to be transparent and crystal clear in their functioning and activities to the customers
and the world. However, there are still certain follies that can be noticed in their privacy policies

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and ethical issues if scrutinized in an intense way. It has always been tempting and provoking for
companies who are dealing with the information technology services and products to push the
limits of privacy policy they are recommended to take up because there are still no big or solemn
legislation that has been taken about regulating the factors such as how an internet company
would gather or employ information of the users and customers. However, it always has to be
remembered that such legislations are needed to be put in the company ethics guidelines as the
matters such as privacy are very sensitive and complicated factor for an individual or a
community. It is a lesser known fact that, in 2007, Google had been given the title “hostile to
privacy” rating of the year by the popular watchdog organization Privacy International, which
was apparently unfortunate for the company in terms of goodwill and reputation. Although
Google has been rewarded the title of the most popular search engine throughout the world, one
statistical poll had found out an unfortunate yet an intriguing fact that 52 percent of the users of
Google have found out that they had security threats and concerns about their privacy issues
while using it. Such comments and facts have already proved obnoxious for the betterment and
growth of the organization up to certain extent. Tracking users have become a major problem
and a big issue for the company. The goodwill and reputation of the company is at stake. The
public outrage against Google had tremendously increased when it was found out by the
government that the phones of the company actually tracked the locations of the users, which
was highly critical and controversial issue and was highly condemned from all over the world.
Google play App Store too had the history of tracking its users and customers. However, to
combat such problems and issues, the company has introduced a new feature in the Google
search engine, which is a “Do Not Track” option that indicates that the website which the user is
using or going through should not be tracked at any circumstances. However, there is a great

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folly or fallacy in this feature, which is that the designation of the feature does not possess any
particular legal or regulatory statutory authority and has only merely played the part of being
symbolic and many reputed websites have simply ignored the features, without paying much
heed into the matter and the seriousness of the matter. However, it has to be understood that the
“Don’t be Evil” hymn of Google is one of the positive points in the company that allows the
company to function properly even under such adversities. An alternate recommendation that can
be provided to the company Google in order to improve and maintain their privacy concerns can
be forming and maintaining a separate department which would relentlessly work for the
improvement and enhancement of privacy and ethical issues of Google. Google company has
achieved the title of “best company to work for”. However, Google should optimize its
management departments within the organization so that a proper, efficient and smooth flow of
function can be achieved by the company. Since Google has been facing tremendous ethical
issues since the birth and growth of the company to a large extent, it is the moral duty and
responsibility of the company to immediately frame and build a panel or a community that would
work for the ethical issues of the company, with recruiting experts and professionals in the
respective field, so that such problems can be tackled easily and smoothly, which would further
help the company improve its goodwill and reputation to a large extent. Nevertheless, Google
has always been a company which is highly trustworthy and popular among the masses all
around the world.
Conclusion
The respective paper is an essay which concludes by clearly introspecting, analyzing and
interpreting the case study related to Google provided and brings out the importance of ethics

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and leadership in the respective organization and provides ways how such optimization can be
achieved. Google company, despite of being one of the most reputed company of information
technology products and services all around the world, has faced certain ethical issues and
problems and has been in the limelight of controversy for a reasonable time. The paper
introspects some ethical issues which Google has gone through, which has been clearly
mentioned in the case study, along with the solutions that are also mentioned in the case study.
The respective paper also provides an alternative recommendation for the improvement of ethical
matters within the company so that the goodwill and reputation of the company is not diminished
or questioned on any grounds.

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References:
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2016). Business ethics: Managing corporate citizenship and
sustainability in the age of globalization. Oxford University Press.
Google.com.(2019). Available at: https://about.google/intl/en/
Trevino, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2016). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do
it right. John Wiley & Sons.