28 November 2011

Lessons from Google's China Efforts


Create Genuine Value
Even though Google had some success in China while competing with local competitors, what eventually allowed Google to break through the competition was its sincere value offering. When there was a massive snow storm Google quickly put together maps of the affected areas making travel information accessible to hundreds of people. Similarly when a major earthquake hit China Google provided maps that made navigation possible around and through the affected areas.

Google also worked to constantly understand the needs and habits of its consumers, which translated into endless improvements in Google's products. Google created the Pinyin IME editor that allowed users to input search in Chinese while using English alphabets.

Harmonize Organizational values and operating environment conflictsInChina, Google had to fire two of its senior executives in China. The executives were found guilty of handing out free iPods on company's expense to local officials as gifts. Interestingly, the executives felt caught off guard since in their mind they were following a normal and well-accepted business policy in China.

Another similar incident happened when it was publicly exposed that Google's Pinyin editor contained source code that was another organization's property. Apparently, a Google engineer had searched for the desired code and included it with Google's regular code base without verification of copyright. The incident caused severe loss of face to Google in China.

The incidents illustrate that there can be dire consequences when employees do not have a full grasp of the organization's value system and how it may and - more importantly - may not align with the operating environment. In such cases it is imperative that the employees are trained and educated not just about the organization's values but also on how these values contrast or align with the operating business environment. Employees should also be given a means for discussing and resolving such ethical challenges, when they arise, in a safe manner. It is even important that the value fit evaluation and education be part of the organization's recruiting process. Diversity within an organization is good but not when it comes to fundamental operating beliefs.

It is a massive failure on the part of an organization when its employee(s) discovers it's fundamental values by surprise.