The Successful Business Of Google Inc Commerce Essay

The Successful Business Of Google Inc Commerce Essay The aim of this study is to explore the features of an organization that contribute towards successful technological innovations. We would use a case study approach to analyze the same, with company in focus being Google Inc. We would use the book Managing Innovation by Joe Tidd and John Bessant as the base for our literature review. This would be supported by the following articles: The Innovation Value Chain, The Ambidextrous Organization, Innovation Management in context: Environment, Organization and Performance, Managing Innovative RD teams and Leadership and Innovation: Relations between Leadership, Individual Characteristics and the Functioning of RD teams. The study showcases that there is no single best structure that facilitates innovation. An organization needs to develop the most suitable fit between the structure and the operating contingencies. There are numerous things that affect the innovative performance of the company and innovation should not be looked at in isolation but as a whole cross-functional system. Literature Review and Case Study: Tidd and Bessant (2009) state that an innovative organization needs to align itself with the external environment and build internal structures, processes and culture that enable innovation to flourish. Innovation depends on a range of factors and the innovation process should change itself with changes in the business environment. There is no single best measure of innovation and some indicators work well for certain sectors while others dont. In short, fostering innovation is a lot more complex than it sounds. A set of components, which appear to be linked with success, have been drawn out by Tidd and Bessant (2009). Let us examine these components in greater detail. Shared Vision, Leadership and the Will to innovate: Leadership is perhaps the most critical ingredient in any successful company. Without this, an organization cannot move forward. Not everybody is able to recognize opportunities. Leaders need to have an alert mind to spot them and have the risk taking ability, ability to motivate others in the team and the will to innovate and exploit the opportunity. Stoker et al (2001) state that the role of leaders keeps changing according to different stages of innovation. The leadership style also keeps evolving, from being visionary at the initial stage and take the first step, to involving employees and then to facilitating self-managing teams. A leader has to exercise a style that fits not only the team, but also the environmental characteristics and individual characteristics of the team members. It has been observed that empowering people is directly related to the quality of work and it also enhances the loyalty of employees. Top managements commitment and shared sense of purpose among the employees/team members are key features of a successful organization. The founders of Google Inc., Larry Page and Sergey Brin, had the mission to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful (Corporate Information). It is this mission of theirs that motivated them and provided them with the courage to take it forward. They struggled quite a lot to get initial funding to get the venture started (Casey, 2007). It was due to their will and leadership qualities that Google took off and now adds value to the whole world. Appropriate Structure: If an organization wants to thrive, its structures and processes need to enable technological change. As innovation does not happen in isolation, smooth flow of information and cross-functional co-operation are required to foster innovation. An innovation is like a fragile flower that needs right kind of environment to flourish. It does not take long for a potentially great innovation to simply die out. Tidd (2001) argues that complexity and uncertainty of the environment affects the degree, type, organization and management of innovation the greater the fit between these factors, the greater the performance of the innovation. Organizational structures are influenced by the nature of task to be performed and by the business environment. Increasingly, innovation is becoming a corporate-wide task, involving not only RD but also production, marketing, administration and other external entities such as customers, suppliers, consultants, etc. It is important to note that not always do loose models/structures for innovation work and appropriate balance needs to be sought between the flexibility and rigidity of the structure. Thamhain (2003) states that the key challenge is not so much of generating ideas in the RD department, but effective transfer of technology from the inception to the market. Here, an appropriate structure is required to enable the transfer. One of the toughest challenges faced by companies is to balance current/present opportunities with future ones (OReilly Tushman, 2004). Under such circumstances, it is suggested that an organization has separate structure/process/culture for new innovations as the existing system might cause hindrances for the new ones. According to the book, The Google Story, the initial employees of the company were actually friends who studied at the Stanford University with Larry Page Sergey Brin. Due to this, the environment in Google was always casual and had little hierarchies. Even though the environment has always been casual, the co-founders still hold a tight grip on many of the companys decisions (Smith, 2007). It is this casual atmosphere and horizontal management style that forms an appropriate structure to foster innovation. Key Individuals: As there are various uncertainties and complexities involved with innovations, it is helpful to have a key individual (or a group) who is passionate and enthusiastic about the innovation and is willing to take it through the organizational system. These key individuals may be product champions or the leaders of the organization. Through their passion, they motivate others in the organization to look at their innovative idea / invention that could add value not only to the customers but also the organization. They have to have the ability to solve problems that could arise during the development / commercialization process and should be committed towards it. Even if they do not have detailed technological knowledge, they need to strongly believe in the potential of the innovation. Key individuals would also need to face other issues such as procuring resources, convincing skeptical or hostile critics elsewhere in the organization. Their faith in the potential should be so strong that they manage to overcome all the barriers. Larry Page Sergey Brin have been the leaders and key individuals behind Google. They had a complete understanding of the technology. They faced a lot of challenges initially, especially with regards to funding, but they stuck to what they believed in and overcame all the barriers. Now, they encourage their employees to embrace the role of key individuals with regards to their respective innovative idea (Weldie, 2009) and take their ideas forward. High Employee Involvement in Innovation: Just like the saying, The more the merrier, the more the number of people involved in an innovation, the chances are that feedback and suggestions provided by them would help to improve the offering. Innovation is no longer confined to specialists in RD, Marketing or IT departments. It should be realized that creative skills and problem-solving abilities are possessed by almost everybody in the organization. Although each individual may only be able to make limited, incremental innovations, the sum of these efforts can have far-reaching impacts. Continuous improvements, involving large number of motivated individuals and taken over an extended period of time, has the potential to significantly impact the strategic development of the organization. This could also turn out to be an inimitable source of competitive advantage over the long term. Effective Team Work: The only factor that equals Leadership of the organization to achieve successful innovation is an effective team work. It is the team that is at the heart of the innovation activity. If innovation is primarily about combining different perspectives in solving problems, then teams/groups have more to offer than individuals in terms of fluency of idea generation and in flexibility of solutions developed. Cross-functional teams can bring together different knowledge sets required to take the innovation forward. They also represent a forum where deep rooted differences in perspectives can be resolved. As an innovation is not confined to a single department, a cross-functional team can help other departments understand different perspectives and help facilitate smooth flow of information and integration between different departments. With this in mind, teams are increasingly being seen as a mechanism for bridging boundaries within an organization and in solving inter-organizational issues . In order to develop an effective, high-performance team, tasks and objectives must be clearly defined, there should be effective team leadership, there should be a good balance of team roles and it should be matched to the individuals behavioral style and a continuous interaction with other factors that could affect the innovation. It should be noted that such teams rarely happen by chance. They result from a careful selection which is aligned with the needs and requirements of the innovative idea in hand. An effective team is a critical determinant of the projects success and the corporate management should be responsible for putting together a capable, cross-functional team. As the team members may come from varied backgrounds, a mechanism should be in place to resolve conflicts as soon as possible so that the speed of the innovation process is not hindered. Soon after launching, the founders realized that if they want to grow, they need to bring in professional management. In 2001, they appointed Eric Schmidt as the CEO to bring to table the capabilities that they lacked (Casey, 2007). It was then they stared their process of building professional/experienced team with defined tasks. Creative Climate and Culture: Creativity of individuals needs to be fostered through the right environment. An organization needs to set up conditions within which innovative ideas can flourish. Under this, a firm needs to put its people at the heart of innovation. The structures and processes should be designed around people and not the other way round. In the knowledge economy, it is about managing the minds of individuals by providing them with right infrastructure suited for growth. Culture is a complex concept which mainly refers to shared values, beliefs and agreed norms which shape behavior of individuals. Changing the culture of an organization is one of the toughest things for the management as it is path dependent. But by bringing about alterations in the structure or processes, an organization can gradually move towards the desired culture. However, this is a time consuming process and requires acceptance by the employees. One way to facilitate this is by rewarding / incentivizing employees based on the new structure. In an organization with a supportive and innovative culture, individuals with bright ideas can progress them with support and encouragement from the system. Management needs to ask itself whether the current structure is supporting or acting as a hurdle to innovation. Also, do employees have all the resources and freedom required to innovate. Innovation is inherently uncertain and will often involve failures as well as successes. The management needs to understand this and build a culture where people take risks and failures are accepted as an opportunity for learning and further development. The biggest barrier lies in the minds of individuals, who are reluctant to innovate due to risks associated with failures. Failures should not be looked down upon and the senior management and leaders should clearly communicate this to the organization. Managerial leadership style, both at RD and senior management, has significant impact on creativity (Thamhain, 2003). Googles organizational culture provides enough space for employees to learn, experiment and grow. The casual and friendly environment promotes interaction between employees which results in enhanced knowledge base and thus promotes innovation. In each of its offices, Google has a big cafeteria with large tables and maximum seating capacity. Managers have observed that people like to talk while having their food. People from different product teams sit together for meals and interact with each other. As people from different product teams come together, the interactions become quite diverse. This mechanism of knowledge sharing leads to collective learning and thus benefits the organization as a whole (Merrill, 2007). Looking Inwards and Outwards for Innovative Ideas: An organization can no longer just look inwards for innovative ideas. As innovation is increasing becoming an open process, collaboration with external parties is gaining importance. This includes associations with suppliers, customers, consultants, etc. the top management needs to ensure that the organization does not face the Not invented here syndrome (Hansen and Birkinshaw, 2007) and looks forward to exploit relevant innovative ideas thrown at them by the external partners. The leaders also needs to provide opportunities for its employees to be part of various conferences, seminars, networking events, etc and tap into the knowledge base of those outside the organization. Knowledge accumulation is a slow and steady process and idea generation does not happen overnight. Keeping this in mind, the management should not pressurize it employees to come up with innovative ideas just after being a part of a single workshop, for example. Hansen and Birkinshaw (2007) argue that companies need to assess whether they are sourcing enough ideas from outside the company or even outside the industry. Many firms do this poorly, resulting in missed opportunities. Clear Understanding of User Needs and User Involvement: The base of every business is its understanding of user needs. It is this point that determines the success or failure of the organization. Any user-focused innovation needs to know exactly what the user wants, how he wants it and how much is he willing to pay for it, among others. Having the end point in mind, the organization can draft its strategies accordingly, in order to meet the customers needs. Increasingly, companies are involving customers in the innovations process. This sort of arrangement is helping organizations develop more personalized offerings while creating a sense of loyalty in the minds of the customers. Involving the users also provides great insights into how the user uses the product or service, how is their experience like, what they expect at the end of the usage journey, etc. All these insights can highlight areas that require further innovation and this can be a source of competitive advantage for the company. Understanding of the Macro and Micro Environment: An organization needs to analyze it Macro environment in order to understand the changes that are taking place in the Political environment, Economic situation, Society, Technological arena, Ecological and Legal frameworks. This would provide a sense of direction where the world is heading, and based on this, potential areas of innovation can be explored. Analysis of the Micro environment is useful in providing a clear picture of the industry the company operates in. It would showcases the position of competitors in the market, bargaining power of customers and suppliers, threats from substitutes and threats from new entrants into the market. Based on this, an organization can draft it differentiation strategy and establish a foot hold in the market. Conclusion:

Famous Speech Paper

Famous Speech Paper On the 28th of January in 1986 President Ronald Reagan prepares for his State of the Union address to the American people. That same morning seven astronauts better known as the â€Å"Challenger Seven†; Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe prepare for their journey on the Space Shuttle Challenger out of space. Unfortunately the shuttle explodes 73 seconds into its flight killing everyone onboard. Within the hour the tragic news spreads across America.Hours before President Reagan’s state of the union address he decides to change his speech to address American citizens about the catastrophe at hand. This change was ideal because the given situation suited a commemoration speech instead of a state of the union. In this sincere speech President Reagan does an outstanding job in creating one of America’s finest rhetoric. I give President Reagan’s commemorative speec h five stars for its outstandingly genuine delivery. Observing this speech it is easy to overlook President Reagan’s limited amount of time he has to prepare.None the less, he speaks with superb eye contact never looking away from the camera as if his speech is from memory. His personal appearance is what you would expect a president of the United States to wear; dark blue suit with a white handkerchief, matching striped tie and white collared shirt. His movement is that of a professional; sitting upright without shifting his body weight in the chair, having very subtle hand gestures that are hardly noticeable. The volume of his voice coincides with the mood of the country, which was sad and somber. He had little inflection in his voice but avoided being monotone.President Reagan’s rate of speech was slow and steady but he utilized pauses effectively. The speech was delivered with a vocal variety that matched the situation and overall mood of his audience making this s peech remarkable. All of these factors produced one of America’s finest rhetoric. With the speech appearing to be memorized he delivered it effortlessly. President Reagan ends his commemorative speech powerfully using a poetic phrase from â€Å"High Flight†. These qualities combined create a five star rhetoric that will be remembered through the ages.

The War Of 1812 - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2646 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2019/05/18 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Civil War Essay War Essay Did you like this example? The Appomattox Court House is not just a location or building, it holds a monumental significance to which none can beat. The Appomattox Courthouse was home to Wilmer McLean, who ironically took the house up because he did not like his previous home location, where he witnessed the first battle of manassas. He would get away where there wouldnt be any more fighting and so he moved to the Appomattox Court House which is where they decided to end the war. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The War Of 1812" essay for you Create order The Appomattox Courthouse was such a big even that anything could have altered the results. THe surrender could have never happened, Richard E Lee could have been stubborn and not seen the end result and the war would have continued until it stopped due to the lack of soldiers, which is why the surrender took place in the first place. We never realize how dramatic the surrender really was, we have been taught the simple facts like who won and lost. Below you will take a walk with both ULysses S.Grant and Richard E. Lee to experience the infamous surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse. The War of 1812 was from June 1812 through February 1815 peace arrangements started in late 1814, slow communication caused the downfall of many of the soldiers, due to the fact that they continued to fight because they hadnt found out of a surrender. The War of 1812 became a global conflict. England and France spent 1789 through 1815 fighting for superiority . The British were impressing or forcibly drafting, American sailors at sea as well as blocking American trade with France both of these were also spillover policies from the British prosecution of the war with France. The war at the end led to a peaceful trade system between Britain, the United States, and Canada. But the war also caused tensions towards the north and south, the north did not want to go to war with Britain as it was then the Industrial Revolution. But the south on the other hand did, saying how the French helped them when they needed it, so to pay them back they helped them. The War of 1812 was not a war between two nations, but rather a civil war, in which brother fought brother in a borderland of mixed peoples. There are really four parts that makes this was a civil war. One,was the American government versus the British over who would rule upper Canada. Next was the fact that the Federalsists were against the war and some were even in favor of the British, and would help them to win. The third point I have not heard of very much, which is the Irish. The Irish just immigrated to the U.S and are having to fight against one another. And the last point that will be made is well known, the Indians. The Native Americans took it upon themselves to join the British and fight agaisnt the U.S in hopes that if they win then the U.S will no longer try to push them out of their lands. Lee saw that there was no way to continue the war, with how his arm lay as well as the fact that he only had 30,000 soldiers left, half of which were weaponless. It was time to disco ntinue the war. Lee states, There is nothing left me but to go and see General Grant, and I had rather die a thousand deaths. Even though we see over and over again that there was no way he could continue, there is no way he could still continue even though more than half of his men were hurt. We have to understand that the surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse could have definitely not happened. Richard E Lee could have definitely continued to fight. If he had lesser moral integrity he could have carelessly just told his men to take to the hills, to fight as partisans and guerrillas and not look back until each men had fallen. This would have caused the war to be going on year after year, month after dreadful month, until they killed every Yankee they encountered south of the Mason- Dixon Line. Instead, he used his brain and told Colonel Charles Marshall to go forward and find a house where he could meet General Grant. Ulysses S Grant seems like a rational man as well. If you read his personal mem oirs that were published in 1885 it talks about how he feels sadness and depressed even though he should be joyous about the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so long for a cause.. He also seems to admire how Richard E Lee dresses and composes himself. In his memoir it statesI must have contrasted very strangely with a man so handsomely dressed, six feet high and of faultless form. In his personal memoirs it seems as if they are almost like friends. He seems so state how their conversation was so pleasant that I almost forgot the object of our meeting. Ulysses S Grant proves to be a rational man when he proposes his terms for Lees army. He told Lee that he simply just wanted his army to lay down their arms and not to take them back up for the rest of the war, unless dutly and properly exchanged. He would not take any prisoners, but he just requested that Lees narmy lay down their arms until called upon because even the the principal confederate army had vanished the war was still not over. The surrender at the Appomattox deserves an award for how well each side took it. Ulysses S. Grant was very mature and wanted no harm or arguments with his opposing side, he even allowed the officers to keep their sidearms and horses. He even said that everyone would get to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their par oles In one of the letters Grant wrote to Lee it states: In accordance with the substance of my letter to you of the 8th instant, I propose to receive the surrender of the Army of N. Va. on the following terms; to wit: Rolls of all the officers and men to be made in duplicate one copy to be given to an officer designated by me, the other to be retained by such officer or officers as you may designate. The officers to give their individual paroles not to take up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged and each company or regimental commander sign a like parole for the men of their commands. The arms, artillery, and public property are to be parked and stacked and turned over to the officer appointed by me to receive them. This will not embrace the side arms of the officers, nor their private horses or baggage. This done officers and man will be allowed to return to their homes not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their parole and the laws in force where they may reside. But we can not give Ulysses all the credit, Robert E Lee also had a major part in this, if he listened to some of his generals about the fact that he should disperse the troops and start a guerilla warfare, which would indeed have been very difficult for the union army to stamp out. Then it would lead to prolonged bitterness and prevent any reconcil iation. Now if this was any other person then maybe the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse might have not ended so peacefully, or for that matter might not have even occured. Before we can point fingers we must establish what went down before the surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse. After leaving Petersburg, Lees malnourished army headed west to try and find a path around Grants army. Fighting all day as if to not stop until every last man was down to the ground. There were small fights breaking out all around them, which made up side shows of the main performance. With all that was going on General Lee maintained to keep his soldiers spirits high with his calm and cheerful presence. Lee and his army had gone through hell and back, and to add on to this baggage the Union troops decided to , in the Battle of Saylers Creek, cut off and capture a third of Lees army. With all this Lee and his army marched on, they tried to slow down the Union troops by burning down a bridge, which ultimately had no effect because the union soldiers came intime to blow out the fire. You would think by now Lee would be ready for a surrender, but even after Grant sent him a letter for surrender, he just gave it off to JAmes Longstreet who said, No not yet. And with that the soldiers got back up thinking that God would be on their side only to find that once again they would fall, and thi s time Lee agreed to the surrender, because there was nothing left for him, and he knew that if they kept on fighting, all of his soldiers would just die off. The surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse can be seen as a peaceful yet stressful time. We dont realize how stressful this must have been for Lee, we only know that, oh Grant won against lee and thats about it. With the research done we can see that Grant had a lengthy conversation with Lee to plan the surrender, as well as Grant having a panic attack as one should right before meeting General Lee. All of which will be explained in the following paragraph. After the Union troops had most obviously won, there had appeared to be a night march that, had become a grand review, with Grant as the reviewing officer. Three men had visited General Grant, about sending some sort of message to Lee to end any further bloodshed. So with that request in mind Grant proceeded to write, The results of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the army of Northern Virginia in this struggleby asking of you the surrender ofthe Army of Northern Virginia. Af ter Lee received the letter he went on to say how he agreed with not wanting any more useless bloodshed, therefore before considering your proposition, ask terms you will offer on condition of surrender. So Grant layed down all of his conditions, but seeing how much Lee had suffered he didnt make it that Lees army had to be prisoners, he gave them food and anything they needed. Grant and his army headed in the direction of the Appomattox, and stopped at many places for food and shelter until they reached their final destination. At the end of their trip Grant started feeling sick. General Grant had been suffering from a severe headache, the result of fatigue, anxiety,and loss of sleep We would think this is due to some sort of food poisoning or sickness, but no. This was merely because he was anxious to meet Lee as well as the fact that he was getting sick.. As General Grant lay at rest on the sofa, Colonel Charles A. Whittier handed him the letter that Lee wrote to him saying, In mine of yesterday I did not intend to propose the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia.To be frank, I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender but the restoration of peace shoul d be the sole object of all And So Grant replied saying how he agreed that peace was their number one priority as well. He then sent the location for the interview and continued to head straight to the Appomattox Courthouse. Lee was there and ready for them. He met a man named Wilmer Mclean who was a resident and showed him to a house, but Lee didnt feel it spacious enough. This is when he was led to Mcleans own house, which was said to be one of the finest in town. Lee and his army was there first so they went inside and gto comfortable. Later then did General Grant arrive, and him and his army slowly and quietly situated themselves in the room. As the two leaders sat across from each other they both had a strong contrast. First off General Grant was almost forty-three years and Richard E. Lee was almost sixty-three years. He had a normal height of five feet and eight inches, whereas Lee was much taller with a good six feet in height. General Grants uniform could be said as that of a private soldier. Then we look over at Lee and see he has on his best outfit, and that all the men around him are wearing clean pressed uniforms of felt and silk. Colonel Marshal explained this contrast best by saying, when their headquarters wagons had been pressed so closely by our cavalry a few days before, and it was found they had to destroy all their baggage , except the clothes they carried on their backs, each one naturally, selected the newest suit he had, and sought to perpetuate the god of destruction by a sacrifice of his second best. After three days there was a formal ceremony taken place to the break up of Lees army and parole of his men which ended the war. We see this in the picture to the right, we also notice what Colonel Marshal said about how the Union didnt dress as high class as Lees army. Richard E Lee left his men with his very thoughtful words which state: After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them, But feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen. By the terms of the agreement, Officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you His blessing and protection. With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell. The surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse was such a huge event it became something of myth. It all started with Richard E Lee leaving the courthouse, out of everyone Lee took it the hardest. Lee should be a role model to us all even after everything that he went through he said nothing and didnt complain he kept his head held high and continued with his wife by his side. Surrendering hadnt been easy for Lee. Sullen from defeat, his own family property in Arlington had been confiscated by Union forces (converted into a Union cemetery with lines of white crosses on the lawn). Even though Lee and his army had to surrender we see that if he was a hot headed person then he would not care if all his soldiers died, he would rather finish the fight even though he was clearly loosing, than calling i t quits before any more unnecessary blood would be shed. In some ways he can be seen as a hero.