This group paper was written in my Managing Organizations class with Dr. Chio at the University of Washington Tacoma. This paper describes the recommendations and implementation strategies to be taken when the SWOT Analysis of Google was revealed.

1. Group
A-5
Google
Recommendations and
Implementation Strategies
Rachel Brown, German Brynza, Tien Phan,
Cale Ramsaur, Jena Smith
Mgmt 300, 12/9/09

2. II
Though Google Inc. has remained a well-known, respected company, it is essential for the
organization to focus on the continual improvement and enhancement of operations in order to generate
revenue and remain dominant in the world of search engines. Key recommendations have been reached
that will reinforce methods that may be beneficial in the company’s long-run economic success and
sustainability: the awareness of ethical issues concerning human rights, and also the actualization of a
more efficient R&D department. By capitalizing on these opportunities, Google will have the advantage
to improve weaknesses, fortify its position against threats, and utilize the company’s strengths.
Recommendation #1 – Ethics
Though Google has built a reputation on innovation and customer convenience, the company has
had a tendency to disregard customer ethical concerns, and other moral dilemmas such as
communications and pricing. Due to these weaknesses, Google should implement a human rights
approach, addressing ethical apprehensiveness accordingly. Through this approach, Google would be
more attentive to customer’s moral entitlements and what they should expect in regards to protecting their
privacy and also honest pricing strategies.
Because of Google applications such as G-Mail and Google Search, there is an increased risk of
invasion of privacy. This is due to the fact that past searches are recorded and deleted inbox items are
retained. Another issue at hand is Google’s online map service, Street View, which has been accused of
taking pictures of people’s private homes and property. Street View was unveiled at the Where 2.0
conference in San Jose, California. However, “within hours of the photographs of downtown San
Francisco and New York hitting the Internet, bloggers were posting images of people, their faces visible,
being arrested, sunbathing and urinating in public” (Knight, 2007).
Another ethical dilemma Google is currently facing is in the company’s working relationships
with customers and advertisers concerning honesty in communications and pricing strategies. Google’s
cost per click advertising fee and ranking policy is confusing and makes it complex for marketers to
predict how much their ad will cost, and where it would be positioned (Google Inc., 2008). Advertisers

3. III
should have the right to know what to expect when pricing their ads in order to avoid any misconstrues
that may arise. According to New York Time’s editor Miguel Helft, “Google derives almost all its
revenue from text ads that appear next to Internet search results and on thousands of partner Web sites”
(Helft, 2009). By improving the relationship and understanding of advertising clients, Google can
continually increase its market share, generating more profits.
Specific Implementation #1 – Ethics
Though Google could credit much of its success to the fact that it provides convenient, relevant
search inquiry information, it must address the issues and conflict between convenience and privacy. On
November 5, 2009, “the company announced the service, called Google Dashboard… [which] pulls
together many controls Google has offered people for a while, such as the ability to see and delete their
search history” (Vascellaro, 2009). Google executives claimed that the new service was designed to
provide consumers with greater control and clarity over their personal data. Google also decided to blur
all the faces and car plates that were once visible in its feature Street View, and announced which city it
planned on photographing in advance (Google Street View, 2009). In the addressing of privacy and a
human rights approach, Google will increase customer loyalty through security and trust.
Currently, Google’s main source of revenue is from advertisements on Google AdWords;
however, as recommended, the advertisers should be informed of how much their ad will cost and where
on the website it will be positioned. If Google notified its customers as to where their ads’ ranks were
based on the number of clicks they received, then the advertisers could decide whether or not they want to
invest more money on their cost-per-click each day, enabling their ads to appear longer on the search
engine, and in doing so, provide higher ranks and profits. By implementing this policy, Google could
further motivate advertisers to invest more funding into ads that have less clicks, which would provide
Google with greater profits.

4. IV
Recommendation #2 – Expansion of R&D
While it is essential to address Google’s privacy issues, an equally important recommendation
would be to strengthen and maximize the company’s current Research and Development (R&D) team.
There are two specific areas that the R&D team should focus their efforts on. The first area is to increase
Google’s brand name recognition through advertising, and the second is to further pursue
telecommunications.
Other search engines, including Bing and Yahoo, have followed Google’s lead in establishing
brand equity through advertising, continually gaining ground on the company and becoming increasingly
competitive. Due to this increased risk of lost profits and popularity to adversaries, Google needs to
develop more efficient ways to solidify their position in the market. Recently, Google revised its
trademark policy, providing easier means for advertisers to include brand names in the text of their ads
(Tartakoff, 2009). Though this is a good step, the R&D team needs to build and improve upon this so that
there may be more advertising and therefore, more exposure of the company’s brand name, Google.
The second area of interest that the R&D team should pursue is that of communications. In
accordance with the burgeoning of Internet use, consumers are now accessing the Internet through their
cell phones, creating a vast, surging market. Due to this trend, it is vital for Google’s R&D team to
implement and take advantage of the company’s recent acquisition with AdMob. With AdMob, Google
will be equipped with data on cellular phone applications. Through them, Google will be better informed
of statistical information about how people are currently using iPhone applications, how responsive they
are to the advertising within those applications, and how loyal users remain (Shafer, 2009). This
acquisition will be helpful in determining what implementations are necessary in the recently evolved
Droid applications created by Google. Finding a niche in the telecommunications world would mean an
increase in the strength and overall profits of Droid products, providing another efficient source of
income. Through strengthening the R&D department, Google has an opportunity to utilize its
opportunities and strengths, enabling the company to be a mainstay in the proliferating world of

5. V
telecommunications. To accomplish these things, the expansion of R&D must be implemented through
several steps.
Specific Implementation – Expansion of R&D
Due to the fact that Google is a virtual company and has branches disperse around the nation, the
expansion of the R&D department will be much more simple. Because there is a limited amount of
tangible items, Google has limited buildings and physical space. With this advantage in mind, Google
should follow three specific steps to expand its current R&D department: assess finances, globalize
through capitalizing on dispersed branches, and formulate virtual teams.
The first action Google must implement is to amass the finance department and determine how
much money should be set aside for the expansion of R&D, keeping in mind the company’s assets and
liabilities. In establishing this budget, many factors must be kept in consideration for future endeavors and
financial obligations, including emerging opportunities or even liabilities. With roughly 70% of R&D
funding spent on efforts to improve the company’s search and advertising programs, the finance
department should determine and decipher whether or not these improvements are effective and efficient.
There may be different ways of limiting search and advertising programs, increasing the funds that could
potentially be used elsewhere, result in future gain (Elgin, 2006). After analyzing several different
contingencies, the finance team should conduct and produce a budget that elucidates the amounts of
finances that can be set aside for the expansion of the research and development department.
The next step Google should take is to accumulate and assemble an experienced analyst team that
will conduct research to ascertain the most efficient strategy of where to establish R&D branches that will
yield the greatest success. Several different concerns should be addressed in executing this research:
Where are we going to set up the R&D branches? How much funding is going to be allocated for them?
Will the company benefit from the newly implemented branch? In determining answers to these
apprehensions, the analyst team should apply management decision skills to establish the most efficient
strategy as to where to locate the new branches, benefiting Google in the short and long run.

6. VI
Lastly, in order to effectively expand R&D, there should be sufficient communication.
Communication should be used when setting up new facilities and branches globally. It is imperative for
Google to maintain relations between branches and headquarters. The process of communication and use
of synergy between the teams allows for the compilation of information and creativity, such as creating a
new product or service. In order to enable communication amongst employees, Google should assemble
knowledgeable and advanced technicians to establish and maintain effective and efficient means to do so.
Phone calls, e-mails, and blogs are not always the most effective way to maintain relations, especially
when in regards to new innovations. However, the use of video conferencing and virtual private networks
could provide more secure ways for employees to communicate live, such as broadcasted meetings. With
the implementation of technological improvements, virtual teams could communicate much more
proficiently, limiting the amount of time required to travel to necessary meetings.
General Implementation
Though the stated recommendations will impose a great deal of adaptations in the company,
particularly in the R&D department, the steps necessary to implement organizational change will likely
ease the process, making the alteration viable. These steps Google must partake in involve establishing
goals, communication, permitting others to act innovations, establishing norms, and instituting criteria for
successfulness that will also observe and monitor changes. Through these steps Google will better
implement its opportunities, gaining the support and confidence from its employees in the process.
In order for the first recommendation to be implemented successfully, Google must address the
company’s position on the importance of social responsibility and recognize that it has been deficient thus
far. Being that privacy concerns are a growing issue since the advent of the Internet, Google needs to
recognize the importance of reassuring customers to maintain a positive brand image, which should be
communicated to the company’s personnel so they too can support the change.
In regards to the second recommendation, R&D must understand that “change leads to new ideas,
technology, innovation, and improvement”, all of which are vital in thinking creatively (Fandt et al, 2010,

7. VII
p. 275). In order to keep up with competitors, the R&D team must work together through each stage of
team development, including forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
In order to institutionalize the changes, Google should refreeze the new procedures by offering
incentives to employees. In offering premiums, Google would reinforce the changes by making
employees feel as though the latest changes were now part of the norms of the business. The last action
that Google should make when implementing changes is evaluation. Through evaluating, management
will better understand whether or not the change will be effective and will also establish the necessary
criteria to make the change.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Google has the opportunity to reassess its position in regards to customer’s ethical
concerns along with those of its advertisers. In strengthening these relationships through trust, Google
will see increased profits. Google also has the resources necessary to implement an R&D department that
will remain innovative, which is important in taking advantage of the recent surge in telecommunications.
Through implementing organizational change efficiently Google has the opportunity to better its long-
term success and maintain its brand equity.

8. VIII
References
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Elgin, B. (2006, July 21). Google R&D Pays Dividends. Business Week. Retrieved December 1, 2009
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Ganapati, P. (2009, February 13). Google to Take a Hefty Cut on Android Application Sales. Wired.
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http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article1870995.ece
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Forbes. Retrieved December 1, 2009 from www.forbes.com
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Vascellaro, Jessica E. (2009, November 5). “Google Creates Privacy Dashboard.” Wall Street Journal.
Retrieved December 7, 2009 from website: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/11/05/google-
creates-privacy-dashboard/