Week 4 communication matrix and essay

Communication and Culture

Author

Institution

Google’s Culture and Communication

Communication is an important part of an organization culture. On that note, the perception of the credibility of a source is important for action to be taken on any piece of information (van Zoonen and van der Meer, 2015). This paper analyzes the culture of communication at Google. Google’s culture is dynamic and founded on an inspirational ecosystem and strong ethical foundation. The company has a culture of encouraging employees to explore different ideas and not to accept the status quo. The culture of the company is to hold open debates where people ask questions regarding anything they feel is wrong. This approach aims at developing critical thinking among the employees (van Zoonen and van der Meer, 2015). For a culture of openness, to thrive, the company requires its employees to be open and present their true self to work. Google understands that the behaviours, interactions, and actions of people within an organization ate shaped by the perception of culture that the organization creates. On that note organization culture is a collective interpretive scheme common to all members of an organization. Organizational culture provides a frame through which members of an organization use to filter issues and values. This frame also creates a framework through, which people can attribute meanings, interact with people, events, and occurrences (van Zoonen and van der Meer, 2015). Communication is a common denominator in Google because it helps improve innovation. On that note, it is important to note that Google is one of the companies that have successfully deployed communication to drive innovation.

Management Approches

According to Nussbaum (2014 ) Google’s strength and competitiveness draws from its management, whereby a strong leadership has been a crucial component of the organization’s business. In its growth period, Google was led by a team of leaders. This team gave Google a strategic strength in management. While it is easy to be fascinated by Google’s products such as search engine, Google Map, Android among others, the greatest innovation is Google’s management practice (Nussbaum, 2014). We live in an age of cultural and technological divergence which Google has been able to harness for its own good. Change has been rapid to the extent that baby boomers find themselves in a world of generation Xers and Yers (Nussbaum, 2014). Taking the note of this cultural aspect o the world surrounding is important because it affects a company’s approach in the market as well as management strategies. This follows that the corporate world is made of people from the current generation who communicate differently, communicate differently, and use products differently (Nussbaum, 2014). On that note, a company must approach such a market with caution and with innovation to cater for the changing needs of the market. The market keeps changing as more of the new generation increases as opposed to the older generation. Additionally, this rapid change is cause a world of more complexity that has been thought before. Many businesses still continue to ignore the change and continue to approach the market in the old familiar approaches that cannot work in the current dispensation. Conversely, Google is one of the companies that have an innovative management practice (Rudnick, and Kouba, 2006). Its top leadership comprise a mix of experienced individuals who reflect the generational mix we live in today. The bi-generational model of leadership was essential for the evolution of Google from the start-up tech company to the tech giant it is today (Rudnick, and Kouba, 2006). Companies should also consider adopting the bi-generational approach to management because it caters for all generations in the organization. Such a management approach and practice enables an organization to understand the aspirations and values of the youth who happen to be the largest population in the US and around the world. Additionally, this type of management allows an organization to understand and effectively transfer business to a social media platform (Rudnick, and Kouba, 2006).

Power and status

At Google power and status does not affect communication at Google. In fact, communication at Google is open requiring employees at any level to communicate any information that may affect the performance of the organization. Such communication is intended for ensuring that the company takes advantage of the market opportunities when they arise for purposes of communication. Google has work rules, which have been crucial in designing a high freedom work culture, as well as a democratic workplace. A democratic workplace eliminates structural barriers that may hinder communication (Teece, 2010). On that note, employees receive information to enable them carry out their duties effectively and are also allowed to communicate any critical information with the leaders of the organization. Such communication only thrives on shared leadership, which is essential for clearing roadblocks and barriers to free communication. Such a communication approach is important in ensuring organizational success. Employee engagement is an important aspect of communication; engagement is characterized by commitment, credibility, trust and focus. In fact, the above features are also the vital components of an internal communication mechanism. The fact that employees at Google can interact freely with one another and with the powerful leaders of the organization is a success factor for Google. Google understands that not all employee contribute to the workplace equally, however, the company understands that transparency is necessary for all employees.

Organizational Culture

From the above compilation it is apparent that Google’s culture is a culture of employee engagement. Such culture is embedded within the framework and strategy of the organization which values transparency and innovativeness as well as open leadership (Rudnick, and Kouba, 2006). Employees at Google enjoy freedom in work design, which draws from a laid back culture that is characteristic of Google. For the most part, the organization has a tendency of putting its employees first and instilling in them a higher level of discipline and ethics which have been at the core of the business (Nussbaum, 2014). Today, Google’s success comes from its culture which is a combination of principles, ideologies, values, and beliefs that have been crucial in shaping Google’s strategy and innovation. Ethical practices have also been pivotal in driving Google’s success (Ardichvili, Mitchell, & Jondle, 2009). Google’s culture puts it ahead of other companies because it enables the company to develop strategies and products that gives it a competitive advantage. Employee engagement is one of the areas where Google has succeeded in creating a culture of involvement for its employees thus increasing their productivity.

The Overall effect

Employee engagement, culture and communication are intertwined because they all work together for organizational success. A work force has to be empowered by being engaged for it to achieve the goals and objectives of the organization. Similarly, an organization has to involve employees in change management so that such change is successful. Such communication can only thrive where there are no structural barriers to communication.

References

Ardichvili, A., Mitchell, J. A., & Jondle, D. (2009). Characteristics of ethical business cultures. Journal of business ethics, 85(4), 445-451.