Strategic Management Report: Google's Strategy, Tools, and Change

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Google's strategic management, focusing on the processes and tools the company uses to determine its strategy. It evaluates the value of a clear purpose, vision, mission, and objectives in setting the strategic direction for the business, using examples to illustrate key points. The report critically assesses models and tools such as VRIO analysis, PESTEL analysis, and Porter's Five Forces, explaining their implementation within Google. The VRIO analysis examines Google's brand image, customer experience, product range, market position, and HRM practices. The PESTEL analysis identifies political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors affecting Google's strategy. The report also touches upon the importance of change management, considering the complexity, costs, risks, and sustainability of transformation processes. Ultimately, the study aims to provide insights into how Google maintains its competitive advantage in the dynamic business environment.

STRATEGIC
MANAGEMENT

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................3
TASK..............................................................................................................................................3
Critical assessment of process used by organization to determine their strategy........................3
Evaluation of critical model and tool used by organization to determine their strategy.............4
Implementation of tools to organization......................................................................................5
Critically appraise the importance of change management based on the complexity of the
transformation process, its costs, risks and sustainability.........................................................10
CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
Strategic management is the process of setting objectives, procedures and goals in order
to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of a business. In other words, strategic
management is ongoing planning, monitoring, analysis and assessment of all necessities an
organization need to achieve their targets and goals. Strategy evaluation is the approach of
understanding the efficiency of strategic plan in order to achieve the organizational objectives
(Albert and Grzeda, 2015). The process of strategy evaluation defines the effectiveness and
assure the strategic choices which have been taken for the achievement of organizational
objectives. Google is an international technology company which offers internet related services
and products. The company was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin on 4 September, 1998.
The parent company of Google is Alphabet Inc. and various subsidiary companies involves
YouTube, Fitbit, Firebase and many others. The services which are offered by Google are online
advertising, search engine services, cloud computing, software and hardware’s. This project will
define the purpose of vision, mission and objectives in defining strategic decision of the
organization. The study will be based on different tools and techniques, such as VRIO
framework, PESTEL analysis and Porter Five Forces which has been used by organization in
order to understand various factors.
TASK
Critical assessment of process used by organization to determine their strategy
Value of clear Purpose, Vision, Mission and objectives in setting strategic direction for
business with examples
 Purpose- The purpose of an organization defines its reason for existence. Companies that
are purpose-driven are focused on achieving objectives other than profit and shareholder
value (Alyoubi, 2015). The value of purpose for an organization is to create long term
business strategy which will be helpful in gaining competitive advantage, drives
innovation in business, increases brand trust and loyalty and supports business in creating
strong competitive position in the industry.
 Vision- A vision statement reflects a company's long-term aims and objectives in a clear
and precise manner. By offering a picture of the company's future direction, a vision

statement is meant to motivate and encourage personnel. The value of vision is to create
plans, define strategies and objectives, form innovative and planned decisions, coordinate
and evaluate work through which organization can meet their desired targets.
 Mission- The mission of a company can also be described as the reason for its existence.
The aim of a mission-driven company acts as a guideline for accomplishing its goals.
Their goal is to help stakeholders in a constructive view (Barbosa, Castañeda-Ayarza and
Ferreira, 2020). The mission statement offers clear direction which will be helpful in
forming appropriate decisions and offers a focal point for goal setting and planning
strategies and processes for business.
 Objectives- Objectives are important because they support visions to be transformed into
measurable targets. Employees know exactly what they're supposed to do and when
they're supposed to do it. The value of objective can be reflected through establishing
standards for evaluating performance, for motivating employees, for developing layout
and structure of project plan and for planning budgets and procedures which must be
followed on accordance to accomplish desired objectives.
For example, the vision of Google is to provide important service to the world instantly
by delivering relevant information on virtually any topic. The mission of Google is to
organize world’s information by which the company can make that information accessible to
users all around the globe.
Evaluation of critical model and tool used by organization to determine their strategy
VRIO Analysis
VRIO analysis was developed by Jay B. Barney in his work ‘Firm Resources and
Sustained Competitive Advantage’. which supports in evaluating the resources used by an
organization. The VRIO framework is based on four factors which helps in evaluating the
competitiveness of the company which can be maintained with the help of the resources and
capabilities (Berisha Qehaja, Kutllovci and Shiroka Pula, 2017). The framework judges the
resources on the basis of factors such as value, rarity, inimitability and organization. With the
help of VRIO analysis, the company can focus on organizational resources and gain better
knowledge of competitiveness of business. This approach is also helpful in evaluating resource
of the organization and understand the internal business environment.

PESTEL Analysis
PESTEL Analysis was introduced by Francis Aguilar. Pestel Analysis is the tool to
analyze and identify the macro business environment which can create an impact on the
organization strategy and operations. Political, Economic, Social factors, Technological factors,
Environmental factors and Legal factors are the components of external business environment
which are analyzed with the help of Pestel Analysis (Bondarenko and et.al, 2017). This
framework is used as situational analysis for business evaluation process. With the help of
PESTEL analysis, an organization can gain knowledge of wider business environment and
develop external and strategic thinking. This model also helps business in identifying business
threats and supports in forming decisions which can be helpful in minimizing the impact of such
threats and generate opportunities for business success.
Porter Five Forces
Porter Five Forces is a framework for analyzing a company’s competitive business
environment and the attractiveness of an industry in terms of profitability for business. This
model was proposed by Michael E Porter which was developed in 1979 as a framework for
assessing and evaluating competitive strength and position of business. Competitive rivalry,
Power of suppliers, Power of buyers, Power of new entrants and Power of substitution are the
five forces which are determined with the help of Porter Five Forces Mode (Favoreu, Carassus
and Maurel, 2016). This framework helps in forming decisions and developing competitive
strategies by which an organization can gain competitive advantage and maintain their
competitive position in the industry. This tool is helpful in understanding the micro business
environment. The model helps in understanding the factors which affects the profitability in
specific industry and is also helpful in increasing the capacity of business.
Implementation of tools to organization
The various tools and techniques such as VRIO analysis, PESTEL analysis and Porter
five forces are used in order to understand the dynamic business environment and how an
organization can gain competitive advantage. The implementation of these tools and techniques
on Google has been explained underneath:
VRIO Analysis of Google

The VRIO analysis of Google helps organization in determining their resources and
capabilities which helps business in gaining sustainable advantage which will be helpful in
contributing towards business success.
The VRIO analysis of Google has been briefly explained below:
Core
competency
Valuable Rare Inimitable Organized Competitive
advantage
Brand image √ √ √ √ Sustainable
competitive
advantage
Customer
experience
√ √ √ √ Sustainable
competitive
advantage
Product range √ √ √ √ Sustainable
competitive
advantage
Market
position
√ √ √ √ Sustainable
competitive
advantage
HRM √ √ × √ Temporary
advantage
 Brand image- In a technological industry digitalization era brand match is one of the
drivers of sustainable competitive advantage for a business. There are various factors that
can create an impact on organizations brand image such factors in walls consumer
perception and customer choice (Georgiev, 2017). In terms of Google, the company has
created benchmarks that are supported them in creating a strong brand image in the
industry by being a customer centric and through continuous innovation in the business.
As technology plays a crucial role in day-to-day life Google has managed to offer their
services and products that can be used on daily basis free of cost and by offering the user-
friendly products and services this has led to acquiring a customer-friendly image and has

derived customer retention towards the brand. Google regularly focus on improving and
maintaining India brand image by investing in different areas which can improve the
efficiency of the products and services and indulge in activities such as CSR and
sustainability.
 Customer experience- Customer experience is an important determinant that is Focus by
every technology business. The factors such as speed accessibility pricing and efficiency
of production services can create an impact on customer experience. In the context of
Google, the company ensures in delivering superior customer experience by which the
organization can gain sustainable competitive advantage (Honggowati and et.al, 2017).
The company offers various services such as browser Gmail advertising and other
services which involve cloud services, android, and many others are the source for
Google for delivering quality customer experience. All the services offered by Google
have covered a wide market area and are auto customer-centric due to their innovation
quality accessibility and speed which are helpful in meeting customer demand.
 Product range- Diversified range of products offered by Google are the source of
competitive advantage for the business. The company has an introduced a variety of
integrated tools in services for users all around the globe which supported in
strengthening its core competitive advantage. Google offers a full range of services in
comparison to other internet and technology companies and has created benchmarks that
are unbeatable by other organizations. The product ranges from browser to email, search,
maps cloud computing products and other services that can be used by individuals and
organizations. By offering a full range of internet-based services Google has gained a
sustainable competitive advantage.
 Market position- Google operates in Monopoly business environment. The market
position or market share of Google remains strong. The dominance of the web world of
Google is increasing as a strong market position is a source of gaining a competitive
advantage.
 HRM-The human capital is one of the primary sources that can bring a competitive
advantage to the business. In recent years, Google has faced many HR-related issues
where Google has been forced to respond to law and other stakeholders on various points
related to HRM (Jabbar and Hussein, 2017). By facing various issues in HR-related

concerns, this has been one of the factors which have affected the brand image of the
company and affected organizational performance and position in the industry.
PESTEL Analysis of Google
The PESTEL analysis of Google defines the external business environment which defines
the opportunities and threats which can affect the strategy formulation. A brief PESTEL analysis
of Google is discussed below:
Political factors- Government activities and policies create an impact on strategies,
revenue profits and competitive position of Google. The political factors such as wider free trade
agreements and stable political climate in major market creates opportunity for the organization
to maintain their competitive position in the industry (Jenkins and Williamson, 2015). The state
sponsored online companies create competitive threat as these are political external factors which
negatively influence the growth of company.
Economic factors- Economic factors influence remote macro environment where
economic stability, rapid growth in developing countries and decline in cost of renewable energy
are some of the convict factors which access opportunity for Google which are helpful in
enhancing operational stability and offer organization growth. Through decline in cost of
renewable energy it will be helpful in strengthening the energy supply of Google and we'll offer
support for Google corporate social responsibility strategy.
Social factors- Social or social cultural factors such as rising diversity of online users
and increase in the use of social media are the factors which drive opportunity for Google. Such
factors will promote innovation in operations by which Google can grow its customer base and
through incline in diversity of online users this will help in improving the business through
technological tools and innovation to match the diversity of customers and their preferences
(Joyce, 2015). Whereas, rapid criticism against online companies such as use of personal
information is a social factor which can pose threat. Therefore, the social cultural threats can
hinder the brand image of business where as there are opportunities which will be helpful in
boosting organizational performance and goodwill in the industry.
Technological factors- As the technological environment and advancement can be used
by individuals and organization. Google is able to integrate more features on to this platform.

The technological factors such as increase in internet access in developing countries, its client
and adoption of mobile devices in global market and increase in use of cloud services worldwide
altogether creates an opportunity for business to grow through higher sales and it will be helpful
in increasing revenues in the market. Such factors drive opportunities and various advantages to
business, through Google one can strengthen their branded match and competitive position in the
industry.
Environmental factors- The environmental factors generate revenues which influence
business strategic direction. The continuously incline in support for environment and increase in
interest in sustainable business among suppliers creates an opportunity for business
(Pozdnyakova and et.al, 2017). In terms of Google, the company use renewable energy to makes
its service satisfactory through which customer preference for green technology can be met.
These factors help Google in strengthening their brand image in the industry by taking and
practicing initiatives of sustainable business practices.
Legal factors- The legal factors such as incline in regulations on online privacy, stronger
regulations on intellectual property rights are responsible factors for driving advantages and
opportunities for business. These legal factors offer opportunity for Google through which they
can improve their technological goods and services. By imposing regulations for online privacy,
it will support Google to improve products and maximize customer satisfaction.
Porter Five Forces of Google
The Porter force analysis is based on Five forces which helps in determining the
competitive and intensive growth strategies which are followed by Google in order to gain
competitive advantage. The Porter Five Forces model of Google is discussed below:
Competitive rivalry (strong force)- Google faces strong forces of competitive rivalry or
competition as there are other competitor companies which forces high competition to the brand,
these competitors involve- Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and others (Shujahat and et.al, 2017).
The overall level of competition for Google in tech industry is high as Google majorly focus on
innovation and other companies focus on different factors, such as Amazon spend high funds on
their research and development which possess high competition for the company to sustain their
position in the industry.

Power of suppliers (weak force)- The bargaining power of suppliers Google is low as
supplies play a limited role in the provision of main products and services which are offered by
Google. This also limits the cost of operations of Google and supports in achieving higher
operating margins.
Power of buyers (weak force)- The bargaining power of buyers in context of Google is
low as there are millions of users who use the products and services offered by the company
daily (Sołoducho-Pelc, 2017). The primary reason of low bargaining power of buyers Google is
due to high number of buyers which affects the authority and power of customers or consumers.
As there are various customers who use products and services offered by the company which
affects the power of buyers.
Power of new entrants (moderate force)- The threat of new entrants is moderate for
Google as the company has established strong roots in the industry over the years which has been
responsible for strengthening their brand image and competitive position in the industry. Google
is one of the leading companies and has covered wide market share.
Power of substitution (moderate force)- The threat of substitution of products offered by
Google is moderate as there are other companies as well which offers same products and services
whereas, the qualities is the core element of products and services which differentiate Google
from other brands (Somov, 2018). The threat of substitution of products for Google can be
derived from big technological companies which involves Facebook Amazon Microsoft and
Apple. The major area where the threat of substitution of products is high for Google is the cloud
computing services which are offered by the company whereas, Azure and AWS are wide range
of substitute products which can create risk for the company.
Critically appraise the importance of change management based on the complexity of the
transformation process, its costs, risks and sustainability
The business strategy of Google is based on differentiation strategy. The company have
wide and strong customer base which they have strengthened through providing quality and
variety of products and services through which rich customer experience can be delivered. By
following the differentiation strategy, it supports organization in gaining competitive edge over
competitors and maintaining their competitive position in the industry through which they can
maximize business profitability and make progress towards business success. The differentiation

strategy of Google makes business unique among competitors, as the company offers services
such as search engine services and internet search driven advertising which helps in getting
higher customer attention and lead towards business success (Theriou, N. G., 2015).
Google's differentiation business strategy supports the organization in creating strong
customer loyalty. High customer engagement and loyalty has been driven through differentiation
business strategy which supports organization in gaining competitive advantage and maintain
their competitive position in the industry. The web search engine of Google is the most common
search engine which is majorly used by many users as it is simpler and more reliable. Google's
online advertising business AdWords also holds 69% of market share in online advertising
market. Some of the other business strategies followed by Google at corporate level involves-
stability, growth, retrenchment and combination strategy where stability approach focuses on the
resources of organization and how such resources can create competitive advantage in market.
Whereas, the growth strategy of Google focuses on sustainable growth of the business (Witek-
Crabb, 2016). The corporate strategy of Google is to bring innovation, increase value of business
and strengthen customer and brand loyalty with the help of transformation change by creating an
open-source environment. Google has sustained their business in the industry with the help of
innovation and continuous development which are the primary factors of competitive advantage
for company. The organization focuses on their operations by which they can offer a quality
customer experience and manage to maintain their position in industry with their accessible and
reliable products and services.
CONCLUSION
In accordance to the project, it can be concluded that strategic management is one of the
core functions which is responsible for business success. Strategy management and evaluation
are the factors which are responsible for supporting a business in planning all activities through
which an organization can enhance their performance, meet all desired objectives and ensure
business profitability. Strategic management can be stated as planned use of resources and offers
direction to business for meeting organizational objectives. It can be summarized that, there are
numerous tool which helps in determining the progress and efficiency of strategy which has been
followed by the organization. Such strategies are also helpful in determining the internal and
external business environment through which competitiveness of business can be determined.

REFERENCES
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