Corporate Social Responsibility And Organizational Psychology Essay.

Google's Employee-Friendly Offices and Productivity Trends

Discuss about the Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Psychology.

Google was established by Brin Sergey and Larry Page in 1983. Since its establishment, it has grown into an organization known and respected worldwide (Klarke, 2015, p. 4). Google arranges information and makes it available to people who want to use it all over the globe (Klarke, 2015, p. 24). Having watched the videos as directed this is my observation regarding Goggle’s employee friendly offices in USA, China, Brazil and Switzerland (Mazutis, 2012, p. 25). I will also examine the productivity trend of the Google’s employees over time.

Google believes in employees’ comfort as key in improving their productivity. Therefore, it has ensured that its offices are comfy as possible. Aside from that, employees can take part in other enjoyment activities that could break the monotony of working in the office the whole day (Musaraj, 2013, p. 30). For example, Google employees take part in activities like cycling and beekeeping when not working (McKinnell, 2011, p. 320).

During the selection process of employees, the panel ensures that intelligent and intelligent persons are picked as opposed to picking the brightest person (Kalat, 2013, p. 5). This s because, in their eyes, all employees are common and hence the all have the power and capability to help the company meets its goals and visions (Harrington, 2012, p. 80). People from different background are chosen to be that the company has branches all over the world. This way, the company can enjoy the richness of culture and language and offer the same to their customers.

There is an open relation between employers and employees in the organization. There are sessions when employees have a one-one session with Larry and Brin (DeRue, 2011, p. 8). Also, the company believes in the open door policy that ensures friendly relations between the employers and employees in the company. As a leader, it is crucial to appreciate the employees efforts towards the growth of the company as well as making them become part of the decision making process (D Park, 2016, p. 12). Therefore, managers at Google believe in the importance of applying effective leadership skills to foster positive and friendly relations with company employees. The company effectively applies the “open door” policy to show its employees that it listens and participate in sorting their issues (McKinnell, 2011, p. 330). Employees are more likely to trust the company and improve their performance as in the case of Google.

Google Offices Worldwide

Google has its main offices in California, Mountain View, which is also the headquarters to the establishment. The Googleplex, as the Headquarters of Google, has undergone a major transformation since it was developed (Otley, 2016, p. 50). Now, it has flexible offices that are decorated by ideas from different cultures being that the company is multinational. The set up helps employees relax, and think positively (Glavas, 2016, p. 7)

There are three Google branches in China that is in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. It is believed that the Beijing office is the biggest of the three offices. Most Google products are developed here because the office is situated at tech epicenter in Beijing (Deeter-Schmelz, 2016, p. 12). Some of Google products developed here are; Google Maps Search and Search results snippets (Taris, 2016, p. 5). The Offices have conference rooms named in the Chinese language, massage chairs and professional massage located within, full-size gym, pool table, a football pitch and a tennis court located within the areas of the offices.

The company has two offices in Brazil; one São Paulo and the other in Belo Horizonte. Just like in China and the USA, Google offices in Brazil are decorated in line with the Brazilian culture. Because the country is known for its fun-loving nature, like Samba, the offices are made to look relatively informal (Torraco, 2016, p. 410). The employees are offered with free food and soccer fans supporting different teams are allowed to hang the club’s flags in the offices (Schaufeli, 2016, p. 1057). Apart from football, employees also play handball and participate in wine tasting.

The company has one office situated at Zurich. Google offices in Switzerland are named using the local language, for example, Eichhof. Also, the floors are themed with different designs. The offices have massage stations and restaurants that serve high-quality food from both Europe and Asia (Vertino, 2014, p. 8). Google has put its employee's comfort and motivation first. When employees are comfortable, they can be highly productive (Kalat, 2013, p. 12).

Zappos is an online shoe retailer started by Nick Swinmurn in 1999. The company is known widely for offering the best kind of shoes and makes their deliveries on time. In doing so, Zappos ensures that only items available in stock are posted online for sale, and the delivery is made quickly hence encouraging the customer to want to shop from the company again (McKinnell, 2011, p. 35).

Zappos' Holacracy and Customer-Centric Approach

One thing that makes appose stand out from the rest is its application of Holocracy in managing the organization (Cannon, 2013, p. 24). Contrary to the normal, command and control mode of management applied in many organizations, Zappos has ensured that it has gotten rid of titles. The running and management of the business are distributed equally such that each employee manages himself.

My company is an online retail shop just like Zappos. We deal in dresses. In the past, the company has made profits, but we started to notice a decrease hence I was appointed to try and apply the Zappo’s culture and see if it could bring change. I am positive that it can, and I will implement this plan in ways explained below (Musaraj, 2013, p. 20).

To instill a sense of responsibility among the employees, I would apply the Holocracy method of management as employed by Zappo (Vertino, 2014, p. 8). Holocracy will ensure that our employees are aware that they are their managers. Therefore, they will feel like entrepreneurs and motivated to apply their creative ideas. This way they get to own the organization, commit themselves to ensuring improvements in it, hence increasing productivity.

I will also ensure that only items available on the stock are uploaded for purchase and deliveries are made on time as agreed with the client. One of Zappo’s success secret is that it has put customer satisfaction as its main priority (Cannon, 2013, p. 20). Therefore, it has ensured that no customer is disappointed by them. One of the ways a company can disappoint its clients and lose credibility is if it advertises what it does not have in store (Musaraj, 2013, p. 24). Therefore, as the HR consultant, I will ensure that only dresses available are advertised for sale. This way, our customers will have faith in us and continue to come back for more dresses because we are genuine.

Leadership at Google is based on the Laissez-faire and democratic styles model. Employees are given rules and the follow them to accomplish tasks (Mazutis, 2012). One of the most known rules in the company is the 70/20/10 rule which stipulates that employees should spend 70% of their daily routine on an assigned task, 20% of new tasks and the remaining 10% on new initiatives (Harrington, 2012, p. 87). Direct meetings are conducted where the employees have open discussions with the founders and managers (Mazutis, 2012, p. 28).

Implementing Zappos Culture in My Organization

Additionally, the company ensures that it hires highly intelligent and self-motivated people who are later promoted to managerial positions and left alone to handle situations in the company (Vertino, 2014, p. 10). These leadership styles make employees at Google have a sense of belonging in the company since their ideas are discussed openly with the managers and founders hence they are motivated to continue working for it.

Leadership at Zappos is based on the ‘Holocracy’ model that stipulates that power should be distributed equally among employees and there should be no titles, no managers, and no hierarchies. The best thing about this type of leadership is that each person is a charge of what he/she does hence encourage them to be entrepreneurs and responsible. Consequently, employees look forward to coming to work hence an increase in morale.

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