Assignment Cover Sheet

Programme BACHELOR OF COMMERCE

Module Name BUSINESS MANAGEMENT 3

Assignment Number 10.1.5
Surname MAFU
First Name/S MGCINI
Student Number 22115111
Date Submitted 10/10/2023
Postal Address

E-MAIL
myregent email address …………………………[email protected]

E-Mail [email protected]
(alternate email address)
Contact Numbers Cell :074 372 3616
Home :
Work :011 523 5006
Alternate contact :
Name: Elizabeth Ncube
Relationship: Partner
Contact number: 0780573965

I ___MGCINI __MAFU_____________ ID/Passport No.__8803076354082______________hereby

confirm that the assignment submitted herein is my own original work.
Date: __10/10/2023____________________
FOR OFFICE USE ONLY
Marks per question (Q)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10
QUESTION ONE

Examine the statement and article above. Evaluate and discuss any two (2)
leadership theories/styles/models that will be successful in creating a culture at
Google that will escalate growth and profitability

-Participative theory. Participative leadership isn’t as common in the corporate world.

Sometimes called democratic leadership, this leadership theory suggests that
employees be directly involved in decision making in their organization. Google CEO
Sunder Pichai stopped its regular town hall style meetings in 2019 which was probably
a mistake at that time which was against Google organizational culture of Openness
which encourages employees to share knowledge and ideas with each other. This on its
own caused employees to be unhappy as their complaints where no longer being heard
by management .There was lack of productivity suggested by Google CEO in July
where he mentioned a drop considering the headcount they have. The participative
theory is whereby a leader simply facilitates a conversation and then takes all the
suggestions, and comes up with the best possible action. In this theory, everyone is
very involved with decisions for the team and organization, with the leader simply
helping direct the charge.
There are many advantages to this theory. Employees feel more engaged and
motivated when they are directly involved in decisions and outcomes for their company.
This theory is not without criticism however—some suggest that this type of style makes
leaders appear weak or unnecessary. It is also a criticism that leaders in this theory
don’t actually get the best outcomes, because they are too engaged in what people
want more than what the company needs.
Bill Gates is a well known example of participative theory. While this theory is still hotly
debated, there are many examples of companies that work to incorporate employees
more in the decision making process. In this theory, a leader may have a meeting to ask
employees how to solve a particular problem. They encourage employees to be open
and honest about their thoughts. They take all the suggestions, and meet with other
leaders to discuss them. Leaders then make a decision based on the input from
employees and their own decision making. Employees tend to appreciate this style,
though it can be less effective overall. In response Pichai addressed questions from
employees during the most recent all hands meeting Google employees aren’t happy at
all the perception among employees is that Google is nickel and diming while Google
reports record profits. This shows that there is no growth and productivity among the
Google employees.
This theory if adopted will bring growth, productivity and drive profits in an organisation
as employees are given a chance to voice their concerns and concerns addressed by
the leadership or managers. Google's culture strongly encourages employees to be
innovative in whatever they do. To encourage innovation, Google supports risk-taking
and offers financial rewards for successful innovations. One of the reasons employees
enjoyed coming to work was free perks like food, games, fitness centres, dry cleaning
and Google spend money to attract and keep talent.

Relationship theory. The relationship theory of leadership focuses on leaders who are
mainly concerned about their interactions with others. They are often mentors for
employees, scheduling time to talk to them and working to meet their needs. These
kinds of leaders are focused on making work enjoyable for as many people as possible,
and they want to foster a positive work environment. Studies show that this kind of
leadership behavior can be the most effective for many employees. Relationship-
oriented managers often get better results from their employees increasing growth and
profitability for the organisation.

Google's culture encourages employees to communicate between departments and to

make social connections. As informal relationships between employees not only make
sharing ideas easier but also improve employees' wellbeing.

There are many advantages to this kind of leadership. Employees feel confident in their
leader and want to follow them. They are also inspired to be good leaders to others.
Mentorship provides great opportunities to foster growth in employees, and encourages
them to stay at the organization for a longer period of time. There are some critics for
this kind of leadership however, including thoughts that relationship driven leaders may
be unwilling to view employees who are causing problems at face value, they can let
relationships get in the way of work, and they can be guided to favor people over
productivity. However, most experts agree that relationship driven leaders are actually
more effective at the end of the day.
An example of relationship theory would be a manager who takes a newer employee
under her wing. She works to help this employee understand how they fit within the
organization, encourage them to be open about questions and problems, and create a
positive working relationship. This employee then is encouraged to work hard, point out
issues, and helps solve problems for the company.
QUESTION TWO

Analyse the statement and article above. Critically discuss four (4) leadership
traits that would be beneficial to Google’s leadership in showing employees that
they are valued.

1. Good leaders engage in open communication.

Employees want to be heard — whether it's an issue that needs resolving or ideas they
believe would improve the business or better serve clients. Google needs to continue
with regular town hall style meetings which employees are given a chance to raise their
concerns in that way they will feel valued.

When you don’t communicate well with your team or employees, they may feel
discouraged, resulting in poor morale and lower production.

The best leaders customize their communication styles to suit each situation and team
members' preferences — which means they take the time to learn which communication
mode each team member prefers. If open communication was adopted correctly by
Google the CEO would have seen an increase in productivity.

The leadership at Google can also use a straightforward mobile app like Blink to turn its
employees into a close-knit group by enabling communications between them.

Effective communication decreases misunderstandings and employee errors, builds

trust among team members, and improves morale.

As long as it's done respectfully, open communication should maintain a work

environment that promotes honest communication.

They can also encourage open communication by:

 Promoting a judgment-free environment since their employees are likely to give

their opinions more often when they don’t fear discrimination.
 Giving undivided attention to team members when they’re speaking.
 Asking employees for suggestions to increase their engagement. You'll aim
to implement employee engagement strategies that work.
 Asking (not demanding) employees to do stuff for you.
2 Great leaders encourage professional and personal development.

One of the most critical leadership qualities you can have is nurturing your staff by
giving them personal development opportunities. One of Google culture is Innovation -
Google's culture strongly encourages employees to be innovative in whatever they
do. To encourage innovation, Google supports risk-taking and offers financial rewards
for successful innovations. In this way employees feel valued in an organization.

That can include anything from leadership training or teaching them a new skill to
encouraging them to pursue a passion that inspires them in and out of the workplace.
Employees value learning opportunities, so it's no surprise that companies with
successful training programs typically see a significant increase in employee retention.
In such a case, every employee will feel you care about their goals, dreams, and overall
well-being.

When that happens, your employees will go above and beyond to help you achieve your
goals and vision.

Here are four strategies you can use to encourage professional and personal
development in the workplace:

 Encourage mentoring and coaching between managers and employees.

 Identify and develop soft skills such as time management, active listening, and
delegation.
 Implement cross-departmental training programs to increase the efficiency of
your entire company.
 Use a learning management system (LMS) to streamline employee training.

3. Successful leaders lead their employees by example.

One of the characteristics of a good leader is their ability to ‘walk the talk.’

Here’s an instance of a true leader leading by example:

A leader arriving early few minutes early to plan his/her schedule.

When the team/ employees start to arrive, you greet them warmly and inquire about
their families.
The leader then calls the team members into a morning meeting. And instead of leading
with your plan, you give each person a chance to voice their ideas. You as a leader you
appreciate your team input and asks them to create proposals to bring their ideas to life.

As a result, you as a leader you gets high levels of employee engagements Leading by
example means guiding your employees through actions instead of words. The saying
‘do as I say, not as I do’ has no place in today’s world.

Nowadays, employees want to see your actions match what you say. That means
showing them what’s required instead of just telling them.

Here are four ways to lead by example:

 Be a role model to your employees by walking the talk.

 Give clear instructions to your staff.
 Avail yourself to answer questions your employees might have.
 Make employees feel part of the team by letting them know why you're giving
them specific instructions.
 Use respectful words like ‘please’ when giving instructions to your team
members.

4. Strong leaders give constructive feedback to employees about their

performance.

Employee feedback is an incredibly effective tool. Offered well, it can grow your
employees, strengthen bonds between staff and managers, and improve trust levels.

Like what Bill Gates says

“We all need people who will give us feedback. That’s how we improve.”
— Bill Gates

Direct, honest feedback is the best way to steer your team in the right direction.

Don’t wait for monthly or quarterly assessments to give your employees feedback. Give
them right after an event has occurred. It will have the most significant impact on their
performance.

Here are four tips to help you give employees effective feedback that gets the results
you need:

 Give individual feedback privately.

 Avoid sandwiching corrective feedback between two positive feedbacks. It will
create confusion, undermine the feedback, and decrease trust levels.
 Focus on your employees' behaviors (what they do) rather than their personality
traits (what they’re like).
 QUESTION THREE

Conduct a SWOT analysis for Google in context of the article above.

Google is probably the world’s best-known company for pioneering the search engine
revolution and providing a means for the internet users of the world to search and find
information at the click of a mouse.

Strengths

 Market Leader in Search Engines

Perhaps the biggest strength of Google is that it is the undisputed leader in

search engines, which means that it has a domineering and lion’s share of the
internet searches worldwide. Google has more than 65% of the market share for
internet searches and the competitors do not even come close to anywhere that
Google does.

 Ability to Generate User Traffic

Google is a household brand in the world, its ability to drive internet user traffic is
legendary, and this has helped it become one of the most powerful brands in the
world. Indeed, Google averages more than 1.2 Billion hits a month in terms of the
unique searches that users perform on the site. This gives it an unrivaled and
unparalleled edge over its competitors in the market.

 Revenue from Advertising and Display

Its revenue model wherein it garners humungous profits through partnerships

with third party sites has held the company in good stead as far as its ability to
mop up resources and increase both its top-line as well as bottom-line is
concerned. This is another key strength of the company that has helped it scale
greater heights.

 Introduction of Android and Mobile Technologies

The last of the strengths discussed here relates to its adoption of Android and
Mobile technologies, this has resulted in it becoming a direct competitor of Apple
as far as these devices, and operating systems are concerned.
Weaknesses

 Excessive Reliance on Secrecy

Google does not reveal its algorithm for searches or even its basic formula as far
as internet searches are concerned leading to many experts slamming the
company for being opaque and hiding behind the veneer of secrecy. However, in
recent years, Google has taken steps to redress this by providing a bare bones
version of its unique search engine algorithm.

 Falling Ad Rates

In recent years and especially in 2013, the company has been faced with
declining revenues from ads and as a result, the profitability of the company has
taken a hit. This is partly due to the ongoing global economic slowdown and
partly because of competitors snapping at its heels in a more aggressive manner.
Indeed, Apple has already taken steps to garner search engine revenues in its
devices and hence, Google must be cognizant of the challenges that lie ahead.

 Overdependence on Advertising

Google’s business model relies heavily on advertising and the numbers reveal
that it gets more than 85% of its revenues from ads alone. This means that any
potential dip in revenues would cost the company dearly (literally as well as
metaphorically).

The point here is that Google has to devise a more robust business model that
embraces e-commerce and mobile commerce along with its current business
model that is based on ad revenues alone.

 Lack of Compatibility with next generation devices

Another weakness for Google is that it is not compatible with many next
generation computing platforms including mobile and tablet computers and this
remains an area of concern for the company.

Opportunities

 Android Operating System

Perhaps the biggest opportunity for Google lies in its pioneering effort in
providing the Android OS (Operating System) which has resulted in its becoming
a direct competitor to Apple and Samsung.
  Diversification into non-Ad Business Models

As discussed earlier, the company has to diversify into non-ad revenues if it has
to remain profitable and current indications are that it is adapting itself to this as
can be seen from the push towards commercial transactions using its numerous
sites like Google Books, Google Maps etc.

 Google Glasses and Google Play

The introduction of Google Glasses and Google Play promises to be a game

changer for Google and this is a significant opportunity that the company can
exploit. Indeed, this very aspect can make the company take the next
evolutionary leap into the emerging world of nano-computing.

 Cloud Computing

Cloud Computing remains a key opportunity for Google as it is already

experienced in providing storage and cloud solutions. Indeed, if not anything, it
can move into the enterprise market using the cloud-computing paradigm.

Threats

 Competition from Facebook

The advent of Social Media has seriously threatened Google’s dominance in the
internet world and the company has to pull an ace to deal with the increasing
features available on Facebook and Twitter.

 Mobile Computing

Another threat to Google is from the emerging area of mobile computing that
threatens to pass the company by as newer companies seize the opportunity to
ramp up their mobile computing presence.

 Amazon over Google?

Google needs to be wary of Amazon too. More people turn to Amazon for
products rather than asking Google for store recommendations. The vast
reviews, shops, and sellers hosted on Amazon have led users to turn to choose
Amazon first and Google second.
 QUESTION FOUR

As an organisational development expert, apply the strategic planning process to

Google.

Strategic planning is a crucial process for organizations to set their long-term goals and
determine the actions required to achieve them. Let's apply the strategic planning
process to Google:

1. Vision and Mission:

Google's vision is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible
and useful." Its mission is to "organize the world's information and make it universally
accessible and beneficial."

2. Environmental Analysis:

Google needs to conduct a thorough analysis of its internal and external environment.
This includes assessing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT
analysis). It should also consider factors such as technological advancements, market
trends, and competition.

3. Setting Objectives:

Based on the environmental analysis, Google should set specific, measurable,

achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives. For example,increasing
market share in emerging markets or developing innovative products.

4. Strategy Formulation:

Google needs to develop strategies to achieve its objectives. This may involve
diversifying its product portfolio, expanding into new markets, or enhancing its
technological capabilities. The strategies should align with the company's strengths and
opportunities while addressing weaknesses and threats.

5. Strategy Implementation:

Google should create an action plan to implement its strategies effectively. This involves
allocating resources, defining responsibilities, and establishing timelines. It should also
consider any necessary changes to its organizational structure, processes, or culture.

6. Evaluation and Control:

Google must regularly monitor and evaluate its progress towards its objectives. Key
performance indicators (KPIs) should be established to measure success. If deviations
occur, corrective actions should be taken to ensure the company stays on track.

7. Review and Adaptation:

Strategic planning is an ongoing process. Google should regularly review its strategies
and make adjustments as needed. This allows the company to adapt to changing
market conditions, technological advancements, and customer preferences.

By following these steps, Google can effectively plan its future direction and ensure its
long-term success.

The strategic plan will have to examine Google’s external environmental influences.
Next, in-depth assessment on the industry’s competitive five forces which affect
Google’s profitability will be done. Lastly, Google’s internal strength and weaknesses
will be analyzed to generate its competitive implication. From these analyses, we
discovered that Google will face legal and performance issues due to its offensive
strategy in the long run. We have developed three strategic alternatives (Strategic
Alliances, Defensive Strategies and Broadening Diversification Base) which Google can
adopt to enhance its competitive position. The plan will be concluded with a
recommended strategic alternative and its pitfalls.

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS
PEST Analysis

After conducting PEST and Porter Analysis for Google, we have derived at the
following:

Political: The expansion of Google was obstructed by the government such as US and
Chinese authority. They viewed Google as a monopoly and request authority to monitor
its activities (Google, 2009). However, this barrier does not affect Google’s operations
as Google responded immediately to the customers by addressing its policies in regard
to political/legal aspects. Example: Google China announced that it is still providing
filtered search results on its website to comply with censor search results’ regulations
(China Daily, 2010).

Economic: Google focuses on highly targeted, measurable advertising, thus making it

more successful than other competitors. The crucial need to stay up to date and
continuously connected keeps its core services vibrant despite the parched
surroundings due to economic recession (Google, 2010).
Social-Cultural: Individuals are getting more educated and competent. Therefore
lifestyle and demand of individuals are changing rapidly. Google has to take note of
such changes in order to compete with its competitors by providing addition services
such as email. Individual are also increasingly becoming more connected due to the
increased means of communication available through the internet such as MSN, face
book and mobile phone with internet capability. Google has responded by building their
mobile devices and released its own Android Mobile Phone Platform and Operating
System. By tapping on these, Google shall have great advantage with increased
number of search queries and better competitive standing.

Technological: The widespread diffusion of information and communication technology

allows board geographic dispersion and integration of business activists. Innovative web
applications set trends in search, internet direct advertising and portable applications
thus causing a more rapid and disruptive change in technology. Google has to take
detailed measures to stay ahead by keeping pace with technology advancement and
maintains low cost (Refer to Exhibit A for Overview of PEST analysis).