Paper Example. An Assessment of Google V China Case

Google Inc. plans to re-enter China market after leaving it in 2010. While this decision presents a chance to generate higher revenues, there are several factors that the company must take to account in this decision. China has a wide market for internet services, but the totalitarian law has enforced several restrictions on the amount of information that the citizens can access. Besides, there are ethical concerns to this decision, relative to the fundamental Google mantra of 'do no evil' which must be taken into consideration (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). The return of Google to China is already in progress with the various partnerships the company has made with the local companies in the recent past. Nonetheless, the company must put in place proper strategies to ensure adherence to the relevant doctrines and ethical issues for a successful re-entering process.

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Pieces of Advice to Maclean on Google. cn China Strategy

My first piece of advice would be to further efforts in developing a censored search app. The Chinese government has stringent laws and regulations on what their population can access over the internet, and some websites and words are blacklisted. Also, the nation employs highly sophisticated surveillance programs to filter information and restrict information access for the banned content (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). Besides, there are strict licensing laws for firms with physical existence in China, and a company that provides the barred content faces the risk of having its operations shut down. As such, since Google plans to establish its presence in the country, they ought to adhere to the set regulations. This approach will ensure the company achieves its targeted profit levels while playing its fundamental role of providing a substantial amount of information to the users.

Additionally, I would advise Maclean to establish solid relationships with local companies such as Tencent. Freeman & Stewart (2006) asserts that over about nine years that Google has been out of China, various internet providers sprung up, taking a significant portion of the market. Therefore, Google should work with some of the local firms to help in mining customers and designing effective ways of improving its services to attract users. Besides, local companies are well familiar with the regulations on censorship and will help Google filter content appropriately on Google.cn and therefore ensure full compliance with the law. As such, partnerships will enhance the growth of Google in the Chinese market.

Lastly, Google should consider developing a censor-compliant news aggregation app to create a significant change in re-entering the market. Besides ensuring compliance, such an app will customize data to the preference of each user; hence it is likely to gain popularity among many people. The government regulates the kind of information that the users must access, but each of them has their preferences; hence such an app will be highly welcome. Also, in line with Google's chant to do no evil, the app will ensure access to information even though censored (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). The approach of providing filtered information may seem inconsistent with the mantra but will arguably promote informational access, which is better than no information at all.

Reasons why Google Must Abide by Doctrines on International Policies

Google should abide by Chinese laws and political regulations, as stated in the Doctrine of Comity, Act of State, and the Principle of Sovereignty. Doh & Luthans (2018) asserts that the doctrine of comity is a jurisdictional principle of international law that states that there ought to be mutual respect for institutions, laws, and governments of other nations in the subject of jurisdiction over their citizens. The code stresses that there must be mutual reciprocity for equally sovereign states. As such, since Google, a US company, will be based in China, it must show utmost respect to the laws of the country and abide by them. Besides, China is a sovereign state, and therefore, China has complete authority over its citizens and thus dictates the kind of information they should access (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). Therefore, Google is obliged to comply with its jurisdiction if it wishes to host its operations in the country.

Conversely, the principle of sovereignty refers to an international principle of law which holds that governments have the right to rule themselves as they deem fit. The code states that the court system of a particular nation cannot be used to impose penalties or correct injustices in another nation (Doh & Luthans, 2018). Therefore, while universal access to information is one of the freedoms provided by US law, Chinese laws filter the amount of information that their citizens can access. As per this principle, Google cannot impose US laws on Chinese territory and have to abide by their rules. Also, China has total authority over what the citizens can consume based as they see their laws as fit for the nation (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). As such, Google must follow the set regulations for them to operate in China.

Lastly, the act of state doctrine is a jurisdictional principle of international law that states that all acts of other governments are considered as valid by the US courts even if the given acts go against or are deemed inappropriate under the US law (Doh & Luthans, 2018). While the freedom to access information without restrictions is a fundamental right in the US, China holds a different view and has acts to enforce censorship of certain types of information. Besides, the acts on privacy and confidentiality are different in China as the government carries out surveillance for all internet activities while the US enforces privacy protection. Thus, for Google to provide its services to the Chinese population, it must adhere to the country's law on privacy and information filtering even though such laws may be considered invalid in the US.

Evaluation of Ethical Standards of American Companies in China

According to my ethical beliefs, American companies, including MSN, Yahoo, and CISCO, were ethical in most of their activities in China. Several ethic theories, including utilitarianism, virtue, and Kantian philosophy theories, are useful in providing insights into their actions to establish whether they were ethical. Virtue theory focuses on existing practices to establish the activities regarded as good. Doh & Luthans (2018) affirms that it emphasizes the characteristics that make one virtuous rather than the applicable rules or the consequences of particular actions. For instance, Microsoft reasoned that it would be virtuous to provide the Chinese with access to their services (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). Therefore, compliance with the set laws aimed at ensuring they did well to the citizens. Similarly, CISCO systems were more concerned about minding the rules in launching their products rather than the likely consequences. Therefore, they emphasized on doing what was regarded as right in their situation.

Conversely, utilitarianism theory focuses on the greater good for the greater majority under set constraints. As such, an act is considered good if its overall good supersedes the negative aspects (Doh & Luthans, 2018). This theory is applicable in various businesses as if it emphasizes on overall utility and cost benefits. For instance, CISCO argued that despite the negative having negative impacts such as use by terrorists or for repression, its benefits are higher than the bad side (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). It can be used for a wide range of positive things, including enlightenment and empowerment. Equally, Google reasons that it is more appropriate to provide censored information to China instead of providing none. The advantages of providing filtered information surpass those of keeping away from China due to their information access laws.

Lastly, Kantian theories assert that individuals and organizations are held responsible based on a collection of principles that go beyond those merely driven by self-interest. As such, any rational person or organization must evaluate their choices by taking into account the lens of universal law (Doh & Luthans, 2018). Google are ethical in their pursuit for the Chinese market as they believe that they should not just focus on profits but also ensure they provide information access to the people. Similarly, Yahoo maintained that they did not disclose information about the journalists who were arrested (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). The company was committed to upholding the privacy and confidentiality of the users, which is universally expected of such firms.

Advice for Google in the Plans to Re-enter China

As Google plans to re-enter the Chinese market, there are several factors they must take into account to ensure they stick to the market. Besides, China has a vast population, hence gaining Chinese customers could be highly advantageous to the company. Google should work towards addressing privacy issues. In the past, Yahoo was chastised for leaking private information, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of two journalists (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). Besides, China has sophisticated surveillance systems to monitor the activities of various users. There may be concerns that the Chinese government may take advantage of the Google applications to spy on both their citizens and those abroad. Therefore, it is paramount for Google to put in place robust measures to ensure the optimal protection of its user privacy upon entering the US.

Besides, the company should ensure its search engine application is well sophisticated to identify and filter all websites that are blacklisted by the Great Firewall. Also, the search application should censor queries that the government has banned (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). Further, it should be designed to ensure it does not recommend any of the banned information when a user misspells some words in their search. Such measures could help minimize the level of surveillance that Google will be subjected to by the Chinese government. Also, the app will match China's compliance laws and regulations hence foster their stay and growth in the Chinese market, which will, in turn, result in an appealing stream of revenue.

Global Business Lessons from Google V China

As a future international manager, there are several lessons to pick from the Google V China case. To begin with, it is always prudent to check out for legislature in different nations. Some regulations govern business in every nation, and adherence to them is core in running things smoothly in such countries. For instance, Google has been forced to conform to its search engine for them to be allowed to operate in China (Freeman & Stewart, 2006). Similarly, a manager should be on the outlook for regulations in different nations and be ready to make the necessary adjustments to venture into them. Abiding by the provided laws is vital in ensuring the success and longevity of a business in a different nation, which in turn leads to an appealing stream of revenues.

Additionally, global strategic thinking is fundamental in achieving success in international businesses. A manager should come up with effective ways to manage a business and establish the right networks to ensure the various pertinent pieces play out excellently. Besides, it is prudent to have someone or an organization that is well familiar with the activities that happen in the given nation. Such entities can offer valuable advice and save the company from making costly mistakes. For instance, Google plans to partner with companies such as Xiaomi and Tencent in their return to China (Freeman & Stewart, 2006).